The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s $135 million expansion will open to the public on November 22. The project adds 50,000 square feet to the Cleveland museum, including a dedicated indoor concert venue. A community day will coincide with the opening.
The New York-based firm Practice for Architecture and Urbanism designed the project, according to Cleveland Magazine. Baker Hall, an oval room, will host concerts and private events. In the museum’s 31 years, it is the first indoor music venue built for that job.
The new building also holds the Haslam Atrium, named for a $10 million gift from Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam. Tall windows there face Lake Erie.
Outside, the Taylor Family Community Park sits between the museum and the Great Lakes Science Center. Cleveland Metroparks will run it. The park will connect to the Mandel Community Trail along the lakefront.
A green roof is part of the plan, and it should cut stormwater runoff while keeping temperatures steady. A deep lake water cooling system will chill the campus in summer. The magazine calls it a first for Northeast Ohio and Lake Erie.
The museum’s entrance will shift into the new building, just steps from Erieside Avenue. Visitors will walk down to the main exhibit level, then rise up through the I.M. Pei pyramid.
“We are a museum that’s dedicated to the living, breathing art form of rock ‘n’ roll,” Greg Harris, the museum’s president and CEO, said, “and live music is important to that.”
Another project will begin right after the opening. TAIT, a Pennsylvania production company, will lead a redesign of the main exhibit hall. The work adds more than 10,000 square feet on the lower level, including a room for large touring exhibits.
The induction ceremony returns to Cleveland in late 2027. This year, Phil Collins, Billy Idol, and other inductees will join the Rock Hall at a Nov. 14 ceremony at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
