-Michael Graves, a graduate of the University of Cincinnati`s Architecture program, was asked to design the Riverbend Music Center in January of 1983.
-Graves made his first site visit in November of 1982.
-Riverbend Music Center is owned by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
-The CSO Board of Trustees authorized the beginning of the design phase for the new pavilion on January 13, 1983. An official announcement was made to the press the next day.
-The cost for the original construction of Riverbend was to be $8.5 million, and it was to be located on land that Taft Broadcasting donated to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. In all, Taft Broadcasting donated about 11 acres to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
Acoustical Engineers: Jaffe Acoustics, Norwalk, Connecticut
-Riverbend officially opened in 1984.
-Mr. and Mrs. J. Ralph Corbett donated $2 million to the construction of Riverbend Music Center.
-The official name of Riverbend Music Center is “The Hulbert Taft Jr. Center for the Performing Arts, J. Ralph Corbett Pavilion. Hulbert Taft Jr. was the founder of the Taft Broadcasting Co.
-Riverbend has a capacity of 20,000 visitors.
PNC Pavilion
This new pavilion at Riverbend was announced on May 10th, 2007.
Construction began in the fall of 2007 on a new Pavilion at Riverbend, named the National City Pavilion at Riverbend. This 4,100 seat pavilion offers a smaller venue then the neighboring pavilion. All of the seats are located under a roof. In order to build the pavilion, Coney donated some additional land to the CSO (which resulted in the Giant Slide having to be relocated elsewhere in Coney Island).
National City purchased naming rights for this venue for ten years. In late 2008, PNC bought National City Bank. As a result, National City Pavilion was renamed PNC Pavilion in 2009.
The Pavilion opened at the end of May, 2008. Messer Construction was the local contractor who built the new pavilion, and the design was created by GBBN Architects, based in Cincinnati. The CSO received $3.25 million from the state of Ohio towards the construction of the $6.8 million pavilion. The rest of the money to cover the construction costs was privately raised.
For the latest information on the concert schedule, as well as ticket pricing, please visit riverbend.org
Merkel, Jayne. Michael Graves and the Riverbend Music Center. Cincinnati: The Contemporary Arts Center, 1987.