Greg Trimble

The Segerstrom Center for the Arts is an important cultural fixture in south California. The large campus is home to a number of different performance and event spaces and the non-profit organization runs a variety of different community and educational programs to serve the wider community. Although famous for its concerts and other artistic events, the center is also a popular space for business events, seminars and conferences. 

The mission of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts extends far beyond simply hosting artistic events. It is all about using the power of performing arts to reach out to the wider community and create shared experiences that bring people together. Through meaningful collaborations with diverse communities, the future of Orange County can be changed for the better. 

This Segerstrom Center for the Arts has a rich history and lots of different spaces for the public to explore. Read on to learn more about the history of the center and the different spaces available for arts or business events. 

History 

The initial idea for the Segerstrom Center for the Arts came about in the 1960s when a group of community leaders saw a need for a space where performing arts companies from around the world could gather. Southern California was already an incredibly diverse place with a rich cultural arts scene, but there was no central hub with concert halls where groups like the Pacific Symphony, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, and the Pacific Chorale could play. 

Change was happening throughout the region with more big businesses moving to the area and new educational institutions being established and community leaders felt that the arts were failing to keep up with these changes, so the idea for a Center for the Arts was born. 

Things started really moving in the 1970s when the local Segerstrom family supplied five acres of land and some monetary donations to be used for the new art center, but it wasn’t until 1983 that construction began. 

On September 29th, 1986, the Orange County Performing Arts Center, as it was then known, finally opened. The opening was celebrated with a concert in the Segerstrom Concert Hall, designed by architect Charles Lawrence. The Judy Morr Theatre, also designed by Charles Lawrence, was opened on the same day. The center initially hosted performances from the Pacific Symphony, the Philharmonic Society, and the Pacific Chorale, but it soon exploded and more events were added soon after. It wasn’t long before people were flocking to the center to see tours of Broadway musicals, chamber ensembles, jazz legends, children’s performances, cabaret artists and much, much more. Around the same time, an educational center was also opened in order to encourage more young people to get into the arts and create a long lasting legacy. 

Over the years, expansions have been made to the center, adding more facilities and increasing the size of the site. The Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, named after the founding chairman and his late wife, was opened on September 15, 2006. The Henry Samueli Family Foundation, another generous patron of the center, was also honored with the construction of the Samueli Theatre around the same time. The final addition in this round of expansion, Leatherby’s Cafe Rouge, was built to incorporate the culinary arts and expand the scope of the center and was named after local philanthropist George Leatherby. 

In total, these expansions cost over $200 million to complete, and the outdoor plaza area that connected the new buildings with the original center cost $10 million. $2.5 million was invested in the impressive pipe organ that was installed in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, the cost of which was covered by art philanthropist William J. Gillespie. A large percentage of the remaining costs were also covered by charitable donations. Mr. and Mrs. Henry Sergerstrom, for example, donated $10 million. 

It wasn’t until January 12th, 2011, that the name was changed to the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in honor of the family that first made it possible and supported it throughout the years. It was their financial contributions and fierce support that helped realize the vision in the first place and made it a success for all these years. 

In 2015 the next act was announced and outlined plans for further expansion of the center. These bold initiatives aimed to cement and expand the center’s place in the wider community. The Centre for Dance and Innovation was at the heart of this new expansion program and in the fall of 2015, the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School at Segerstrom Center for the Arts was established. This incredible educational facility teaches a range of dancing styles and aims to contribute to the continuing evolution of the medium. Through a large program of events, both on and off campus, the school helps to bring the performing arts to a wider audience and change people’s perception of what dance can be. 

Studio D: Arts School for All Abilities was also opened in the same year to make dance lessons more accessible to those with disabilities. These classes are so valuable to all participants and help them learn to express themselves through dance. This vital outreach and inclusivity work was furthered by the Center Without Boundaries program. Through this program, the center partnered with a number of organizations, including Alzheimer’s Orange County, CHOC Children’s Hospital, El Central Cultural de México, and many more.

In 2017 construction was finished on the Julianne and George Argyros Plaza, designed by the world-renowned Michael Maltzan Architecture firm. This is a community-dedicated space that offers year-round, free performances. The existing plaza space was repurposed into a public meeting space to further serve the community. Around $15 million was invested in this addition, in the hope that more people from the surrounding area would be encouraged to visit the center, regardless of financial or cultural background. 

Even though it already has a rich history, the center continues to grow and expand. In 2019, for example, construction began on a new site for the Orange County Museum of Art, at a cost of $73 million. 

The Segerstrom Center for the Arts is a vital institution in Orange County and in the country as a whole. It brings a range of different artistic performances to the public and plays host to some incredible sculptures, many of them donated by the Segerstrom family themselves. But hosting arts is only part of what makes the center so vital. Through outreach and inclusivity programs, it helps to further the arts and make them accessible to the wider community, so everybody can benefit from creative expression. 

Facilities 

The Segerstrom Center for the Arts has a range of different facilities for hosting artistic events but also for other uses, like conferences or meetings, for example. 

Segerstrom Hall 

Segerstrom Hall was the first venue opened at the center but it still remains one of the most impressive. This incredible opera-house-style has a capacity of 2,994. The red glass and granite exterior is beautifully accented by the Grand Portal Arch and Firebird sculpture by Richard Lippold, making Segerstrom Hall an iconic landmark. 

