Women built St. Cecilia Music Center, the concert hall and music institution in front of you. The St. Cecilia Society was founded in 1883 by Grand Rapids women who organized to bring classical music to the city, presenting recitals and lecture concerts when the city had no permanent venue for serious music. They raised the money themselves, designed the building themselves, and opened this Romanesque Revival hall in 1894 — one of the first buildings in Michigan designed specifically for music performance and one of the earliest music halls in the country founded and governed entirely by women.
The acoustics inside, shaped by that arching brick ceiling and the careful proportions of the room, have impressed visiting musicians for more than a century. The society brought Sergei Rachmaninoff, Marian Anderson, and Itzhak Perlman to Grand Rapids before many major cities heard them. The building is named for the patron saint of musicians, and the mosaic above the entrance depicts her playing the organ.
Step inside if the doors are open — the hall is small enough that every seat feels close to the stage.