Severance Hall

Severance Hall is a concert hall in the University Circle neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio. Opened in 1931, it was built as and has remained the home venue of the Cleveland Orchestra. It is named after patrons John L. Severance and his sister Elisabeth Severance Allen Prentiss, the son and daughter of oilman and philanthropist Louis Severance. Severance Hall is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Wade Park District.
The Cleveland Orchestra first performed in the much smaller Grays Armory in downtown Cleveland, and then moved two miles east to the Masonic Auditorium for concerts throughout the 1920s. However, both buildings were used by other groups and for a variety of presentations. Most famously, the Orchestra twice had to arrange alternative concert locations from Grays Armory on short notice due to a scheduling conflict with a poultry exhibition. The Orchestra's administration came to recognize the advantages that having its own hall could bring to the ensemble's performances through consistent availability of such a hall for rehearsals, radio broadcasts, and other musical purposes.

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