Inside you will find a large stage performance space measuring up to 8,075 square feet and an orchestra pit that can comfortably accommodate up to 90 musicians. The hall is used for performances by the resident orchestras, as well as Broadway shows and any other special events that the center is hosting. 

The hall is also available for rent, so if you are hosting a concert or large business event and need a space that can accommodate your audience and provide ample stage space and great acoustics, it’s ideal. 

Samueli Theatre

The Samueli Theatre is a far more intimate, versatile space housed in the same building as the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall but with its own entrance and lobby area. This beautiful limestone and glass structure seats 300 people in stadium-style seating or 320 in cabaret style seating with tables. It can also accommodate 600 for general admission. 

This space is more suited to casual events and it’s where you will find jazz performances, cabaret series, and many of the family events hosted at the center. However, it is also a very popular space for seminars and business receptions and is available for rent. Anybody looking to host a professional business event in a unique venue will surely be thrilled with the Samueli Theatre. 

Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall

The Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall is an incredibly artistic, sculptural building that houses some incredible design feats. The 1,704 seats are carefully arranged around the central performance platform, with an extra 250 places in the choral seating area behind the platform available when not needed by performers. The silver-leafed canopy curves with the balconies, creating an elegant but incredibly interesting space. 

The concert hall was, in part, designed by Russel Johnson, a pioneer in theatre and acoustics design. Through studying many historical performance spaces, he developed innovative and sometimes controversial methods for creating the perfect acoustics. He is best known for his work with adjustable acoustics and the Segerstrom concert hall is a prime example of this. There is a huge acoustical ceiling, which can be raised and lowered to suit the needs of the performance. Sound curtains around the auditorium can be used to soak up sound and there is a series of impressively designed reverberation chambers around the side and stage walls. These can be opened and carefully adjusted as needed to carefully control the amount of sound that enters the chambers, allowing for total control over the acoustics in the hall. It is this innovative design that creates the incredible performance experiences that you find at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. 

The Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall is also home to the amazing William J. Gillespie Concert Organ. This impressive organ, gifted by William J. Gillespie, stands behind the performance area, creating a focal point for the space. It has 4 manual keyboards (61 notes), one pedalboard (32 notes), 4,322 pipes, 57 voices, and 75 ranks. A Kowalyshyn Servo Pneumatic Lever allows for increased control, even when the player is playing multiple divisions of the organ simultaneously. This beautiful instrument brings a new level to performances in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall and makes for an interesting attraction to any and all that visit the space. 

Judy Morr Theatre 

The Judy Morr Theatre, named after the executive vice president of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, is another intimate, multi-functional space that is used for a range of art and business events. It can seat 234 people club-style or 269 people with risers on in concert-style. It’s a simple black-box space with multiple seating and staging configurations available, including a raised stage, if necessary. It also comes complete with a lighting and sound system, so it’s ready to go for any event. 

This space is popular for arts events but it’s also available for rent if you are hosting business events, cocktail receptions or seminars etc. It’s very versatile, so it can meet the needs of most businesses that hope to host events there, and there is catering available for longer events too. 

Education Center and Meeting Spaces 

Before 2007 there was no central hub or dedicated team to manage all of the center’s community outreach and educational programs. But that all changed when the education center was opened and it is now home to a variety of different outreach programs, offices for a team of staff that manage and run those programs, and a number of different performance and meeting spaces. 

Inside, you will find the studio performance space and the Boeing education lab that are used throughout the year for educational programs. The studio performance space can seat 200 for performances or 180 for a seated banquet. However, many of the spaces in the education center are available for rent and are used for many different events, including corporate events, receptions, meetings, and conferences. 

Julianne and George Argyros Plaza

One of the main goals of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts is to bring artistic performance and expression to the wider community and break down barriers to entry. The Juliane and George Argyros Plaza is the perfect example of this commitment. 

This beautiful outdoor space has a capacity of 2000 and hosts free events throughout the year. These range from festivals and concerts to local community events celebrating the diversity of Southern California. There are two permanent stages with some trees for shade in the summer and a full-service cafe close by. 

Leatherby’s Cafe Rouge 

Leatherby’s Cafe Rouge, found in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, is often considered the culinary center of Orange County. This beautifully designed and decorated steakhouse serves classic dishes with a modern twist, made from locally sourced ingredients. All of the food is of the highest quality, with a focus on sustainability. 

The restaurant is open on performance nights and stays open half an hour after the beginning of the last performance. It is, however, closed on days when there are no performances in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. 

All of these facilities are available to the public and many of them can be hired for your own events. So, if you are planning a business event, the Segerstrom Center for the Arts is perfect. 

Online Learning 

The Segerstrom Center for the Arts is dedicated to creating learning opportunities for as many people as possible, regardless of their background. This is extended to people that live outside Southern California and do not have easy access to the center through the online learning portal. There are a number of video classes available online, covering a wide range of artistic disciplines. This content is updated regularly and is always available for free to everybody.

Events 

The Segerstrom Center for the Arts hosts a wide range of events throughout the year. The Pacific Symphony, the Philharmonic Society, and the Pacific Chorale are all residents at the center and give regular performances, but there are also many other regular events to cater to a range of tastes. 

You can expect to find international ballet performances, as well as new shows developed by the ballet school at the center. Many world-class musicals and Broadway shows also tour at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. 

