Mac Rating: 5.00 | Votes: 1 | Date: 10/07/2026 04:21:00

Widely regarded as one of the finest concert halls in the world, Severance Music Center at 11001 Euclid Avenue in Cleveland's University Circle has been the home of the Cleveland Orchestra since opening on February 5, 1931. Designed by the Cleveland firm Walker and Weeks in the Art Deco style, the building was funded largely through a gift from philanthropist John L. Severance as a memorial to his late wife, Elisabeth, with additional support from Dudley Blossom. Construction costs reached approximately 2.6 million dollars as part of a total 7-million-dollar project. The main performance space, renamed the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Concert Hall in September 2021 following a 50-million-dollar grant from the Mandel Foundation, seats 2,000 in an auditorium praised for transparency and clarity of sound. The intimate 402-seat Reinberger Chamber Hall on the lower level provides a setting for recitals, small ensembles, and lectures. The gilded Bogomolny-Kozerefski Grand Foyer, with marble imported from Italy, is a centrepiece of the building's public spaces. A 36-million-dollar restoration completed in 2000 restored original Art Deco detailing, improved patron amenities, modernised backstage areas, and enhanced the hall's legendary acoustics without sacrificing the Cleveland Orchestra's signature clarity. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Wade Park District. The building's original features included a cyclorama backdrop, a skydome for operatic productions, a large E.M. Skinner pipe organ, and a system of coloured spotlights operated by a clavilux for lighting effects. An underground motor-car portecochere allowed elite guests to be dropped off, with attendants available to park and retrieve cars. Severance Music Center is used year-round for concerts, rehearsals, education programmes, and community events, and its public and private event spaces are available for venue rentals.