{"nrhp_refnum":"70000496","name":"Cincinnati Music Hall","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1243 Elm St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cincinnati","county":"Hamilton County","state":"OH","lat":39.10946416200005,"lon":-84.51896909099997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1970-01-26","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1974-12-02","areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Performing Arts"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Cincinnati Music Hall is a red brick concert and exposition building at 1243 Elm Street in Cincinnati, Ohio, facing Washington Park. It was designed by Samuel Hannaford and Henry Proctor and opened on May 14, 1878.","why_significant":"The nomination cites its role as the musical center of Cincinnati and home of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, May Festival and Summer Opera. It also notes the hall's architecture and its long use for public gatherings, including the 1880 Democratic national convention and major expositions. The cost and community effort of its renovation are cited as evidence of local importance.","narrative":"Cincinnati Music Hall is a large red brick building at 1243 Elm Street, facing Washington Park. Designed by local architects Samuel Hannaford and Henry Proctor, it was built between 1876 and 1878 and opened on May 14, 1878. A central auditorium with two balconies is flanked by wings that once held exposition space; a rose window and a 150-foot center gable mark the front, between towers with steep caps. Reuben Springer and about 600 contributors funded it as a combined concert hall and exhibition center. The hall hosted the 1880 Democratic national convention and the 1888 Centennial Exposition, and a 1895 renovation added a stage and proscenium arch for the symphony orchestra. It became the home of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, May Festival and Summer Opera. After decline in the 1960s, a 1969 restoration funded largely by the Corbett family and others cost more than $3,000,000. The building is regarded as the city's musical center.","period_of_significance":"1878 (19th and 20th centuries checked)","architect_builder":"S. Hannaford & Henry Proctor (architects); James Griffith (builder)","architectural_style":"High Victorian Gothic; described in 1878 as \"Italianesque Gothic\" and later as eclectic","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as excellent inside and out; in use for concerts, meetings, expositions and conventions; stage remodeled in 1969.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:09.038666-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/70000496.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000496/bb40ecd66a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000496/bb40ecd66a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Larsonj3","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Renovated_Cincinnati_Music_Hall_2.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Larsonj3</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Renovated_Cincinnati_Music_Hall_2.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"83001985","name":"Over-the-Rhine Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/ohio/over-the-rhine-historic-district-83001985/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71985484","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cincinnati_Music_Hall","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q9289351"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/hamilton-county/cincinnati-music-hall-70000496/"}