The smaller performance spaces host regular jazz and cabaret performances, but they are very versatile and can be used for other purposes. These are available to rent and are very popular for events like business conferences, seminars, and networking events. Some event spaces are also available for weddings. 

Currently, shows such as “Mean Girls,” “My Fair Lady,” and “Wicked” are all taking bookings. There are also Dance Fitness classes running.

How to Find Us 

The Segerstrom Center for the Arts is well-located in the heart of the theatre district in Orange County. It is easily reachable by car on either the 405 and 55 freeways, where you will see plenty of signs to direct you. There are also some great Metrolink and bus services available for those without access to a car. 

If you are traveling from Los Angeles, there are a number of great options to choose from. By car it will take around 40 minutes to drive from LA. The Pacific Surfliner train will also take you close to the center in around 55 minutes, then you can walk. Alternatively, you can get the train the majority of the way and then get on the 53 bus for the rest of the journey. The 55 bus does go straight there from Los Angeles, but it will take you around 2 and a half hours to do the full journey. 

The center is also perfectly situated right by John Wayne airport for easy access for any visitors from out of state. It is only a short drive (around 8 minutes) from the airport to the campus. 

There are a number of great accommodation options within two miles of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, so if you are visiting for a business event or a performance, you will easily find somewhere to stay. The Courtyard Santa Ana is only one mile from the center and offers very reasonable room rates There is also a Doubletree by Hilton hotel just 1.1 miles away. 

When attending an event at any of the spaces at the center, you will have access to a parking structure. All tickets will be validated for 30 minutes of free parking and there is also limited parking in the circular drive, but this area is mainly for drop-offs. If you get a taxi to an event, this is most likely where they will drop you. 

Venue Hire

The majority of the venues are available for hire to businesses or arts companies hoping to put events on. If you are interested in hiring Segerstrom Hall, the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall or the Samueli Theater, you can make an inquiry through the website. There are also a number of rehearsal rooms, public plazas and education rooms that can be hired for your event needs. 

The Segerstrom Center for the Arts was initially conceived of as an event space where the diverse cultural heavyweights in Southern California and beyond could perform. But since it was first built, it has become so much more than that. 

Over the years, generous supporters and donors, like the Segerstrom family and William J. Gillespie, have helped the center grow into an institution that is central to the local community. There are many educational and outreach programs designed to connect with the local community and contribute to the future development of the arts. 

The center now hosts a range of amazing artistic performances and is often rented for weddings, business events, cocktail receptions and many other events. 

If you are interested in using any of the available spaces for your own events, get in touch to make an inquiry.

You may have heard the name before but might not know much about the building itself, the history of it, and why it’s so famous. The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center is a cultural venue in the heart of Dallas, Texas, that’s worth learning more about. It has a lot of rich history and continues to play a role in the arts and community today. It’s a space dedicated to hosting wonderful concerts with Dallas’s finest performing arts groups.

You may want to consider making a stop here on your next trip to Dallas. It’s a truly unique experience and a concert hall like you’ve never seen or heard before. Continue reading to understand more about the history of the Center and what it has to offer.

History of the Center

The Symphony Hall was the second major building to be designed in the Dallas Arts District after the Art Museum. The 2000-plus-seat concert hall could be acoustically tuned to accommodate a wide variety of performances ranging from solo recitals to full orchestra. Acoustical treatments include a 7.5-ton canopy overhead which can be adjusted, a reverberation chamber, two layers of acoustical curtains that wrap the space, and sound and light locks.

Before the center’s official opening, Dallas’s other venue, located near downtown, was the Fair Park Music Center which had faulty acoustics. The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center was created as a response to the citizens of Dallas desiring a prominent facility for cultural activities and gatherings and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s need for a new home. The mission of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra is and always has been to entertain, inspire and change lives through musical excellence. The goal in Dallas was to create a concert venue as great as Carnegie Hall, as great as the best halls in Europe (and, along the way, save the Dallas Symphony from near-bankruptcy). A public/private partnership ensued between the City of Dallas and the Dallas Symphony Association, which led to efforts to raise a major portion of the needed funds. In September 1989 a new era in the cultural life of Dallas began with the opening of the Meyerson Symphony Center.

The Center is owned by the City of Dallas and operated by the Dallas Symphony Association.  The Symphony Center is named for Morton H. Meyerson, the former president of Electronic Data Systems (EDS). EDS founder Ross Perot offered a major gift to ensure the building met the high standards set by its internationally renowned design team: architect I. M. Pei and acoustician Russell Johnson of Artec Consultants. Pei, who as a schoolboy in Shanghai was inspired by its building boom in the 1930s, immigrated to the United States and studied architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. He advanced from his early work of designing office buildings, low-income housing, and mixed-used complexes to a worldwide collection of museums, municipal buildings, and hotels. 

Perot chose to honor his friend and colleague by naming the building for Meyerson, who chaired the original building committee and was instrumental in making the Center a reality. The concert hall is named for Eugene McDermott, co-founder of Texas Instruments. The designation was given in response to a significant gift from the Eugene McDermott Foundation in honor of his memory. The hall has accumulated a long list of awards over the years.

Unique Aspects

Opened in 1989, this pioneer of the Dallas Arts District was envisioned by renowned architect I.M. Pei to be a temple to both design and sound. A striking exterior of overlapping geometric forms leads to interiors that play upon the changing perspectives of light and movement. In the concert hall are more geometric shapes and forms, but these were meticulously placed with acoustics and unobstructed sightlines in mind; the result is what has been called one of the top performance spaces in the world, seating 2,062 concertgoers over four floors.

