After a $36.7 million restoration and expansion, Cleveland's venerable Severance Hall has reopened as the home of the Cleveland Orchestra.

The renovation project was designed to restore the original detailing of the Cleveland landmark, built in the early 1930s, expand amenities for audiences, enhance acoustics in the concert hall and create state-of-the-art performance and support spaces.

Major parts of the project, which began in 1996, included building a five-story addition at the rear of the hall, renovating the ground floor and stage, and restoring architecturally significant spaces such as the auditoriums, grand foyer and lobby.

Work included creation of a new orchestra shell with art deco walls, improved lighting, more restrooms, a new restaurant and renovation of the E.M. Skinner pipe organ.

David M. Schwartz Architectural Services of Washington, DC, designed the project. Sonya Winner-Smith of Cleveland was in charge of historic restoration. Alex Machaskee, publisher of The Plain Dealer and a member of the Ohio Arts Council Board, headed the (CON'T PAGE 2)

WESTERN RESERVE ARCHIVE PRESERVES ARTISTS' WORK

Artists Archives of the Western Reserve provides secure, permanent storage for the work of its members. The nonprofit organization, which opened early this year in a 7,500-square-foot brick and metal building near University Circle in Cleveland, is believed to be the first of its kind in the United States.

Sculptor David Davis, 79, came up with the archive idea while considering what to do with his own large collection of unsold work. "I became conscious of a problem faced by all senior artists: What happens to their work when they are gone?" Davis told a Cleveland newspaper.

If an artist leaves a large body of unsold work in an estate, the US Internal Revenue Service may assess high taxes against the estate, based on the market value of the work that artist sold during a lifetime. But when an artist places work in the archive, that work is not considered part of the artist's estate, so it is not taxed.

In addition to the tax benefit, work in the archive will be available for study by scholars and critics, and may be selected for exhibitions. Artists themselves will select the work to be archived, subject to approval by a peer review committee that will strive to maintain standards of quality. Artists who want to store work in the archive also must have a connection with Northeastern Ohio and make a contribution to an endowment fund set up to maintain the facility.

"This extends the life of artwork," Davis said. "Can you imagine 50 years from now what it will be like for an art critic to come in here?"