Emery Theatre
Encyclopedia
The Emery Theatre, or Emery Auditorium, is a historic, acoustically exceptional theater located in the Over-the-Rhine
neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio
. The building was constructed in 1911 as the home for a trade school (the Ohio Mechanics Institute), but its large, impressive auditorium was intended for public use.
The design of the Emery Theatre is based on the "isacoustic curve" principles that were first proposed by John Scott Russell
. The theatre was built with two balconies and a total of 2,211 seats. It was one of the first concert halls in the United States to have no obstructed seats.
The Emery was the home of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
, who performed there from January 6, 1912 until 1936 when they moved to the larger Music Hall
. The quality of acoustics
in the Emery Theatre is legendary. The famous conductor Leopold Stokowski
compared its acoustics to that of Carnegie Hall
in New York City
.
Many world renown performing artists and Broadway
stars have appeared at the Emery, including George Gershwin
, John Philip Sousa
, Bette Davis
, Arturo Toscanini
, Fritz Reiner
, Katherine Cornell, and Russian ballet dancers Nijinsky
and Anna Pavlova. Gershwin performed Rhapsody in Blue
there with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra shortly after premiering it in New York City.
The Emery Theatre has fallen into disuse, but there is a long-standing community interest in restoring the historic auditorium as a mid-sized performing venue. A modern restoration of the theatre would allow seating for approximately 1,600 guests.
The current revival effort aims to see the theatre restored as a community arts venue.
In September 1905, the "new Quarters" committee officially recommended that the property on the northeast corner of Walnut and Canal streets (now Central Parkway) be purchased. Actually, prospects for the purchase of land just north of the old canal were so well along by that spring, Hannaford was authorized to prepare plans for the new building. OMI Superintendent John L. Shearer might have seen preliminary plans as early as June 1905, but the OMI board probably saw the plans for the first time in January 1906. These plans were first made public in a promotional brochure which appeared in the spring of 1906.
The 1906 brochure shows a four-story building closely resembling the old Woodward High School on Sycamore Street, now the School for the Creative and Performing Arts. Although its auditorium was intended from the beginning to be available to the public, the small stage, limited backstage facilities, and seating capacity of 1,280 precluded its use by any large scale theatrical or concert productions. Without outside influence the OMI's concept of a public auditorium might not have departed from the simple requirements of a school assembly hall. However, outside influence was soon felt, in the form of Mrs. Mary M. Emery's philanthropy, and in Cincinnati's desire to build a special home for its orchestra.
I hereby offer to furnish the sum of One Hundred Thousand Dollars.. .for the erection of that part of your proposed new buildings [sic] to be known as the "Shop Building", on condition that by the 1st day of' April A. D. 1908 you procure subscriptions for the sum of Four Hundred Thousand Dollars... If you succeed within the time named... I will further agree on the completion of your building... to endow your institution with the sum of Fifty Thousand Dollars... The "Shop Building"... I would desire to be considered as a gift in memory of Thomas J. Emery, the building to be known as 'The Thomas J. Emery Building."
In July 1908, Shearer induced Mrs. Emery to take on the entire cost of the project and make the whole building a memorial to her husband. Mrs. Emery's second offer, dated October 10, 1908, enumerated special purposes for the auditorium of the new OMI building. Besides being "primarily for the use of your school," she wished that the auditorium be "so constructed as to be serviceable for public and private lectures, entertainments, symphony and other concerts. May Festival rehearsals, and for such other entertainment as in the judgement of the Trustees of your institution may be proper." She avoided mention of the Cincinnati Symphony, which she hoped would be the new hall's main tenant.
However, by the early 1890s Cincinnati wanted to produce opera, which requires elaborate stage facilities and an orchestra pit. She also wanted her own symphony orchestra, but orchestral sound would have been depleted by the immense volume of the original Music Hall. So, in 1895 Samuel Hannaford, Music Hall's architect, was hired to adapt the hall to Cincinnati's diversifying musical needs.
Hannaford's primary task was to shorten Music Hall's length to bring the entire audience visually and aurally closer to the performers. He designed a permanent stage and proscenium well forward of the original platform. As necessary as this was, it made Music Hall a bit too wide for its length, and the resulting acoustical problems exist to this day. Orchestral sound in Music Hall tends to spread laterally, causing it to "thin out" in the middle frequencies. Sound heard from the extreme sides of both stage and house contains an appreciable amount of indirect or reverberative sound. This makes precision ensemble playing more difficult for the orchestra, and the audience on the sides of the main floor is prone to hear an even thinner, lopsided orchestral sound which can be plagued with echoes.
These acoustical problems would also exist in the center of the hall had not Hannaford designed an elliptical crest over the proscenium. At first glance, this crest appears to be decorative. However, it serves an important acoustical function. The crest reflects sound from the apron of the stage, customarily occupied by the string sections of an orchestra, to the center portion of the first balcony, and the main floor directly in front of the balcony, giving sound from the stage a fullness and presence it otherwise would not have.
