City Approves New Agreement with Peabody Auditorium Foundation

With the City Commission’s stamp of approval, the Peabody Auditorium Foundation has a new three-year agreement with the city after the first agreement expired in October.

The new agreement allows the Foundation to create a printed program for the annual season at the Auditorium, as well as giving the Foundation the opportunity to promote the organization to the public and provide opportunities to participate in the Foundation’s work.

“The Foundation printed program is in addition to programs provided by the actual show promoters,” according to a city staff report. “Peabody staff, at no charge to the Foundation, aids in showtime distribution of the programs.”

The city of Daytona Beach owns and operates the Peabody Auditorium as a venue for civic and community events, live performances and other activities, the report states. The Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, and its mission is to support the Auditorium by fundraising.

“The city and the (Peabody Auditorium Foundation) share a common goal of maintaining the Auditorium as the premier performing arts facility in Volusia County,” the report states.

According to the Auditorium’s website, the original Peabody Auditorium was founded by businessman Simon J. Peabody. The 2,200-seat facility was destroyed by the largest fire on record in Volusia County.

The new Auditorium was dedicated in October 1949 and in the years since has seen a litany of famous performers grace its stage, including Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Louis Armstrong, Simon and Garfunkel, Jerry Seinfeld and Dave Brubeck, according to the Auditorium website. The facility served as the summer home of the London Symphony Orchestra for 40 years and has been home to the Daytona Beach Symphony Society for more than 70 yearsn