.jpg/2000px-Cleveland_Public_Auditorium_(2018).jpg)
Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Public Auditorium
Public Auditorium is a multi-purpose performing arts, entertainment, sports, and exposition facility located in the civic center district of downtown Cleveland. The building features two large performance spaces: the 10,000-capacity Public Hall and the 2,800-seat Music Hall, which share a common stage. In addition, the facility also includes the 603-seat Little Theater along with several conference and meeting rooms. Since 2024, Public Hall serves as the home arena to the Cleveland Charge of the NBA G League. Although Public Auditorium was planned and funded prior to World War I, construction did not begin until 1920, and the building did not open until 1922. Designed by city architect J. Harold McDowell and Frank Walker of Walker and Weeks in a neoclassical style matching the other Group Plan buildings, it was the largest of its kind when opened, then seating 11,500.
The auditorium cornerstone was laid October 20, 1920, and the completed building was dedicated April 15, 1922. Smith & Oby was one local company involved in the project, at the time the largest convention hall in the United States. The main arena floor is 300 ft × 215 ft (91 m × 66 m) and 80 ft (24 m) high. No columns were used in its construction. With all its removable seats in place on the arena floor and in the balcony, the hall could seat 13,000. The main stage is 140 ft × 60 ft (43 m × 18 m) with a 72 ft × 42 ft (22 m × 13 m) proscenium arch. A key attraction was a spectacular pipe organ, Opus 328, the largest ever built at one time by E.M. Skinner with 10,010 pipes and 150 direct speaking stops. Below ground, a basement Exhibition Hall provided more than 28,500 sq ft (2,650 m2) of exhibition space. This space was reached by an elegant stone staircase with bronze lights which led down from Public Auditorium's lobby. But the exhibition space itself was uninviting. It had an asphalt floor, was undecorated, and was interrupted by more than 40 columns. Cleveland's Public Auditorium was considered so advanced architecturally that it became the model for similar public auditoriums in Atlantic City and Philadelphia.
The Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame displays duplicates of many of the plaques it has awarded in the lobby at the Lakeside Avenue entrance to the Cleveland Public Auditorium.
In 1928, the Music Hall and Little Theater were added at the south end of Public Auditorium, and a terrace added to the north end. The stage between the main hall and Music Hall was shared by both halls by employing a curtain system.
In 1936, two underground spaces were added to Public Auditorium. The ballroom was built beneath Mall B of the Cleveland Mall, while the Lakeside Exhibition Hall (also known as the North Exhibition Hall) was built below Mall C between the Cuyahoga County Courthouse and Cleveland City Hall.
The seating capacity of the main auditorium, including the main floor and the U-shaped balcony, was eventually reduced to about 10,000. Music Hall seats 3,000, and the Little Theater 600.
In 1964, the city constructed a new underground convention center. The ballroom/exhibition space below Mall B was demolished and a much larger "Great Hall" (the convention center) built in its place. A tunnel was constructed below Lakeside Avenue to connect the new "Great Hall" to the Lakeside Exhibition Hall. On the west side of Public Auditorium, a four-story (one source says three-and-a-half story) modern glass and metal entrance pavilion added new lobby space for both buildings.
From 1983 to 1987, the convention center and Public Auditorium were both extensively renovated. The Exhibition Hall below Public Auditorium was radically changed, with a lobby/ballroom created out of former service space at the north end of the hall. A stone staircase was built in this area to connect the space to the hall above. This area could accommodate up to 2,000 people. The rest of the old Exhibition Hall was turned into 15 meeting rooms (ranging in size from 10 to 700 seats), office space, a cocktail lounge, and a piano bar arranged around a central block. A corridor hugged the exterior wall of the old hall, providing access to the meeting rooms. This corridor had decorative stone panels on one side and painted wood on the other, and was lined with sturdy chair upholstered in luggage fabric. The old asphalt floor was covered with concrete, and then tiled and carpeted. Cove lighting lit the corridor and meeting rooms. The Lakeside Exhibition Hall was converted into a ballroom with kitchen, and the north wall of the hall removed and replaced with a glass curtain wall that had views of Lake Erie.
