Materials in the History & Background section were first published in conjunction with events leading up to the opening of the Kimmel Center in December 2001.

Project Genesis and Historical Background

1857
The American Academy of Music opens its doors on Philadelphia's South Broad Street; modeled on classic Italian opera house design, it is built through a private
incorporation.

1900
November 16: The Philadelphia Orchestra debuts, playing its first concert at the Academy of Music; the Academy hosts the new Orchestra's annual season of concerts and over the next century becomes closely associated with the Orchestra locally and throughout the world.

1901
The Philadelphia Orchestra Association is created as a nonprofit corporation to oversee the Orchestra's day-to-day operations and concerns.

1908
Public criticism appears regarding the suitability of the Academy of Music as an opera house for symphonic performances by The Philadelphia Orchestra. For the first time, architectural plans are drawn up for new hall to be built specifically for the Orchestra, but are not acted upon.

1930
The Orchestra's Music Director, Leopold Stokowski, works with Board leader Curtis Bok to propose building a new concert hall for the Orchestra along Benjamin Franklin Parkway between City Hall and the Philadelphia Museum of Art; plans are drawn up and then abandoned as the Depression continues.

1956
Philadelphia Orchestra Association purchases the Academy of Music from private owners; the Association undertakes some improvements and renovations over the next 15 years to help optimize the Academy for Philadelphia Orchestra performances without compromising its use for opera, ballet, and other
presentations; components include installation in 1965 of a new orchestra shell.

1977
Taking a suggestion first made in the early 1960s, a group of business leaders works toward promoting an "Avenue of the Arts" along South Broad Street, organizing an annual community street festival that premieres in 1978 and continues for the next decade.

1981
A committee of the Old Philadelphia Development Corporation recommends the
construction of a new concert hall for The Philadelphia Orchestra along South Broad Street, rekindling the idea for further study by a new generation of civic and cultural leaders.

1985
Philadelphia Orchestra Association studies the pros and cons between overhauling the Academy of Music and building a new hall; the
Association affirms the desirability of building a new concert hall, which would then free up the Academy for increased utilization by other arts groups.

Orchestra's Site Selection Subcommittee chooses southwest corner of South Broad and Spruce Streets as best location to build a new concert hall; Orchestra Association authorizes purchase of options for land.

1986
Orchestra announces New Concert Hall Project, to include construction of a new hall coupled with a major renovation/restoration of Academy of Music

1987
Orchestra chooses Russell Johnson of Artec Inc. as project acoustician, and Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown as project architects.

1988
Orchestra Board authorizes expenditure of $17.5 million for land purchase and $2.5 million for preliminary building designs; commencement of construction is postponed several times over the next several years due to lackluster fundraising results.

1992
Avenue of the Arts Inc. is created to help coordinate individual projects along Broad Street and to promote the Avenue of the Arts as a business location and vibrant urban destination.

1993
Sidney Kimmel Foundation makes $12 million grant to Concert Hall project

1994
A continuing lack of community consensus surrounding the Orchestra's New Concert Hall Project causes fundraising efforts to reach a plateau about $50 million short of the estimated $140 million price tag. Government funding provides infrastructure and a visible identity for the Avenue of the Arts along South Broad Street with new paving and the installation of specially-designed lamp posts and planters.

1995
A group of government, private, and civic leaders begins working with The Philadelphia Orchestra to create a community-wide vision for a new performing arts complex (comprising both new construction and renovation of the Academy) that would serve as home for a variety of arts institutions from the region. New construction would include a new 2500-seat concert hall for the Orchestra along
with a 650-seat recital theater and accompanying public spaces.

Orchestra announces Project for the Twenty-first Century to spend $36 million, in
phases over the next five years, on renovations and restoration of the Academy of Music to improve audience comfort and to prepare for an expanded season of opera, ballet, and theatrical presentations after the Orchestra moves out.

1996
Philadelphia Orchestra Association approves joining together with the new plan and creation of the Regional Performing Arts Center (RPAC) is announced to oversee construction of the new complex along with day-to-day operations of the combined facilities; design, construction, and startup operations for the new facility are estimated at $230 million, including monies already pledged to the
Orchestra as well as the Orchestra's land purchases for the site; the Orchestra will retain ownership of the Academy of Music, sharing responsibility for capital expenditures toward the building's ongoing renovation.

1997
Rafael Viñoly is chosen as the new project's architect through an architectural competition; Russell Johnson and Artec Inc. continue as project acoustician.

1998
Designs by Rafael Viñoly for the new building at South Broad and Spruce Streets are unveiled, featuring a dramatic glass-barreled roof enclosing the two new performing venues and public lobby spaces. November 12: Groundbreaking Ceremony marks official beginning of construction.

1999
Phase Six of the Orchestra's renovations of the Academy of Music are completed, including a new stage shell, an increase in the height of the proscenium, and the opening of a new basement-level canteen area.

2000
June 14: new building is officially named The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts during on-site naming ceremony. December 14: Dedication Ceremony for
Verizon Hall is held amidst block walls and steel beams of new orchestra hall, and
inaugural weekend activities announced for December 2001.

2001
December 14-15: back-to-back Gala Preview Evenings kick-off Inaugural Weekend. December 16: Grand Public Opening of Kimmel Center includes ribbon cutting and community-wide open house.

2002
Final phase of renovations for Academy of Music are scheduled, with $10 million project to "raise the roof" on the building's stagehouse; new state-of-the art stagehouse will include a computerized rigging and lighting system for expanded road presentations and opera/ballet productions.