This Museum Rocks! (Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Museum - October 2005)
by chelledun - Written: Oct 09 '05 (Updated Oct 13 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great music, tons of exhibits, well-done and maintained, good food
Cons: A little expensive, music from lobby interfered with some exhibits
The Bottom Line: Worth a visit for anyone who has ever listened to Rock and Roll.
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| chelledun's Full Review: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Museum |
I just finished my visit to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. This is my first trip to Ohio, and the hall of fame was the attraction I experienced here. I'm not super into music so I was concerned I'd be a little bored. Fortunately, that wasn't the case at all. husband and I spent four hours touring the facility. On the whole we had a very positive experience with a few minor complaints.
General Information
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is located on the outskirts of downtown Cleveland. There are several parking garages which are clearly marked. The one we selected cost $10 for the day and closed at 6:00 p.m. We visited on a Saturday but there was really no problem finding a spot on the first floor and the walk was only about three minutes.
The hall of fame hours during the off-season when we visited are 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day except Wednesday when the museum is open until 9:00 p.m. From Memorial Day to Labor Day the hours are the same except the museum is open until 9:00 p.m. on Saturdays as well. Normally I advise arriving early at these type of attractions but we actually found the museum got less crowded as the day went on as people finished touring and went home. It was a little bit of a mob scene right when we arrived around 10:00 a.m. The cost of museum admission is $20 for adults. This is a little steep to me, although I did save $2 with my student ID. A two day pass is $30 which might be nice if you are staying near the museum and want to spread out your touring.
Touring Information
Museum Lobby - The lobby was large, open, and full of extra-large pieces of guitar-shaped artwork. There was a corporate battle of the bands all day on the day we visit and from the schedule posted it looked like there is usually something going on involving live music pretty much every Saturday and Sunday. The gift store is in the lobby as well and its open to the public even without paying. I got a pretty snazzy t-shirt and there are hundreds of CDs available for purchase.
Ground Level - Tickets are purchased on this floor and this where you start your tour, although you can move freely between the floors in any order you wish. We started our film by watching two fifteen minute films in small theaters called Mystery Train and Kick out the Jams. This was a great introduction to the museum and I suggest doing this first as we did to get in the rock and roll spirit.
The ground floor contains more exhibits than any of the other floors and we spent over two hours here after viewing the videos. I couldn’t possibly touch on all the exhibits so here are a few of the highlights. Jimi Hendrix was one of the main featured artists. A lot of his extremely vibrant costumes were on display and a surround-sound theater was dedicated to showing nothing but clips of his performances. Fifty Years of Rock and Roll was my favorite part of the museum. The display included clothing and instruments used by famous performers, organized by decade. I loved seeing the actual outfits TLC wore in their “No Scrubs” video and Madonna’s crazy gold bustier. It was amazing how small most of the clothing was, even for male performers. They look so much bigger on TV!
Also on the first floor is a section dedicated to the Music of Ohio. I’m not from Ohio, but local people would probably find this of particular interest. On the way out of the ground floor there are a set of monitors and billboards giving hilarious quotes from politicians, religious figures, and radio station personnel about the evils of rock and roll.
Level 2 - I got a little bored on level two. The main exhibit is Architects of Rock and Roll dedicated to some of the behind the scenes figures who played a roll in making rock and roll what it is today. There was a lot of reading and I hadn’t really heard of the three main people featured. An exhibit on the Evolution of Audio Technology was a little technical for me, but I think it interested my husband. A case outside is called Respect: The Sound of Soul and was of more interest to me.
Level 3 - This level has the actual Hall of Fame. There is a huge theater with three screens which show the Inductees for each year along with images and clips of songs or speech. I liked the fact that you could walk in and out as you pleased. We stayed for the Inductees from about 1997-2005, which lasted about a half hour but you could easily spend two hours here watching the show. The program is very well done. Around the back side of the theater there is a hallway with signatures of all the inductees. This is not exactly what I expected in terms of the actual ‘hall of fame’, but this is pretty much it. A lot of people missed it because they were so busy running out of the theater to see the next thing. You can actually touch the signatures and they kind of glow in the dark on the wall.
Also on the third floor is the museum café. I had low expectations for the café going in after reading other reviews but we loved it! The food is prepared by an offsite caterer which means it is prepackaged but also that it is ready when you order. I had a chicken wrap while my husband had wings and vegetables. The cost for two meals and two drinks was $17.00. The best part was being able to sit and look out over the lake while listening to live performances from battle of the bands. We felt like we got a pretty good deal with our lunch.
Level 4 - Not much was going on with this level during our visit. The It’s Only Rock and Roll Theater was temporarily closed, at least for the rest of the weekend. The theater normally shows films. It seems like we were lucky that this was the only attraction closed during our visit because the museum is constantly changing exhibits and rotating artifacts in its display, which means a lot of construction. Also on this level was Pink Floyd The Wall which included an actual…wall with a scary inflatable monster over it. I read everything there was to read about this exhibit but I’ve never listened to Pink Floyd so I feel like I still don’t really get it. There was a hotel…and a big monster…and some fan tried to climb up a net during a concert. Pink Floyd fans, feel free to drop by the comments and explain the whole concept to me.
Levels 5 and 6 - This is the Special Exhibition Area which changes frequently. It looks like we missed Ray Charles which I was kind of bummed about because I dig Ray. Instead we got Tommy: The Amazing Journey. For those who don’t know (including me before I visited) Tommy was a Rock Opera composed by the Who. It became a movie and a couple different musicals. The story is quite complex but includes a murder, a child who doesn’t speak with anyone, and a pinball wizard. I thought the exhibition was quite good even though this isn’t a subject I know much about. There were video clips from performances and musicals, letters and lyrics written by the Who, and a helpful plot synopsis of “Tommy.” Also, lots and lots of pinball machines. I feel like I learned something new here. This display will be available until March 2006.
General Comments/Complaints
In general, I think the museum is very well done. The overall atmosphere is very fun and the exhibits are impressive. I was amazed at the sheer amount of clothing, guitars and other rock star artifacts on display. The videos were especially interesting and memorable. Also, the music was superclean and well maintained which is a big deal with me. Clearly the Hall of Fame is working on an extra-large budget because everything was impeccable. I even loved the food.
However, I have a couple minor complaints. The Battle of the Bands was great, BUT it interfered with viewing of some of the exhibits because you could still hear it. I noticed this the most with the “Tommy” exhibition. The exhibit had its own music which I wanted to hear because I was unfamiliar with the Who. However, the music from Tommy was overpowered by the random U2 covers being performed by the battle of the bands so it was just a hodge podge of noise. The bands also prevented me from being able to hear the Hall of Fame inductee speeches at the beginning of the third floor exhibition. I think with a place like this, soundproofing is absolutely essential.
Another thing to keep in mind is that there is no guarantee you will see any information or artifacts about your favorite rock stars. Because the museum is constantly changing it would be good to call ahead or check online to see what is going on during your visit. You can also check out the Hall’s website at http://www.rockhall.com/. Of course, this is a plus for those who live locally and would definitely convince me to get an annual pass if I was an Ohio resident.
Overall…
I had a great four+ hours at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. If I had a little headache when I left, that was a small price to pay for so much great music. This is a well-done museum that you really can’t miss if you are in the Cleveland area. If you won’t be in the Cleveland area, this museum is worth planning a trip there.
*While You're in the Area...
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
Great Lakes Brewing Company
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
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