Music Hall's Fake Walls: A Mystery?

[TheLastGentleman]

Look how the walls change between these two photos of Municipal Auditorium's Music Hall. At some point they were changed from a smooth curve to strange bumps. It also looks like the first "bumps" closest to the stage are an original part of the curve, with the subsequent bumps being the additions. Notice how the grillwork that's so prominent in the original design is now sunken deep into cavities and partially obscured by lights.

Does anyone know when this was done, or why? I appreciate that they tried to match the new to the old, but I prefer the original, sleek design.

[moderne]

No dates on the images? I would venture a tentative guess that it was done about 2008 when the stage tower was heightened for fly space resulting in the exterior aluminum attic protruding on the NE side, destroying the symmetry of the facade.

[shinatoo]

My guess would be acoustics. The original concave shape would have caused anything reflected off of them to focus.

[empires228]

It's for acoustical reasons. The building isn't bad acoustically now, certainly not as bad as the symphony's old home. The old theater organ works really well in there, even if the rest of the building is in desperate need of restoration.