The Amphitheater, built over a ravine 120 years ago, is one of the most historic buildings in the United States. Reconstructed over the years, the antiquated barn-like Amphitheatre seats 5,000 people on pew-like movable benches perched along a steep incline. Such diverse figures as William Jennings Brian, Booker T. Washington, Susan B. Anthony, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, Barry Goldwater, and Bill and Hillary Clinton have lectured here. The Amp, as well as the entire Chautauqua Institution, is on the National Register of Historic Places.


These Chautauqua participants arriving for a morning lecture may be among the last to ever sit in the old place. The Chautauqua Institute wants to demolish the entire Amphitheater and replace it with a larger, modernized replica. According to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Chautauqua Amphitheatre is now one of “America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.” Preservationists are hoping the building can be once again renovated, without demolishing it. The fate of the “Amp” hangs in the balance.