10475 Little Patuxent Pkwy
Columbia, MD 21044-3503
567-5869-49543
Merriweather Post Pavilion is an outdoor concert venue located within Symphony Woods, a 40-acre lot of preserved land in the heart of the planned community of Columbia, Maryland. In 2010, Merriweather was named the second best amphitheater in the United States by Billboard magazine. The venue was also ranked as the fourth best amphitheater in the United States by Rolling Stone in 2013.It was again ranked by Consequence of Sound at number 29 of all music venues in the nation out of 100 in 2016.HistoryMerriweather Post Pavilion was commissioned by the Rouse Company for its Howard County development project Columbia. The first design was rejected and the theatre was redesigned by award-winning architect Frank Gehry and N. David O'Malley with the firm of Gehry, Walsh and O'Malley. It opened in 1967 on the former grounds of the Oakland Manor slave plantation. It is named for the American Post Foods heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post who promised and withdrew donations to Rouse for the facility. The theatre was originally intended to be a summer home for the National Symphony Orchestra. It later became a venue for popular music concerts, including performances by Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, The Grateful Dead, and The Who.