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Posted on Mon, Oct 1, 2012 : 6:05 a.m.

Michigan Memories: University of Michigan's Hill Auditorium turns 100

By Kellie Woodhouse

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Hill Auditorium turns 100 this academic year.

From Yo-Yo Ma and Joshua Bell to Bob Dylan and Ludacris,University of Michigan's Hill Auditorium has hosted some of the most famous names in the music industry since it opened a century ago.

The auditorium is an acoustic gem and this academic year it's celebrating its centennial, a 100-year milestone of countless concerts, graduations and famous keynotes.

Here's a look at Hill Auditorium over the past 100 years:

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Ann Arbor News

In this June 25, 1912, photo Hill Auditorium is in the midst of construction. The cost to build the new auditorium was roughly $282,000, with the bulk of the funds coming from a $200,000 donation from Arthur Hill, who served as regent from 1901 to 1909, according to archives. U-M initially spent $65,000 to equip the auditorium, which had an initial capacity of 4,300 patrons in the main auditorium and a total square footage of nearly 72,000.

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Ann Arbor District Library archives

Hill Auditorium opened to its first audience in May 14, 1913, according to archives. The caption in this 1913 photo says the audience was attending the "twentieth May Festival," an annual festival that took place at Hill from 1913 to 1994 and featured orchestras from Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia.

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U-M Bentley Historical Library

This early photo of Hill Auditorium, date unknown, shows the venue shortly after its construction. Take note of the horse-drawn carriage at the far left of the photo and the tailoring shop where Panera Bread now stands.

Hill did not have a major renovation until 1949. Another major renovation began in 2002.

Hill housed the original Frieze Memorial Organ from 1913 to 1928, according to archives. When the organ was replaced, its name was retained. Today, the Frieze Memorial Organ remains one of the most valuable musical instruments on campus.

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Photo from U-M Musical Society

In this undated photo Hill Auditorium receives a paint job.

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Ann Arbor News Photo by Robert Chase

Contractor Howard Westergard installs one of the leather covered doors from the inside Hill Auditorium. When this photo was taken, workers were scrambling to finish the restoration, which cost U-M roughly $40 million, began in 2002 and lasted about 20 months.

"This project preserves the best of the original, conserves the building for the future and brightens this jewel of our cultural assets," U-M President Mary Sue Coleman said at the time.

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Ann Arbor News Photo by Leisa Thompson

After the ceiling of the renovated Hill Auditorium was refurbished, people began referring to it as "the necklace," for good reason.

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Ann Arbor News Photo by Leisa Thompson

The renovated and repainted backdrop of Hill auditorium is pictured in this 2005 photo.

Kellie Woodhouse covers higher education for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at kelliewoodhouse@annarbor.com or 734-623-4602 and follow her on twitter.

Comments

rm1

Mon, Oct 1, 2012 : 4:01 p.m.

xmo asks: >> shouldn't this story have run on May 14 2013? "Hill Auditorium opened to its first audience in May 14, 1913" << Well, no. As the article states: "this academic year [Hill is] celebrating its centennial, a 100-year milestone of countless concerts, graduations and famous keynotes. That yearlong round of celebrations started with the Chicago Symphony last Thursday (memorializing that orchestra's first visit to Hill, on Hill's opening night). Those celebrations continue at 7:00 tonight with a talk on Hill's history, presented at the AA District Library, by Professor Mark Clague of the School of Music, Theatre & Dance: http://ums.org/performances/ums-night-school-100-years-of-ums-at-hill-auditorium-1

rm1

Mon, Oct 1, 2012 : 5:26 p.m.

I should have noted that the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's concerts last Thursday and at Hill's opening in 1913 (and more than 200 CSO concerts since its first visit to Ann Arbor in 1892), were all presented by the University Musical Society, as is Professor Clague's talk this evening at the AADL. In addition, most of the events celebrating Hill's centenary are sponsored by UMS.

Kellie Woodhouse

Mon, Oct 1, 2012 : 4:18 p.m.

Thanks for including that link!

T-bird

Mon, Oct 1, 2012 : 1:28 p.m.

Agreed, as someone who attended the 75th birthday of Hill celebration in conjunction with Leonard Bernstein's 70th Birthday, when he conducted the Vienna Philharmonic in Oct of 1988. Mighty confusing!

James Toy

Mon, Oct 1, 2012 : 7:33 p.m.

Was that the year when the 11:00 a.m. open rehearsal was canceled because, as we learned later, Mr. Bernstein allegedly had consumed too much alcohol the night before at the Rubaiyat - ? In any event, that evening he ran onto the stage, and gave the opening downbeat while jumping onto the podium.

xmo

Mon, Oct 1, 2012 : 1:06 p.m.

Great story but shouldn't this story have run on May 14 2013? "Hill Auditorium opened to its first audience in May 14, 1913" I didn't go to Michigan so my math is not that good but it looks like its not quite a Hundred Years.