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  • STORIES & BLOGS
    • Restoration of Music Hall’s Balcony Doors: Craft, Industry, and Immigration Revealed
    • The Stone of Music Hall: The Lobby Floor Restoration Project & Isaac Graveson
    • HELEN WALKER KING: “Cincinnati’s Soloist” – A Black Voice for Change Through Music
    • EUGÈNE YSAŸE: Legendary Violin Virtuoso, Conductor, Composer, and Music Director of the CSO (1918-1922) and May Festival (1918, 1920)
    • Adolph Krebs and the Art of Lithography: Cincinnati Music Hall’s Industrial Exposition Posters
    • Children’s Voices: The Legacy of Charles Aiken in Public Schools, Music Hall, and the City that Sings
    • Home Sweet Home and the Home Beautiful Expositions
    • Nadine Roberts Waters: La Cantatrice de Cincinnati
    • Calling All Music Hall Fans! Here are Some of the Many Discoveries You Can Make During an Outdoor Tour
    • Following in my Grandfather’s Footsteps in Service to Music Hall
    • Music Hall’s Part in Ted Berry’s Fight for Social Justice
    • Estella Rowe & Wade Mann:
      First Local Black Soloists with the CSO
    • Presidents, Future and Former, Visited Music Hall
    • It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got That Swing: Music Hall’s Greystone Ballroom 1928-1935
    • Mamie Smith: Queen of the Blues in Cincinnati Music Hall
    • Fountain Lewis: The Venerable Barber Who Helped Build Cincinnati Music Hall
    • The Presence of Latine and Hispanic Performers on the Cincinnati Music Hall Stage
    • Susan B. Anthony & Suffragists Spirits in Music Hall: Three National Political Conventions
  • HOME
  • TOURS
    • Tour Inside Music Hall: Dates & Times | Buy Tickets
    • Outdoor Tours: Dates & Times | Buy Tickets
      • Classical Pride Outdoor Tour | Buy Tickets
    • All About Cincinnati Music Hall Tours and Speakers
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      About Tours
    • Our Volunteers
    • Become a Volunteer or Tour Guide
  • EVENTS
    • Upcoming Wurlitzer Concerts
    • Silent Movies Made Musical 2025
      with the Mighty Wurlitzer Organ
    • REVISED COVID-19 Health & Safety Guidelines
  • EDUCATE
    • School Programs
    • Speakers Series
  • HISTORY
    • Cincinnati Music Hall Timeline
    • Expositions in Cincinnati and at Music Hall
      • There’s No Place Like Home,
        Especially If It’s Inside Music Hall
    • Under One Roof:
      The African American Experience in Music Hall
    • Choral Tradition in Cincinnati
    • College of Music
    • The Architectural Style of Cincinnati Music Hall
      • Three Buildings in One
      • Music Hall’s Façade
      • The Rose Window
    • Special Features of Music Hall
      • Allegory of the Arts
      • Art-Carved Organ Panels
      • The Chandelier
      • Corbett Tower
      • Music Hall Ballroom
      • Is Music Hall Haunted?
        • Bones Discovered Under Music Hall
    • Music Hall’s Organs
      • Hook & Hastings Organ
      • Art-Carved Organ Panels
      • Albee Mighty Wurlitzer Organ
        • Rebuild/Installation
        • Dedication of the Mighty Wurlitzer Organ
    • People of Music Hall
      • Reuben Springer
      • Samuel Hannaford
      • Maria Longworth
      • Theodore Thomas
      • The Corbetts
      • The Nipperts
    • Renovations, Remodels and Redecorations
    • Harper’s Weekly
  • ABOUT
    • SUPPORT
      • Our Donors
    • Philip D. Spiess II Collection – Donated May 2024
    • Meet the New FMH Executive Director
    • Gifts Available Through Friends of Music Hall
    • Windows on Music Hall
    • SPMH Re-Positions for the Future as Friends of Music Hall
    • Accomplishments
    • Board of Directors
    • Projects
    • Partnerships
  • STORIES & BLOGS
    • Restoration of Music Hall’s Balcony Doors: Craft, Industry, and Immigration Revealed
    • The Stone of Music Hall: The Lobby Floor Restoration Project & Isaac Graveson
    • HELEN WALKER KING: “Cincinnati’s Soloist” – A Black Voice for Change Through Music
    • EUGÈNE YSAŸE: Legendary Violin Virtuoso, Conductor, Composer, and Music Director of the CSO (1918-1922) and May Festival (1918, 1920)
    • Adolph Krebs and the Art of Lithography: Cincinnati Music Hall’s Industrial Exposition Posters
    • Children’s Voices: The Legacy of Charles Aiken in Public Schools, Music Hall, and the City that Sings
    • Home Sweet Home and the Home Beautiful Expositions
    • Nadine Roberts Waters: La Cantatrice de Cincinnati
    • Calling All Music Hall Fans! Here are Some of the Many Discoveries You Can Make During an Outdoor Tour
    • Following in my Grandfather’s Footsteps in Service to Music Hall
    • Music Hall’s Part in Ted Berry’s Fight for Social Justice
    • Estella Rowe & Wade Mann:
      First Local Black Soloists with the CSO
    • Presidents, Future and Former, Visited Music Hall
    • It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got That Swing: Music Hall’s Greystone Ballroom 1928-1935
    • Mamie Smith: Queen of the Blues in Cincinnati Music Hall
    • Fountain Lewis: The Venerable Barber Who Helped Build Cincinnati Music Hall
    • The Presence of Latine and Hispanic Performers on the Cincinnati Music Hall Stage
    • Susan B. Anthony & Suffragists Spirits in Music Hall: Three National Political Conventions

