Usher Hall is a concert hall on Lothian Road in Edinburgh’s West End, built with a £100,000 donation from whisky distiller Andrew Usher and opened on 16 March 1914. Designed by Stockdale Harrison and Howard H. Thomson in a Beaux-Arts style with an innovative reinforced-concrete dome, the venue was conceived from the outset as a purpose-built home for orchestral and choral music in the Scottish capital.
More than a century later, Usher Hall remains one of the UK’s premier concert venues, seating around 2,200 people and hosting everything from the Royal Scottish National Orchestra’s regular season to touring international orchestras, rock and pop acts, and comedy. The hall is a Category A listed building and underwent a major extension and refurbishment, completed in 2010, adding a glass-fronted wing while preserving the historic auditorium.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Lothian Road, Edinburgh, Scotland
- Type: Concert hall
- Opened: 16 March 1914
- Capacity: About 2,200
- Architects: Stockdale Harrison and Howard H. Thomson
- Renovation: Completed 2010 with new glass-fronted wing
- Famous for: Home of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra; hosted Eurovision Song Contest 1972
A Century of Music in the West End
Usher Hall was funded almost entirely by Andrew Usher, a prominent Edinburgh whisky blender, whose £100,000 gift covered the bulk of the building’s construction cost. The finished hall featured decorative plaster panels by sculptor Harry Gamley depicting composers and Scottish cultural figures, along with a large pipe organ built by Norman & Beard in 1913, which was later restored by Harrison and Harrison with a reinauguration concert in 2003.
Beyond its regular concert programme, the hall has hosted significant national and international events, including the Eurovision Song Contest in March 1972, which marked Scotland’s first time hosting the competition, and a performance by the Vienna Philharmonic under conductor Bruno Walter in 1947.
The 21st-Century Extension
By the early 2000s, the original Edwardian building lacked modern amenities for performers and audiences alike. Edinburgh-based LDN Architects were commissioned by the City of Edinburgh Council to design an extension, and refurbishment work, which began in the late 1990s, added a new glass-fronted wing containing a cafe-bar, an expanded box office, and hospitality and office space, while restoring and preserving the historic auditorium. The hall reopened to the public in 2010.
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Usher Hall FAQs
When did Usher Hall open?
Usher Hall opened on 16 March 1914 in Edinburgh’s West End, funded largely by a donation from whisky distiller Andrew Usher.
What is the seating capacity of Usher Hall?
Usher Hall seats approximately 2,200 people, making it one of Scotland’s largest concert venues.
Which orchestra is based at Usher Hall?
Usher Hall is the regular concert venue for the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, alongside touring orchestras and other performers.
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Photo: Kim Traynor / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.