Mechanics Hall is a
concert hall
A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats.
This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention centres that may ...
in
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...
. It was built in 1857 in the
Renaissance Revival style and restored in 1977. Built as part of the early nineteenth-century worker's improvement movement, it is now a concert and performing arts venue ranked as one of the top four concert halls in North America and in the top twelve between
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
. It also houses a recording studio.
History
![Mechanics Hall, by H](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Mechanics_Hall%2C_by_H._D._Warner_%28cropped%29.jpg)
![Mechanics_Hall,_Worcester_(1885)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Mechanics_Hall%2C_Worcester_%281885%29.jpg)
Workers in Worcester formed the Mechanics Association in 1842 to help members develop the knowledge and skills to manufacture and run machinery in the mills. In 1857 they built Mechanics Hall to house educational and cultural activities. Mechanics Hall featured a large concert hall on the third floor. Its acoustics enabled audiences to hear speakers' voices and music distinctly without benefit of the as-yet-not-invented electronic amplifier. A pipe organ was subsequently installed in 1864. Featuring meeting rooms, a library, and two halls, the building became a hub of activity, drawing speakers from
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
to
Susan B. Anthony. The superb acoustics of Mechanics Hall would attract orchestras, bands, and renowned performers from
Enrico Caruso
Enrico Caruso (, , ; 25 February 1873 – 2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic first lyrical tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles (74) ...
to
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...
,
Yo Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma (''Chinese language, Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. ...
to
Mel Tormé
Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "The Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roasting on an Op ...
.
By the mid-20th century, downtown Worcester had declined, and the aging building fell into disfavor as a meeting place. Mechanics Hall was rented out for sporting events such as boxing, wrestling, basketball, and roller-skating. The building continued its decline, and trustees of the dwindling Mechanics Association sought to sell the property. When urban renewal threatened the hall with destruction, the Worcester Heritage Society stepped in. The community rallied around Mechanics Hall once again, raising $5 million for its restoration in 1977. Boston based architecture firm
Finegold Alexander + Associates Inc Finegold may refer to:
*Finegold, California, former name of Fine Gold, California, community in Madera County
* Barry Finegold (1971–), American politician
* Ben Finegold (1969–), American chess International Grandmaster
*Finegold Alexander Arc ...
completed the restoration. In reversing the decline of Mechanics Hall, Worcester halted the decline of its downtown, and the city experienced a renaissance.
The Hook Organ
![Interior Mechanics Hall, dance, Worcester, MA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Interior_Mechanics_Hall%2C_dance%2C_Worcester%2C_MA.JPG)
Built in 1864 by E. & G.G. Hook, the Hook Organ is the name for the
pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...
in the Main Hall of Mechanics Hall. It has 52 stops and 3,504 pipes, and is the oldest unaltered four-keyboard organ in the Western Hemisphere.
Mechanics Hall – The Hook Organ
/ref> It was restored in 1982.
See also
*Mechanics' Hall District
The Mechanics' Hall District is a historic district encompassing a city block of downtown Worcester, Massachusetts, United States that preserves its late 19th-century appearance. It is located on Main Street between Exchange and Foster Streets ...
*
*
References
External links
Official site
{{Authority control
Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Music venues completed in 1857
Buildings and structures in Worcester, Massachusetts
Culture of Worcester, Massachusetts
Concert halls in Massachusetts
Renaissance Revival architecture in Massachusetts
Tourist attractions in Worcester, Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places in Worcester, Massachusetts
Historic district contributing properties in Massachusetts
1857 establishments in Massachusetts