Venue: Public Auditorium
Town: Cleveland, US

Public Auditorium is a multi-purpose performing arts, entertainment, sports, and exposition facility located in the civic center district of downtown Cleveland. The building features two large performance spaces: the 10,000-capacity Public Hall and the 2,800-seat Music Hall, which share a common stage. In addition, the facility also includes the 603-seat Little Theater along with several conference and meeting rooms. Since 2024, Public Hall serves as the home arena to the Cleveland Charge of the NBA G League. Although Public Auditorium was planned and funded prior to World War I, construction did not begin until 1920, and the building did not open until 1922. Designed by city architect J. Harold McDowell and Frank Walker of Walker and Weeks in a neoclassical style matching the other Group Plan buildings, it was the largest of its kind when opened, then seating 11,500. The auditorium cornerstone was laid October 20, 1920, and the completed building was dedicated April 15, 1922. Smith & Oby was one local company involved in the project, at the time the largest convention hall in the United States. The main arena floor is 300 ft × 215 ft (91 m × 66 m) and 80 ft (24 m) high. No columns were used in its construction. With all its removable seats in place on the arena floor and in the balcony, the hall could seat 13,000. The main stage is 140 ft × 60 ft (43 m × 18 m) with a 72 ft × 42 ft (22 m × 13 m) proscenium arch. A key attraction was a spectacular pipe organ, Opus 328, the largest ever built at one time by E.M. Skinner with 10,010 pipes and 150 direct speaking stops. Below ground, a basement Exhibition Hall provided more than 28,500 ft2 (2,650 m2) of exhibition space. This space was reached by an elegant stone staircase with bronze lights which led down from Public Auditorium's lobby. But the exhibition space itself was uninviting. It had an asphalt floor, was undecorated, and was interrupted by more than 40 columns. Cleveland's Public Auditorium was considered so ad