The City

When the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation announced its plan to create a museum and archives dedicated to rock’s vital heritage and initiated a search for an appropriate location, communities across the country competed for the distinction. The city and people of Cleveland demonstrated unrivaled public and political support for the museum’s development, and the city was selected as the site in 1986. A formal agreement was finalized in 1989, and construction of the building began in 1993.

Funding for the project has been provided by a unique public-private partnership among the State of Ohio, the City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority, corporations, foundations, individual donors and the Cleveland Development Partnership.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is the world’s first museum dedicated to the living heritage of rock and roll. Through a dynamic experience encompassing interactive exhibits, performance spaces, special programs, and displays of rock’s greatest treasures from the museum’s permanent collection, visitors are able to explore rock’s ongoing evolution and its influences on many aspects of our society, including politics, fashion, the economy, technology and the arts.

About the Building

• Overview
• The Building
• Architect Ieoh Ming Pei
• Public Spaces
• The City
• History of the Museum

Al Green's White Leather Jacket With Embroidery

Photo by Design Photography
Collection of Al Green