It’s an extra special Sofar night when you get the chance to discover new music in a historical space. Whether it’s a nationally recognized historic building, or a local spot that’s interwoven into the growth of a community, you can just feel the history in the room. With that in mind, here are x of our favorite historical spaces for live music.
Westminster Abbey
Let’s start with a royal church filled with more than 1,000 years of history. Westminster Abbey was founded in London 960 AD and continues to serve the community to this day. This Gothics-style historical space is the resting place of 17 monarchs, and also holds a library filled with archived materials. We’re still pinching ourselves that we’ve been lucky enough to host live music on these sacred grounds.
The Rookery
Located in Chicago’s Downtown Financial District, this beautiful hotel and historical space is considered to be an architectural masterpiece. Designed by Burnham and Root in 1888, with the addition of Frank Lloyd Wright’s touches on the two-story lobby in 1905, The Rookery is a breathtaking place to stay, or stop by, or better yet, one of our favorite historical spaces for live music.
The National Arts Club
It started as a small group of friends in New York City interested in the arts. Now, more than a decade later, The National Arts Club located in the Tilden Mansion is a non-profit and member club meant to foster public interest in fine art. Though it remains a private club, there are numerous public events held in the National Historical Landmark space, including live music from Sofar artists. (Sorry, no photos for this one, you’ve got to get to a show to see it!)
St. Joseph’s Church
The 22,000 sq. ft Romanesque Revival space was originally built in San Francisco, CA in 1906 to be both a church and a school. A century later, which included suffering damage from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, the building was turned into St. Joseph’s Art Society, a nonprofit art center housing art of all disciplines, including live Sofar shows.
Vintage Bookstore and Wine Bar
Next time you’re in Austin, TX, make sure to stop by Vintage Bookstore and Wine Bar to find your next great read, favorite wine, and to check out the 142-year old space itself. The Haehnel Building was originally built by Salvatore Bailetti, sold to Carl Haehnel, then housed a century of businesses. In the early 2000s, the building was designated a historical site by the National Register of Historic Places, then renovated to host new life.
Queen’s Gallery
One of our favorite historic spaces we’ve hosted Sofar nights in is no doubt the Queen’s Gallery in Buckingham Palace. Open to the public since 1962, the art gallery houses rotating works and exhibitions belonging to the late Queen Elizabeth II and the royal collection.
SoWa Power Station
At the end of the 19th century, SoWa Power Station was built to power all of Boston’s West End Street Railway. Today, the space powers the local community through intimate events, including being one of our go-to historical spaces for live music.
Ready to discover more historical spaces for live music? See shows.
Words by Sofar Editorial Team
