1867 Saengerbund singing society constructs Saengerhalle at 14th & Elm--site of future Music Hall

1870 City of Cincinnati acquires Saengerhalle, renaming it Exposition Hall as site for Cincinnati Industrial Exposition

1875 Reuben Springer offers matching gift of $125,000 to build new Music Hall (to be matched by $125,000 from other citizens--with $50,000 offered later for addition of wings, to be matched two-to-one)
Charles Aiken, Superintendent of Music for Cincinnati Public Schools, leads city schoolchildren in raising $3,000 for new Music Hall

1876 Civic leaders Julius Dexter, W. H. Harrison, T. D. Lincoln, Joseph Longworth, Robert Mitchell, John Shillito and Reuben Springer organize Music Hall Association to build new Hall
Cincinnati architect Samuel Hannaford gets contract for new Music Hall
Exposition Hall (old Saengerhalle) is demolished to clear site for new Music Hall
Reuben Springer adds $20,000 to project as costs increase

1877 Construction begins on new Cincinnati Music Hall
Reuben Springer offers $10,000 to start Organ Society to build organ for
Music Hall; public subscriptions raise total to $30,000
Work begins on Hook & Hastings organ for Music Hall, with organ screen carved by Benn Pitman, Henry Lindley Fry, William Henry Fry, and students

1878 New Music Hall is dedicated in April ceremony
New Music Hall opens for business with "Third Biennial Musical Festival" (May Festival of 1878)

1879 Machinery Hall (North Wing) and Art Hall (South Wing) are added to complex, bringing total cost of entire project to $446,000
Seventh Cincinnati Industrial Exposition held in new Wings

1880 Democratic National Convention at Music Hall nominates General Winfield Scott Hancock for President
Banquet celebrating opening of city-owned Cincinnati Southern Railway is held in main auditorium of Music Hall
Cincinnati Tennis Club opens on indoor courts in South Wing (until 1882)
First Millers' International Exhibition is held at Music Hall

1882 Statue of Reuben Springer by Preston Powers is comissioned for foyer

1883 Electric lighting is introduced at Industrial Exposition in Music Hall

1884 Courthouse Riot of 1884 begins with rally at Music Hall
Reuben Springer, benefactor of Music Hall, dies

1886 Technical School of Cincinnati, predecessor of U.C. College of Engineering, is founded at Music Hall

1888 Centennial Exposition of the Ohio Valley and Central States celebrates 100th anniversary of founding of Cincinnati (14th Cincinnati Industrial Exposition)

1889 Cincinnati Architectural Club holds symposium at Music Hall, attracting national attendance

1893 Order of Cincinnatus and Wheelmen of Cincinnati present "Bicyclysto" Pantomime for benefit of Cincinnati unemployed

1896 Renovation is completed for $100,000 to add stage with proscenium arch, permanent seating on pitched floor, electric lighting, and steam heat, all to accomodate Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in moving from Pike's Opera House

1900 First Cincinnati Fall Festival and Industrial Exposition (continuing to 1923)

1905 Circular painting "Allegory of the Arts," by Arthur Conrad Thomas, is installed in center of ceiling of main auditorium

1910 Ohio Valley Exposition is held in Music Hall, celebrating completion of world's largest movable dam, at Fernbank on the Ohio
President William Howard Taft attends May Festival, dedicating statute of Theodore Thomas

1912 New seating is installed in Springer (Main) Auditorium of Music Hall

1916 Ohio Valley Electrical Exposition at Music Hall celebrates electrical age

1918 U.S. and Allied Governments ' War Exposition is held at Music Hall

1923 "Modernization" of original auditorium organ marks beginning of the end for grand old instrument

1925 Music Hall is transformed into a 15th century cathedral setting for Max Reinhardt's medieval spectacle, The Miracle

1927 North and South Wings are expanded, including new (Topper Club) Ballroom

1928 Music Hall celebrates its 50th anniversary with Golden Jubilee celebration

1929 Topper Club opens in South Wing, with Egyptian decor complete with Sphinx
Thomas Alva Edison is honored at Music Hall

1931 Society of American Florists and Ornamental Horticulturists hold National Flower and Garden Show at Music Hall

1935 Greater Cincinnati Women's Exposition is held at Music Hall
Cincinnati Municipal and Industrial Exposition is held at Music Hall

1937 Music Hall is almost razed as fire hazard, but is saved by general remodeling and upgrading to meet standards

1941 Miami Valley Industry and Defense Exposition is held at Music Hall, furthering the regional effort in World War II
The City of Cincinnati acquires title and responsibility for Music Hall complex

1946 University of Cincinnati Bearcats basketball joins wrestling and boxing for three seasons in North Wing

1954 WCET, the nation's first licensed educational TV station, debuts from Dexter Hall (third floor of Music Hall)
Music Hall foyer redecorated for first time since construction in 1878!

