Orchestra Hall

Orchestra Hall was the realization of a desire to provide Detroit's music loving public with a suitable venue for their new orchestra, the Detroit Symphony. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, organized in 1872 with forty members, remained active until about 1910. After that date, the Detroit Orchestral Society sponsored concerts by symphony orchestras from other cities. The interest in these programs led to a revival of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 1913-14. The orchestra was composed of members of the School of Music at Ann Arbor, musicians on the faculties of Detroit conservatories of music, and professional players in theatre and cafe orchestras in Detroit. They gave their first performance as the Detroit Symphony in the Detroit Opera House in March, 1914. They presented six concerts during their first season, with Weston Gales as conductor. Concerts were held in the afternoon because there were insufficient funds to pay for the evening rental of the Opera House. The donations of William H. Murphy and Horace Dodge made it possible to establish the orchestra on a permanent basis.

One of the guest conductors during the first year was Ossip Gabrilowitsch. Detroit music lovers were so impressed with him, they sought to engage him as the orchestra's permanent conductor. At this time, the orchestra's concert hall was a huge structure, unsatisfactory in all respects, and rehearsals had to be held in various buildings. Gabrilowitsch was dissatisfied with this situation and consented to accept the position with the stipulation that a hall be built suitable to the needs of the orchestra. Furthermore, the hall must be built and ready for use for the opening concert in the fall -- a time period of less than six months. Amazingly enough, a half a million dollars was raised within two weeks and the property was purchased. One report stated that construction crews were in so much haste to get the building done, they started to demolish the church standing on the acquired property during a marriage ceremony. The workmen were engaged in night shifts between May and October, and Orchestra Hall was opened on the date set for the first concert of the season-- October 23, 1919. Nearly 2,500 people representing Detroit's social, business, and musical circles, as well as prominent citizens from various parts of the state, gathered in this magnificent Temple of the Muse to initiate the golden era of symphonic music in Detroit.

After a successful concert tour in 1917-18, he was signed to the Detroit Symphony. He has been credited with having raised the city from a provincial level in music to a more sophisticated level. In the seasons of 1929-30 and 1930-31, he alternated with Leopold Stokowski in the direction of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra. He was one of the greatest pianists of his day, a composer, and a lecturer. He believed that fine music should be available to the masses, and in this vein, assisted in the development of a civic choral group in Detroit and programs for school children and popular concerts for adults. Gabrilowitsch died September 14, 1936, after a long illness. His public funeral was held at Orchestra Hall.

Financial problems beset the symphony along with a location problem -- Orchestra Hall was neither downtown nor uptown, and there were inadequate parking facilities. Also, attendance had increased to the point that larger quarters were needed. In order to resolve these problems, it was decided to move the symphony from Orchestra Hall to the Masonic Temple where prices could be lowered to reach every pocketbook while still presenting an imposing group of artists during the season. Thus Orchestra Hall was left alone with her memories -- memories of 268 Detroit premieres, 18 American premieres, 3 world premieres, and performances by Mischa Elman, Pablo Casals, Artur Rubinstein, Serge Rachmaninoff, Vladimir Horowitz, Efrem Zimbalist, Wanda Landowska, Florence Easton, Josef Hoffman, Dame Myra Hess, Igor Stravinsky, Gregor Piatigorsky, Lotte Lehmann, Serge Prokofieff, and Jascha Heifetz. After her demise, she became the Paradise Theater which specialized in movies and vaudeville entertainment; where Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and other popular music and jazz personalities played. She then took an about face and became a place of worship -- The Church of Our Prayer. The symphony returned to Orchestra Hall in April, 1959, to make a recording because it was the only suitable place in the city.

In 1963, the Nederlander Theater Corporation purchased the building with the intention of converting it into a legitimate theatre for the housing of musical shows. However, it was decided by the new owners that it would be a greater undertaking to restore it to its former physical condition than to pull it down and construct a new building. The building remained vacant until Gino's Inc. purchased it September 17, 1970. They plan to demolish Orchestra Hall and build a restaurant on the property. Many people are very concerned about losing this building which is an historic landmark and is renowned for her acoustics; hence, there has been formed a non-profit Committee to Save Orchestra Hall. Their purpose is to raise funds to purchase the building from Gino's Inc., restore it, and make it available to neighborhood, Detroit, and suburban groups for all types of musical, dance, and dramatic productions. They have performance commitments from two Detroit area symphonies, Black Arts, Inc., and plan to host jazz and rock concerts, community theatre groups, children's programs and a variety of free cultural activities. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra has also expressed an interest in using Orchestra Hall for some of its projects.

Once Orchestra Hall is saved, restored, and operational, the corporate name will, in all probability, be amended from Save Orchestra Hall, Inc. to Orchestra Hall Foundation. The Foundation is intending to institute the following programs: Rental, Apprentices, Gabrilowitsch Memorial Library, and Incentives and Goals. The Hall will be rented to various groups at a rate in accordance with their ability to pay. Inner-city groups such as the Detroit Community Symphony Orchestra will use Orchestra Hall as a home for rehearsal, performance, instrument storage and management. In the beginning, they would not pay for the use of the Hall. It is hoped that through an imaginative program of events, a vigorous solicitation of funds, and exposure to the programs "Incentives and Goals" and "Orchestra Hall Apprentices" and through an association with Orchestra Hall and Orchestra Hall Foundation, they would become more self-sufficient as performing artists and as a self-sustaining organization.

