[2] By 1897, however, the park had fallen into disuse by residents; goats and cows were pastured on the land, and the grass was left uncut.

[4] Fifteen plans were submitted for the new facility, and those of Charlotte, North Carolina architect Frank Pierce Milburn were selected.

In October 1901, the City Parks Commission leased the auditorium to William P. Dowling, Jr. for a term of three years for use as a theater.

[9][10] In October 1981, a fire destroyed the hall about one year after the museum moved to Meeting Street, leaving only its four grand columns.

The Olmsted Brothers, a landscaping firm in Brookline, Massachusetts, had designed plans for a park during the 1890s, but these never were implemented before the site became Thomson Auditorium.