There are a few additional unique and fun facts you should know about the Meyerson Symphony Center. For instance:

• The Meyerson is the only concert hall world-renowned architect I.M. Pei ever designed. He designed dozens of structures during his 60-year career, including the Louvre’s pyramid, Dallas City Hall, and the Kennedy Presidential Library, but the Meyerson is the only concert hall among them.
• The lobby is dressed in marble elegance. American Airlines CEO, Robert Crandall, packed slabs of marble on flights from Italy to Dallas to make it happen.
• There is a curved glass curtain wall which gives the building its character.
• The Meyerson Symphony Center also is home to the 4,535 pipe C.B. Fisk Opus 100 organ, known as the Lay Family Concert Organ.
• The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center covers 485,000 square feet in space.
• It has 50 restrooms, 56 acoustical curtains, seats 2,062, and has 4 private suites for meetings, banquets, and recitals
• The warm interior of wood and onyx is contrasted with the walls-and-boxes design of the building’s glass and limestone exterior, making the center a striking landmark in the sixty-acre Dallas Arts District.
• The wood inside the hall was hand-picked by I.M. Pei. Pei flew to Africa, saw two Makore trees, said “those look nice” and had them brought to Dallas.

In addition to these unique aspects, the centerpiece of the MSC is the Eugene McDermott Concert Hall, an intimate, acoustically superior, performance space with plenty of seating. Every detail of the concert hall was designed to achieve the highest acoustical quality, with special elements of the design providing the capability of tailoring the acoustical environment to the performance.

Historical Significance

The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center is an icon of artistic and acoustic excellence. The Center is named for Morton Meyerson, former president of Electronic Data Systems and former chairman and CEO of Perot Systems, who led the 10-year effort by the Dallas Symphony Association to create a home for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. The new concert center was named in his honor in 1986 at the request of H. Ross Perot, who made a $10 million contribution to the building fund for the naming rights. The Meyerson was intended to duplicate Vienna’s Musikvereinsaal and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, two of the best orchestral halls in the world.

The architecture of the building is also noteworthy. The exterior of the large pavilion and lobby is circular and constructed of glass and metal supports to contrast with the solid geometric lines of the actual hall. Architect I. M. Pei and structural engineer Leslie E. Robertson Associates have described the structure of the hall’s interior as “very conservative.” The grand curved skylights, which Pei described as “lenses,” became part of a bold and intriguing geometry to encourage people to enter the building. This external geometry translates into grand curves in the internal foyer, accentuated by the shadowing of the diagonal glazing from the skylights. The Baroque-influenced curves are particularly dramatic from the staircase up from the underground car park entrance. The trustees and acoustic team had decided on the shoebox style before Pei was hired, and he sought to sculpt the exteriors with more innovative designs. The most pleasing aspect about this building, beyond the pleasures of the auditorium itself, is the extent to which it fulfills Mr. Pei’s goal of creating a viable modernist monumentality.

Acoustics

The Meyerson Symphony Center gained international acclaim for its architecture and acoustics. It was designed to achieve the highest acoustical quality, with special elements of the design providing the capability of tailoring the acoustical environment to every performance. The acoustics of this hall are comparable to the great concert halls of Europe and the world.

There’s a huge reverberation chamber around the top of the hall that audiences can’t see. The addition helps create the rich, lively sound for which the Meyerson is known. The sound goes through the reverb chamber before making its way back into the hall and to your ears. Audio engineers are also able to open or close doors to “tune” the hall. The canopy over the stage can also be adjusted to modify the sound. The main canopy weighs 42 tons and the side canopies weigh 15 tons each.

The architectural aesthetics alone make the venue worth a visit, but the acoustics are also world-renowned; reverberation is controlled by 74 concrete doors, each weighing in at 2.5 tons, that can be opened and closed around the top of the hall as needed. Further proving that no detail was left unconsidered, a complicated system of curtains and canopies can be controlled for even more customization and unparalleled sound quality. The real innovation in the Meyerson, surprisingly enough, was simply the auditorium’s shape. The great old halls were built like shoeboxes. The Meyerson is more rounded than that; it opens out from the stage, then narrows back in again at the back. But the shape has much the same effect as the earlier shoebox. It helps reflect sound from the sides and the back to the listener.

Uses

The music hall is spacious, with multiple areas and levels of seating, all having good visibility of the stage and acoustical experience. The Meyerson Symphony Center is one of the best concert halls and music venues in the world. There are many uses of the Center and it includes multiple halls. It’s owned and managed by the city of Dallas, Office of Cultural Affairs, and is home to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra along with the Turtle Creek Chorale, Dallas Wind Symphony, and the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra. It’s also used to host benefit concerts, corporate meetings, religious services, band, and choral festivals, and has many other multidisciplinary uses.

The center is the home of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Dallas Symphony Chorus and also hosts an array of local and visiting performers, including noted youth orchestras and children’s choirs. Before or after a show, you should take time to check out the pieces from the center’s art collection that are displayed throughout the halls, including Ellsworth Kelly’s Blue Green Black Red: The Dallas Panels and a portrait of George Gershwin by Andy Warhol.

