The Usher Hall

This imposing and rotund building combines elegance and grandeur. The concert hall is named after its benefactor Andrew Usher, a whisky distiller who donated £100,000 in 1896 for the building of the hall.

The Usher Hall was completed in 1910, long after Usher's death, but has become a central venue for Edinburgh concerts, as well as occasional big name comedy acts such as Billy Connolly.

The capital's top concert hall has been one of the main venues for the Edinburgh International Festival since its launch in 1949.

Since March 2007, the Usher Hall has undergone major renovations, at great expense and with unexpected delays. However, although work continues, it is now a fully functioning concert hall hosting some 200 or so shows a year.

Tours of the Usher Hall

The Usher Hall runs regular public tours of the building to look at the art works newly installed in the Hall, on loan from the City Art Centre's Nationally Recognised collection. Among the works on show are paintings by Sir William Gillies and his lifelong friend John Maxwell, Leon Morrocco, Victoria Crowe and William Stewart MacGeorge.

Usher Hall renovation history

The Usher Hall has undergone multi-million pound renovations since 2000, with Edinburgh City Council finding funding support from the Scottish Arts Council, Scottish Executive Cities Growth Fund, Scottish Enterprise, Heritage Lottery Fund, private donations, trusts and foundations.

Phase One

Phase one of the Usher Hall refurbishment project was completed in December 2000 at a cost of £9.75m. This provided the Usher Hall with new mechanical and electrical installations, upgrades to the fabric of the auditorium and internal spaces, a new stage and provision of removable seating to allow promenade concerts.

Phase two

Around £25m was spent in a number of areas:

• a dedicated education space
• protection of the Hall's acoustics
• upgrades to access and circulation, with free movement throughout the building
• new staircases to link all floors from ground level
• public lifts and the creation of level access to the Hall by means of a stone plinth (the "Podium")
• a new wing housing a café/bar
• a new box office area
• additional hospitality spaces and re-sited and extended office accommodation
• expanded toilet and cloakroom provision (allowing increased audience capacity)
• refurbishment and extensions to the dressing rooms and other backstage facilities (in space created by re-siting the offices)

Phase three

The so-called Public Realm works is currently under way to the exterior of the Usher Hall. The aim is to create a pedestrianised, flexible space which will help revitalise the surrounding area and enhance the arts quarter' ambience that the area enjoys due the Usher Hall's proximity to the adjacent Traverse Theatre and Royal Lyceum Theatre.

This landscaping work beside the Usher Hall is due to be completed by August 2010 at a further cost of  £3.95m.