Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - Foundation and Museum

Foundation and Museum

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a complex located in Cleveland, Ohio devoted to performers, creators, promoters, and others associated with the growth and popularity of rock and roll music.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation was created April 20, 1983. However, it had no home. The search committee considered several cities, including Memphis (home of Sun Studios and Stax Records), Detroit (home of Motown Records), Cincinnati (home of King Records), New York City, and Cleveland. Cleveland lobbied hard to be chosen, citing that Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed is widely credited with promoting the new genre (and the term) of "rock and roll", and that Cleveland was the location of the first rock and roll concert. Civic leaders in Cleveland pledged $65 million in public money to fund the construction. A petition drive was signed by 600,000 fans favoring Cleveland over Memphis, and a USA Today poll which Cleveland won by 100,000 votes. The hall of fame board voted to build the museum in Cleveland.

Cleveland may have been chosen as the organization's site because the city offered the best financial package. As The Plain Dealer music critic Michael Norman noted, "It was $65 million... Cleveland wanted it here and put up the money." Co-founder Jann Wenner later said "one of the small sad things is we didn't do it in New York in the first place," but later added "I am absolutely delighted that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is in Cleveland."

During early discussions on where to build the Hall of Fame and Museum, the Foundation's board considered the Cuyahoga River. Ultimately, the chosen location was in downtown Cleveland by Lake Erie, just east of Cleveland Browns Stadium and the Great Lakes Science Center.

At one point in the planning phase when a financing gap existed, a proposal was made for the Rock Hall to be located in the then-vacant May Company Building, but it was finally decided that architect I. M. Pei would be commissioned to design a new building. Initial CEO Dr. Larry Thompson facilitated I. M. Pei as designs for the site were made. Pei came up with the idea of a tower with a glass pyramid protruding from it. The museum tower was initially planned to stand 200 ft (61 m) high, but it had to be cut down to 162 ft (49 m) due to its proximity to Burke Lakefront Airport. The building's base is approximately 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2). The groundbreaking ceremony was June 7, 1993, with Pete Townshend and Chuck Berry doing the honors. The first curator of the Hall of Fame was Dr. Bruce Conforth, a former folk musician, rock musician, and artist who was also a professor of folklore, ethnomusicology, American culture, and blues music at the University of Michigan. The museum opened on September 2, 1995, with the ribbon being cut by an ensemble that included Yoko Ono and Little Richard, among others.

In addition to the Hall of Fame inductees, the museum documents the entire history of rock and roll, regardless of induction status. Hall of Fame inductees are honored in a special exhibit inside the museum's spire.