Symphony Center

Symphony Center is a music and performance complex at 220 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago’s Loop, adjoining the city’s cultural institutions along Michigan Avenue. Its principal venue is Orchestra Hall, a concert hall designed by architect Daniel Burnham and completed in 1904 as a purpose-built home for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The hall is inscribed “Theodore Thomas Orchestra Hall” in recognition of the orchestra’s founding music director, who died shortly after making his conducting debut there. The modern Symphony Center campus was created through a major renovation and expansion project approved in 1993 and completed in 1997. The approximately $110 million transformation preserved and incorporated the historic Orchestra Hall while adding and reorganizing facilities for performances, rehearsals, education, administration, events, and hospitality. The complex includes the 2,522-seat Orchestra Hall, Buntrock Hall, Grainger Ballroom, a public multistory rotunda, Forte restaurant and café, administrative offices, and space connected with the historic Chapin and Gore Building. Symphony Center serves as the principal home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Chorus, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and the Institute for Learning, Access, and Training. Its activities extend beyond conventional orchestral concerts to include recitals, chamber performances, educational programs, public lectures, civic gatherings, private events, and other cultural uses. The venue has also hosted large public and political events, including the 2008 Green National Convention and events associated with the 2012 World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates. Orchestra Hall has a substantial architectural and cultural heritage. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1994. During the 1910s, it was also used as a movie theater during the summer period when the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performed at the Ravinia Festival. The building hosted lectures and appearances by figures including Harry Houdini, Richard E. Byrd, Amelia Earhart, Bertrand Russell, and Orson Welles. Acoustics have been a recurring issue in the hall’s history. Major changes were made in the late 1960s and again during the 1995–1997 Symphony Center project. The later work, supervised in part by acoustician R. Lawrence Kirkegaard, substantially improved warmth, bass resonance, projection, and reverberation according to contemporary critical assessments, although reviewers continued to identify limitations in the upper registers and noted that performers and engineers needed time to adapt. Symphony Center therefore represents both a historic concert venue and an operating cultural institution whose identity depends on the continuing relationship between preservation, musical performance, public programming, and architectural adaptation.

Symphony Center’s principal building began as Orchestra Hall, a concert venue commissioned for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and designed by Daniel Burnham. Construction began on May 1, 1904, and the first concert took place on December 14 of that year. The hall was conceived as a dedicated home for the orchestra, which had previously performed at the Auditorium Theatre. Its façade bears the name Theodore Thomas Orchestra Hall, honoring the orchestra’s first music director. Thomas died less than a month after his conducting debut at the new hall. The building formed part of Chicago’s expanding cultural and architectural district along Michigan Avenue. Names associated with major composers, including Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and Wagner, appear above the ballroom windows. Orchestra Hall was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and received National Historic Landmark status in 1994. The ninth-floor penthouse housed the Cliff Dwellers Club from 1907 through 1996. Its interiors were designed by Howard Van Doren Shaw and included an early significant mural by John Warner Norton. Orchestra Hall’s uses were not limited to regular symphonic concerts. During the 1910s, it operated as a movie theater during summer months, when the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was performing at the Ravinia Festival. The hall also presented lectures and public programs featuring speakers such as Harry Houdini, Richard E. Byrd, Amelia Earhart, Bertrand Russell, and Orson Welles. The adjacent Chapin and Gore Building, also constructed in 1904, was designed by Richard E. Schmidt and Hugh M. G. Garden and was incorporated into the Symphony Center campus during the later redevelopment. The hall’s acoustics generated debate for much of its existence. A substantial overhaul in the late 1960s attempted to address sound deficiencies, and recording organizations sometimes preferred other Chicago venues. The most extensive modern intervention occurred as part of the Symphony Center project. Plans for a major renovation and expansion were approved in June 1993, and the resulting approximately $110 million project was completed in 1997. It preserved the historic hall while adding Buntrock Hall, event and public spaces, administrative facilities, and other support functions. The 1995–1997 acoustical work produced significant improvements in reverberation, bass support, warmth, and instrumental clarity according to contemporary reviews. Critics nevertheless continued to note unevenness in the upper frequencies and described the hall as requiring ongoing adjustment by acousticians, musicians, and audiences. The completed complex brought together the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Chorus, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and Institute for Learning, Access, and Training under a shared physical and institutional setting. In the twenty-first century, Symphony Center has continued to function as a concert venue, educational institution, civic gathering place, and event facility. Its public role has included hosting the 2008 Green National Convention and events related to the 2012 World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates. The complex’s identity rests on the combination of a protected early twentieth-century concert hall and a modern operating campus designed to support performance, learning, rehearsal, hospitality, and public engagement.

