Home of the Louisiana Hayride—where Elvis and Hank Williams launched careers above a former city morgue
705 Elvis Presley Ave, Shreveport, LA 71101
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Admission varies by event; the building itself is open for scheduled performances and tours
Access
Wheelchair OK
Indoor theater with flat floors; downtown Shreveport location
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1929 · Louisiana Hayride · Elvis Presley · Hank Williams · Country Music History · Rock and Roll Origins · Art Deco Architecture
The Shreveport Municipal Auditorium opened in 1929 as a civic performance space and quickly became the anchor of the city's cultural life. The building's most significant chapter began in 1948, when KWKH radio launched the Louisiana Hayride from the auditorium's stage. The Hayride was the primary competitor to the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, and its willingness to take chances on unproven acts made it the launchpad for a generation of country and early rock and roll performers.
Hank Williams performed on the Hayride stage before his death in 1953. Elvis Presley made his first Hayride appearance on October 16, 1954 — just months after recording at Sun Studio in Memphis — and became a regular cast member through November 1955. Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Jim Reeves, and Webb Pierce all built their national profiles through Hayride broadcasts that reached audiences across the South and into Mexico via clear-channel radio signals.
Before the building's dressing rooms were completed, the basement served as a temporary space for Shreveport's city morgue. The precise duration of the morgue's operation in the basement is not definitively established in available records, but the association became central to the building's paranormal reputation. The auditorium was later renamed and the road fronting it was designated Elvis Presley Avenue.
The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places and underwent restoration efforts. It remains an active performance venue operated by the City of Shreveport and hosts concerts, theatrical productions, and seasonal events.
Sources
The auditorium's paranormal reputation centers on the basement level, the space that briefly housed Shreveport's city morgue. Reports describe a moaning woman heard in the lower corridors — an account repeated across multiple investigator visits. Whether the sound is acoustical artifact from a building with unusual ventilation or something the investigators genuinely heard is not resolvable from available records, but the claim is documented and consistent across sources.
A second figure — a girl in a blue dress — has been reported by staff and visitors on the arena floor itself. No specific historical identity is attached to the apparition in the sources examined. Doors on certain floors have been reported to open and close without apparent cause, a claim common to many large older buildings with mechanical ventilation systems but which draws continued investigator interest.
Ghost Hunters, the Syfy network series, filmed an episode at the Municipal Auditorium, as did Ghost Lab, another cable paranormal investigation show. The television attention amplified the venue's haunted reputation and contributed to the seasonal October tour programming the building now offers.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Ticketed tours of the Municipal Auditorium explore the stage where Elvis Presley and Hank Williams launched their careers on the Louisiana Hayride, and descend to the basement that briefly served as Shreveport's city morgue. The building hosts paranormal-themed events in October and maintains an active performance calendar year-round.
The 1929 Art Deco auditorium hosts concerts, shows, and events throughout the year. Visitors can attend performances in the same hall where the Louisiana Hayride broadcast launched careers of Elvis Presley, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, and Patsy Cline.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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