Academy of Music

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Visit our “Tour Destination: Philadelphia” page to see the entire walking tour of the first Philadelphia cluster of Save America’s Treasures sites.

The Academy of Music as seen from Broad Street.
Photo by Tom Crane.

Academy of Music

Broad and Locust Streets

Philadelphia, PA

Website:  Academy of Music

The Treasure:  The 155-year-old Academy of Music is the oldest known continuously operating opera house in the United States. Constructed in 1857, the building was built using solid brick bearing walls and timber framed floors and roof.  A National Historic Landmark, the Academy of Music was home to The Philadelphia Orchestra from its founding in 1900 until the 2001 opening of their new home, The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. After more than a century and a half, the Academy of Music continues to be Philadelphia’s premier opera house.

Accessibility:  The main hall (capacity 2,897) is constantly in use for concerts, operas, ballets, and other events. The Ballroom (capacity 350) was inspired by the design of the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. Tours of the Academy are available and schedules may be obtained by contacting the manager's office.

Interior of the Academy of Music.
Photo by Joe Kaczmarek.

Notes:  The Academy of Music was built to be an opera house befitting one of the great cities of the 19th century. Opening with a Grand Ball and Promenade Concert in 1857, it boasted an opulent interior, a magnificent crystal chandelier, and extraordinary acoustics. For nearly a century and a half, the Academy of Music served as the home of the Philadelphia Orchestra. While the Philadelphia Orchestra now resides at the neighboring Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, the Academy of Music continues to serve as home for the Pennsylvania Ballet and the Opera Company of Philadelphia.

Notes from the Editor:  When filming Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence, director Martin Scorsese and his crew were challenged to find a suitable replacement for the New York Academy of Music which had been torn down decades before.  Philadelphia’s Academy of Music was chosen after a review of 900 possible sites. As Scorsese determined, no existing American building beats Philadelphia’s Academy of Music for capturing the splendor of a 19th century major metropolitan opera house.

Other Recommended Sites:  For music, The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts is right around the corner on Broad Street. Completed in 2001, the Kimmel is the new home of The Philadelphia Orchestra. But you can find music all around Philadelphia, in part because it is home to some of the country’s greatest music schools, including the Curtis Institute of Music, the Academy of Vocal Arts, and Settlement Music School.

Restored in 2008, the chandelier at the Academy of Music measures
25 feet high, 16 to 17 feet in diameter, and weighs 3,500 pounds.
It has been an integral part of the Academy of Music from the time
of its opening in 1857.
Photo by Julie Skarratt.

© 2011 Lee Price