Venue

Kimmel Center, Inc. began to take shape in 1996 when two projects came together: The Philadelphia Orchestra's ongoing plan to build a new home for itself, and a plan of then-Mayor Edward G. Rendell to provide a much-needed venue for some of Philadelphia's most prominent performing arts companies and for touring presentations.

With the generous consent of the Orchestra, which had acquired a property at Broad and Spruce Streets, the two plans were merged under the supervision and management of a new organization, the Regional Performing Arts Center (RPAC). Today, Kimmel Center, Inc. incorporates public amenities and two major venues: The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts -- Verizon Hall, a 2,500-seat concert hall and Perelman Theater, a 650-seat recital theater; and a renovated and upgraded Academy of Music (2,900 seats), which is owned by The Philadelphia Orchestra and operated by Kimmel Center, Inc.