The building originally opened in 1928 as the Civic Auditorium. Its construction was funded by a donation from Seattle saloon owner James Osborne and a voter-approved municipal bond issue; the site was donated to the city by David Denny, one of the members of the Denny Party credited with founding the city of Seattle. The auditorium became the home of the Seattle Symphony and also hosted several touring shows. In 1956, voters passed another bond measure to fund expansion of the Civic Auditorium for use as a venue in the upcoming World's Fair. Construction began in 1959, and the auditorium reopened as the Seattle Opera House on April 21, 1962 – the opening day of the World's Fair – with a Seattle Symphony performance featuring Igor Stravinsky as a guest conductor and Van Cliburn as a guest soloist.