Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Museum of popular music on Lake Erie, in a glass and steel building by I. M. Pei.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame was set up in 1983 by a group of record industry figures, and Cleveland was chosen in 1986 as the site of its museum, partly in recognition of the city's early radio promotion of rock and roll. I. M. Pei designed the building, a tent of glass leaning against a white tower on the North Coast Harbour waterfront, and it opened to the public in September 1995. Most of the galleries lie on the lower levels, below the plaza.
The displays combine instruments, costumes, handwritten lyrics and film with large temporary exhibitions on individual performers and themes. A separate hall names the inductees, who are chosen annually by a voting body of music historians and industry members; the induction ceremony itself rotates between cities and is held in Cleveland regularly. A large expansion designed to add gallery, education and performance space has been under construction since 2023.
Highlights
- I. M. Pei's glass pyramid and tower on the Lake Erie shore
- Hall of inductees, with new members chosen each year
- Instruments, stage costumes and handwritten lyrics on display
- Large changing exhibitions devoted to single artists
![[King Thibaw Min's Throne Room - Mandalay]title QS:P1476,en:"[King Thibaw Min's Throne Room - Mandalay]"label QS:Len,"[King Thibaw Min's Throne Room - Mandalay]"](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/Felice_Beato_%28British%2C_born_Italy_-_%28King_Thibaw_Min%27s_Throne_Room_-_Mandalay%29_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg/500px-Felice_Beato_%28British%2C_born_Italy_-_%28King_Thibaw_Min%27s_Throne_Room_-_Mandalay%29_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg)
