Severance Hall, Home of the Cleveland Orchestra

Photos from clevelandorch.com

Severance Hall, in the University Circle area, is the beautiful home of the world-renowned Cleveland Orchestra. The Cleveland Orchestra was formed in 1918, and it was decided in 1928 that a permanent home for them was in order. Severance Hall construction took place from December 1929 through early 1931. It was a gift from John L. Severance, in memory of his wife, Elizabeth DeWitt Severance. Her father had been treasurer of Rockefeller's Standard Oil and he was also the current president of the Orchestra's board of trustees

Severance Hall was designed by the firm Walker and Weeks , who also designed several other notable Cleveland structures such as the Public Auditorium, the Cleveland Public Library, and the original Cleveland Stadium.

The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History says that when first constructed, the hall

“contained a concert hall seating 1,844, a chamber-music hall on the ground floor seating 400, and a radio-broadcasting studio. On either side of the auditorium were triangular wings that contained circulation areas, a green room, a lounge, offices, and a library. Onstage were an elevator for the orchestra, a cyclorama, and a skydome for operatic productions, as well as a large E. M. Skinner pipe organ. The hall had a unique system of colored spotlights operated by a clavilux or "color organ" for constantly changing lighting effects. In 1958, the stage was completely rebuilt, with a new acoustical shell to improve the projection of the orchestra's sound.

The architecture of Severance Hall was transitional between the Georgian/Neo-Classical style represented by the Cleveland Museum of Art across the Wade Park Lagoon and the Art Deco or Art Moderne style that had developed in the late 1920s. The main entrance is a Renaissance portico. The interior, however, is an eclectic mix of styles. The elliptical 2-story grand foyer is transitional in function with a Neo-Egyptian design, while the auditorium is both modern and traditional in its stylized ornament and color, featuring classical and Art Deco touches. The Reinberger Chamber is 18th century in design. An unusual feature of the building was an internal automobile driveway, beneath the entrance, which was closed in 1970 and converted into a restaurant in 1971.


A major renovation project, designed by David M. Schwarz Architectural Services of Washington D.C, took place between 1998-2000 (reopening in January of 2000). It restored the hall to its original grandeur, upgraded its acoustics, and also expanded and improved on the services and amenities. The changes also included restoring and relocating the E.M. Skinner pipe organ. Overall, the renovation provided The Cleveland Orchestra with the best home possible, worthy of its global status.

A very detailed history of Severance Hall can be found on the web site for the Cleveland Orchestra (here), along with a fantastic group of photographs.



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Cleveland’s University Circle

A section of Uniiversity Circle, Aerial View

University Circle is more than just a university, and also more than a circuitous road where it’s easy for some to get lost. It’s a hub of education, medicine, museums, music, and just about any cultural thing you can imagine.

Located a few miles east of downtown Cleveland, it was originally known as Doan’s Corners, named after Nathanial Doan, a member of the Connecticut Land Company (as was Moses Cleaveland). The “University” in University Circle got it’s name when two Cleveland universities - Western Reserve University and Case Institute of Technology – relocated to Doan’s Corners. (These universities are now under one name: Case Western Reserve University.) The “Circle” part of the area’s name came from a trolley turn-around that connected the universities with downtown Cleveland in the late 1800s. The area now has, in place of trolleys, a circular, sometimes confusing, street intersection of Euclid Avenue (US Route 20) and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard.

Over time, the area evolved into a center of culture and the arts, and later, medicine. For example, both the Cleveland Clinic and Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, located in University Circle, are world renowned for their medical care.

Cleveland Museum of Art, Renovation Rendering

Here are some of the places to visit in the University Circle area:

Cleveland Botanical Garden
The Wade Oval
Cleveland Museum of Art (currently undergoing renovation)
The Western Reserve Historical Society
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Severance Hall, home of The Cleveland Orchestra
Case Western Reserve University (be sure to see the Peter B. Lewis Building, designed by Frank Gehry)
Cleveland Institute of Music
Cleveland Institute of Art
Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum
Children's Museum of Cleveland
Dittrick Museum of Medical History

Other place of interest:

The Cleveland Clinic
University Hospital of Cleveland
Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital
The Louis Stokes Veteran's Administration Medical Center

For out of town visitors, there are plenty of hotels in the immediate area. And don’t worry, there are also plenty of great places to eat.

One upcoming event taking place in University Circle at the Western Reserve Historical Society is “Vatican Splendors,” opening May 31st and running through September 7. It is one of the largest collections of art, documents and other historical items from the Vatican, and Cleveland is only one of three United States cities hosting this event touring North America. (The other US cities where this tour will be visiting are St. Paul, Minnesota, and St. Petersburg, Florida.) Many of the items in this event have never been on public view. The web site for the “Vatican Splendors” tour can be found here. If you’re looking for a good excuse to explore the University Circle area, what better excuse than this event?

For more information on what Cleveland’s University Circle has to offer, check out the University Circle web site, here. There is an interactive map and plenty of detailed information on what to see, where to stay, and where to eat. If you’d like to see the cultural side of Cleveland, this is the place to visit and explore.


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