Hamilton County Memorial Building

Hamilton County Memorial Building
Hamilton County Memorial Building is located in Ohio
Hamilton County Memorial Building
Hamilton County Memorial Building is located in the United States
Hamilton County Memorial Building
LocationElm and Grant Sts., Cincinnati, Ohio
Coordinates39°6′31″N 84°31′6″W / 39.10861°N 84.51833°W / 39.10861; -84.51833
Area1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built1908
ArchitectSamuel Hannaford & Sons
Clement Barnhorn, sculptor
Architectural styleBeaux Arts
NRHP reference No.78002076[1]
Added to NRHPDecember 4, 1978

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 Music Hall and across from Washington Park in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. It was built by the Grand Army of the Republic and Hamilton County in 1908, as a memorial to the military of the city and county. The building was built in the Beaux-Arts style. The building, including the Annie W and Elizabeth M Anderson Theater, is used for over 300 events per year.[citation needed]

Constructed according to a design by Samuel Hannaford and Sons, the Memorial Building was intended to commemorate members of all branches of the U.S. armed services, as well as the pioneers who had established the United States.[2] The hall contains a 556-seat theater that was designed for speaking, but is also used as a venue for concerts, film screenings and theatrical events.[3] The theater's small size and acoustics allow for words spoken on stage in a normal voice to be easily be understood at the back of the balcony.[2]

In late 1978, the Memorial Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, qualifying for inclusion both because of its architecture and its history.[1] Its location on Washington Park places it in the historic district that embraces most of Over-the-Rhine,[4] which was added to the Register five years after the Memorial Building was individually added.[1] The hall is home to the American Classical Music Hall of Fame organization. [5]

An $11 million renovation to the building was completed in December 2016.[6]

  1. ^ a b c "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ a b Owen, Lorrie K., ed. Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places. Vol. 1. St. Clair Shores: Somerset, 1999, 609.
  3. ^ MetroMix, Memorial Hall Cincinnati. Accessed on 2009-08-18.
  4. ^ National Register District Address Finder Archived 2013-09-28 at the Wayback Machine, Ohio Historical Society, 2010. Accessed 2010-10-04.
  5. ^ Arts Wave. "American Classical Music Hall of Fame and Museum". Arts Wave Guide. ArtsWave. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  6. ^ "Memorial Hall gets its second act". Cincinnati.com. Retrieved 2017-08-17.