Hannaford knew what he was doing when he designed Music Hall's elliptical crest. By 1895 the use of elliptical ceiling configurations for acoustical purposes was established by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan's Auditorium Theatre, built in Chicago in 1889, and William B. Tuthill's Carnegie Hall in New York City, for which Adler served as consultant.
As early as 1903 Mrs. Holmes started agitating for a home for the Cincinnati symphony, and by the symphony's two-season interregnum, 1907–1909, Cincinnati's need for a smaller concert hall was firmly established. A Cincinnati Times-Star article of April 8, 1907, stated that "...a need of a hall for concert purposes, seating about 2,500 in no way impairs the usefulness of Music Hall, which is daily required for large gatherings and for the May festivals ... and it is trusted that some public-spirited man may arise ~ and offer a solution of the problem."
A new concert hall was not all Cincinnati needed to get its orchestra operating again. The Symphony Association needed a S50,000 guarantee fund and a new conductor, both of which were still wanting in the fall of 1908. This is why Mrs. Emery did not specifically mention the Cincinnati symphony in her bequest. However, a day or two after the OMI accepted her bequest, she offered the "Emery Auditorium" to the Cincinnati symphony.
Mrs. Emery told the Symphony Association that the new hall would have about 1,500 seats. The Association decided that was "too small" and should be increased by 500. Within a month Charles Livingood, Mrs. Emery's secretary, informed the Association "that the capacity of the hall would be increased as much as possible."
The CSO's new conductor was the virtually unknown twenty-seven-year-old Leopold Stokowski. Besides Stokowski's marginal experience in symphonic conducting, he had no formal training in acoustics, but his intuitive genius for orchestras included a similar genius for concert halls. We will probably never know when or how Stokowski first learned of the Emery Auditorium, but we can reason¬ably assume he knew of it by January 1910, and that he was not entirely pleased with the hall's design. However, he was not the only one who was worried for Mrs. Emery and the Symphony Association were again concerned about the hall's seating capacity.
The great public interest in a new orchestra in a forthcoming new hall under a young and glamorous new conductor generated the purchase of 2,500 season tickets and over-all ticket revenues of almost S25.000. By the end of 1909, Mrs. Holmes and the Symphony Association were regretting they acquiesced to the 1,800 seating capacity and wished they had held out for more. Moving the orchestra into an 1,800 seat hall looked more and more like economic suicide. By the end of 1909 the footings for the auditorium were poured and the concrete and steel frame for the building was being put up. Something had to be done, and fast.
In early January 1910, Harvey Hannaford was informed, probably through Mr. Livingood, that the Symphony Association desired a larger seating capacity. Hannaford had no choice but to add a second balcony.
At a special meeting of the OMI board on February 14, Shearer asked Mr. Hannaford to present "the whole proposition from his standpoint." After a "very full discussion... in which every member took part," the board drew up the following preamble and resolution.
Whereas, the Board of Directors of the Ohio Mechanics Institute... having fully discussed the question of the seating capacity of the Emery Auditorium, and Whereas, it is the opinion of every member of the Board that a seating capacity of 1800 as originally designed was entirely satisfactory and sufficiently large for all practical purposes of the Institute, and for all other purposes, and further believing that a hall of 1800 seating capacity could be maintained at a minimum expense and yield a maximum revenue, but Whereas Mrs. Emery has made an earnest request for a hall having a minimum of 2200 seating capacity and has agreed to bear the entire cost of any changes involved, it is moved by Mr. Hobart and second by Mr. Hannaford as follows: Having a full appreciation of the generosity which prompted the gift of Mrs. Emery of $500,000 for the erection of the new Ohio Mechanics Institute, and desiring that when completed the building shall fully meet her idea of what it should be, it is the sense of the Board of Directors that this seating capacity be increased to a minimum of 2200, in accordance with Mrs. Emery's expressed wish....
The OMI Board was obviously upset that the design of their hall was no longer in its control. In stating that the 1,800 seating capacity was sufficient for the Institute "and for all other purposes," they, in effect, dismissed the demands of the Symphony Association. But that dismissal was only for their private satisfaction. The resolution itself was more diplomatic. It distilled an increasingly fractious situation into a formula which everyone could accept and allowed the project to proceed. Mrs. Emery no doubt under¬stood the position she was putting the OMI in, and she accepted the responsibility.
The contributions of Mrs. Emery and the Symphony Association committee to the final design helped to make the Emery the first concert hall in the United States to have no obstructed seats. Also, the relationship of seating capacity and comfort with building expense was very favorable. When we consider that the entire building complex ended up costing about $630,000, the Emery was a bargain. However, Mr. Hannaford still had Leopold Stokowski to contend with.
