Monthly Archives: August 2015

Music Hall Open House
During LumenoCity Week 

Open House Includes Mini-Tours and
LEGO® Scale Model of Music Hall and Washington Park

August 5-7 • 4:00-6:00 PM
August 8-9 • 3:00-6:00 PM
Music Hall

CINCINNATI, OH – How many LEGO® does it take to build the façade of Music Hall and Washington Park?  Bring your family and find out for yourself when a 1/50 scale-model LEGO® replica of these iconic Over-the-Rhine landmarks goes on display in the Music Hall Foyer this Wednesday-Friday, August 5-7 from 4:00 PM-6:00 PM and Saturday-Sunday, August 8-9 from 3:00 PM-6:00 PM.  During these times, guests can also take advantage of a Music Hall Open House and tour many of the venue’s interior spaces.

Both events are FREE and open to the public.

The Music Hall and Washington Park scale model was built by local LEGO® enthusiast, Mark Clark.  According to Mark, “The Music Hall building alone in its original full form took 900 hours to build over 7.5 months.  Washington Park took a few months to build while the OTR brownstones have been sporadically built over the last year.  I wouldn’t even venture to guess how many bricks are in it now!”

The Music Hall Open House, created to enhance the LumenoCity guest experience, will include:

• Free history-themed mini-tours by the Society for the Preservation of Music Hall
• Free ghost-themed mini-tours by Cincinnati Research & Paranormal Studies

MAIN FOYER: 

• LEGO exhibit by local model-maker Mark Clark (see bio below), whose original model included the façade and auditorium of Music Hall. His most recent project (which is quite large at 10’ x 18’) has modified that model, retaining the façade, losing the auditorium, and dramatically expanding the areas surrounding Music Hall to now include Washington Park, Elm and Race Streets, streetcars, and a model of the Albee Theatre.
• Information from the City of Cincinnati about the streetcar project, which will run along Elm Street in front of Music Hall (and along Race Street across Washington Park) in the near future.

CORBETT TOWER:  Display of historic art-carved decorative panels from the original Music Hall pipe organ, accompanied by a documentary by local film maker Melissa Godoy about the restoration of the panels.

BALLROOM:  The “Mighty Wurlitzer” pipe organ from the Albee Theatre will be on display. This spectacular instrument has been fully restored to its original glory, and is at home along with the many other architectural artifacts of the Albee Theatre.  NOTE:  The Ballroom will be closed on Saturday for a private event.

“We’re excited to have Mark Clark’s amazing display back at Music Hall, and extend our thanks for his efforts in creating something as unique as the building itself,” said Scott Santangelo, Director of Operations, Music Hall. “ We’re also grateful to the Society for the Preservation of Music Hall and the Cincinnati Research and Paranormal Studies groups, who will have volunteers on hand to welcome visitors and share stories about this National Historic Landmark, one of the country’s most recognizable (and apparently haunted!) theaters. Music Hall belongs to our community, and we look forward to our guests stopping by for a visit!”

MARK CLARK
Born in Western Kentucky in 1967, Mark moved to Cincinnati in 1972, attended Princeton schools from grades K-12, and graduated in 1985.  He attended The Ohio State University for three years, where he majored in aerospace engineering, and transferred back to the University of Cincinnati, where he finished his degree in computer systems engineering.  Mark lives in Mason with his wife Mary and daughter Ashley, and has been involved in Cincinnati technology, consulting, and various start-ups since 1993.  His love for the hobby of building with LEGO® was rekindled in 2012 with two LEGO®-kit Christmas gifts from his mother and his wife, and he has been hooked ever since.  Mark joined a local LEGO® User’s Group (OKILUG: Ohio Kentucky Indiana LEGO® User’s Group)  to learn and share with other like-minded LEGO® enthusiasts and builders.  Mark first discovered the magnificence of Music Hall at the age of six, when he attended Cincinnati Ballet’s Frisch’s Presents The Nutcracker.  He has been touring and showing the model for two years and has talked to thousands of people about the building’s history and heritage.