The Marin Veterans’ Memorial Auditorium, the largest indoor entertainment venue in Marin County, is scheduled to reopen in January 2027 following more than three years of closure for extensive renovations, county officials announced Thursday. 

The auditorium, which opened in 1971, closed in 2023 for planned seismic and code upgrades. During construction, crews uncovered deeper structural issues related to soil settlement, requiring additional foundational, drainage and sewer repairs. 

With a renovation budget of $18.9 million, improvements include replacing damaged concrete floors, repairing water leaks, upgrading heating and cooling systems, modernizing audio-visual and lighting equipment, and installing new entry doors. Crews also replaced the orchestra pit lift, reupholstered seats and added accessible dressing rooms and restrooms. 

Closed for extensive renovations in June 2023, the Veterans’ Memorial Auditorium in San Rafael, Calif., is reopening to visitors and performers in January 2027. The building was constructed in the early 1970s. (Marin County Department of Cultural Services via Bay City News)

“There are so many Marin memories in this building — concerts, performances, graduations, and more,” said Steve Dow, director of Marin County’s Cultural Services Department. “The reopening of the VMA is finally in sight.” 

The venue has hosted landmark performances by recording artists such as Jerry Garcia, Willie Nelson, the Doobie Brothers, and Ella Fitzgerald, as well as appearances by three U.S. presidents. 

To mark the venue’s history, the county will install commemorative panels outside of the building beginning March 26. Visitors can access a curated playlist and submit personal memories online. 

Programming for the 2027 season will be announced at a later date. 

Ruth Dusseault is an investigative reporter and multimedia journalist focused on environment and energy. Her position is supported by the California local news fellowship, a statewide initiative spearheaded by UC Berkeley aimed at supporting local news platforms. While a student at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism (c’23), Ruth developed stories about the social and environmental circumstances of contaminated watersheds around the Great Lakes, Mississippi River and Florida’s Lake Okeechobee. Her thesis explored rights of nature laws in small rural communities. She is a former assistant professor and artist in residence at Georgia Tech’s School of Architecture, and uses photography, film and digital storytelling to report on the engineered systems that undergird modern life.