At the March 8 Symphony Association meeting the minutes state:"... Mr. Stokowski found upon investiga¬tion that the stage would not be large enough for the orchestra and the Proscenium Arch would be far too low for good effect—it was decided that it was absolutely necessary to have 54 foot stage and a much higher arch. Mr. Livingood felt that both... would be impossible but finally agreed to have Mr. Stokowski confer with the architect and report later upon the subject, all work on the hall to await his decision"
The two massive balconies are the most wonderful structural aspects of the 1911 design. Viewed from the stage, the balconies appear to be strung effortlessly between the walls of the hall. Their "secret" lies in two I-bcams of structural steel, one for each balcony, over eighty-nine feet long and weighing thirty-three tons each, running the width of the hall. The balconies rest largely on these beams. The beam for the second balcony is tied directly into the back pair of the hall's four main support columns. The anchorage for the lower balcony's beam is less obvious. It appears to float above the main floor because it enters the walls immediately above two sets of exit doors. Actually, it is riveted at both ends into plate girders which span the doors like lintels, and in turn are attached to the support columns. These plate girders are completely covered over by masonry. An intricate system of cantilever trusses extend out from these I-beams to form the front part of the balconies. This method of balcony construction was relatively new in 1910, and had, to the author's knowledge, never been used in a concert hall in the United States prior to the Emery Auditorium. Its use in two balconies adds further precedent to the Emery's design.
The Emery was originally painted in various shades of fawns and creams, and the raised plaster work was rendered in antique gold. A photograph of the interior from about 1925 shows how these various shadings enhanced the rather Spartan interior. The plaster work was much simpler compared to the 1909 design, probably for economic reasons. However, the simpler decoration was more congruent with the functional nature of the school's design.
The Wurlitzer Organ from the RKO Albee Theater (1927–1974) was moved to the Emery Theater in 1969 and totally rebuilt in the space of eight years at a cost of $2.5 million and over 20,000 volunteer hours. The organ pipes were placed on the rear portion of the stage. On the weekend of Oct. 21, 1977, the rebuilt organ was dedicated to full houses of music lovers and theatre buffs.
From 1977 until 1999, the theatre was managed by the American Theatre Organ Society, who reduced the seating capacity to 1,360 by closing the second balcony to the public. During this period, silent, sound, and 3D films were shown during the weekends, and organ concerts were performed several times each year.
The theatre portion of the building remains in need of major renovation and continues to be unused.
The history of the theatre-style concert hall in the United States did not stop with the Emery. Evidence, which at present is only circumstantial, indicates that the Emery influenced the design of Detroit's Orchestra Hall, considered by musicians and audiophiles to be the finest theatre-style concert hall in the world. Saved from destruction in 1970, Orchestra Hall in Detroit once again is setting the highest standard for orchestral sound. Severance Hall in Cleveland was the next theatre-style hall built expressly for a symphony orchestra in the United States. Built in 1930, Severance's design was based on acoustical concepts which emphasized clarity at the expense of resonance. Even though subsequent renovation has improved Severance's resonance, the "unresonant" approach to concert hall design has been the dominant philosophy ever since, and orchestral sound has suffered as a consequence. Severance Hall marked the end of a highly successful era in concert hall design. A rebirth of the Emery hopefully will also be a rebirth of the acoustical concepts the Emery Theatre epitomizes.
The renovation of the Emery Theatre intends to open the building in modular phases, with a full-scale renovation that will include gallery space, a sculpture garden, dance studios, music rooms, alternative performance spaces and event rental space.
The first event to be held at the Emery under The Requiem Project’s artistic direction is the “11.11.11,” a preview of the Emery, and an introduction to the four avenues of the company’s public mission which is the development of an innovative arts destination as a space for creative possibility with the belief that meaningful artistic interactions create community.
owns the building that houses both the Emery Theatre and the Emery Center Apartments. UC has owned the building since 1969.
In 1989, the non-profit Emery Center Corporation (ECC) was created to promote the restoration and sustainable operation of the Emery Theatre (auditorium). The ECC maintains the lease for the auditorium portion of the building.
The Emery Center Apartments Limited Partnership (ECALP) leased the building (excluding the theatre) from UC in order to redevelop the building into market rate rental apartments and commercial spaces in 2001.
In 2009 the ECC began developing plans to sublease the theatre to the nonprofit Requiem Project, as a renovation effort.
Over-the-Rhine
Over-the-Rhine, sometimes shortened to OTR, is a neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is believed to be the largest, most intact urban historic district in the United States. Over-the-Rhine was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 with 943 contributing buildings...
neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. The building was constructed in 1911 as the home for a trade school (the Ohio Mechanics Institute), but its large, impressive auditorium was intended for public use.
The design of the Emery Theatre is based on the "isacoustic curve" principles that were first proposed by John Scott Russell
John Scott Russell
John Scott Russell was a Scottish naval engineer who built the Great Eastern in collaboration with Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and made the discovery that gave birth to the modern study of solitons.-Personal life:John Scott Russell was born John Russell on 9 May 1808 in Parkhead, Glasgow, the son of...
. The theatre was built with two balconies and a total of 2,211 seats. It was one of the first concert halls in the United States to have no obstructed seats.