Events

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO), in partnership with the City of Dallas, helped to spearhead the efforts to make the Meyerson Symphony Center a reality. The DSO presents over 180 concert events annually. The Meyerson Symphony Center is an optimal space for concerts, meetings, lectures, receptions, weddings, and similar events. Grandfathered not-for-profit users — including The Black Academy of Arts and Letters’ MLK Celebration, Children’s Chorus of Greater Dallas, Dallas-based public high school graduations, Dallas Bach Society, Dallas Winds, Fine Arts Chamber Players, Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra, and Turtle Creek Chorale — will have a preferred rent rate. The DSA is committed to renting the venue when the DSO and the resident organizations are not performing, making sure the Meyerson is utilized and enjoyed as much as possible. You can find a complete list of all and upcoming events at the Meyerson Symphony Center by visiting the calendar online.

Cost to Build

The center is named for Morton H. Meyerson, former chairman of the Dallas Association’s Concert Hall Committee and former president of H. Ross Perot’s Electronic Data Systems. The Concert Hall Committee oversaw the building of the center which began in 1985 and ultimately cost $108 million. Ross Perot donated $10 million to the building on the condition it was named after Meyerson.

Over the years, just what the Meyerson Symphony Center eventually cost has been the subject of debate. In 1989, the symphony’s official price tag was (and remains) $81.5 million, which includes both public and private funding.

Donors

Construction of the Meyerson Symphony Center wouldn’t have been made possible without the help and hefty donation from H. Ross Perot. The symphony had sent a brochure [stating] that they would name the hall after anyone who would give a gift of $10 million and he answered the call. There is a long list of private donors who have made this arts center all possible. You can find more information about each of them online.

Location

The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center is a concert hall located in downtown Dallas’s Arts District. Designed by architect I.M. Pei and acoustician Russell Johnson’s Artec Consultants, Inc., the center is currently ranked as one of the world’s greatest orchestra halls.

You can find the Meyerson Symphony Center right in the Arts District of downtown Dallas at the following address:

Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center

2301 Flora St., Dallas, TX 75201

Little-Known Facts

Meyerson Symphony Center has been cited as one of the acoustically finest halls in America and features the Lay Family pipe organ. It’s considered one of the world’s best concert halls. Though modern-looking on the outside, the concert hall itself sports a more classical look. Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has been there to visit. She came to the Meyerson in 1991 during a tour of Texas. Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush visited the Meyerson to speak at the memorial service for the five Dallas police officers who were killed in the line of duty on July 7, 2016. George and Laura Bush were also patrons of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and attended several concerts when they lived in Dallas. The center includes guest artist suites, dressing rooms, a restaurant, and a sculpture garden. Each year 325 or more concert events, 20 to 30 banquets, 200 photo and film shoots, and more than 800 hours of recording activity take place at the Meyerson. The building is open for group tours as well.

Meyerson includes several pieces of fine art that you can’t help but admire. First and foremost are the iconic Kelly panels in the lobby. The four giant panels were commissioned by Ellsworth Kelly, especially for the Meyerson. Kelly was known for his use of bright colors and simple shapes, but “Dallas Panels” in the Meyerson is the largest work he ever created. Finally, if you follow Hollywood then you may be interested to know that Gary Busey got married there in 1996.

Why It’s a Top Attraction

The $108-million jewel in the Dallas Arts District ranks among some of the world’s greatest orchestra halls — and with good reason. It’s not only an architectural gem, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect I.M. Pei, it’s also an acoustical sensation, thanks to the genius of internationally renowned acoustician Russell Johnson. It’s been said by some that the quality of the acoustics is so phenomenal that you can even hear a whisper. Home to the world-class Dallas Symphony Orchestra as well as the Turtle Creek Chorale, the Dallas Wind Symphony, and the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra, the center offers a packed schedule of performances (including some that are free) throughout the year. 

You can also catch shows here by visiting musical luminaries like Itzhak Pearlman and Tony Bennett. Maybe you’re not into classical music, which is no problem here. The Meyerson’s diverse programming covers the spectrum from Beatles tributes, jazz concerts, and punk rock organ music to family-friendly performances — complete with an instrument petting zoo before the show. Also, you should be sure to keep an eye out for recitals on the C.B. Fisk Opus 4,500-pipe organ because it’s always a one-of-a-kind treat. It’s a large yet intimate space that will offer any visitor a once-in-a-lifetime chance of experiencing music and artists at their best.

Travel Suggestions

You should certainly put seeing and visiting the Meyerson Symphony Center on your itinerary when you visit Dallas. There is a valet option and lot parking available. Valet parking is available at the Flora Street main entrance. There are several self-parking options in the Arts District, including surface parking lots on Olive Street and along Ross Avenue, and several parking garages. The closest parking garage is the Hall Arts Center Blue Garage (formerly known as the Dallas Arts District Garage). Parking garages are privately operated; event parking rates begin at $10.

You can tour the Center and see for yourself the incredible architecture and what the hype is all about. Free public tours of the Meyerson are available on selected days along with a free 30-minute recital demonstration of the center’s impressive 4,535 pipe concert organ. Reservations are not required.

Doors to the concert hall open thirty minutes before the performance, so be sure to go early to find your seat, soak in the ambiance, and read over your program. If you’d like to eat before the show, the Meyerson serves dinner at two restaurants, Opus (fine dining and Sunday brunch) and Allegro (light dining). Bars are also set up in these areas so you may purchase bottled water, soft drinks, and alcoholic beverages before the show or during the fifteen-minute-or-so intermission. There are plenty of hotels and restaurants nearby to enjoy as well.

