Franklin Music Hall is a concert venue in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

. It is in a converted building once part of the

General Electric Switchgear Plant The General Electric Switchgear Plant is a historic factory building located at 421 North 7th Street at Willow Street in the Callowhill neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1916, and is a seven-story, seven bay by nine ba ...

and opened in 1995. It has a capacity between 2,500 and 3,000 people. It is owned and operated by The Bowery Presents. The venue features a variety of musical acts in the rap,

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

, heavy metal, rock, grunge, and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

genres.

History

In 1968, the "Electric Factory and Flea Market", a concert venue, opened in a converted tire warehouse on the northwest corner of 22nd and Arch Streets. It was owned by Sheldon Kaplan, Herbert Spivak, and his brothers Jerry Spivak and Allen Spivak. They soon hired Larry Magid to book all of the shows. Kaplan sold his stake in the company after the Atlantic City Pop Festival in 1969 and Magid became a partner. The venue hosted concerts, including performances of

The Chambers Brothers The Chambers Brothers are an American psychedelic soul band, best known for their eleven-minute 1967 psychedelic soul hit " Time Has Come Today". The group was part of the wave of new music that integrated American blues and gospel traditions w ...

, Jimi Hendrix, and

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are conside ...

, until 1970 and was torn down in 1973 to be replaced by flats. Coincident with the venue,

Electric Factory Concerts Electric Factory Concerts is a Philadelphia-based concert promotion firm, affiliated with the former Electric Factory venue in that city. It was founded by Herbert Spivak, who ran the business with his brothers Jerry Spivak and Allen Spivak. ...

began as a concert promoter, also owned by Larry Magid. In 1995, Magid and Spivak reopened the Electric Factory in a converted building from the

on 7th and Willow Street. In 2016, it was named the 16th best venue in the United States by '' Consequence''. In September 2018, the Electric Factory was sold to The Bowery Presents; however, the trademarked name was owned by rival

Live Nation Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American global entertainment company and monopoly that was founded in 2010 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. The company promotes, operates, and manages ticket sales for live entertain ...

and the buyer sought a new name. After a public naming contest that received over 5,000 submissions, in October 2018, the new name was announced as Franklin Music Hall.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1968 establishments in Pennsylvania 1995 establishments in Pennsylvania Callowhill, Philadelphia Music venues completed in 1968 Music venues completed in 1995 Music venues in Philadelphia