The Orchestra Hall Apprentice Program is designed to give a person on the job training in a particular staff position. The program will not include those positions which are unionized or would not lend themselves to such a program. The Gabrilowitsch Memorial Library Program has two purposes. The first is to provide music, free of rental costs, to ensembles in the city of Detroit who might be unable to purchase or rent it themselves. The second purpose is to provide interested young people with the necessary education and experience in the managing of a music library. Ideally, the program would fulfill two great needs in Detroit's musical environment: a large selection of available music, and librarians properly trained in the administration of functioning music libraries. The purpose of the Incentives and Goals Program is to provide aspiring and needful artists in greater Detroit with the needed example of leading professionals of the particular performing arts in which the young musician, singer or dancer might be interested. The aim is to inspire and to educate these young people.

Orchestra Hall, reborn, would be a place where the many programs which are beginning to show in the inner-city would have a place to exhibit themselves, as well as an institution for all the performing acts and a focal point for the re-generation of the rapidly decaying Woodward Avenue area.

Orchestra Hall is a large, handsome building, designed as a home for Detroit's orchestra and other musical attractions of high calibre. It is located on the northwest corner of Woodward Avenue and Parsons Street, the former site of the Westminster Presbyterian Church. It is a brick and limestone structure, Italian Renaissance in style. There are windows over the marquee at the Woodward Avenue entrance framed by six pilasters and an entablature. The Hall seats 2,200 people and cost $700,000 to build. The auditorium was done in ivory, with delicate tracings of gold and silver and occasional touches of blue-gray. The seats were comfortable, with adequate space between the rows for comfort and elevated enough so that the view of the stage was unobstructed from any part of the auditorium. There was wainscoting in the foyers and even a fireplace. It had a continental style balcony with separate stairs and ticket office for those who could afford it and did not want to fight the crowds. Orchestra Hall's acoustics are famous throughout the nation because of the manner in which the ceiling is stepped.

Interior decoration was not completed in time for opening night, but Crane planned there would be silken curtains furnishing a background for the boxes and windows and heavy velvet curtains separating the auditorium from the foyer or promenade. The color was to be soft tints of mulberry. The edifice was designed by Charles Howard Crane. Mr. Crane was born in Hartford, Connecticut, August 13, 1885. He began an active career as a draughtsman there in 1904. He moved to Detroit in 1905 and was employed in the offices of Albert Kahn and Smith, Hinchman and Grylls until 1909, when he went into business for himself making a specialty of theatres. He designed and directed the construction of fifty theatres in Detroit and helped design many buildings along Washington Boulevard. Mr. Crane built 200 more theatres across the nation, as well as many other buildings. The Music Box in New York and the New York Theatre Guild House are his creations. Perhaps his greatest achievement is Earl's Court of London. At the time of construction it was considered the largest, most modern recreation center in the world. Mr. Crane moved to London, England, during the early 1930s and helped to rebuild the city after World War II. He remained there until his death on August 14, 1952.

On October 20, 1970, a team of architectural, structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering experts from the offices of Smith, Hinchman and Grylls Associates, Inc., made an inspection of Orchestra Hall for the purpose of evaluating its physical condition. They found the building exterior and structure to be sound, but the doors, store fronts, fire escapes, and roof need repair. In order to satisfy the demands of the Detroit Building Code, it may be necessary to create two or three additional exits. New poster frames and marquees are required and the brickwork requires some painting.

The interior condition is sound but in need of some plaster repair and complete repainting. Other wall finishes, such as paneling, in the public areas will have to be of non-combustible materials. Interior trim must be repaired and restored throughout, and all metal surfaces cleaned and repainted. There is a large amount of dirt and debris on the floors. Fabrics, such as curtains and upholstery, are in very poor condition and will have to be replaced. Most of the seats are in place and apparently are in good condition; however, it may be desirable to install a newer type of seating that has the same acoustical properties whether vacant or occupied. All equipment is missing from the stage and there is some water damage to the stage floor; hence, new flooring is required. A new fire curtain is also needed and new exit ways will have to be installed for the dressing rooms. Automatic sprinkler systems will be required in some areas. The elevating mechanism of the orchestra pit platform is rusted and needs repair. All electrical wiring in the building must be replaced and new lighting installed. The mechanical system must be replaced. Major physical replanning of the structure is neither desirable nor necessary. There is a lack of lobby-lounge space which could be corrected by remodeling the offices on the Woodward Avenue side into one large space connected to the mezzanine foyer.

One construction company has given an estimate of $1,450,000 to renovate Orchestra Hall. An architectural firm has determined that it would cost about $6 million to build a hall of similar stature.