Conclusion

Although gorgeous and renowned, the Meyerson is comfortable and relaxed with a staff that is casual, friendly, and extremely helpful. It’s definitely worth your time and energy to stop by and check it out for yourself or attend a show. You can read for yourself all the positive reviews online from past travelers and visitors. Now that you know more about it and the story behind it, you’ll enjoy your experience visiting the hall even more. It’s a part of history that should be appreciated and admired by all. There’s truly no other concert hall or music venue like it and you’re sure to be wowed and amazed when you attend a show or take a tour. Enjoy the experience and all it has to offer when you do finally get the chance to check it out and take in all of its beauty, elegance, and astonishing acoustics.  

The truth is that right now no music venue or concert hall can compare with the rich history and architectural beauty of the Meyerson Symphony Center or offer a more unique experience. It’s famous not only for the “wow factor” you can’t help but notice when you enter the building but also for the sound and acoustics that are heard with each show that is performed. It’s a trip and visit that you won’t ever forget and you can cherish forever. 

One of the most famous musical destinations in the entire world, a must-see stop in Midtown Manhattan and National History Landmark for over sixty years now, Carnegie Hall is perhaps the most well-known concert venue ever known. It has played host to thousands of musical acts over its history and is considered not just a venue for shows but a center of cultural education and a significant part of New York City’s history.

Here we’re going to look at everything you need to know about Carnegie Hall, from its history to its significance and even how you can enjoy and support it today.

History

The Founding of the Hall

Opened in 1891, Carnegie Hall has been an establishment of musical excellence for over a hundred years, with a unique history, from its origin to its evolution and even the decision of where to place it all carefully planned to make it one of the cultural hotspots of the whole world.

Carnegie Hall was originally built by Andrew Carnegie, an industrialist and philanthropist who made his fortune in the steel industry. The idea for the hall was first inspired by his wife Louise, a singer with the Oratoria Society in New York. The story goes that on their honeymoon, she, alongside Walter Damrosch, a conductor in the same society, asked him to build a home for music in New York City.

The hall’s original design was by William Burnet Tuthill, who was both a professional architect as well as a cellist who, despite having never built a concert hall before, agreed to work on the project. Construction of the hall began in 1890, a year before its opening, with work by Isaac A. Hopper and Company. 

While the hall was in use during 1890, its official opening evening was May 5, 1891. The hall’s first show was as momentous as its legacy would be, with Russian composer Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky, conducting his own music in what would be his debut in the United States

Passing from the Carnegie family

Though named after Andrew Carnegie, the hall was sold less than forty years after its opening, when his widow sold it to Robert E. Simon, a real estate developer, who later passed it onto his son, Robert E. Simon Jr.. The hall had begun to fall into disrepair, however, even as Robert Jr. began a host of renovations and he planned to sell it after the Hall’s most frequent act, the New York Philharmonic, moved to perform in the Lincoln Center instead.

The hall was then sold to commercial developer Glickmann Corporation, who had plans to demolish the building to make way for a skyscraper. However, by this time, the hall had already come to take on great significance for many performers in the city. A campaign, led by famous violinist Isaac Stern alongside a range of civic leaders, convinced the city of New York to buy the building and name it a National History Landmark in 1962.

Bringing the Hall into the 21st Century

Since then, Carnegie Hall has undergone a range of building-wide renovations, with the most major projects taking place in 1986 and 2003, led by James Stewart Polshek. His team, Polshek Partnership, was responsible not only for the renovation of the original hall but for the following expansions to the building, turning it into what it is now known as.

Since then, the Hall has continued to delight both New York City natives and thousands of visitors each year with multiple stages, museums, education programs, and more. It has played home to artists and composers of all kinds through orchestral performances, jazz concerts, oratory spectacles, and has played a key role in all manner of cultural festivals within the city. Aside from the Hall’s own presentations, it hosts over 500 independently produced shows and events each and every year. The latest change to the Hall took place in 2014, in which the Studio Towers Renovation Project added a 60,000-square-foot education wing to the upper floors of the Hall.

Carnegie Hall Today

Nowadays, Carnegie Hall is best known for the wide range of fantastic musical performances that it hosts on each of its three stages. Its participation in cultural and musical festivals has ensured that it endures as one of the key hearts of the arts in New York City. 

In the 2015–2016 season, Carnegie Hall celebrated its 125th anniversary and continues to act as one of the most important cultural touchstones in not just New York City but in the whole of the United States and the world.

Carnegie Hall’s Significance to New York City

Without a doubt, Carnegie Hall is the music venue that has seen more performances from world-famous musicians, singers, actors, and orators than any other venue in the US — and perhaps even the world. Though newer venues have taken some of their role as the most active place to catch contemporary performances, it’s still one of the best known performing arts spaces in the Western World.

Carnegie Hall has been home to a host of famous performances throughout the years, hosting names such as Judy Garland, Julie Andrews, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Ray Charles, Tony Bennet, B.B. King, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, and more.

While originally a concert hall for all manners of chamber music, it has expanded to provide space for the jazz and rock world throughout its history and in 1991 was awarded The Hundred Year Association of New York’s Gold Medal Award.

