Phoenix Symphony Hall
Symphony Hall is a multi-purpose performing arts venue, located in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona, United States.
 The west ticket office and entrance to the Phoenix Symphony Hall in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. | |
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| Address | 75 North Second Street Phoenix, Arizona 85004 United States |
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| Location | Downtown Phoenix |
| Coordinates | 33°26′55.90″N 112°4′13.89″W |
| Owner | City of Phoenix, Phoenix Convention Center and Venues Department |
| Type | Concert Hall |
| Seating type | Reserved |
| Capacity | 2,312 |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1969 |
| Opened | 1972 |
| Renovated | 2004 |
| Architect | Charles Luckman |
| General contractor | Del E. Webb Construction Company |
| Website | |
| Venue website | |
It was completed in 1972, as part of the Phoenix Civic Plaza and quickly became the home of the People's Pops Concert, founded in 1970 by Theresa Elizabeth Perez, Music Coordinator for the City of Phoenix (1969-1983.) Prior to Symphony Hall opening, the Pops Concerts were performed at Phoenix College. Theresa's Children's Opera Series (Help, Help, the Globolinks! Noye's Fludde and Beauty is Fled) were also presented at Symphony Hall.
It is home to the Phoenix Symphony, Arizona Opera and Ballet Arizona.
It is also the site for Broadway touring companies, a variety of dance productions, and appearances by popular entertainers, as well as the location for business seminars, and convention general sessions.
In June 2004, a $18.5 million renovation took place, in conjunction with the construction of the neighboring Phoenix Convention Center West Building.
Symphony Hall now features 2,312 chairs, with wood bases for better acoustics. Reconfigured main-floor cross aisles, additional elevators and a new wheelchair seating section, greatly improve accessibility for patrons with disabilities and updates compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. There is a 60-foot x 100 foot stage area, high technology acoustical, lighting, rigging and sound systems, a Green Room, rehearsal hall and star, chorus and musicians dressing rooms.
It has been designated as a Phoenix Point of Pride.[1]
In popular culture, Phoenix Symphony Hall appears in the Clint Eastwood film The Gauntlet (1977), where it is used as the exterior of "Phoenix City Hall." Eastwood's bus crashes onto the steps of Symphony Hall at the climax of the movie. John Stewart's live album, The Phoenix Concerts, was recorded there.
Transportation
Symphony Hall is served by the 3rd Street and Washington Street and 3rd Street and Jefferson Street METRO station. (Signs at the station denote that station as Convention Center but METRO maps only use the street intersection names.)
See also
- List of historic properties in Phoenix, Arizona
References
- "Phoenix Points of Pride". Archived from the original on October 1, 2006. Retrieved October 18, 2006.