1900: Boston's Symphony Hall, an acoustical marvel in its day and still regarded as one of the world's great concert halls, opens with an inaugural concert by the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Unlike most American concert halls, which tend to favor a wider, fan-shaped configuration, Symphony Hall was built along European lines � deep, narrow and high. The architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White modeled the Boston hall after Leipzig's Gewandhaus (which was destroyed during World War II).

But the architects also did something unprecedented: They hired Wallace Clement Sabine, a young assistant physics professor from nearby Harvard University, to act as acoustical consultant. For the first time ever, scientifically proven acoustical principles were applied to concert-hall design. On the basis of Sabine's work, the hall was built using brick, steel and plaster, with wooden flooring the only soft material used.

The side balconies are narrow to avoid trapping sound, and � to help focus it � the stage walls are banked inward. The architects also carved niches into the walls and topped the hall with a coffered ceiling, which, in acoustical terms, guarantees nearly every seat the optimum aural experience.

One interesting quirk: While the proscenium arch is ringed with a number of plaques, only one is inscribed. The intention was to inscribe each plaque with the name of a great composer, but in the end Beethoven alone was deemed worthy enough by the directors to be so honored. The other plaques remain empty to this day.

From maestro Wilhelm Gericke's opening downbeat at the inaugural gala, Symphony Hall was a resounding success with musician and concertgoer alike. Now, 110 years later, nothing has changed.

When great acoustics are discussed, three halls in the world are almost always mentioned: the Musikverein in Vienna, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Symphony Hall. In general architectural terms, Vienna and Boston are bound to turn up in anybody's list of Top 10 concert halls.

The 14 half-moon windows just beneath the ceiling were uncovered in 2008 to expose the hall to natural light for the first time since the 1940s.

The imposing Renaissance-style building at 301 Massachusetts Ave. sits only a block from the New England Conservatory of Music. Symphony Hall, home to both the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1999.

Source: Various

Photo: Boston's Symphony Hall has a cavernous interior shaped like a shoe box. Its dimensions � and its acoustics � are no accident.

Charles Krupa/AP

This article first appeared on Wired.com Oct. 15, 2008.

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