The acoustics of the Hall

One of the most interesting aspects of Carnegie Hall, which has made it such an important place for musical acts throughout the years, is the acoustics of the space. Isaac Stern even made the following comment of it, which became a quote that would remain in the heart of musicians for decades: “Everywhere in the world, music enhances a hall, with one exception—Carnegie Hall enhances the music.”

The acoustics of the hall were designed by William Burnet Tuthill, a cellist as well as an architect, who toured throughout Europe, learning about acoustic design, and sought help from Danmark Adler, another architect who had worked on the Auditorium Building in Chicago. Together they worked to keep their approach to the decorations simple and functional, ensuring no frescoed walls or chandeliers would inhibit the sound.

Furthermore, the hall was built with smooth walls, an elliptical shape, and a domed ceiling that would help better project both soft and loud tones. Since its design, many have attempted to enhance the look and sound of the hall with curtains, backdrops, panels, and more, but without fail, each has been removed, restoring the design to the original as intended by William Burnet Tuthill.

The Hall even had a spot of controversy following the 1986 renovation and reconstruction of the main auditorium. Many acts who had performed there began to lodge complaints that the famous acoustics had been lost as a result, a claim which the officials involved in the renovation denied consistently. After over nine years of complaints, a slab of concrete beneath the stage was found to be the cause of the concerns and its removal rejuvenated the legendary sound of the hall once again, as it is still well known to this day.

Location

Carnegie Hall stands as one of the most famous destinations within Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It can be found on 881 Seventh Avenue, stretching from the east end of the avenue from West 56th Street to West 57th Street. Seventh Avenue Intersects with both Broadway and 42nd Street at Times Square. Other buildings on this avenue include the Alwyn Court Apartments, AXA Center, Madison Square Garden and Penn Station. 57th Street, on which Carnegie Hall can be found, is also the street where you can find Osborne Apartments and Rodin Studios.

About the Halls

Though we refer to the building as Carnegie Hall, there are, in fact, multiple halls. It has three distinct and separate halls, the original Main Hall, the Recital Hall, and the Chamber Music Hall. Now these halls are called the Isaac Stern Auditorium, the Zankel Hall, and the Weill Recital Hall, respectively.

The Main Hall

The original hall, which has since been renovated and rebuilt, is the most famous of the three halls, well-known for the above-described acoustics. Able to seat over 2800 people across five levels, it was once home to the New York Philharmonic, and still hosts the majority of large shows that the Hall puts on or welcomes from independent performers. The hall is designed entirely using masonry, without steel frames, and is uniquely tall, requiring over 105 steps to reach the very top levels (though an elevator has since been added to make the climb a little more accessible)

Zankel Hall

The most recently added of the three halls, Judy and Arthur Zankel Hall, was opened in 1891. Since then it has become a major venue for chamber music and recitals, as well as all manner of contemporary performances. The hall is able to seat 599 people and was originally known as the Recital Hall. It was also the first of the auditoriums to be opened to the public, leased to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1898, made into a cinema in 1959, and then converted back into an auditorium in 1997. Its most recent reconstruction was in 2003.

The Weill Recital Hall

Named for Sanford I. Weill, a chairman on the Carnegie Hall’s board, as well as his wife Joan, this hall was originally opened in 1891. The hall, which seats 268, was originally known as the Chamber Music Hall, then the Carnegie Recital Hall, before it finally got its most recent name in 1986.

As well as the three halls mentioned above, Carnegie Hall has since expanded to provide room for a host of other locations, such as the Carnegie Hall Archives and the Rose Museum, added in 1986 and 1991 respectively.

The Costs to Build

Carnegie Hall is a building that has gone through a lot of work over the years and had a lot of money spent on it. The original total cost of the building, when it was financed primarily by Andrew Carnegie, was $1.1 million. Some estimates state that the building would cost $370 million to build today, with an additional $145 million to buy the land that would host it.

The renovations all came with costs as well, the exact figures on which are harder to find. However, the most recent project, which was the reopening of the Judith and Burton Resnick Education Wing, was paid for as part of a $230 million project. The earlier renovation in 1986 also cost roughly $50 million. As such, the overall known cost, which is still far from a complete calculation, would be over $281 million.

Interesting Facts About Carnegie Hall

What was there before Carnegie Hall?

Carnegie Hall was not built on an empty lot within Seventh Avenue, which would have been as difficult to find back in the late 1800s as it is, today. Rather, Goat Hill, which was what the area was once known as, was previously the site of a brewery. This brewery was built to take advantage of a natural spring on the site but was bought and demolished when Andrew Carnegie and others saw what would become Midtown for the potential focal point of Manhattan that it eventually became.

The architecture style of the hall

The design of Carnegie Hall was derived from an Italian Renaissance style, using Revivalist brick-and-brownstone. As mentioned, the interior of the hall was designed with as minimal decorations as allowed, including smooth walls and no thick curtains or lighting fixtures to allow for the best possible acoustics. Furthermore, the building is one of the last large buildings in the city to be built entirely using masonry, without the help of steel frames. A steel frame was later added, however, when additional spaces were built onto the building. Nowadays, the exterior uses narrow Roman bricks of ocher for the facade.

The hall wasn’t originally named Carnegie

It’s easy to assume that Andrew Carnegie, being the enterprising individual he was, chose the name Carnegie Hall as a tribute to himself or his wife. This was not the case, however. The building was originally called the Music Hall and, indeed, a sign calling it “Music Hall founded by Andrew Carnegie” can still be found above the marquee. However, board members of the governing body of the hall persuaded Andrew Carnegie to allow the building to use his name, a name that stuck through three different owners after it was sold out of the Carnegie family and eventually into the City of New York’s ownership.

