The Municipal Auditorium/Recreation Club was constructed as part of an 11-acre (4.5 ha) recreational complex, originally called the Civic Center or Bayfront Park.

[citation needed] Citizens, politicians, and city employees began the effort to secure a federal Work Projects Administration (WPA) grant for the center.

These businessmen included Benton W. Powell, publisher of the Sarasota Tribune and President of the Palmer National Bank; Samuel W. Gumpertz, senior vice president and general manager of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus; J. J. Williams Jr., City Attorney; Ralph Caplets, a railroad and advertising executive; George Thacker, President of the Chamber of Commerce; Frank Logan, a building contractor who was serving as a fiscal agent of the City in connection with bond refunding; and George D. Lindsay, founder, owner, and editor of the Sarasota Herald.

[3] The auditorium opened on February 24, 1938, hosting an annual Sara de Soto Celebration sponsored by the Sarasota Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).

[4] When the auditorium was constructed, the property had waterfront access to Sarasota Bay and boating was a significant activity from the recreation center.

During World War II, the auditorium served as the Army and Navy Club and was the preferred venue for hosted dances, graduations, and concerts.

The structure contains an amount of glass block in its eastern elevation that provides natural lighting for the interior of the large building.

The solid hardwood maple floor in the building contributes to the atmosphere, acoustics, and comfort for all attending events, dances, and concerts.

Due to the widening of the Tamiami Trail, the fountain was removed from its original location, stored for years, and then placed at the entrance to the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art during the late 1970s.

During the 1980s, a historic preservationist working for the city purchasing director Bob Gerkin, whose department oversaw the hall, pressed for the listing of the Municipal Auditorium on the national register.

Gerkin was initially hesitant but was eventually won over, and even encouraged an effort to fund the restoration of the building to its original state.

On September 13, 2016, the State of Florida granted $500,000 to the City of Sarasota for historic preservation to extend the usage of the auditorium to future generations.

The architect Jonathan Parks AIA was hired to update and rehabilitate the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium including the Bayfront Community Center.

Entrances throughout the facility were reimagined to be more universally accessible, adding ramps, stainless steel railings, and doorways with easier egress.