The Emery was the home of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
As the fifth oldest orchestra in the United States, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra has a legacy of fine music making as reflected in its performances in historic Music Hall, recordings, and international tours...
, who performed there from January 6, 1912 until 1936 when they moved to the larger Music Hall
Music Hall (Cincinnati)
Music Hall, completed in 1878, is Cincinnati's premier classical music performance hall. It serves as the home for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Opera, May Festival Chorus, and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. In January, 1975, it was recognized as a National Historic Landmark by the...
. The quality of acoustics
Acoustics
Acoustics is the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of all mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician while someone working in the field of acoustics...
in the Emery Theatre is legendary. The famous conductor Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...
compared its acoustics to that of Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Many world renown performing artists and Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
stars have appeared at the Emery, including George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
, John Philip Sousa
John Philip Sousa
John Philip Sousa was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era, known particularly for American military and patriotic marches. Because of his mastery of march composition, he is known as "The March King" or the "American March King" due to his British counterpart Kenneth J....
, Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
, Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
, Fritz Reiner
Fritz Reiner
Frederick Martin “Fritz” Reiner was a prominent conductor of opera and symphonic music in the twentieth century.-Biography:...
, Katherine Cornell, and Russian ballet dancers Nijinsky
Nijinsky
Nijinsky can refer to:*Vaslav Nijinsky , ballet dancer and choreographer*Bronislava Nijinska , dancer, choreographer and teacher*Nijinksy , starring Alan Bates Harry Saltzman as Vaslav Nijinsky*Nijinsky II, race horse...
and Anna Pavlova. Gershwin performed Rhapsody in Blue
Rhapsody in Blue
Rhapsody in Blue is a musical composition by George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band written in 1924, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects....
there with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra shortly after premiering it in New York City.
| Venue | Seating |
|---|---|
| Music Hall Music Hall (Cincinnati) Music Hall, completed in 1878, is Cincinnati's premier classical music performance hall. It serves as the home for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Opera, May Festival Chorus, and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. In January, 1975, it was recognized as a National Historic Landmark by the... |
3,400 |
| Aronoff Center Aronoff Center The Aronoff Center is a large performing arts center in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. Events that can typically be found at the Aronoff Center include: plays, ballet, popular music concerts, stand-up comedy shows, and musicals... |
2,700 |
| Taft Theatre Taft Theatre The Taft Theatre is a 2,500-seat theater, located in Cincinnati, Ohio, at 317 East Fifth Street. The theatre was built in 1928, as evidenced by its Art Deco interior. All seats are unobstructed, giving every seat a clear view of the stage. It is part of the Masonic Temple Building at Fifth and... |
2,400 |
| Emery Theatre | ~1,600 |
| Corbett Auditorium University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music The University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music is the performing arts college of the University of Cincinnati and is one of the nation's leading music conservatories. In its most recent rankings, U.S. News & World Report ranked Cincinnati sixth nationally among university programs... |
900 |
| Memorial Hall Hamilton County Memorial Building The Hamilton County Memorial Building , more commonly called Memorial Hall, is located at Elm & Grant Streets, in Cincinnati, Ohio. The building is next to Cincinnati's... |
610 |
The Emery Theatre has fallen into disuse, but there is a long-standing community interest in restoring the historic auditorium as a mid-sized performing venue. A modern restoration of the theatre would allow seating for approximately 1,600 guests.
The current revival effort aims to see the theatre restored as a community arts venue.
History
The Emery Theatre, or Auditorium as it was originally known, was the third in a series of four theatre-style concert halls whose design was derived from Adler and Sullivan's Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, and that were specifically built for the symphony orchestras of their respective cities. The four halls were Carnegie Hall in New York City (1892), Orchestra Hall in Chicago (1904), Emery Auditorium in Cincinnati (1911), and Orchestra Hall in Detroit (1919). Unlike its three sister halls, the Emery Theatre is not freestanding, but is part of a school building. The school was the Ohio Mechanics Institute (OMI), now known as the Ohio College of Applied Science.Plans for a new OMI building: 1903
By the early 1900s, the OMI's need for a new and larger building was imperative. The OMI Board investigated this need as early as 1903, and a “Special Committee on New Quarters" was formed in June 1904. One of its members was Harvey E. Hannaford, Treasurer of the OMI Board, elder son of Samuel Hannaford, and managing director of Samuel Hannaford and Sons, Architects.In September 1905, the "new Quarters" committee officially recommended that the property on the northeast corner of Walnut and Canal streets (now Central Parkway) be purchased. Actually, prospects for the purchase of land just north of the old canal were so well along by that spring, Hannaford was authorized to prepare plans for the new building. OMI Superintendent John L. Shearer might have seen preliminary plans as early as June 1905, but the OMI board probably saw the plans for the first time in January 1906. These plans were first made public in a promotional brochure which appeared in the spring of 1906.