Hub AI
Public Auditorium AI simulator
(@Public Auditorium_simulator)
Public Auditorium
Public Auditorium is a multi-purpose performing arts, entertainment, sports, and exposition facility located in the civic center district of downtown Cleveland. The building features two large performance spaces: the 10,000-capacity Public Hall and the 2,800-seat Music Hall, which share a common stage. In addition, the facility also includes the 603-seat Little Theater along with several conference and meeting rooms. Since 2024, Public Hall serves as the home arena to the Cleveland Charge of the NBA G League. Although Public Auditorium was planned and funded prior to World War I, construction did not begin until 1920, and the building did not open until 1922. Designed by city architect J. Harold McDowell and Frank Walker of Walker and Weeks in a neoclassical style matching the other Group Plan buildings, it was the largest of its kind when opened, then seating 11,500.
The auditorium cornerstone was laid October 20, 1920, and the completed building was dedicated April 15, 1922. Smith & Oby was one local company involved in the project, at the time the largest convention hall in the United States. The main arena floor is 300 ft × 215 ft (91 m × 66 m) and 80 ft (24 m) high. No columns were used in its construction. With all its removable seats in place on the arena floor and in the balcony, the hall could seat 13,000. The main stage is 140 ft × 60 ft (43 m × 18 m) with a 72 ft × 42 ft (22 m × 13 m) proscenium arch. A key attraction was a spectacular pipe organ, Opus 328, the largest ever built at one time by E.M. Skinner with 10,010 pipes and 150 direct speaking stops. Below ground, a basement Exhibition Hall provided more than 28,500 sq ft (2,650 m2) of exhibition space. This space was reached by an elegant stone staircase with bronze lights which led down from Public Auditorium's lobby. But the exhibition space itself was uninviting. It had an asphalt floor, was undecorated, and was interrupted by more than 40 columns. Cleveland's Public Auditorium was considered so advanced architecturally that it became the model for similar public auditoriums in Atlantic City and Philadelphia.
The Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame displays duplicates of many of the plaques it has awarded in the lobby at the Lakeside Avenue entrance to the Cleveland Public Auditorium.
In 1928, the Music Hall and Little Theater were added at the south end of Public Auditorium, and a terrace added to the north end. The stage between the main hall and Music Hall was shared by both halls by employing a curtain system.
In 1936, two underground spaces were added to Public Auditorium. The ballroom was built beneath Mall B of the Cleveland Mall, while the Lakeside Exhibition Hall (also known as the North Exhibition Hall) was built below Mall C between the Cuyahoga County Courthouse and Cleveland City Hall.
The seating capacity of the main auditorium, including the main floor and the U-shaped balcony, was eventually reduced to about 10,000. Music Hall seats 3,000, and the Little Theater 600.
In 1964, the city constructed a new underground convention center. The ballroom/exhibition space below Mall B was demolished and a much larger "Great Hall" (the convention center) built in its place. A tunnel was constructed below Lakeside Avenue to connect the new "Great Hall" to the Lakeside Exhibition Hall. On the west side of Public Auditorium, a four-story (one source says three-and-a-half story) modern glass and metal entrance pavilion added new lobby space for both buildings.
From 1983 to 1987, the convention center and Public Auditorium were both extensively renovated. The Exhibition Hall below Public Auditorium was radically changed, with a lobby/ballroom created out of former service space at the north end of the hall. A stone staircase was built in this area to connect the space to the hall above. This area could accommodate up to 2,000 people. The rest of the old Exhibition Hall was turned into 15 meeting rooms (ranging in size from 10 to 700 seats), office space, a cocktail lounge, and a piano bar arranged around a central block. A corridor hugged the exterior wall of the old hall, providing access to the meeting rooms. This corridor had decorative stone panels on one side and painted wood on the other, and was lined with sturdy chair upholstered in luggage fabric. The old asphalt floor was covered with concrete, and then tiled and carpeted. Cove lighting lit the corridor and meeting rooms. The Lakeside Exhibition Hall was converted into a ballroom with kitchen, and the north wall of the hall removed and replaced with a glass curtain wall that had views of Lake Erie.