Preservation

Home » Friends of Music Hall Blog » Preservation
Restoration of Music Hall’s Balcony Doors: Craft, Industry, and Immigration Revealed
18 Apr 2025

Restoration of Music Hall’s Balcony Doors: Craft, Industry, and Immigration Revealed

By Thea Tjepkema A DOORWAY TO THE PAST A question frequently asked of historic preservationists is, “Do we really need … Read More

Adele Johnson, architect Samuel Hannaford, Architectural Reclamation, Balcony, Cincinnati 19th century immigrants, Cincinnati Music Hall, Cincinnati Music Hall Association, CMHA, Deco Works Studio, decorative arts, Doorknob, Eagle Iron Works, faux graining, Franklin, Greenwood Co. hinges, Hannaford and Sons, Hartke Hardware, High Victorian Gothic, Historic Brighton, historic preservation, historic preservation firm, historical color palette, J.B. Schroder locks, James Griffith, James Griffith & Sons, James Griffiths, nineteenth century Cincinnati, Ohio, outdoor balcony, preservation, preservationists, restoration, restoration expert, Riverside Architectural Millworks, Russell & Erwin, Victor Burnham, Wiliam Griffith, wood crafters
Photo of Isaac Graveson with a background of the tile and medallions his company provided to Music Hall.
7 Sep 2024

The Stone of Music Hall: The Lobby Floor Restoration Project & Isaac Graveson

By Thea Tjepkema The Friends of Music Hall has funded the preservation and restoration of Music Hall’s red, white, and … Read More

1878, 19th century shoes, black limestone, Buena Vista Freestone Company, Calvary Episcopal Church, Champlain Black Marble, Cincinnati Art AcademyUion Baptist Church, Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati Music Hall, Cincinnati Stone Works, College Hill Town Hall, Danby White Marble, Eighth Day Stone Restoration, finials, freestone, Freestone Works, gastropods in the black stone, Glendale Lyceum, Henry Probasco, High Victorian Gothic, High Victorian Gothic colors, historic, historic shoe styles, Inc., Isaac Graveson and Co., John Shillito, Lobby Floor, maria Longworth, Music Hall, new conservation, non-yellowing UV stable urethane filling, original floor, preservation, preservation-safe water repellent, red slate, restoration, Samuel Hannaford, shoe styles, Spring Grove Cemetery Chapel and Lodge, stone cutter, Stone Forensics, stone tiles, Vermont Unfading Red Slate, vintage shoes, Walter Henry Graveson, white marble, William Graveson & Co., William S. Groesbeck
Boom Arm for SSRG to install the first restored finial on the south gable of the south wing of Cincinnati Music Hall
Crane cradeling first restored finial for the south gable of the south wing of Cincinnati Music Hall
The first restored finial, seen on the southern-most gable of the south wing of Cincinnati Music Hall on June 24, 2021
Three restored finials can be seen on the gables of the south wing of Cincinnati Music Hall
Restored finials returned to the south wing, Elm Street side, of Cincinnati Music Hall
At the end of the second day of finial installation, restored finials can be seen on the east facade of Cincinnati Music Hall
Cincinnati Music Hall SSRG team securing the lyre before the crane moves it into position
Cincinnati Music Hall - as seen from inside Corbett Tower - SSRG team adding the restored spikes to the original lyre
Cincinnati Music Hall - restored spikes on the lyre, as seen from inside Corbett Tower
Cincinnati Music Hall's lyre with the restored spikes
Cincinnati Music Hall showing the SSRG team and the boom bucket's shadow as they get close to replace the missing finial
Cincinnati Music Hall's rose window, with the left restored finial
SSRG places the finial for Cincinnati Music Hall's south wing on the west - Central Parkway - side
Cincinnati Music Hall South Hall, viewed from west of the structure, showing restored finials
A restored finial on the west side of Cincinnati Music Hall, with the spires of City Hall and St. Peter in Chains Cathedral
Cincinnati Music Hall showing four restored fnials and, in the center, restored spikes on the lyre above the date stone
28 Jun 2021

