Venue Spotlight: Cohoes Music Hall
Photo credit: Tom Miller
This November, Cohoes Music Hall celebrated a momentous occasion: their 150-year anniversary; a sesquicentennial, if we’re getting technical.
The history of this Victorian-style brick building is a winding tale beginning with its purchase in 1874 by two businessmen: William Acheson, a miller, and James Masten, a newspaper owner. The Music Hall rose to a significant height in the early 20th century, becoming a popular destination for Vaudeville performers, hosting the likes of Annie Oakley, Buffalo Bill Cody, George M. Cohan, and Eva Tanguay. Tanguay is actually believed to haunt the Hall to this day, resulting in her very own shrine on the side of the stage, which performers must honor if they want their shows to go off without a hitch.
After their Vaudevillian days came to a close, the hall was sold to the National Bank of Cohoes, then closed in 1936. In 1968, something even more inconceivable than a haunting occurred that resulted in the Music Hall’s reopening: the building was sold to the City of Cohoes for $1.00. No, that is not a typo; one single dollar was exchanged so that the bank could thrust what they thought was a useless building into the hands of the city. However, once the city realized what was truly inside, the building was restored over the following five years and it reopened in 1975 with a performance of London Assurance, a nostalgic nod to the very first show ever performed at Cohoes Music Hall. It’s Cleveland, 1934 and as the play opens, Max (a wonderful Patrick Heffernan) has just returned from the train station unable to pick up the opera star Tito Merelli (impressive and imposing Brian Edward) who has been contracted for a single performance of “Pagliacci” that evening because…he is nowhere to be found.
“The team went to great pains to get it right, and I give the city officials that led that process in the 1970s a lot of credit,” he tells me. “Of course, there were quality of life and accessibility improvements, from adding a cooling system, to adding an elevator, but in terms of the styling and vibe of the building? It was truly restored as if it was 1874 all over again. Since then, improvements have been made to the sound and lighting systems–which were fully replaced by the City in 2019–and new windows were fashioned and installed for audience comfort and energy efficiency. But, at every turn, a premium has been placed on honoring the historic nature of the space, and that is a commitment that will hold true for generations to come, I hope.”
While the history of the building is incredible in and of itself, it doesn’t even begin to touch the magic that can be felt once you step inside those humongous double wooden doors. Smith relayed that what stands out for audiences at Cohoes Music Hall is the intimacy of the space.
“While we can seat 450 folks, the shape of the Hall, in its Victorian, Second Empire style, means that no audience member is more than 100 feet or so, tops, from the performer on stage. Whether you are watching live music, theatre, or comedy, you feel a close connection with the artist. And yet, the atmosphere and history of the venue make it feel grand at the same time. It’s really a unique combination.”
Photo credit: Tom Miller
With such a gem right inside Cohoes’ downtown, it’s easy to see how the hall has become a valuable actor in the community. Smith explains, “Cohoes Music Hall is a vital catalyst for economic development in Cohoes, and it’s a driver of foot traffic to the entire Spindle City downtown community. We’re now programming more than 150 public events per year at the hall–the most in its history since reopening–and those events get people into our city’s bars, restaurants and shops. When you combine that with the regular student foot traffic nightly at our Playhouse Stage Studios education space on Remsen Street, it’s really quite a driver for the downtown business community.”
While Cohoes might not be the first place we think of when we consider a night on the town, perhaps it’s time we start to change that. Whether you’re looking to step inside local history, explore Cohoes’ downtown, or see a show with some spectacular seats no matter where you sit, the Music Hall is clearly the place to be. Happy Sesquicentennial, Cohoes Music Hall — we sure are lucky to have you after 150 years and can’t wait for 150 more. (That will be a tercentenary, for the record.)
Photo credit: Tom Miller
