Accomplishments

Friends of Music Hall contributed over $5 million - and counting - to the Music Hall Renovation project. The work includes:

• The renovation and restoration of Corbett Tower:
  • returning the room's decor to the original design by:
    • recreating ceiling and sidewall stenciling
    • opening and restoring the three arched tracery windows above Corbett Tower's existing windows
    • opening the arched windows on Corbett Tower's west wall
    • restoring three Czechoslovakian crystal chandeliers from the lobby
• Installing in the Taft Suite on the first floor the restored art-carved panels from the Hook & Hastings Organ
  • creation and installation of museum glass to protect the panels. Through generous grants and donations, we funded the collection and restoration of the art-carved panels over the past five years, and provided funding for a feature video on panel restoration.
• Reinstalling the Albee Mighty Wurlitzer Organ in the Ballroom.
  • The Wurlitzer and its accompanying Steinway Grand Piano had originally been installed in 2009, but both were removed during renovation to prevent damage from occurring.
  • Replacing doors to specifications
  • Ensuring climate control
• Cleaning the "Allegory of the Arts" mural in the domed area above the chandelier in Springer Auditorium
• Removal and storage of the statuary, paintings and displays during renovation, and the replacement of some of those objects
• Constructing a base for the Theodore Thomas statue, to raise it off the floor, like the base for Reuben Springer's statue

Friends of Music Hall (FMH) also funded exterior work designed to restore the structure to how it looked when it was built. This includes:

• Returning the black brick detailing, lost during the cleaning process in the late 1960s

Also pertaining to the renovation:

• Underwriting a public television program on the renovation of Music Hall

FMH currently is in preliminary stages, working with Music Hall management, the Cincinnati Arts Association, for additional restoration:

• Replacement of the iron roof cresting

We are creating Washington Park Signage that provides information on the architectural history of the hall, and recognizes our part in the restoration.

Ongoing Friends of Music Hall projects:

• Developed a more formal structure for Tours (Community Outreach)
  • Hired a tour program director who created a volunteer group and training
    • Music Hall guided tours with all volunteer tour guides
    • A Speaker Series that makes Music Hall presentations in the community
    • An In-school Program for grades three to five, which is aligned with art and history standards
• Two to three times a year, we present concerts on the Albee Mighty Wurlitzer Organ in the Ballroom
• Cleaning and maintenance on the statues, busts and wood carvings

In earlier years:

Friends of Music Hall funded a number of projects, including:

• lighting for the front of Music Hall (Rhoda and Manuel D. Mayerson, Donors)
• refurbished the CSO Music Director's Suite (Patricia A. Corbett, Donor)
• cleaned and restored the Statue of Reuben R. Springer in the lobby
• produced a 90-minute, award-winning documentary program about Cincinnati's historic Music Hall in collaboration with CET - Cincinnati public television - and the Cincinnati Museum Center's History Library and Archives. 

With funding from The Corbett Foundation, our organization assisted with new seating on the orchestra and balcony levels in '92, added chandelier lighting in Music Hall Foyer and assisted with the installation of a passenger elevator to service all three floors in Music Hall.

The Corbett Trust purchased software for the Bravo Shop to track inventory and equipment for processing customer transactions; provided the final piece of funding for ticketing software that enables print-at-home ticketing and electronic ticket scanning, and enabled much needed plumbing repairs to restrooms and water fountains and extensive painting through Music Hall.

Additionally, we installed and illuminated the 50-foot flagpole and American Flag in front of Music Hall (Mr. and Mrs. Donald C. Siekmann, Donors), which still proudly stands at the southeast corner of the structure. Our organization also refinished the floors in the rehearsal hall, ballroom and the stage floor and purchased chairs for the Critics Club, which has been transformed into office space for management of Music Hall.

Through funding from Louise Dieterle Nippert, a Timeline of Music Hall was researched, designed, and installed in the original Central Parkway Entrance Corridor. This timeline is now available online, but was removed during the revitalization of Music Hall.

And much, much more.

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