There was once a cinema inside Carnegie Hall

Though it is best known for musical performances, Carnegie Hall has been a venue for almost every form of art imaginable, including oration, theater, dance, and more. It was also once a place where film could be celebrated. What is now called Zankel Hall had fallen into disuse and was used by the American Academy of Dramatic Arts as a performance space. From there it became an art-house cinema and even a commercial cinema operated by Cineplex Odeon in 1987. Following the latest renovation and renaming, it has been turned back into a performance space.

It was originally going to be green on top

Green roofing might sound like a relatively new concept, but a rooftop garden was actually in the original plans for Carnegie Hall too. In fact, the late 1800s saw rooftop gardens being quite in fashion, and they could be seen on both Madison Square Garden and Hotel Astor, for instance. While a rooftop garden was never added, a rooftop space was eventually added, offering a view over the surrounding streets of Seventh Avenue.

It has an old joke to its name

Carnegie Hall has remained a fixture of New York City for over a century, so it’s no surprise that it features in a classic New Yorker anecdote too. The story goes that a tourist was on Fifty-Seventh Street in Manhattan and stopped Jascha Heifetz, a renowned Russian-American violinist for directions. “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” To which Heifetz is said to have replied “Practice.” Even today, ask that question in New York and it’s fifty-fifty as to whether you’ll get real directions or get given the joke answer instead.

The Artist Studios weren’t originally as Bohemian as they are today

Nowadays the Artist Studios are revered as a place for Bohemian creativity, where artists may gather, share ideas, jam, and let their muse take over. However, originally it was designed to be a much more exclusive place, which shows in the rather elaborate and upper-class manner of decor afforded to them. This includes a fireplace in some of the grander studios, as well as staircases with banisters that would connect different levels to one another. The Studios would eventually become famous for, amongst other things, being where Leonard Bernstein wrote “West Side Story.”

Donors

Given that Carnegie Hall has been a New York City-owned building for decades now, most of the funding for its various renovations, reconstructions, and rebuildings have come from a mixture of grants and, in larger part, the donations of a host of contributors, philanthropists, and patrons of the arts.

How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?

Practice. Now that we’ve gotten the old joke out of the way, the easiest way to get to Carnegie Hall is by subway, bus, or train. The best way to get to the Hall is from New York Penn Station. From there, you can take Line 1 on the subway for a ride that takes no more than 8 minutes. The bus route Mid Town AM Inbound takes 24 minutes in the day, while the B99 takes 16 minutes at night. You can also order a taxi, which takes no more than 3 minutes. You can also find it from Central Park by taking the C Subway train, which takes 17 minutes. Carnegie Hall is, thankfully, not too difficult to find, given how straight Seventh Avenue is and how much it dominates the corner of the street that it’s on.

What It’s Like Inside Carnegie Hall

If you’ve never been to Carnegie Hall, here are a few observations I had as I was able to roam almost the entire hall. I’m not a music guy with a music background, but because of my kids, I’ve become fascinated with music, composition, and the history of it all. I’ve also come to love visiting and watching my kids perform in some of the most prestigious concerts halls in the world. Obviously, Carnegie Hall is one of those famed halls that most musicians would like to play in at some time in their life.

Since I was writing a book for one of the performing orchestras and choirs, I was able to see backstage and virtually everywhere else. Let me just tell you that if you’re into American history, this is a must visit. You’ll be able to see the early American New York style architecture everywhere in this place!

The performers usually enter in by a back door on 56th street. From there, they can go to their various staging rooms and access the backstage areas.

Many people don’t realize that Carnegie Hall is actually home to three difference performance halls within the one building. In fact, multiple performances may be taking place at the same time.

When I was backstage during one performance in the main hall, I could see on the backstage screen monitors where other piano and violin performances were taking place.

If you are coming to the hall as a spectator, you’ll normally enter in on 57th street and have your ticket checked at the door.

When you walk in, you’ll see lots of ushers. You will either be sent up the stairs to find your seat in one of the balconies or directly into the Parquet level or the main floor.

There is really not a bad seat in the house unless your view is obstructed in some way. If you are on the Parquet level, look for something toward the middle in rows L through Q. Again, everywhere is good, but those rows are going to give you the best balance of sound and view from that level.

My favorite place is on the first tier on what is called the Blavatnik Family tier. Depending on your eyesight, you may want to go for sections 1-9 or sections 57-65. That will get you your best view while keeping you close to the stage.

The chairs inside the hall have that elegant maroon color and all of them are very comfortable with enough leg room for myself at 6’3″.

Backstage is a sight to see. There are pictures on the walls that display the Hall’s rich history. There’s a lounge for the orchestra and performers where you can only imagine who has stood there and prepared for their time to go on stage.

The crew in the back are on top of it all. They know exactly what they’re doing and are fantastic at supporting the cast and performers as well as the backstage logistics people for the performers.

We set a record as the largest performing group in the history of the hall including young children and the Carnegie Hall staff accommodated us in every way possible to make it a good experience for everyone involved.

Inside of Carnegie Hall is very different than most of the other halls I have visited. It is an old hall and you know it right when you walk in. It’s very open and optimized for the best acoustics possible. It was one of the best experiences of my life being there.