Irvine Auditorium

Great place for performance

Irvine is absolutely gorgeous. It’s a historical landmark in West Philly, on Penn’s campus, which frequently has famous speakers and/​or concerts or symposiums. Some are just for the Penn community, while others are open to the public.
Fact: Irvine Auditorium is notable for its nearly 11,000-pipe Curtis Organ, the world’s 22^nd-​largest pipe organ (by ranks), originally built for the Sesquicentennial Exposition of 1926 and donated to the university in 1928.
If you ever get the chance to visit Irvine — it’s worth the visit! The auditorium is incredible.

Irvine Auditorium must have, at one point in time, been a church. If the exterior doesn’t convince you of that, the high, vaulted ceiling and cathedral-​esque light fixtures are sure to sway you. Now it’s a lovely auditorium tucked into a corner of University City.
There are rows and rows of seats for theatre or orchestral performances but there is also plenty of standing room at the front of the stage for a rock and roll show like the one I saw tonight. The sound system and lighting were top notch and the acoustics were great.
Navigating around University City and finding parking was a bit of a chore, but I’m not familiar with the neighborhood so that’s partially to blame.
Definitely a nice place to see the odd show.

This is a recently renovated and cleaned up (when they redid Houston Hall) auditorium with events ranging from local school groups to the big music and theater performances. Tickets are mostly restricted to students, but every once in a while they allow outsiders to come in and view shows. The pipe organ here is gorgeous, too, and the acoustics are amazing in here.
Under the performance space there are practice rooms.

I was absolutely blessed to see my favorite band perform at the Irvine Auditorium in October, 1999, the band being the first band to perform in the space since it underwent some rehabilitation for a few years.
Irvine is the University of Pennsylvania’s most impressive performance space. It seats 1,260 and it can easily accommodate both dance and musical performances, as well as high tech presentations. It also is the home to one of Philadelphia’s eldest and greatest staples: an 11,000 pipe Curtis Pipe Organ. You won’t find anything larger anywhere else.
The acoustics are unbelievable. It’s hard to imagine that a little building right on the edge of an urban college campus can be the embodiment of what it really takes to be a perfect venue, but Irvine has done it all and then some.
Penn students, and other Philadelphia area students, who do not visit Irvine at least once in their college careers are undoubtedly missing out, and it is highly recommended for anyone willing to make the trip. I can’t stress it enough; if you are a music lover and you want to experience unparalleled acoustics coupled with a beautiful venue, be prepared to be blown away by the Irvine Auditorium.