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

September 26, 2023

The first floor of the new backstage expansion has been poured and renovation continues on Powell Hall’s interior. An unseen milestone recently occurred which paves the way for construction on the new lobby expansion.

Strongbacks, or I-Beams, were recently installed in the basement of Powell Hall’s south wall. These steel structures brace the existing foundation wall where new holes were cored for the blue duct—the underground duct system that will be used to heat and cool the new front of house space. Crews from Acme Erectors, a local company, installed the beams earlier this month.

  • September 1, 2023

    On August 30, SLSO staff took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Powell Hall construction site. While the new backstage expansion is beginning to take shape, crews are hard at work deconstructing parts of the existing building as we prepare to renovate the space with upgraded amenities for audiences and artists. Everything you love about the […]

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  • August 9, 2023

    This week brought a milestone for the expansion and renovation of Powell Hall. After months of excavation, drilling, and site preparation, the construction team poured the basement slab for the new back of house expansion. This part of the expansion will contain musicians and guest artist services, including a new music library, practice rooms, and […]

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  • July 18, 2023

    The expansion and renovation of historic Powell Hall presses onward. As the backstage expansion begins to take shape, the construction team started excavation for the new entry hall and guest services building. Once complete, the expanded entry will transform the visitor experience, providing much needed space for gathering, plus expanded amenities, including more restrooms, additional […]

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  • July 5, 2023

    Recently, Powell Hall renovation work made its way into the basement of the current building, where construction crews removed all three of the current boilers that have heated the historic landmark for decades. The boilers will all be replaced with new units, which will greatly improve the efficiency of the building, save money for the […]

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  • June 16, 2023

    As summer kicks into high gear, activity at the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s Powell Hall construction site continues to heat up. Foundation walls have begun to rise for the new back of house expansion, and demolition work continues on the building’s exterior. Meanwhile, renovation work has begun on the interior of the building, including the […]

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  • June 8, 2023

    Warren Sign, a St. Louis-based business, removed the iconic signs that illuminated the way to the parking lot east of Powell Hall for countless concert attendees. They were designed by Kiku Obata, daughter of legendary architect Gyo Obata, for Grand Center to increase visibility of its parking lots. Each lot had the same design but […]

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  • June 2, 2023

    As construction progresses on the backstage expansion of Powell Hall, decisions about the new front of house expansion–which includes a new lobby and Education and Learning Center–continue. On June 2, SLSO leaders and project representatives–including architects from Snøhetta, the project’s lead architecture firm–reviewed a mock up of bricks for the façade of the new entry […]

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  • June 1, 2023

    While Powell Hall’s auditorium will look mostly the same once renovated, there will be at least one noticeable change: new seats. Larger, more comfortable seats will fill the space, providing additional leg room. The seats will share a similar aesthetic to the original seats (we’re keeping that iconic red), which were nearly entirely removed by […]

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  • May 19, 2023

    Since the final concert at Powell Hall as you know it on May 14, there has been a buzz of activity as the staff moves out of the hall and the building is prepared for renovation work in the interior. Excavation continued to the east of the building and piers were drilled to prepare for […]

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  • May 14, 2023

    Assistant Conductor Stephanie Childress led the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra for the final concert in Powell Hall before the expansion and renovation project closes the historic venue until 2025. At the final concert, the SLSO celebrated the talents of these talented student musicians, as well as our dedicated front of house team, who work […]

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  • April 13, 2023

    The SLSO will remain busy during the expansion and renovation of Powell Hall, performing at our two primary “home away from home” venues—Touhill Performing Arts Center and Stifel Theatre—as well as at other locations throughout the St. Louis region, including the Sheldon Concert Hall, Lindenwood University’s J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts, and the Pulitzer […]

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