Public Auditorium

In 1928, the Music Hall and Little Theater were added at the south end of Public Auditorium, and a terrace added to the north end.[4] The stage between the main hall and Music Hall was shared by both halls by employing a curtain system.

In 1936, two underground spaces were added to Public Auditorium. The ballroom was built beneath Mall B of the Cleveland Mall, while the Lakeside Exhibition Hall (also known as the North Exhibition Hall) was built below Mall C between the Cuyahoga County Courthouse and Cleveland City Hall.[4]

The seating capacity of the main auditorium, including the main floor and the U-shaped balcony, was eventually reduced to about 10,000.[8] Music Hall seats 3,000,[8] and the Little Theater 600.[8]

In 1964, the city constructed a new underground convention center. The ballroom/exhibition space below Mall B was demolished and a much larger "Great Hall" (the convention center) built in its place. A tunnel was constructed below Lakeside Avenue to connect the new "Great Hall" to the Lakeside Exhibition Hall. On the west side of Public Auditorium, a four-story (one source says three-and-a-half story)[8] modern glass and metal entrance pavilion added new lobby space for both buildings.

From 1983 to 1987, the convention center and Public Auditorium were both extensively renovated. The Exhibition Hall below Public Auditorium was radically changed, with a lobby/ballroom created out of former service space at the north end of the hall. A stone staircase was built in this area to connect the space to the hall above.[4] This area could accommodate up to 2,000 people. The rest of the old Exhibition Hall was turned into 15 meeting rooms (ranging in size from 10 to 700 seats), office space, a cocktail lounge, and a piano bar arranged around a central block.[9] A corridor hugged the exterior wall of the old hall, providing access to the meeting rooms. This corridor had decorative stone panels on one side and painted wood on the other, and was lined with sturdy chair upholstered in luggage fabric. The old asphalt floor was covered with concrete, and then tiled and carpeted. Cove lighting lit the corridor and meeting rooms.[4] The Lakeside Exhibition Hall was converted into a ballroom with kitchen, and the north wall of the hall torn out and replaced with a glass curtain wall that had views of Lake Erie.

The bathrooms in Public Auditorium were renovated to make them accessible as well as modern,[10] and all public spaces in Public Auditorium were retiled, repainted, and replastered, while furniture received new upholstery.[11] The north terrace was rebuilt in four different colors of granite.[12] New taxicab stands were built at each end of Public Auditorium, and small gardens placed at each end of each taxi stand.[8]

The overall decorating scheme featured colors of muted beige, blue, gray, green, and rose.[9]

The reception pavilion received a $1.8 million ($4,050,791 in 2019 dollars) overhaul. Its exterior metal façade was removed[8] and replaced with beige limestone.[12] The glass curtain wall received new mechanical louvers.[8] The interior wall coverings of dark wood paneling and bronzed aluminum were replaced with a cream-colored travertine wainscoting[12] topped by a band of polished stone.[4] Fabric covered the walls above the bandk,[8] and white wooden grills were used to help break up the space.[4] A new terrazzo floor in pastel colors was also installed.[4] Displays about where to eat, drink, and shop in downtown Cleveland were added to the lobby, as were several kiosks where airlines could assist convention-goers in making plane reservations. Six 20-foot (6.1 m) trees were planted inside the lobby to make it more inviting,[12] and new paving and exterior lighting were installed outside the pavilion.[8]

A number of changes were made to the landscape around Public Auditorium. New signage with contemporary graphics were installed throughout the area.[4] The pedestrian bridge over E. Mall Drive, which connected the upper level of the reception pavilion to Mall B, was reconfigured into a small plaza with flagpoles. Over the entrance to the pavilion hung a 40-foot (12 m) sculpture. Consisting of a number of metal flags, it spun in the wind.[12] Around Public Auditorium, new streetlight lampposts, based on a 1922 design, were manufactured and installed.[12][4] The terraces on the north and south ends of Public Auditorium were also refubished. Both received new stone paving and new wooden benches for seating, and the plain aluminum railings were painted to look like copper. The terraces were made more friendly by also adding a number of small trees in planters. A new Postmodern-style arch was constructed to mark the entrance to the north terrace.[4]

In 2008, all seats were replaced in the balcony.[13]

In 2010, the city sold the underground convention center to Cuyahoga County, which repurposed it to construct the new $465 million Cleveland Convention Center, connected to the Global Center for Health Innovation. The work included a $3.9 million renovation and restoration of Public Auditorium.[13] The 1964 pavilion addition was demolished, and the building's west facade was restored.[14]

When the neighboring Crowne Plaza was sold and renovated as the Westin Hotel Cleveland in 2013, its new owners considered building a skywalk across East 6th Street connecting it to Public Auditorium.[15] It was not constructed.