Thanks all for the information about Ford Auditorium....
I had always thought that the reason that the acoustics were so miserable was because architects in the 50s and later lost the art of good acoustics which earlier architects had learned so well. But it was a different story altogether.... Ford Auditorium was built as just that... an auditorium. Only later was it decided to change it [[too little, too late) for symphonic use.
So this not only explains why the Detroit Symphony didn't like the venue... but also why the organ had so much trouble getting the sound into the auditorium.
I don't know why Ford family members are so toughy nosed about razing it... when it was built from the get-go as a very flawed building.
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