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Benaroya Hall
Benaroya Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA cropped.jpg
Address 200 University Street
Seattle, Washington
United States
Coordinates 47°36′29″N 122°20′13″W / 47.608051°N 122.336948°W / 47.608051; -122.336948 (Benaroya Hall)
Type Concert hall
Capacity Taper: 2,500
Nordstrom: 536
Construction
Opened September 1998
Architect LMN Architects
Website
www.seattlesymphony.org/benaroya
BenaroyaHall
The 3rd Avenue side of Benaroya Hall.
Seattle Symphony Orchestra on stage in Benaroya Hall
The Seattle Symphony performing on stage in Benaroya Hall.

Benaroya Hall is a special concert hall located in Downtown Seattle, Washington, USA. It is the main home for the amazing Seattle Symphony orchestra. This building has two main performance spaces. The largest is the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium, which can seat 2,500 people. There is also the Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall, a smaller space for 536 people.

Benaroya Hall opened in September 1998. It cost about $120 million to build. People quickly noticed its great sound quality, fancy details, and perfect spot in the city center. The hall takes up a whole city block. It has helped the Seattle Symphony grow a lot, doubling their budget and the number of shows they put on. In the lobby, you can see beautiful glass art. One famous piece is called Crystal Cascade, made by the well-known artist Dale Chihuly.

Why it's Called Benaroya Hall

The building is named after a kind person named Jack Benaroya. He was a philanthropist, which means he gave a lot of money to good causes. His donation of $15.8 million was the first and largest gift for building the hall.

Designing a Special Concert Hall

LMN Architects from Seattle designed Benaroya Hall. In 2001, they won a big award called the National Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects for their work. The engineers who made sure the building was strong were from Magnusson Klemencic Associates.

Keeping the Music Clear

Benaroya Hall is built in a very busy part of Seattle. It sits right above the Great Northern Tunnel, where trains travel through the city. It is also next to the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel, which has a train station connected directly to the building.

To make sure the sounds from trains and street traffic do not disturb the music, the main concert hall is built in a very clever way. It floats on special rubber pads! These pads separate the concert hall from the outer part of the building. This design helps keep out noise. It also helps protect the building from damage if there is an earthquake.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Benaroya Hall para niños

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