Portland's principal performing arts venue, the Arlene Schnitzer Hall is home to both the Oregon Symphony and the Portland Youth Philharmonic orchestras. Capable of seating around 3,000 music lovers, the "The Schnitz," as it is known locally, is renowned for its excellent acoustics and 1920s music hall features, including period chandeliers and a revamped theater organ and orchestra pit. Concerts are held throughout the year and the hall also serves as an occasional theater and film venue.
The second-largest city in Oregon, Eugene is home to the much-loved Hult Center for the Performing Arts, within which there are several venues that host regular musical events. These include the main 2,500-seat Silva Concert Hall, as well as the more-intimate Studio. In the summer, occasional concerts are held at the Cuthbert Amphitheatre in nearby Alton Baker Park. Since opening in 1982, the Hult Center has become the home of several well-respected musical ensembles, including the Eugene Symphony, the Eugene Concert Choir and the Oregon Mozart Players.
Originally built in the 1940s, the historic Tower Theatre in Bend, Oregon was given a new lease of life at the start of the new millennium when it was purchased by members of the local community and refurbished. Capable of seating around 900 people, the venue hosts regular concerts, encompassing a wide range of musical styles, including pop, classical, jazz and old-school rock and roll.
Situated in the heart of downtown Seattle, Benaroya Hall is home to the world-famous Seattle Symphony. The venue was opened in 1998, with much of the $120 million construction cost going into state-of-the-art acoustics within the main auditorium, which has a seating capacity of about 2,500. Benaroya Hall also hosts occasional rock and pop concerts, while the venue's Nordstrom Recital Hall offers smaller, more-intimate performances.
Building on the success of the original Manhattan venue, the team behind the Knitting Factory opened its Spokane, Washington concert hall in 2008. The medium-sized venue specializes in putting on acts that fall somewhere between the rock and jazz genres. Its regular "battle of the bands" nights are a good way to spot local, up-and-coming talent.
Forming the centerpiece of the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts, the Patanges Theatre in Tacoma, Washington can trace its origins back to 1908. In the '20s and '30s, it was just one of several venues owned by Patanges offering music hall, vaudeville and cinema to locals. After a revamp in the 1980s, it is the only one still in use. The concert hall hosts regular performances by the Tacoma Philharmonic and the Northwest Sinfonietta, as well as a range of touring acts.