Blossom Music Center, 1145 West Steels Corners Road, Cuyahoga Falls

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS OH-711. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

W Steels Corners Road, Cuyahoga Falls, Summit County, Ohio, The coordinates for Blossom Music Center are latitude: N, Longitude: - W and were obtained in June, from Google Maps. It can be assumed, from WGS There is no restriction on release of this location information to the public.

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS OH-711. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Blossom Music Center is an outdoor amphitheater located in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Built between the structure has been the summer home of the Cleveland Orchestra since it opened for operation in Since its construction, visitors and performers alike have been amazed by its distinctly modern design and acoustical excellence. The primary use of cedarwood and weathering steel gives the amphitheater (commonly referred to as the pavilion) a unique connection to its forested surroundings.

Due to these unique characteristics, Blossom Music Center has become a model for subsequent outdoor amphitheaters and art pavilions2 and was awarded the American Institute of Architects (AIA) 25 Year Building Award in The success of Blossom has also caused it to become the most well-known project of architect Peter Van Dijk and assisted Van Dijk s previous firm, now known as DLR Group Cleveland, to grow a global practice in the design of performing arts centers, theaters, and concert halls.4 Description: Blossom Music Center is located in a large natural area that is part of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The site is accessed from a four-lane road through the countryside.

A private three-lane road leads into the wooded area and past the Porthouse Theater a smaller amphitheater owned by Kent State University then to visitor parking lots, backstage parking, and employee parking. Typically, the majority of visitors will park in the visitor parking lot, which is located away from the pavilion, and walk through the natural landscape towards the main entrance. A concrete bridge crosses the private winding road before the path goes through the main entrance gate, which is surrounded by pine trees and bushes. After walking through the gate, visitors get their first peek of the pavilion, surrounded by the natural beauty of the landscape, and framed by groupings of pine trees that act as natural screens.

To the left of the entrance and down a path 1 Blossom Music Center by Peter Van Dijk in Cuyahoga Valley, ArchEyes (ArchEyes, May 27, 2 Westlake, Paul, and Heather Richards. Blossom Music Center. SAH ARCHIPEDIA, September 24, https://sah- 3 Westlake, Paul, and Heather Richards. Blossom Music Center. 4 Blossom Music Center by Peter Van Dijk in Cuyahoga Valley. BLOSSOM MUSIC CENTER HABS No. OH-711 (page 2) through pine trees is a small plaza of service buildings, such as the security building and restrooms, as well as a small wine tasting room. On the right of the entrance is a drink concession stand. As the pavilion comes into better view, it appears to be rising from the earth, as its natural materials form a leaning parabolic curve that rises from the bowl-shaped lawn.

From this area, visitors with pavilion seating tickets can branch off to the right and follow the path down the hill to the side of the pavilion and enter the seating area, while visitors with lawn seating tickets can stay to the left and walk along the top of the slope and choose their seat on the grass. The roof of the pavilion starts midway through the hill where the seats begin and increasingly gains height as the seats dive down into the pavilion. The structure is then supported by a steel and wood truss system that runs across all sides of the roof.5 A performer s experience will include a drive along the private road and turn off onto another drive that winds down to a small parking lot behind the pavilion and out of view from the audience.

There is a loading dock here for the crew to move all the equipment through the door into the curving backstage area and then through another door onto the stage. The Ancillary Building, situated directly behind the pavilion, is accessed from this area as well. Due to the shifted ground behind the Ancillary Building, the floor numbers are inverted, with the floor numbers going up as you go down further in the building. The ground floor, known as the first floor, includes offices, a library, and access to a covered walkway that connects the ancillary building to the backstage of the pavilion. Going down a set of concrete stairs will lead performers to their main rooms.

This floor includes changing rooms, rehearsal rooms, custodial rooms, the pit for any orchestral moment, and one large meeting room. These rooms revolve around a central core that further divides into other rooms as well. This then creates a center point of a circular way of moving around the second floor of the building. There are other areas of the building that are usually only seen by maintenance personnel. The third floor or the mechanical floor of the ancillary building, which is the lowest floor, holds the many mechanical systems at Blossom Music Center. The mechanical floor is much smaller than its counterparts but contains the systems that are required for Blossom to run smoothly.

