Tour of Powell Hall, St. Louis, Missouri

Powell Hall is the home of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.

When I was a teenager, I played my cello in a youth orchestra on Powell Hall's stage. My Uncle Dick brought me to see Handel's Messiah being performed in the space. As a young adult, my cousin and my best friend had their wedding reception in the grand entrance of the Hall.

If those weren't enough memorable experiences in one place, this weekend I was privileged to hear Wynton Marsalis in concert with the St. Louis Symphony!

My favorite aspect of the space, besides the towering ceilings, grand staircase, balcony levels, massive windows adorned by red curtains, are the chandeliers! The glimmer and sparkle! The cascading crystals!

Okay, I'm done being schmaltzy.

(Note: My camera was on the wrong setting all night, so all the photos are sadly grainy. I was trying to covertly take photos for this post without looking too much like a tourist, so they are off center too.)

For the Marsalis concert, my friend and I had seats in the top of the balcony which provided a full view of the entire orchestra and the stunning ceiling.

After the concert, we were able to see the main level seating and take photos.

If you have height vertigo like me, I recommend caution when visiting Powell Hall. The hallways that you walk along to access the inside of the theatre space are open on one side and face the grand entrance hall with all the chandeliers. As beautiful as the view is, ever since I was a child, I've had major issues with heights. Even small "heights" like being on ladders would cause me to panic, but standing anywhere near a cliff, the railings on the second floor of a mall, before stepping on the first stair of a down escalator, would cause me to feel dizzy. My head swims, knees get weak, and I feel as if some force is physically dragging me over the edge.

That said, the railings on the first upper level hallways were high and thick enough that I did not get overwhelmed by the feeling. On the second or third level, though, as I was photographing the chandeliers, I had to pin myself against a column in order to be near the shorter railings. I was feeling the whole place, including myself pitch and roll to throw me over the edge. Not pleasant.

Taking this photo was physically distressing so you better appreciate it:

Despite my harrowing height experiences, Powell Hall has stunning architecture, details, and amazing acoustics inside the concert hall. The sound during the concert literally made our jaws drop in awe, and in the end, that is the most important feature for the design of a concert space. The stunning beauty of the building is the icing on the cake!