Agora Theatre and Ballroom

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Agora Theatre and Ballroom is a concert club located in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Agora first opened in February 1966 in Cleveland near the campus of Case Western Reserve University. However, the Agora soon outgrew its original venue as its owner, Henry LoConti Sr., was a pioneer in promoting entertainment for young adults and college-aged students.

In 1967, the Agora moved to a new building near the campus of Cleveland State University. Once settled in their new location, the Agora played a role in giving exposure to many bands, both from the Cleveland area and abroad. Many bands such as Grand Funk Railroad, ZZ Top, Glass Harp, and The Raspberries achieved much exposure after playing the Agora. The Agora was also the setting of the concert by Paul Simon's character in the opening minutes of the 1980 movie One Trick Pony. The Agora was the site of a live recording on the 1996 reissue of Patti Smith's Horses album.

The popularity of the club led the Agora to expand during the 1970s, opening as many as thirteen clubs, in cities including Columbus, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Tampa, Miami, Hartford, Akron, Toledo, New Haven, Painesville and Youngstown. However, the Cleveland location is the only one still in existence today.

In 1984, the Agora was destroyed by a fire. A little over a year later, they reopened in a new building on Euclid Avenue, east of Downtown Cleveland. They have remained there since then, and today is still a popular concert club, with many national acts playing there when they stop in Cleveland.

The present-day Agora has two rooms: a standing room-only ballroom, which has a capacity of 700, and a theater, which seats 2000. There is also a bar, and have recently opened a Backstage Cafe. It is available for rentals, and is still playing host to nationally touring acts.

The Agora is the host of Cleveland based band Mushroomhead's annual Halloween show.

[edit] References

This article does not cite any references or sources. (July 2007)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.