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Merrill Auditorium

auditorium in Portland, Maine

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 30, 2026
Entity authorityQ6820160
Source-derived summary

Merrill Auditorium is a 1,908-seat auditorium located in Portland, Maine, United States. Originally known as Portland City Hall Auditorium, it is located in the eastern section of Portland City Hall.

The auditorium was built in 1912 and underwent a major rebuild and renovation in 1997. It features a large pipe organ, the Hermann Kotzschmar Memorial Organ, donated by Cyrus Curtis and built by the Austin Organ Company (Opus 323). It was renamed in the 1990s following a bequest from Paul and Virginia Merrill which allowed the facility to be renovated.

Prime tenants at Merrill are the Portland Symphony Orchestra, Portland Ovations and the Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ. Resident organizations include the Maine State Ballet, Portland Ballet and Opera Maine.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Merrill Auditorium” as auditorium in Portland, Maine. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Merrill, Auditorium and auditorium.

Editorial reviewA practical starting point whose main value is the path it opens into stronger specialist and primary sources. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1912, 1997—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1912. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Merrill, Auditorium and auditorium providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Merrill Auditorium”, the useful work is to connect “auditorium in Portland, Maine” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6820160. VIAF identifies the subject as 316592819. Authority coordinates are 43.660, -70.257. 2 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1912 and 1997.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Merrill Auditorium”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Merrill Auditorium primary sources, Merrill Auditorium archive and Merrill research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Merrill Auditorium” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.