Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Cleveland won the museum partly on the claim that the disc jockey Alan Freed popularised the term rock and roll here in the early 1950s, and partly on a petition campaign and money the city put up. I. M. Pei designed the building - a glass tent leaning against a tower on the lakefront - and it opened in 1995. The collection is object-heavy: instruments, handwritten lyrics, stage clothes, and dedicated installations on individual acts that rotate. The inductee signature wall and the archive on the upper floors sit above a chronological ground-floor run through the music's roots in blues, gospel and country. Induction ceremonies alternate between cities and are not always held here.

Background

Ahmet Ertegun, who had founded and chaired Atlantic Records, set up the foundation behind the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 20, 1983. Inductions began in 1986, the year Cleveland was chosen as the permanent home, and the city's bid cited the Moondog Coronation Ball, widely credited as the first big rock and roll concert. Pei first planned the tower at 200 feet but lowered it to 162 feet because Burke Lakefront Airport is close by, and the base covers approximately 150,000 square feet. Pete Townshend, Chuck Berry and Billy Joel came to the groundbreaking on June 7, 1993. At the 1995 dedication, Yoko Ono and Little Richard helped cut the ribbon before more than 10,000 people.

Source: Wikipedia, "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame"

The main sights

• Pei's glass tent of 1995 - leaning against a tower on the lake.
• Instruments, lyrics and stage clothes - the collection is object-led.
• Roots exhibitions - blues, gospel and country on the ground floor.
• Rotating installations - on individual inducted acts.

When to go

Year round. Three to four hours.

Before you go

Photography is restricted in parts of the collection. Displays rotate, so a favourite act may not be represented. Summer and school holidays are crowded. Induction ceremonies are not always in Cleveland.

Nearby

The Great Lakes Science Center is next door; downtown Cleveland is south.

Key facts