Ulster Hall
 |
|
 |
|
| Location | Bedford Street Belfast Northern Ireland |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 54°35′39.5″N 5°55′51″W / 54.594306°N 5.93083°WCoordinates: 54°35′39.5″N 5°55′51″W / 54.594306°N 5.93083°W |
| Owner | Belfast City Council |
| Type | Concert hall |
| Capacity | 1,000 seated, or 1,850 standing |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1859 |
| Opened | 1862 |
| Renovated | 2009 |
| Website | |
| www.ulsterhall.co.uk | |
Ulster Hall is a concert hall and grade B1 listed building in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Situated on Bedford Street in Belfast city centre, the hall hosts concerts, classical recitals, craft fairs and political party conferences. Despite the opening of larger concert halls in the city, such as the Waterfront Hall and the Odyssey, the Ulster Hall has remained a very popular venue, and is considered to evoke much more atmosphere than the newer venues.
Built in 1859 and opened in 1862, the hall's purpose was to provide the expanding city of Belfast with a multi-purpose venue of sufficient size. It was designed by William J. Barre (also responsible for the Albert Clock) for the Ulster Hall Company.
On its opening night on 12 May 1862, the hall was described by the local press as:
stand[ing] unexcelled, and all but unrivalled, as an edifice for the production of musical works. ... the hall is a great and unmingled success, and the public, no less than the proprietors, may feel the utmost gratification at a result at once so pleasant and so rare.(The Belfast News Letter, 1862)
a music hall fit for the production of any composition, and for the reception of any artist, however eminent (The Northern Whig, 14 May 1862)
In 1902 the hall was purchased by Belfast City Council (then named the Belfast Corporation) for £13,500 and it has been used as a public hall ever since. During World War II it was used as a dance hall to entertain American troops stationed in Northern Ireland.
...
Wikipedia