Tucked into Getzendaner Memorial Park on the west side of town, the Chautauqua Auditorium is one of the few surviving open-air pavilions from the Chautauqua movement, the late-Victorian craze for travelling lecture circuits that brought speakers, musicians, and preachers to small American towns. Built in 1902, it is an octagonal wooden building with a steeply pitched roof, designed to seat about 2,500 people on simple benches.
After decades of disuse it was restored and is once again the venue for an annual Chautauqua Assembly in late September, plus occasional concerts and community events. Outside event days the building is usually open during park hours for a look inside. The park itself, with its old trees and rambling paths, is a pleasant place for a short break from the courthouse square.