Hastings Chautauqua Pavilion

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From the early 1900s through the mid-1920s, summer circuit Chautauquas brought culture and entertainment to communities across the U.S. The Hastings Chautauqua Association constructed this pavilion in 1907. Local architect C. W. Way designed it to resemble a large meeting tent. Seating 3,500, it was the largest pavilion in Nebraska. Notable speakers here included William Jennings Bryan and Senator Robert F. Kennedy. The pavilion, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, was partially destroyed by arson in 1992, but was rebuilt in 1993.