ASU Gammage stands as one of the largest exhibitors of performing arts among university venues in the world,[5][6] featuring a wide range of genres and events.

[7] The process that led to construction of the auditorium began in 1957 when incumbent university President Grady Gammage desired a unique facility for the ASU campus.

He would, with various budget related alterations, base its design on a circular opera house that he had conceptualized for the city of Baghdad sometime prior upon the invitation of Iraqi King Faisal II.

Spearheaded by the Robert E. McKee Company, construction of the facility commenced in 1962 and was completed twenty-five months later, officially opening on September 18, 1964, in time to host The Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy.

Twin "flying buttress" pedestrian ramps extending 200 feet (61 m) from the north and east sides of the structure connect the building to the parking lot.