Concert halls & amphitheaters / Downtown riverfront (Civic Center / Hart Plaza)
Ford Auditorium
Closed – archive entry · 1995
A former 2,920-seat concert hall on the downtown riverfront (1956–1995), home of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for more than 33 years.
01 / The story of this place
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The 2,920-seat Henry and Edsel Ford Memorial Auditorium was dedicated in 1956 as part of Detroit's riverfront Civic Center, with marble and granite facades, and was the home of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for more than 33 years; Paul Paray's DSO recorded for Mercury Records there. It also hosted popular-music concerts and civic events, and Malcolm X gave his last speech outside New York there on February 14, 1965. Its acoustics were criticized from the start, the DSO moved back to Orchestra Hall in 1989, and by 1995 the hall had stopped accepting bookings.
- DSO home for more than 33 years
- Malcolm X speech, 1965
- Marble and granite facades
Famous Detroiters
Famous people tied to this place 10
Lexicon entries for the people who lived, worked, performed or liked to spend time here.
- Malcolm X 1925–1965 · Muslim minister, human rights activist
Performed here
Riverfront concert hall on Jefferson Avenue where he spoke on February 14, 1965; it was demolished in 2011.
- Florence Ballard 1943–1976 · singer
Performed here
Riverfront concert hall where she gave her first concert in more than five years on June 25, 1975; closed in 1989 and demolished in 2011.
- Antal Doráti 1906–1988 · conductor, composer
Performed here
The riverfront hall that was the Detroit Symphony's home during Doráti's guest visits and his whole tenure as music director; it was demolished in 2011 and the site is now open ground.
- Paul Paray 1886–1979 · conductor, composer, organist
Performed here
Paray conducted the hall's inaugural concert in October 1956 and led the orchestra there until 1962; the building was demolished in 2011.
- Aldo Ceccato born 1934 · conductor
Performed here
The DSO's riverfront home during Ceccato's four seasons; demolished in 2011.
- Sixten Ehrling 1918–2005 · conductor, pianist
Performed here
The DSO's riverfront home throughout Ehrling's decade; demolished in 2011.
- Günther Herbig born 1931 · conductor
Performed here
The DSO's riverfront home for the first five of Herbig's seasons; demolished in 2011.
- Mischa Mischakoff 1895–1981 · violinist, concertmaster, teacher
Performed here
The DSO's riverfront hall, where Mischakoff led the violins under Paray, Ehrling and guest conductors; demolished in 2011.
- Paul Freeman 1936–2015 · conductor
Performed here
The DSO's riverfront home during Freeman's nine seasons as associate conductor; demolished in 2011.
- Gordon Staples 1929–1990 · violinist, concertmaster
Performed here
The DSO's riverfront hall during Staples's years with the orchestra; demolished in 2011.
Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-09-25
An independently written bilingual guide. This collection is not an attendance-based ranking.
03 / Events
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