Editing Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (section)

== Foundation ==
The RRHOF Foundation was established in 1983 by Ahmet Ertegun,<ref>{{Cite web |last1=History |first1=CSU Center for Public |last2=Humanities |first2=Digital |title=Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum - Why is the Rock Hall in Cleveland? |url=https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/704 |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=Cleveland Historical |language=en-US}}</ref> who assembled a team that included publisher of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine publisher [[Jann S. Wenner]], record executives [[Seymour Stein]], [[Bob Krasnow]], and Noreen Woods, and attorneys [[Allen Grubman]] and Suzan Evans. 

The Foundation began inducting artists in 1986, but the Hall of Fame still had no home. The search committee considered several cities, including [[Philadelphia]] (home to rock pioneer [[Bill Haley]] and ''[[American Bandstand]]''), [[Memphis, Tennessee]], (home of [[Sun Studio]]s and [[Stax Records]]), [[Detroit]] (home of [[Motown Records]]), [[Cincinnati, Ohio]] (home of [[King Records (United States)|King Records]]), New York City, and Cleveland.<ref name="Tribune 86">{{cite news| last=Swindell| first=Howard| date=May 8, 1986| title=Rock 'N' Roll Finds Home in Cleveland| url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1986-05-06-8602010888-story.html| newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]| access-date=February 17, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190217082953/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1986-05-06-8602010888-story.html| archive-date=February 17, 2019}}</ref>

Cleveland lobbied for the museum, with civic leaders in Cleveland pledging $65 million in public money to fund the construction, and citing that [[WKNR|WJW]] disc jockey [[Alan Freed]] both coined the term "[[rock and roll]]" and heavily promoted the new genre, and that Cleveland was the location of Freed's [[Moondog Coronation Ball]], which is often credited as the first major rock and roll concert. Freed was also a member of the hall of fame's inaugural class of inductees in 1986.<ref>{{cite web| date=April 8, 2016| title=A Look Back at the First Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in 1986| url=https://www.wksu.org/post/look-back-first-rock-and-roll-hall-fame-induction-ceremony-1986#stream/0| work=[[WKSU]] News| last=Bhatia| first=Kabia| access-date=August 22, 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409120552/https://www.wksu.org/post/look-back-first-rock-and-roll-hall-fame-induction-ceremony-1986#stream/0| archive-date=April 9, 2016}}</ref> In addition, Cleveland cited radio station [[WMMS]], which played a key role in breaking several major acts in the U.S. during the 1970s and 1980s, including [[David Bowie]], who began his first U.S. tour in the city, [[Bruce Springsteen]], [[Roxy Music]], and [[Rush (band)|Rush]], among many others.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://rockhall.com/exhibits/wmms--a-cleveland-legend-turns-40/| title=Exhibits| website=Rock and Roll Hall of Fame| access-date=August 23, 2018| archive-date=June 29, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629123746/http://rockhall.com/exhibits/wmms--a-cleveland-legend-turns-40/| url-status=dead}}</ref>

During early discussions on where to build the Hall of Fame and Museum, the Foundation's board considered a site along the Cuyahoga River in downtown Cleveland. Ultimately, the chosen location was along East Ninth Street in downtown by Lake Erie, east of [[Cleveland Stadium]]. At one point in the planning phase, when a financing gap existed, planners proposed locating the Rock Hall in the then-vacant May Company Building but finally decided to commission architect I. M. Pei to design a new building. Initial CEO [[Larry R. Thompson]] facilitated I. M. Pei in designs for the site. Pei came up with the idea of a tower with a glass pyramid protruding from it. Pei initially planned the tower to be {{convert|200|ft|m}} high, but was forced to reduce it to {{convert|162|ft|m}} due to the structure's proximity to [[Burke Lakefront Airport]]. The building's base is approximately {{convert|150,000|sqft|m2}}.