SLSO Stories

Follow Along with the Powell Hall Expansion and Renovation

Powell Hall is one of America’s most acoustically renowned and visually stunning concert halls—and home to your St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. We’re renovating and expanding the 98-year-old building to preserve and enhance our civic treasure for generations to come.

This project is inspired by you: our goal is to provide greater access to music, an even more welcoming and comfortable experience for all, and a creative hub that helps us build connections through the power of music.

The revitalized Powell Hall will open in 2025 to coincide with the building’s centennial. We look forward to celebrating with you.

Learn more about the expansion and renovation

October 16, 2024

Powell Hall’s auditorium is sparkling following extensive painting and cleaning work inside the historic venue. For several months, crews have been carefully cleaning the gold leaf on the walls and revamped all the painted surfaces—including the iconic dome—to make the hall’s nationally recognized aesthetic shine anew.

Scaffolding has been removed, showing off the refreshed look of the auditorium.

Eight stories of scaffolding used to reach the heights of the space have been removed, showcasing the new, but familiar, look of the auditorium. The auditorium painting was the first in more than half a century that covered the entire space, unifying an uneven appearance created through painting only portions of the space over the years. The fresh coat of paint also covered up stains made when tobacco use was still permitted inside. The aesthetic appearance is further enhanced by the upgrades to the lighting in the auditorium which is more energy efficient and more easily controlled allowing for cost savings and flexibility.

Guests will be able to see the refreshed appearance when the Jack C. Taylor Music Center and Powell Hall open in September 2025.

  • September 23, 2024

    With the structural steel erected and spray fireproofing applied, construction crews at the Jack C. Taylor Music Center—home of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra—have begun enclosing the new lobby, a focal point of the 64,000-square-foot expansion project. Recently, crews began installing sheathing—exterior panels that cover the structural steel and starts to layer the building’s exterior walls. The lobby is expected to be […]

    Read more

  • September 3, 2024

    The new lobby at the expanded Powell Hall reached a new milestone recently when construction crews poured concrete for the final section of a grand spiral staircase.  Unifying three levels of the lobby, the staircase will be a spectacular focal point of the new space, providing connection points to the auditorium. While the concrete has […]

    Read more

  • August 14, 2024

    The façade of the new lobby expansion at Powell Hall is one step closer to completion after a team of architects, construction managers, general contractor, and masons reviewed a mock-up of the building’s exterior on August 13. The constructability mock-up—a small cross-section of building’s exterior mimicking the final product—had two main goals: to give the design team […]

    Read more

  • August 2, 2024

    One of the most photographed elements of Powell is ready for its close up.  The iconic dome, as well as the most of the auditorium’s interior, has been cleaned and repainted in preparation for the building’s reopening in September 2025. Although portions of the ornate wall and ceiling have been touched up over the years, […]

    Read more

  • July 26, 2024

    If you’ve walked or driven past Powell Hall recently, you’ll have noticed major changes to the lobby expansion. With much of the interior structure constructed, crews have shifted to building the steel shell that will envelop the new space. The design of the new lobby, created by the internationally acclaimed architecture firm Snøhetta, features curved […]

    Read more

  • July 9, 2024

    It’s been more than one year since ground was broken on the expansion and renovation of Powell Hall, a St. Louis architectural and community icon. The auditorium, known for its red velvet seats and ornate cream and gold decorative elements, is getting a much-needed refresh. Scaffolding fills the space, rising from the floor more than […]

    Read more

  • July 2, 2024

    New rear walls of Powell’s Hall auditorium floor has begun to take shape. Crews have started to frame the walls, designed to accomplish several goals. Once complete, the entrance to the auditorium will include a vestibule with two sets of doors to reduce exterior noise from infiltrating the concert hall, and provide for more discreet […]

    Read more

  • June 20, 2024

    A new and inviting entrance to Powell Hall has begun to take shape on the north side of the building facing Delmar Blvd. Crews began selective demolition in preparation for the construction of a new, accessible entrance with a metal canopy. Later in the project, the sidewalk near Delmar and Grand Ave. will be extended […]

    Read more

  • June 6, 2024

    Brick by brick, the expansion and renovation of Powell Hall progresses—literally. Masonry work has begun on the project, led by St. Louis-based John J. Smith Masonry Company. Masons have completed bricklaying on the north façade facing Delmar Blvd., and have started work on the east façade of the new backstage and on the new Education […]

    Read more

  • June 4, 2024

    A bold design element of the new lobby expansion has begun to take shape. An anchor of the Snøhetta-designed space will be a spiral staircase that will connect to balconies on four floors outside of the auditorium. These new balconies will provide additional entries into the concert, and also provide more space for added amenities […]

    Read more

  • May 31, 2024

    Recently, the iconic entry doors facing Grand Ave. to Powell Hall were removed as the entrances to Powell Hall and some of the interior spaces are reconfigured for a different use. When Powell Hall reopens in 2025, audiences will no longer enter under the marquee, instead accessing the hall through one of four accessible and covered entrances: through the new lobby facing southwest at […]

    Read more