The 1906 brochure shows a four-story building closely resembling the old Woodward High School on Sycamore Street, now the School for the Creative and Performing Arts. Although its auditorium was intended from the beginning to be available to the public, the small stage, limited backstage facilities, and seating capacity of 1,280 precluded its use by any large scale theatrical or concert productions. Without outside influence the OMI's concept of a public auditorium might not have departed from the simple requirements of a school assembly hall. However, outside influence was soon felt, in the form of Mrs. Mary M. Emery's philanthropy, and in Cincinnati's desire to build a special home for its orchestra.
Auditorium plans become bigger: 1907
On July 20, 1907, Mrs. Emery made a substantial offer:I hereby offer to furnish the sum of One Hundred Thousand Dollars.. .for the erection of that part of your proposed new buildings [sic] to be known as the "Shop Building", on condition that by the 1st day of' April A. D. 1908 you procure subscriptions for the sum of Four Hundred Thousand Dollars... If you succeed within the time named... I will further agree on the completion of your building... to endow your institution with the sum of Fifty Thousand Dollars... The "Shop Building"... I would desire to be considered as a gift in memory of Thomas J. Emery, the building to be known as 'The Thomas J. Emery Building."
In July 1908, Shearer induced Mrs. Emery to take on the entire cost of the project and make the whole building a memorial to her husband. Mrs. Emery's second offer, dated October 10, 1908, enumerated special purposes for the auditorium of the new OMI building. Besides being "primarily for the use of your school," she wished that the auditorium be "so constructed as to be serviceable for public and private lectures, entertainments, symphony and other concerts. May Festival rehearsals, and for such other entertainment as in the judgement of the Trustees of your institution may be proper." She avoided mention of the Cincinnati Symphony, which she hoped would be the new hall's main tenant.
CSO as potential tenant
Founded in 1895, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra played its first two seasons in the Pike Opera House on Fourth Street. The success of those concerts underscored a need Cincinnati had been feeling for a number of years, the adaptation of Music Hall into a more theatre-like facility. When first built in 1878, Music Hall was simply a long, high-ceilinged room with a platform, choir stalls, and pipe organ at one end, a three-sided gallery, a second gallery at the end opposite the platform, and large windows on both sides. This was an eminently logical design for the May Festival performances and for conventions, exhibitions, and banquets.However, by the early 1890s Cincinnati wanted to produce opera, which requires elaborate stage facilities and an orchestra pit. She also wanted her own symphony orchestra, but orchestral sound would have been depleted by the immense volume of the original Music Hall. So, in 1895 Samuel Hannaford, Music Hall's architect, was hired to adapt the hall to Cincinnati's diversifying musical needs.
Hannaford's primary task was to shorten Music Hall's length to bring the entire audience visually and aurally closer to the performers. He designed a permanent stage and proscenium well forward of the original platform. As necessary as this was, it made Music Hall a bit too wide for its length, and the resulting acoustical problems exist to this day. Orchestral sound in Music Hall tends to spread laterally, causing it to "thin out" in the middle frequencies. Sound heard from the extreme sides of both stage and house contains an appreciable amount of indirect or reverberative sound. This makes precision ensemble playing more difficult for the orchestra, and the audience on the sides of the main floor is prone to hear an even thinner, lopsided orchestral sound which can be plagued with echoes.
These acoustical problems would also exist in the center of the hall had not Hannaford designed an elliptical crest over the proscenium. At first glance, this crest appears to be decorative. However, it serves an important acoustical function. The crest reflects sound from the apron of the stage, customarily occupied by the string sections of an orchestra, to the center portion of the first balcony, and the main floor directly in front of the balcony, giving sound from the stage a fullness and presence it otherwise would not have.
Hannaford knew what he was doing when he designed Music Hall's elliptical crest. By 1895 the use of elliptical ceiling configurations for acoustical purposes was established by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan's Auditorium Theatre, built in Chicago in 1889, and William B. Tuthill's Carnegie Hall in New York City, for which Adler served as consultant.
New acoustic paradigm
Adler used the principle of the "isacoustic curve" first described by John Scott Russell in 1836 not only to calculate the best placement of the Auditorium's main floor and its three balconies, but also to design a series of terraced ellipses which form the ceiling in the front part of the hall. These ellipses helped direct sound evenly throughout the hall. They serve the added function of lessening the over-all volume so sound in this large hall is not boomy or cavernous but still resonant, especially for the audience in the second and third balconies. The Auditorium Theatre was the paradigm for the theatre-style concert hall in the United States for about thirty years. Its influence was strongest in Cincinnati. Adler’s design helped Harvey Hannaford with the design problems of the Emery Auditorium.Negotiations with CSO for more seating: 1910
For the Cincinnati symphony in remodeled Music Hall, economic problems were of great importance. The orchestra's finances were precarious for its first twelve seasons. It almost ceased operations in 1901. Deficits were routinely covered at the end of each season by wealthy patrons, but this was a makeshift way of operating. The symphony needed to develop a more secure and organized source of revenue at the beginning of each season. Season ticket sales rarely exceeded S2,600, and most of those were for cheaper seats. Also, the symphony never filled Music Hall to capacity. For its first six seasons the symphony relied on the considerable prestige of its music director, Frank Van der Stucken, to generate revenue. This strategy began chang¬ing after Mrs. Christian R. Holmes was elected President of the Symphony Association Board in 1900.As early as 1903 Mrs. Holmes started agitating for a home for the Cincinnati symphony, and by the symphony's two-season interregnum, 1907–1909, Cincinnati's need for a smaller concert hall was firmly established. A Cincinnati Times-Star article of April 8, 1907, stated that "...a need of a hall for concert purposes, seating about 2,500 in no way impairs the usefulness of Music Hall, which is daily required for large gatherings and for the May festivals ... and it is trusted that some public-spirited man may arise ~ and offer a solution of the problem."
