Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall
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Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall was built in 1980 to give the San Francisco Symphony a permanent home. Previously, the symphony had shared the neighboring War Memorial Opera House with the San Francisco Opera and San Francisco Ballet. Its construction allowed the symphony to expand to a full-time year-round schedule.
Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill along with acoustical consultants Bolt, Beranek and Newman, its modern design is visually elegant both inside and out. Howevever, its large volume and seating capacity and the relatively immature knowledge of acoustics at the time resulted in less than ideal results. Acoustical renovations under the direction of Kirkegaard Associates were completed in 1992, resulting in substantial improvement. The current seating capacity is 2,743.
A Ruffatti pipe organ was added in 1984.