Byrnes Auditorium’s Past Sets the Stage for a Bright Future as Beloved Space Re-opens

ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA – As Winthrop University prepares to celebrate the April 4-9 grand re-opening of its beloved Byrnes Auditorium, the campus and community looks forward to the return of the auditorium since it went offline for renovations in 2018. 

Since 1939, Byrnes Auditorium has been an integral part of campus life at Winthrop, said Gina Price White ’83, director of archives with the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections. 

“From Convocations, Commencements and inaugurations to concerts, holiday programs and other special events and ceremonies, Byrnes has been the campus gathering place for over half of Winthrop’s existence,” she said. “It is the first building you see when you enter the front gate and, in the darkness, it gleams like a beacon beckoning us to its delights. It can truly be considered the heart of the campus.”

Let’s take a look back at the historic space’s rich history.

The Funding

It took a push by a U.S. senator to secure federal New Deal money during the Great Depression to help pay for Byrnes Auditorium.

Winthrop had trouble financing its building program in the 1920s despite the prosperous times. Once the Great Depression decimated the country’s economy in the 1930s, there was little construction for a few years. To help stimulate the economy and create jobs, the Public Works Administration (PWA) – a key part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal – was created in 1933. The large-scale public works construction agency oversaw infrastructure projects like dams, bridges and schools.

Money from the Public Works Administration Act of 1937, extended in 1938, provided funding for two other S.C. institutions - the University of South Carolina and Clemson University. U.S. Senator James Byrnes helped expedite Winthrop’s application as soon as the bureau was set up in 1937 with Winthrop receiving $302,000 in 1937 and an additional $10,000 in 1938. State bonds totaling $628,000 were issued to help pay for an auditorium, Thurmond Building and Macfeat Nursery School, now the Macfeat House. 

The auditorium bears the name of Byrnes, who also was a former S.C. governor and U.S. Secretary of State.

The Design 

Up until the construction of Byrnes, Winthrop was still using Tillman Hall’s 1912 auditorium, which sits 992.  There was no place where all the students and faculty could be assembled.  

The design of Byrnes drew heavily on an earlier rendering by the Atlanta architectural firm of Edwards and Sayward, which provided several master plans for Winthrop including a monumental auditorium where Byrnes now stands. With James B. Urquhart of Columbia serving as senior architect and A. D. Gilchrist of Rock Hill as associate architect, they drew on a look from other campus buildings. Gilchrist had planned many of Winthrop’s earlier buildings, namely Peabody Gym, Tillman Science Building and Infirmary Annex, and worked closely with previous architects to design Byrnes, though the final product was not as elaborate as initially planned.

Byrnes, which exemplifies the monumental architectural style prevalent in Depression-era public buildings, was completed in 1939 for over $400,000 by Hardaway Construction Co. of Columbus, Georgia. A five-story masonry building, it has a rectangular plan with an elliptically curved façade. 

At the time, the venue was one of the largest between Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, Georgia, and remains one of the largest in the Charlotte metropolitan area.

Featured Guests 

The auditorium took on increased importance in 1955 when a $45,000 Aeolian-Skinner electrically powered pipe organ was installed. The organ’s designer, G. Donald Harrison, died the following year and its tonal qualities cannot be duplicated today. Organists of worldwide fame have played and praised the instrument.

Famed organist Virgil Fox, known for his years as the organist at Riverside Church in New York City, played at the organ dedication concert on Nov. 2, 1955. 

Byrnes has been a uniting force by bringing together the Winthrop campus and the Rock Hill community since its opening. For many years, it has hosted big events such as Convocation and Commencement ceremonies, as well as speakers, concerts and other entertainment. 

The list of those who have appeared in Byrnes includes such diverse acts as the Woody Herman jazz band, the Harlem Boys Choir, the U.S. Army Band and gospel singer Shirley Caesar. Television broadcast journalist Diane Sawyer, poet Nikki Giovanni, First Lady Rosalynn Carter, journalist and activist Gloria Steinem and anthropologist Jane Goodall also have made appearances in the auditorium. More recently, 2016 Democratic presidential candidates participated in a “First in the South” forum on Byrnes’ stage. 

The Renovations

Byrnes closed in 2018 for repairs, but a subsequent small roof fire led to smoke, dust and debris settling inside the big hall. It sat quiet for a few years as insurance mitigation took place and renovations began in earnest two years ago. 

The start of 2025 brought with it a refreshed auditorium with improvements that include a new elevator from the lobby to the second floor, restroom expansion, accessibility features, plaster repair/new paint, new stage rigging, flooring and curtain, and much more. With the renovations, the number of seats was reduced from 3,500 to about 3,000.

The Grand Re-opening 

Now, it is time to celebrate the auditorium’s grand re-opening with an exciting slate of concerts and performances. The April 4-9 celebration will include an April 4 performance by world-renowned trumpeter Vince DiMartino with performances by the Wind Symphony and Jazz Ensemble; an April 5 concert by the Winthrop Chorale & Collegiate Choir; an April 6 performance by the Carolinas Wind Orchestra & Alumni Band featuring the D.B. Johnson Memorial Organ; and the finale event on April 9 featuring the Winthrop Symphony Orchestra Concert. View the events and times here.

For more information, contact Judy Longshaw, news and media services manager, at longshawj@winthrop.edu.