A new concert hall was not all Cincinnati needed to get its orchestra operating again. The Symphony Association needed a S50,000 guarantee fund and a new conductor, both of which were still wanting in the fall of 1908. This is why Mrs. Emery did not specifically mention the Cincinnati symphony in her bequest. However, a day or two after the OMI accepted her bequest, she offered the "Emery Auditorium" to the Cincinnati symphony.
Mrs. Emery told the Symphony Association that the new hall would have about 1,500 seats. The Association decided that was "too small" and should be increased by 500. Within a month Charles Livingood, Mrs. Emery's secretary, informed the Association "that the capacity of the hall would be increased as much as possible."
The CSO's new conductor was the virtually unknown twenty-seven-year-old Leopold Stokowski. Besides Stokowski's marginal experience in symphonic conducting, he had no formal training in acoustics, but his intuitive genius for orchestras included a similar genius for concert halls. We will probably never know when or how Stokowski first learned of the Emery Auditorium, but we can reason¬ably assume he knew of it by January 1910, and that he was not entirely pleased with the hall's design. However, he was not the only one who was worried for Mrs. Emery and the Symphony Association were again concerned about the hall's seating capacity.
The great public interest in a new orchestra in a forthcoming new hall under a young and glamorous new conductor generated the purchase of 2,500 season tickets and over-all ticket revenues of almost S25.000. By the end of 1909, Mrs. Holmes and the Symphony Association were regretting they acquiesced to the 1,800 seating capacity and wished they had held out for more. Moving the orchestra into an 1,800 seat hall looked more and more like economic suicide. By the end of 1909 the footings for the auditorium were poured and the concrete and steel frame for the building was being put up. Something had to be done, and fast.
In early January 1910, Harvey Hannaford was informed, probably through Mr. Livingood, that the Symphony Association desired a larger seating capacity. Hannaford had no choice but to add a second balcony.
At a special meeting of the OMI board on February 14, Shearer asked Mr. Hannaford to present "the whole proposition from his standpoint." After a "very full discussion... in which every member took part," the board drew up the following preamble and resolution.
Whereas, the Board of Directors of the Ohio Mechanics Institute... having fully discussed the question of the seating capacity of the Emery Auditorium, and Whereas, it is the opinion of every member of the Board that a seating capacity of 1800 as originally designed was entirely satisfactory and sufficiently large for all practical purposes of the Institute, and for all other purposes, and further believing that a hall of 1800 seating capacity could be maintained at a minimum expense and yield a maximum revenue, but Whereas Mrs. Emery has made an earnest request for a hall having a minimum of 2200 seating capacity and has agreed to bear the entire cost of any changes involved, it is moved by Mr. Hobart and second by Mr. Hannaford as follows: Having a full appreciation of the generosity which prompted the gift of Mrs. Emery of $500,000 for the erection of the new Ohio Mechanics Institute, and desiring that when completed the building shall fully meet her idea of what it should be, it is the sense of the Board of Directors that this seating capacity be increased to a minimum of 2200, in accordance with Mrs. Emery's expressed wish....
The OMI Board was obviously upset that the design of their hall was no longer in its control. In stating that the 1,800 seating capacity was sufficient for the Institute "and for all other purposes," they, in effect, dismissed the demands of the Symphony Association. But that dismissal was only for their private satisfaction. The resolution itself was more diplomatic. It distilled an increasingly fractious situation into a formula which everyone could accept and allowed the project to proceed. Mrs. Emery no doubt under¬stood the position she was putting the OMI in, and she accepted the responsibility.
The contributions of Mrs. Emery and the Symphony Association committee to the final design helped to make the Emery the first concert hall in the United States to have no obstructed seats. Also, the relationship of seating capacity and comfort with building expense was very favorable. When we consider that the entire building complex ended up costing about $630,000, the Emery was a bargain. However, Mr. Hannaford still had Leopold Stokowski to contend with.
