This Must Be The Place

This Must Be The Place is the first architectural history of popular music performance space, describing its beginnings, its different typologies, and its development into a distinctive genre of building design. It examines the design and form of popular music architecture and charts how it has been developed in ad-hoc ways by non-professionals such as building owners, promoters, and the musicians themselves as well as professionally by architects, designers, and construction specialists. With a primary focus on Europe and North America (and excursions to Australia, the Far East and South America), it explores audience experience and how venues have influenced the development of different musical scenes. From music halls and Vaudeville in the 1800s, via the seminal clubs and theatres of the 20th century, to the large-scale multi-million-dollar arena concerts of today, this book explores the impact that the use of private and public space for performance has on our cities' urban identity, and, to a lesser extent, how rural space is perceived and used. Like architecture, popular music is neither static nor standardized; it continuously develops and has multiple strands. This Must Be The Place describes the factors that have determined the development of music venue architecture, focusing on both famous and less well-known examples from the smallest bar room music space to the largest stadium-filling rock set.

Robert Kronenburg is the Roscoe Professor of Architecture at the University of Liverpool, UK.

List of Plates List of Figures Preface 1 Introduction: Popular Music, Architecture and the Home 2 Music Halls, Variety and Vaudeville 3 Juke Joints and Honky Tonks 4 Jazz Clubs, Social Clubs and Riverboats 5 Cabaret, Speakeasies and Supper Clubs 6 Pleasure Gardens, Ballrooms and Dance Halls 7 Pubs, Barrooms and Coffee Bars 8 Theatres, Halls and Auditoria 9 Festival Stages and Travelling Sets 10 Arenas 11 Record Scenes 12 Conclusion: The significance and value of popular music venues Appendix I: Venue Types Appendix II: Principle buildings described in the text Bibliography Index