Own a Piece of Detroit History - DSO Sells Old Orchestra Hall Theater Seats

Own a Piece of Detroit History - DSO Sells Old Orchestra Hall Theater Seats

Unique fundraising effort offers seats that were removed from Orchestra Hall in 2003

DETROIT, March 13 /PRNewswire/ -- A bit of Detroit's past is being made available to the public by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra beginning on Wednesday, March 15 when the DSO begins to sell Orchestra Hall's historic theater seats. Made of wood and cast iron and upholstered in red and brown, the seats were removed from the hall in 2003 to make way for new "self-rising" seats that conformed to fire codes. The DSO is selling the seats to raise money for its Archive Project, in which the DSO will organize and preserve the history of the DSO and Orchestra Hall and make archival items available for research and public viewing.

Each seat will cost $250 and two or more seats can be purchased as attached units, as they stood in the hall. The seats will be on display in the atrium of the Max M. Fisher Music Center beginning on March 15 and photos of the seats can also be viewed on the DSO's web site (http://www.detroitsymphony.com/ ) where they can be ordered. For more information, or to place an order, call (313) 576-5100.

The Orchestra Hall theater seats replicate the original seats that were installed in the hall when it opened in 1919. Those earlier seats suffered severe deterioration during the years that the hall was abandoned, and were completely replaced during the massive renovation that took place between 1970 and 1989. All details of the original seats were copied to retain a "vintage" look. When the expansion to Orchestra Hall took place between 2001 and 2003, the seats were again replaced in order to conform to fire codes that require theater seats to be "self-rising" (seat cushion returns to folded position when patron stands).

On March 15, when the seats go on display, the DSO will also present an exhibit of DSO archival items along with rare musical items from the Library of Congress, many with a Detroit connection. The exhibit accompanies a recital in Orchestra Hall by opera star Thomas Hampson titled "Song in America," part of a national tour being sponsored by the Library of Congress. The concert takes place at 8 p.m. and tickets can be purchased by calling (313) 576-5111 or visiting http://www.detroitsymphony.com/ .

Source: Detroit Symphony Orchestra

CONTACT: Marilou Carlin, +1-313-576-5128, or Jo Woodward
+1-313-576-5126, both of Detroit Symphony Orchestra

Web site: http://www.detroitsymphony.com/

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