At the March 8 Symphony Association meeting the minutes state:"... Mr. Stokowski found upon investiga¬tion that the stage would not be large enough for the orchestra and the Proscenium Arch would be far too low for good effect—it was decided that it was absolutely necessary to have 54 foot stage and a much higher arch. Mr. Livingood felt that both... would be impossible but finally agreed to have Mr. Stokowski confer with the architect and report later upon the subject, all work on the hall to await his decision"
Final design: 1911
The final 1911 Emery Auditorium design is derived from the 1909 design. Hannaford made the ellipse shallower, shifted the three coffered ceiling segments toward the stage, and added in the back of the hall a smooth ceiling which is rounded in the front. The ellipse was now the same as Music Hall's ellipse.The two massive balconies are the most wonderful structural aspects of the 1911 design. Viewed from the stage, the balconies appear to be strung effortlessly between the walls of the hall. Their "secret" lies in two I-bcams of structural steel, one for each balcony, over eighty-nine feet long and weighing thirty-three tons each, running the width of the hall. The balconies rest largely on these beams. The beam for the second balcony is tied directly into the back pair of the hall's four main support columns. The anchorage for the lower balcony's beam is less obvious. It appears to float above the main floor because it enters the walls immediately above two sets of exit doors. Actually, it is riveted at both ends into plate girders which span the doors like lintels, and in turn are attached to the support columns. These plate girders are completely covered over by masonry. An intricate system of cantilever trusses extend out from these I-beams to form the front part of the balconies. This method of balcony construction was relatively new in 1910, and had, to the author's knowledge, never been used in a concert hall in the United States prior to the Emery Auditorium. Its use in two balconies adds further precedent to the Emery's design.
The Emery was originally painted in various shades of fawns and creams, and the raised plaster work was rendered in antique gold. A photograph of the interior from about 1925 shows how these various shadings enhanced the rather Spartan interior. The plaster work was much simpler compared to the 1909 design, probably for economic reasons. However, the simpler decoration was more congruent with the functional nature of the school's design.
University of Cincinnati and American Theatre Organ Society: 1969
The building came under the ownership of the University of Cincinnati in 1969 when OMI-CAS (Ohio College of Applied science) was incorporated into UC.The Wurlitzer Organ from the RKO Albee Theater (1927–1974) was moved to the Emery Theater in 1969 and totally rebuilt in the space of eight years at a cost of $2.5 million and over 20,000 volunteer hours. The organ pipes were placed on the rear portion of the stage. On the weekend of Oct. 21, 1977, the rebuilt organ was dedicated to full houses of music lovers and theatre buffs.
From 1977 until 1999, the theatre was managed by the American Theatre Organ Society, who reduced the seating capacity to 1,360 by closing the second balcony to the public. During this period, silent, sound, and 3D films were shown during the weekends, and organ concerts were performed several times each year.
Classrooms vacant: 1988
When OMI-CAS moved to its new Edgecliff Campus in 1988, the non-theatre part of the building sat vacant. However, the University of Cincinnati remained owner of the building.Theatre vacant: 1999
In 1999, the American Theatre Organ Society ceased performances, and the theatre fell into disuse. The Wurlitzer Organ was removed from the theatre and put into storage. At this point, the entire building sat unused.Emery Center Apartments: 2001
Between 1999 and 2001, The University of Cincinnati successfully executed a $10 million redevelopment of the non-theatre part of the building (former classroom space) into contemporary residential apartments. The complex now contains 59 units of market-rate housing, interior parking, and commercial office and retail space.The theatre portion of the building remains in need of major renovation and continues to be unused.
Legacy of sound
In regard to the all important matter of acoustics, Stokowski commented on the hall's excellent combination of clarity and blend, and the effective increase in the orchestra's power. Individual instrumental colors could now be heard with greater resolution because of the greater logistical intimacy between audience and orchestra, ' and because the hall's shape and dimensions created a less diffuse sound, while at the same time creating resonance which blended the clearer, more powerful sound into a well balanced whole. Unfortunately, the Cincinnati symphony made no commercial recordings in the Emery, and no radio broadcast transcription disks are known to exist from the period the orchestra performed there. Therefore, we have no record of the symphony's sound in the Emery. After the CSO's return to Music Hall in 1936, symphony concerts were no longer heard in the Emery. The Emery's sound became a legend, especially among musicians. The Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra's performances in the Emery in the late 1970s verified the legend to some extent, but memories of a symphony orchestra's sound in the hall were fast slipping into the dim reaches of history. In an effort to rekindle the Emery's legendary symphonic sound, the Emery Theatre Restoration Association sponsored an orchestra concert given in the Emery on September 27, 1987. The sound had a "shining" clarity along with full resonance that was evident even at the softest sound levels. Hopefully, this sound will be the acoustical standard during the Emery Auditorium's probable renovation.The history of the theatre-style concert hall in the United States did not stop with the Emery. Evidence, which at present is only circumstantial, indicates that the Emery influenced the design of Detroit's Orchestra Hall, considered by musicians and audiophiles to be the finest theatre-style concert hall in the world. Saved from destruction in 1970, Orchestra Hall in Detroit once again is setting the highest standard for orchestral sound. Severance Hall in Cleveland was the next theatre-style hall built expressly for a symphony orchestra in the United States. Built in 1930, Severance's design was based on acoustical concepts which emphasized clarity at the expense of resonance. Even though subsequent renovation has improved Severance's resonance, the "unresonant" approach to concert hall design has been the dominant philosophy ever since, and orchestral sound has suffered as a consequence. Severance Hall marked the end of a highly successful era in concert hall design. A rebirth of the Emery hopefully will also be a rebirth of the acoustical concepts the Emery Theatre epitomizes.
