Concerts at Muhlenberg are now more likely to take place in Seegers Union, Egner Chapel, or the Center for the Arts than Memorial Hall, but the gym was once a formidable venue. It was the largest in the Lehigh Valley until Lehigh University’s Stabler Arena was built in 1979. In the 1960s and ’70s, Memorial Hall hosted many noteworthy acts, including Simon and Garfunkel, The Beach Boys, Louis Armstrong, Santana, Electric Light Orchestra, The Byrds, and The Isley Brothers. Billy Joel played there twice; Frank Zappa, three times. John Wittenbraker, President Kathleen Harring’s husband, has taken a deep dive into Memorial Hall’s musical history and presented his findings to alumni from those decades.
Below is a timeline Wittenbraker designed listing all the big-name acts from that 20-year period.
Through graduate and continuing studies programs and corporate partnerships, Muhlenberg helps fuel the city’s and the Lehigh Valley’s significant growth.
