Editing Academy of Music (section)

== Design ==

The Academy's plain brownstone exterior gives little indication of the ornate interior within—a deliberate choice that concentrated resources on the auditorium where audiences would actually experience the building. The interior displays Victorian decoration at its most elaborate: gilded ornament, painted ceilings, crimson velvet seating, and crystal chandeliers that sparkle above the audience. The famous grand chandelier, 16 feet in diameter and containing 240 lights, has illuminated the auditorium since the building opened.<ref name="armstrong"/>

The horseshoe-shaped auditorium seats approximately 2,900 in orchestra, parquet, balcony, and amphitheater levels. The seating arrangement, with multiple tiers of boxes rising around the room, reflects nineteenth-century social organization that placed Philadelphia's elite in visible positions while accommodating larger audiences in upper levels. Acoustics, carefully considered in the original design, create the warm sound that has earned the Academy praise from performers and listeners. The Academy's intimate scale, compared to larger contemporary venues, brings audiences close to performers in ways that enhance live performance experience.<ref name="gallery"/>