Unless you’ve been totally out of touch, you know The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF) is located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, on the shore of Lake Erie.
Since 1986, a new “class” has been inducted into the Hall of Fame every year. The museum documents the history of rock music and the artists, producers, engineers, and other notable figures and personnel who have influenced its development.
The RRHOF is in this city because WJW disc jockey Alan Freed coined “rock and roll” and heavily promoted the new genre. Cleveland was the location of Freed’s Moondog Coronation Ball, often credited as the first major rock and roll concert. Freed was a member of the Hall of Fame’s inaugural class of inductees in 1986.
The architect I. M. Pei designed the building, which Leslie E. Robertson Associates structurally engineered. His idea of a tower with a glass pyramid protruding from it is very impressive and exudes high energy and excitement.
The museum was dedicated on September 1, 1995, with a ribbon cutting by an ensemble that included Yoko Ono and Little Richard before a crowd of more than 10,000 people.
The museum documents the entire rock and roll history, regardless of induction status. Hall of Fame inductees are honored in a special exhibit in a wing that juts out over Lake Erie.
The building contains seven levels.
The museum’s first floor is the entrance level and includes a cafe.
The second floor offers several interactive kiosks that feature programs on one-hit wonders and the Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.
Visitors enter the Hall of Fame section of the museum on the third floor. This section includes “The Power of Rock Experience,” one of Jonathan Demme’s final works, a film shown in the Connor Theater. The film includes musical highlights from the Hall of Fame’s induction ceremonies.
The fourth floor features the Foster Theater, a state-of-the-art 3-D theater for special events and programs.
The top two levels feature large, temporary exhibits.
The 2024 class of inductees include: Mary J. Blige (performer), Jimmy Buffett (musical excellence), Cher (performer), Dave Matthews Band (performer) and Foreigner (performer)
That’s a nice presentation and summary of the museum! The permanent exhibits are terrific and you can spend hours reliving the music of your past.
Thank you! It’s an interesting and well-laid-out museum.
It’s a great visit, and keeps getting better. I love the inclusion of so many parallel/contributing genres.
The first time I visited, in 2009, I was a couple of months short of 65, but I asked anyway about a senior ticket, and was told the age was 65.I stood there and started to sing “Born too late…” and they waved me in…
It is a great museum!