1957 Auditorium receives general refurbishing in red, grey, off-white and gold

1959 Topper Club's Egyptian decor gives way to Hawaiian theme, including world's largest color photomural--showing Diamond Head above Waikiki

1964 Corbett Foundation led by J. Ralph Corbett and Patricia Corbett donates rebuilding of backstage area—leading off series of major improvements in Music Hall financed by Corbett donations in next 30 years.

1965 Mirror from old Burnet House Hotel (4th and Vine) is installed in Music Hall foyer

1969 Corbett Foundation finances further major renovations, including addition of offices for performing arts organizations, dressing rooms, Music Library, Green Room, seating, escalators, full-building air-conditioning, and Czechoslovakian crystal chandeliers

1970 Music Hall is added to National Register of Historic Places
Exterior of building is sandblasted (with 400 tons of sand over 60 days!)

1972 Corbett Foundation finances further major renovations, including new scenery shop and set storage area for opera and ballet, and new Corbett Tower on third floor (replacing Dexter Hall)

1973 Volunteer Music Hall Guides start giving tours of building

1974 New seating is installed in Main Auditorium as gift of Corbett Foundation

1975 Parking garage is completed to west, as gift from Corbett Foundation, with skywalk across Central Parkway connecting into Timeline Gallery
Baldwin electronic "wave form" organ is installed, as gift from Corbett Foundation, replacing now decrepit original Hook & Hastings instrument
Music Hall is designated National Historic Landmark

1978 Music Hall celebrates its 100th anniversary with Centennial Saengerfest
U.S. Postal Service issues commemorative Music Hall historic preservation postcard

1984 Critic's Club opens off main foyer, as gift of Corbett Foundation and the Music Hall Association

1985 Architectural lighting is installed for exterior of Music Hall, as gift of Manuel D. and Rhoda Mayerson

1992 Music Hall Association merges to form Cincinnati Arts Association for joint management of Music Hall, Memorial Hall and new Aronoff Center for the Arts
The Society for the Preservation of Music Hall is established, as volunteer support organization to help preserve and enhance the Hall
Corbett Foundation replaces seating in Springer (Main) Auditorium of Music Hall
Cincinnati Music Hall Association merges with the newly-formed Cincinnati Arts Association to provide for a common Board of Trustees and management of Music Hall, Hamilton County Memorial Hall, and the new Aronoff Center for the Arts

1993 Fifty foot flagpole is installed outside Elm Street entrance, as gift of Mr. and Mrs. Donald C. Siekmann

1994 Corbett Foundation finances refurbishing of Corbett Tower

1998 American Classical Music Hall of Fame installs inaugural laureates in gala at Music Hall, commemorating 120 years of classical music tradition in this historic building.
Music Hall Ballroom (originally the old Topper Club) enjoys major transformation into elegant state-of-the-art multi-purpose ballroom and meeting facility

2003 The 125th Anniversary of Cincinnati's historic Music Hall is celebrated in grand style.
Construction begins in the north wing of Music Hall on the new headquarters for the Cincinnati Opera. This necessitates moving the Cincinnati Arts Association's Music Hall staff to offices on the second floor of the south wing.

2004 In October, the Cincinnati Opera moves into the its new headquarters, the Corbett Opera Center

2005 On January 13, the Corbett Opera Center is officially dedicated. The Center, is named for long-time Cincinnati arts patrons J. Ralph and Patricia Corbett. The Corbett Foundation provided a $1.5 million lead grant for the project, as did the City of Cincinnati. The renovation gives the Opera a reception area and box office off Elm Street, ample space for administrative and production offices, meeting rooms, and rehearsal room, and restores much of the north wing's original facade, including the windows.

On May 25, the documentary Music Hall: Cincinnati Finds Its Voice premieres on CET, public television. The 90-minute program was conceived and funded by the Society for the Preservation of Music Hall, and produced by CET, in cooperation with SPMH and the Cincinnati Museum Center's Historical Society Library. The documentary is a finalist for a Post-Corbett Award. The documentary's producers later receive an Emmy from National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Ohio Valley Chapter, in the category of Documentary - Cultural for their work.

2007 Following several years of effort on the part of Society for the Preservation of Music Hall president Norma Petersen, it is announced that the Mighty Wurlitzer organ which was originally created for Cincinnati's Albee Theatre, would be refurbished and installed in Music Hall's Ballroom, where a number of pieces from the Albee decorate the hall.