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Ohio inventions and firsts · Achievement · 1995

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

The museum, designed by I. M. Pei, opened September 1, 1995 on Cleveland's lakefront after Cleveland was chosen in 1986; the foundation dates from April 20, 1983.

At a glance

Year
1995
Place
Cleveland, Cuyahoga County ZIP 44114 · Cleveland · Cuyahoga County

The story

The idea for a rock hall of fame came from Ahmet Ertegun, founder of Atlantic Records, who set up the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation on April 20, 1983. The question was where to put it. Philadelphia, Memphis, Detroit, Cincinnati and New York were all considered.

In 1986 Cleveland won. The city promised $65 million in public money and made a case based on its rock history. Disc jockey Alan Freed had popularized the phrase rock and roll on Cleveland radio and put on the Moondog Coronation Ball in 1952, often called the first major rock concert. Radio station WMMS broke major acts in the 1970s and 1980s.

Architect I. M. Pei designed the building, a 162-foot tower with a glass pyramid, on a roughly 150,000-square-foot base on the lakefront. It opened in September 1995. The first inductees in 1986 included Elvis Presley, James Brown, Little Richard and Chuck Berry, with Alan Freed inducted as a non-performer.

By February 2021 there were 338 inductees, and the museum drew 543,000 visitors in 2016.

Timeline

  • 1952-03-21: Alan Freed's Moondog Coronation Ball is held at the Cleveland Arena. (Cleveland, OH) source
  • 1983-04-20: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation is established. (New York) source
  • 1986: Cleveland is chosen as the permanent home; the first class is inducted. (Cleveland, OH) source
  • 1995-09: The I. M. Pei building opens on Cleveland's lakefront. (Cleveland, OH) source
  • 2016: The museum draws 543,000 visitors. (Cleveland, OH) source
  • 2021-02: The Hall has 338 inductees. (Cleveland, OH) source

What it changed

  • Cleveland committed $65 million in public funding.
  • 543,000 visitors in 2016.

Why it matters

Museum.

Places in Ohio to see

Further reading

Sources

Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.