Academy of Music

The academy is the oldest grand opera house in the U.S. still used for its original purpose. It was built in 1857, and has been the home of the Philadelphia Orchestra since the orchestra was founded in 1900. It also features performances by the Opera Company of Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Ballet and the Philly Pops.

In this hall Ulysses S. Grant was nominated for his second term in 1872. Grover Cleveland held a huge celebration here in 1886 with his new bride. President Richard Nixon visited the Academy in 1970 to attend an orchestral concert and present Eugene Ormandy with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The Academy has also been host to such performers as Abbott and Costello, Duke Ellington, Lynn Fontanne, Gertrude Lawrence and Frank Sinatra.

It also has some permanent supernatural residents!

Countless attendees of academy events have reported strange experiences while seated in the upper balconies. A "man in black" haunts the area behind the last row of seats. As the lights go up for intermisssion and after the performance, he disappears.

In addition to the above mentioned man, female visitors who find themselves seated next to an empty seat have reported an invisible companion who joins them. The cushion of the seat indents and creaking noise are heard, as if someone is sitting down. Some women have also reported having their hair pulled and some have been pinched.

Tours of the Academy are available. A schedule can be obtained by contacting the manager's office.

Source: www.delcoghosts.com/acad_music