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Orchestra Hall, in Detroit, Michigan, is a major music hall, as well as the home of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO). It is located on Woodward Avenue, across from the Detroit Medical Center. With the creation of an adjoining auditorium for jazz and chamber music in 2003, Orchestra Hall became part of the Max M. Fisher Music Center. The hall is renowned for its marvellous acoustic properties.
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra had previously played at the old Detroit Opera House. However, Ossip Gabrilowitsch demanded that the DSO build a suitable auditorium before he assumed his position as music director. Construction on Orchestra Hall began on June 6, 1919, and ended in barely five months on the night of October 23, 1919.
The 2014-seat hall was designed by architect C. Howard Crane. The first concert took place on October 23, 1919. It was home to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra until 1939, when due to the financial difficulties of the Great Depression, they were forced to enter a more economical arrangement at the Masonic Temple Theatre. The building sat vacant until it was purchased by new owners. Orchestra Hall was renamed and reopened as Paradise Theater on Christmas Eve of 1941, and became a major jazz venue, hosting renowned jazz musicians such as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Count Basie, and Duke Ellington.
The Paradise closed in 1951. The building was abandoned for several years and was even scheduled for demolition. Assistant Principal DSO bassoonist Paul Ganson spearheaded a fundraiser movement to restore Orchestra Hall. This goal was attained in 1971, when it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Renovation work started in 1970 and went on for about two decades, costing roughly $6.8 million USD. Many things had to be worked on, such as the box seats, a new stage, aisle lighting, restoration of historical decorations, all the while trying to maintain the acoustic properties the hall was historically known for. The DSO moved back into Orchestra Hall in 1989. Additional work on the hall was done in the summer months of 2002 and 2003 as part of the creation of the "MAX", as it is known.
The mayor of Detroit delivers the annual State of the City address at Orchestra Hall.
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[edit] References
- Hauser, Michael and Marianne Weldon (2006). Downtown Detroit's Movie Palaces (Images of America). Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-4102-8.
- Hill, Eric J. and John Gallagher (2002). AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-3120-3.
- Meyer, Katherine Mattingly and Martin C.P. McElroy with Introduction by W. Hawkins Ferry, Hon A.I.A. (1980). Detroit Architecture A.I.A. Guide Revised Edition. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-1651-4.
- Sharoff, Robert (2005). American City: Detroit Architecture. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-3270-6.
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