Photograph by Joe Simon
In 1908, architect Samuel Hannaford designed Memorial Hall as a monument for veterans of the Civil War and Spanish-American War. Post-1950s, the building fell into disrepair, and 1990 saw a restoration that didn’t last. In 2004, however, a group of trustees formed the Cincinnati Memorial Hall Society (CMHS) to preserve and restore the Hall. Those efforts led to it becoming the historic site it is today, one of most striking Beaux-Arts buildings in America.
Serendipitously in 2009, Bill Baumann, who cofounded the L.A.-based production company PorchLight Entertainment, had recently moved back to Cincinnati. He visited Memorial Hall for the first time, for a funeral—back then, the building was closed to the public—and was struck by both its beauty and its dismal state of being.
Two years later, he joined CMHS, bringing his inspired vision of the cultural district in downtown L.A. and Park Avenue Armory to the Hall. In 2013, he played an integral part in booking Patti Smith to perform at the Hall, and in 2017, he came up with the idea for the Longworth-Anderson Series, a string of contemporary music performances.
Currently, Baumann is chair emeritus of CMHS, a role in which he has helped raise $11.2 million in renovation dollars, including $1.1 million last year and a total of $2.5 million from private donors. The recent money has gone toward repairing the roof. In 2025, Memorial Hall hosted 300 events, including the annual Cindependent Film Festival and upcoming holiday-themed shows like Ricky Skaggs, Kentucky Thunder Christmas, and An Acoustic Christmas with Over the Rhine. Next year, acts like The Drowsy Lads and Madison Cunningham will perform in its halls. With Baumann’s fund-raising acumen and experience serving on the boards of Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center and Cincinnati Preservation (and his passion for the building itself), Memorial Hall now has enough money to thrive for the years ahead.
What did you think of Memorial Hall the first time you were inside?
I remember walking up and taking a seat. I [thought], this can’t be. This is like a secret place. It’s like a time capsule. I just thought it was so beautiful inside and of the period. There were holes in the ceiling. It was not in very good shape at all. The doors were not open very often. People would walk by on the way to go to Music Hall. But I think I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to see the building.
Why is Memorial Hall important to you?
If we would be able to raise the funds to restore this building and modernize this building, this city would have a cultural district just by that. We began to talk to people like the county [and] potential funders. We were not talking about restoring one building, we were talking about creating something much bigger, and I think people responded to that. Funders responded to things. What really saved this building is that it found a contemporary use and that contemporary use is that theater. There is the historical importance, architectural importance, the patriotic element of this building, and the contemporary use. I say that we’re in the second golden age.
What have been some of the successes in the past 12 years?
Number one is that we’ve developed a strong dedicated board, from six people to 30 people, of all ages and from all over the city. I put very high up the executive director, Cori Wolff. She is a real talent. She has a curatorial background. She loves music. She’s very creative and business oriented. Definitely the partnership that has been developed with Hamilton County, 3CDC, and the residents of the city. This is a model of what can be accomplished. This has been more successful than we could have imagined.
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