Our History

The auditorium was originally built in 1924, but it wasn't until 1973 that it was named for Howard Chenery, who was the drama teacher at Central High School for many years.

There have been a number of people who have performed at Chenery over the years, including Anna Pavlova, Chick Corea, Diana Krall, and John Legend.

We’ve been working on a full list of people who have appeared on our stage - check it out and let us know who we’re missing!

Click here to read about the mystery of the Chenery Auditorium piano!

These vintage photos of Chenery were found in Western Michigan University's digital archives.