History: In the Cleveland Orchestra s musicians were looking for full-time employment during the summer months and they required a location of their own to achieve it.6 Up until this point, the orchestra had solely used Masonic Hall and 5 Paul Westlake and Heather Richards, "Blossom Music Center", [Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVAP, , 6 Rosenberg, Donald. The Cleveland Orchestra Story: Second to None . Cleveland, Gray & Company, Google :+Second+to+None. Accessed 22 Apr. BLOSSOM MUSIC CENTER HABS No. OH-711 (page 3) then Severance Hall located in East Cleveland as their home.7 The Musical Arts Association began looking for options that would be suitable.

They wanted a location that would draw audiences from across the region and eventually settled on Northampton Township, a hilly and rural area between the metropolitan anchors of Cleveland and Akron and the academic centers of nearby University of Akron and Kent State University.8 In addition to the central location for multiple well-populated areas, the chosen site bordered what would become the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in making this location a protected environment far away from disruptive noise pollution.9 In July 571 acres of land were purchased for the sole purpose of becoming a summer home for the Cleveland Orchestra.

Additional land was acquired later, bringing the acreage up to With the site chosen, the Musical Arts Association began to look for an architect to help determine what they wanted to do on the site. Peter van Dijk had a history with the arts in the Cleveland area. He had authored a master plan that helped rally Clevelanders to save Playhouse Square s Theater from the destruction which made him an optimal choice to design the Cleveland Orchestra s summer home.11 As Van Dijk began work on the project, George Szell, the conductor of the orchestra, insisted upon excellent acoustics in the new structure.12 To help him achieve this, Van Dijk took structural engineer Miklos Peller and acoustician Christopher Jaffe on a trip to visit and study other outdoor concert venues.

These venues included Ravinia in Chicago and Tanglewood in Bainbridge, Ohio where they found the biggest flaw was acoustics.13 Working closely with Jaffe, Van Dijk and Peller concluded that Blossom would require a curved roof style which would allow the sound to expand outward, making for better acoustics and enjoyment for the audience.14 From here, proper materials needed to be chosen to allow for the pavilion to last for years to come. The durable materials of concrete, weathering steel, and slate were selected to ensure minimal maintenance and protection for the structure.15 7 Rosenberg, Donald. The Cleveland Orchestra Story: Second to None. 8 Westlake, Paul, and Heather Richards. Blossom Music Center. 9 Westlake, Paul, and Heather Richards. "Blossom Music Center." 10 Roy, Christopher.

Blossom Music Center: Encyclopedia of Cleveland History: Case Western Reserve University. Encyclopedia of Cleveland History | Case Western Reserve University, March 12, 11 Litt, Steven. "Architect Peter van Dijk, who designed Blossom Music Center and helped save Playhouse Square, is dead at Cleveland.com, September 9, 12 Westlake, Paul, and Heather Richards. Blossom Music Center. 13 Blossom Music Center by Peter Van Dijk in Cuyahoga Valley. 14 Blossom Music Center by Peter Van Dijk in Cuyahoga Valley. 15 Blossom Music Center by Peter Van Dijk in Cuyahoga Valley. BLOSSOM MUSIC CENTER HABS No.

OH-711 (page 4) Weathering steel was specifically chosen by Van Dijk himself for the reason that the steel rusts and forms a scale-like bark, similar to the bark on a tree, and the more it rusts the more protection is provided.16 Wood panels were also selected to relate the building to its surrounding natural area. Van Dijk s final design for Blossom included a sweeping cantilevered roof built into the hillside created by the geometry of a hanging chain, similar to the Gateway Arch in St.

Louis, designed by Eero Saarinen, whom Van Dijk worked for in his first architecture job.17 By July the design was complete, million had been raised for the project and groundbreaking finally began.18 The final pavilion would be able to seat people and more in the general admissions lawn section behind the pavilion s cover.19 Blossom s inaugural performance occurred on July 19, which featured George Szell conducting Beethoven s 9th Symphony. A week later, on July 23, Judy Collins and Arlo Guthrie performed, making them the first popular music stars to perform at Blossom.

In the following season, on August the largest crowd to date of people attended the Blood, Sweat & Tears concert at Blossom Music Center which caused a traffic jam that lasted nearly until dawn the next morning.20 Since its opening in Blossom Music Center has held hundreds of concerts and estimates that more than 10 million people have attended its concerts alone.21 Even today, it continues to serve as a model for acoustical excellence among outdoor amphitheaters and pavilions nationwide.

