Mechanics Hall is a

concert hall A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage (theatre), 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 ...

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

. It was built in 1857 in the

Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of ...

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 continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and the

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. It also houses a recording studio.

History

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 novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

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 lyric 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 that r ...

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, 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, phra ...

Yo Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is a French-born American cellist. Born to Chinese parents in Paris, he was regarded as a child prodigy there and began to study the cello with his father at age four. At the age of seven, Ma moved with his fami ...

Mel Tormé Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "the Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arrangement, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roa ...

. On April 3, 1910, President

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...

visited Mechanics Hall to speak about labor issues to a meeting of Brotherhoods in Train Service, following a visit to his great-aunt in

Millbury, Massachusetts Millbury is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Located within Blackstone Valley, the population in Millbury was 13,831 at the 2020 United States census. History Millbury was first settled in 1716. It was originally know ...

. He was greeted by a parade and "several thousand New Englanders." 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 Anderson Notter Finegold completed the restoration. In reversing the decline of Mechanics Hall, Worcester halted the decline of its downtown, and the city experienced a renaissance.

The Worcester Organ

The Worcester Organ, built in 1864 by E. & G.G. Hook of Boston, is the oldest unaltered four-keyboard organ in the Western Hemisphere still located at its installation site. The organ was funded by donations from Worcester citizens, and free concerts were a condition of their gift. It was christened "The Worcester Organ" to distinguish it from the Walker Organ at

Boston Music Hall The Boston Music Hall was a concert hall located on Winter Street in Boston, Massachusetts, with an additional entrance on Hamilton Place. One of the oldest continuously operating theaters in the United States, it was built in 1852 and was the ...

, though it is often referred to as "The Hook Organ." The organ has 52 stops and 3,504 pipes. It was the largest instrument made by the Hook company at the time; the largest pipe, made of Eastern Pine, is 16 feet tall.

Decline

As early as the 1870s, the organ started only being played occasionally during music festivals, and declined significantly after the opening of

Worcester Memorial Auditorium Worcester Memorial Auditorium (also known simply as "the Aud") is a multi-purpose arena located at Lincoln Square in Worcester, Massachusetts. It was built in 1933 to honor Worcester citizens who fought in World War I. The building includes a mu ...

in 1933. The organ, ignored and largely unused, fell into disrepair in the 1930s through 1970s as Mechanics Hall struggled financially.

Revival

The organ was fully restored in 1982 to its original 1864 state, and restored again for the organ's rededication in 2014. In 2007, a regular concert series was established to ensure a consistent performance schedule, and the instrument is played at events such as graduations and weddings.

References

External links