Hall’s theater to be named in honor of Annie W. & Elizabeth M. Anderson

The Cincinnati Memorial Hall Society has received a pledge of $1.0 million from the Annie W. & Elizabeth M. Anderson Foundation as a keystone gift for the planned 2015-2016 renovation of the Memorial Hall building. This significant gift from the Anderson Foundation, a leading Cincinnati foundation focused on the betterment of the city, will help considerably in closing the funding gap for the renovation.

The Anderson sisters were sixth-generation Cincinnatians, great-great-granddaughters of Nicholas Longworth and Lt. Colonel Richard Clough Anderson. Annie and Elizabeth are linked to Memorial Hall through their great-uncle Brevet Major General Nicholas Longworth Anderson, a Civil War hero memorialized with an historic, bronze plaque hanging in the building’s main hall since shortly after the building was erected in 1908.

In recognition of the importance of this significant gift and the prominence of the Anderson and Longworth families in Cincinnati history, Memorial Hall’s beautifully decorative theater will be named the “Annie W. & Elizabeth M. Anderson Theater” and its stage will be named “The Longworth Anderson Stage.”

“Annie and Elizabeth Anderson were proud of their family’s important role in the history of Cincinnati,” said Mr. Jim Wellinghoff, Trustee of the Anderson Foundation. “Therefore, this gift to help restore this historic treasure and make it a strong contributor to the development of a world-class arts district around Washington Park is very fitting.”

The Anderson Foundation’s considerable donation, combined with the $1.5 million funding commitment from the Hamilton County Commissioners and $4.1 million in Ohio and Federal Tax Credit funding previously secured, means that $6.6 million has now been secured of the total $7.8 million renovation budget.

Bill Baumann
President, Memorial Hall Society Board of Trustees

Memorial Hall is located in the heart of the revitalized arts district of Over-the-Rhine. This Exquisite venue is adjacent to Music Hall and the School for Creative and Performing Arts and overlooks Washington Park.