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS OH-711. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Arehart, Mark. "Remembering Blossom Architect Peter van Dijk." Arts and Culture. WKSU, September 9, Blossom Music Center by Peter Van Dijk in Cuyahoga Valley, ArchEyes (ArchEyes, May 27, Litt, Steven. "Architect Peter van Dijk, who designed Blossom Music Center and helped save Playhouse Square is dead at Cleveland.com, September 9, designed-bloss 16 Westlake, Paul, and Heather Richards. Blossom Music Center. 17 Arehart, Mark. "Remembering Blossom Architect Peter van Dijck." Arts and Culture. WKSU, September 9, 18 Roy, Christopher. Blossom Music Center. 19 Roy, Christopher. Blossom Music Center. 20 Roy, Christopher. Blossom Music Center. 21 Roy, Christopher. Blossom Music Center. BLOSSOM MUSIC CENTER HABS No. OH-711 (page 5) Rosenberg, Donald. The Cleveland Orchestra Story: Second to None .

Cleveland, Gray & Company, pp. Google Accessed 22 Apr. Roy, Christopher. Blossom Music Center: Encyclopedia of Cleveland History: Case Western Reserve University. Encyclopedia of Cleveland History | Case Western Reserve University, March 12, ound%20breaking%20began. Westlake, Paul, and Heather Richards. Blossom Music Center. SAH ARCHIPEDIA, September 24, Historians: Ryan Bertrand, Katherine Blaney, Evan Bluemel, Denver Curtis, Matthew Detar, Abigael Dobson, Zachary Fitch, Bennett Graham, Sawyer Gross, Max Grudowski, Jordyn Kapis, Jeffery King, John Kowalik, William Maniet, James Moss, Diana Murcko, Matt Niess, Austin Pero, Nancy Rhoades, Jay Stoneman, Nicholas Vickroy, Taylor Wambold, and Caitlyn Wolford

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS OH-711. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Kent State University s College of Architecture and Environmental Design offers a course for students to actively engage with historic structures. This course, Exploring Historic Structures is offered to upper-division students as an elective course. The course includes a semester-long, service-learning project to prepare a documentation set for HABS. In the Spring of students enrolled in the class were given the (mostly overwhelming) task of documenting Blossom Music Center. The students met on-site weekly to create field sketches and take as many photographs and measurements as possible. They compiled research and began architectural drawings.

Students of the Spring class include: Ryan Bertrand, Katherine Blaney, Evan Bluemel, Denver Curtis, Matthew Detar, Abigael Dobson, Zachary Fitch, Bennett Graham, Sawyer Gross, Max Grudowski, Jordyn Kapis, Jeffery King, John Kowalik, William Maniet, James Moss, Diana Murcko, Austin Pero, Nicholas Vickroy, Taylor Wambold, and Caitlyn Wolford. Inevitably, the Spring students ran out of time to complete the set. When the class was offered again the following spring, a fresh set of enrolled students were challenged to complete the documentation. These students also met on-site weekly to review existing documentation, explore missing information, and determine the best course of action to tell the story of Blossom Music Center. BLOSSOM MUSIC CENTER HABS No.

OH-711 (page 6) The students determined that one of the most compelling stories to tell is the way that Blossom Music Center is experienced, based on the level of engagement with the amphitheater (i.e., the experience of a visitor as opposed to a performer or staff member). Students of the Spring class include: Charles Abi Chahine, Diab Ali, Elie Aoun, Ashley Austin, Danielle Campbell, Ryan Carlton, Faith DiLillo, Carol El Farraji, Jonpaul Gould, Ronn Holmes, Alec Jil Agopian, Zachary Miller, Sahvanna Morris, Matthew Niess, Nancy Rhoades, Jay Stoneman, Anthony Tsangeos, John Whitticar, and Haley Yuhasz. Both courses were instructed by Emily Steiner Little.

This project would not be possible without the support of the KSU CAED and the Cleveland Orchestra, who graciously invited the students into their summer home. We would especially like to thank the following individuals for their assistance (and their stories!): Ron Willner, Director of Venues & Events; Charles Laszlo, Blossom Project Manager; and Raymond Caraballo, Assistant Director of Venues. We are very grateful for our days on-site and the opportunity to explore the nooks and crannies of Blossom Music Center, most of which are never seen by a typical visitor.