• 2012

  World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates events

  [1]Symphony Centeren.wikipedia.org

  The complex hosts events associated with the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates during the 2012 Chicago Summit.

• 2008

  Green National Convention venue

  [1]Symphony Centeren.wikipedia.org

  Symphony Center hosts the 2008 Green National Convention alongside the Palmer House Hilton.

• 1997

  Symphony Center opens after redevelopment

  [1]Symphony Centeren.wikipedia.org

  The approximately $110 million transformation is completed, expanding the historic venue into a larger music and events complex.

• 1994

  Orchestra Hall becomes a National Historic Landmark

  [1]Symphony Centeren.wikipedia.org

  The hall is designated a National Historic Landmark on April 19.

• 1993

  Symphony Center redevelopment plans are approved

  [1]Symphony Centeren.wikipedia.org

  Plans for a major renovation and expansion of Orchestra Hall are approved, initiating the project that would create the modern Symphony Center campus.

• 1978

  Orchestra Hall is added to the National Register of Historic Places

  [1]Symphony Centeren.wikipedia.org

  The historic concert hall receives formal recognition for its architectural and cultural significance.

• 1904

  Orchestra Hall opens

  [1]Symphony Centeren.wikipedia.org

  Construction began on May 1, and the first concert was presented on December 14 in Daniel Burnham’s new hall built for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

A historic Chicago concert destination and multidisciplinary music complex combining a landmark orchestral venue with education, rehearsal, civic-event, hospitality, and community-programming functions.

• Concert hall · 1904

  Orchestra Hall

  The 2,522-seat principal performance venue of Symphony Center. Designed by Daniel Burnham and opened in 1904, it remains the principal home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and is recognized as both a National Register property and a National Historic Landmark. Its acoustics have been modified several times, most substantially during the 1995–1997 redevelopment.

• Rehearsal and performance space · 1997

  Buntrock Hall

  A rehearsal and performance space within the modern Symphony Center complex. It is named for CSO trustee and benefactor Dean L. Buntrock and supports programming and operational activities beyond the main auditorium.

• Event space · 1997

  Grainger Ballroom

  An event and reception space overlooking Michigan Avenue and the Art Institute of Chicago. It extends Symphony Center’s use beyond musical performance into civic, social, and private events.

• Restaurant and café · 1997

  Forte

  The restaurant and café component of Symphony Center, providing hospitality services for audiences, visitors, and event guests within the complex.

• 1995

  Undertake a major acoustical overhaulOther

  Background

  Orchestra Hall had a long history of criticism concerning limited reverberation and uneven sound, following earlier acoustical work in the late 1960s.

  Action taken

  Acoustical improvements were incorporated into the Symphony Center transformation, with R. Lawrence Kirkegaard involved in supervising the work.

  Aftermath

  Contemporary reviews generally reported stronger bass resonance, greater warmth, and improved reverberation, while continuing to identify some high-frequency limitations and the need for subsequent fine-tuning.

  Source

• 1993

  Approve the Symphony Center redevelopmentStrategy

  Background

  The historic Orchestra Hall required modernization and additional facilities while retaining its architectural identity and role as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s home.

  Action taken

  Plans were approved for a major renovation and expansion that would integrate Orchestra Hall with adjacent buildings and create a broader campus for performance, education, administration, events, and hospitality.

  Aftermath

  The project was completed in 1997 and established the modern Symphony Center complex.

  Project cost. $110 million (Project completed in 1997)

  Source

1. 1Symphony Centeren.wikipedia.org