The Finial Restoration Project by Friends of Music Hall

By Diana Tisue and Rick Pender Updated 30 June 2021 by Thea Tjepkema The Friends of Music Hall provided the … Read More

architectural, architectural design, architectural detailing, Cincinnati, Cincinnati history, Cincinnati Music Hall, EverGreene, example of high victorian gothic, finials, fleurons, gables, gothic, gothic architecture, High Victorian Gothic, high victorian gothic architecture, historic elements, history, history of Cincinnati, Music Hall, National Historic Landmark, ornamentation, preservation, restoration, Samuel Hannaford, Sandstone, Victorian
Three of the finials to be restored on the Elm Street facade of Cincinnati Music Hall
9 Nov 2020

Historic Sandstone Ornamentation Restoration

By Diana Tisue and Rick Pender The Friends of Music Hall is excited to announce funding for the restoration of … Read More

architectural, architectural design, architectural detailing, Cincinnati, Cincinnati history, Cincinnati Music Hall, EverGreene, finials, gables, gothic, High Victorian Gothic, historic elements, history, history of Cincinnati, Music Hall, National Historic Landmark, ornamentation, restoration, Samuel Hannaford, Sandstone, Victorian
Illustration of Morning, Noon and Evening art-carved panels
25 Apr 2018

Making a Discovery at a Music Hall Open House

On April 2, Cincinnati enjoyed the annual Findlay Market Opening Day parade. As part of that “rite of spring” celebration, … Read More

art-carved panels, Findlay Market Opening Day Parade, Music Hall, open house, organ panels, SPMH
5 Dec 2017

The Art Carvers of the Organ Panels in Cincinnati Music Hall

Everyone who has stepped inside Cincinnati Music Hall’s Taft Suite has been mesmerized by the display of art-carved panels. These … Read More

art-carved, art-carved furniture, art-carved movement, art-carved panels, Cincinnati art, Cincinnati history, Cincinnati Music Hall, restoration, Society for the Preservation of Music Hall, SPMH
art-carved panels display
10 Oct 2017

Art-Carved Panels in Music Hall

As a New Board member of SPMH it was my pleasure and honor this grand opening weekend to share in … Read More

art-carved, art-carved movement, Hook & Hastings, Music Hall, organ, panels, SPMH

Recent Posts

  • Restoration of Music Hall’s Balcony Doors: Craft, Industry, and Immigration Revealed Restoration of Music Hall’s Balcony Doors: Craft, Industry, and Immigration Revealed April 18, 2025
  • Photo of Isaac Graveson with a background of the tile and medallions his company provided to Music Hall. The Stone of Music Hall: The Lobby Floor Restoration Project & Isaac Graveson September 7, 2024
  • Helen Walker King, Cincinnati Soloist and a Black Voice for Change Through Music. HELEN WALKER KING: “Cincinnati’s Soloist” – A Black Voice for Change Through Music February 7, 2024
  • Eugene Ysaye with his Stradivarius violin EUGÈNE YSAŸE: Legendary Violin Virtuoso, Conductor, Composer, and Music Director of the CSO (1918-1922) and May Festival (1918, 1920) October 13, 2023

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