Recent community use of the theatre
Despite the theatre's poor condition, temporary occupancy permits have been obtained over the past few years to ensure the theatre is not forgotten.- In July 2008 a group of over 100 local volunteers from Give Back Cincinnati spent a day cleaning up the dusty theatre.
- In November 2008, the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards were held at the Emery.
- Give Back Cincinnati volunteers returned in 2009 to continue restoration of the theater. They cleaned the first balcony and painted much of the first floor and backstage area.
- In the summer of 2009, the Emery Theatre hosted Emery Jam, a fundriaser featuring local bands. Proceeds were used to help fund Give Back Cincinnati's annual trip to help rebuild New Orleans.
- In 2010, the Emery Theatre became a stop on the historical Civil War walking tour. The theatre is opened briefly to allow people to step onto the historic stage.
Past Revival Efforts
- In 1988, the non-profit Emery Center Corporation (ECC) was created to promote the restoration and sustainable operation of the Emery Theatre.
- In 1988 $4.5 million was initially secured for the Emery Theatre by Stanley Aronoff, a Cincinnati politician. However, facing other priorities, Aronoff helped the University of Cincinnati use $3.2 million for the building that houses the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning and $1.4 million for renovation of French Hall for University College. $400,000 of the appropriation went to planning for the Emery's restoration.
- In 1989, the Contemporary Art Center considered moving to the Emery
- In 1997 the University of Cincinnati partnered with the Cincinnati Preservation Association to begin drawing plans for renovation. In 2000, they attempted to raise $17.5 million to restore the Emery by 2004. However, they were unable to allocate the initial $5 million needed from state government, and the plan did not move forward.
- In 2001, The University of Cincinnati successfully completed a $10 million redevelopment of the non-theatre part of the building (former classroom space) into contemporary residential apartments. The complex now contains 59 units of market-rate housing, interior parking, and commercial office and retail space. Once the construction loans begin to be paid off, revenue from the apartments will be used for renovation and operation of the theatre.
- In 2010, the ECC applied for a $1 million appropriation from the Ohio Capital Improvement Budget. However, other community investments throughout the state were deemed a higher priority at the time.
Community Arts Venue
The non-profit Emery Center Corporation, formed in 1989, is responsible for re-opening the theatre. In September 2009, the ECC began developing a plan to re-open the theatre as an interdisciplinary arts venue managed by the site-specific non-profit, The Requiem Project. Revival of the Emery Theater is now referred to as "The Requiem Project: Emery Theatre."The Requiem Project
Founded in 2008, under the artistic direction of Tina Manchise and Tara Lindsey Gordon, The Requiem Project is a revitalization plan and re-programming of the Emery Theatre as a multi-purpose arts venue for diverse and innovative arts programs at an affordable cost, and as an educational resource center for professional development of artists. In addition to opening the theatre’s 1600 seat auditorium for live performances and films, The Requiem Project’s programming includes fine arts classes in dance, music, and writing, and teacher certifications in the movement arts, such as Pilates and yoga with the focus of increasing employable skills for working artists.The renovation of the Emery Theatre intends to open the building in modular phases, with a full-scale renovation that will include gallery space, a sculpture garden, dance studios, music rooms, alternative performance spaces and event rental space.
The first event to be held at the Emery under The Requiem Project’s artistic direction is the “11.11.11,” a preview of the Emery, and an introduction to the four avenues of the company’s public mission which is the development of an innovative arts destination as a space for creative possibility with the belief that meaningful artistic interactions create community.
Ownership Structure
The University of CincinnatiUniversity of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
owns the building that houses both the Emery Theatre and the Emery Center Apartments. UC has owned the building since 1969.
In 1989, the non-profit Emery Center Corporation (ECC) was created to promote the restoration and sustainable operation of the Emery Theatre (auditorium). The ECC maintains the lease for the auditorium portion of the building.
The Emery Center Apartments Limited Partnership (ECALP) leased the building (excluding the theatre) from UC in order to redevelop the building into market rate rental apartments and commercial spaces in 2001.
In 2009 the ECC began developing plans to sublease the theatre to the nonprofit Requiem Project, as a renovation effort.
External links
- Interactive virtual tour of Emery Theater featuring 18 different views
- Emery Theatre at UrbanUp
- Historic Emery Theatre Photos
- Our Legacy and Our Future
- NY Times: 36 Hours in Cincinnati
- Soapbox Media: Emery Theatre Revival
- WVXU: Requiem Project Interview
- Technology in the Arts
- Cincinnati Express: Rebirth and Restoration of the Emery