Sitting on North High Street between 12th and 13th Avenue, it is easy to forget the pure quantity of rock 'n' roll history that lives within the walls of the Newport Music Hall. There are not many venues that can brag about hosting Bruce Springsteen, The Grateful Dead, Miles Davis, Green Day and Pearl Jam all on the same stage. The Newport is the longest running rock club in America, having opened its doors for the first time in 1969 as The Agora Ballroom.
The Newport is the rock 'n' roll home for Ohio State students, offering up-and-coming bands that usually find their following in college-aged fans. Before shows, lines form outside the club's giant, dark wooden doors, with eager fans waiting to get the best view of their favorite band.
The general admission seating of the club holds 1,700 people and offers both stage views and a balcony. While the front of the stage is always a popular view to see the show, the front of the Newport balcony is a coveted spot among regulars.
"There is a real rock 'n' roll feel to the Newport," said Bethany Brown, marketing assistant for PromoWest Productions, which runs the Newport. "You can feel the history."
In 1984, Scott Stienecker purchased the Agora Ballroom and created PromoWest Productions which renamed the venue the Newport Music Hall. At the time, the original owners of the Agora were planning on selling the site to developers who were planning on building a drug store. Stienecker convinced the owners to sell to him based on his idea to keep the rock club active.
The building was built in the 1920s and used as a silent movie theater. In the late '60s Hank LoConti purchased the building with the intention of turning it into a music club which he named The Agora Ballroom, the second installment of the namesake originated in Cleveland.
By 1970, the Agora had its first national act in Ted Nugent who has come back to play venue many times. The '70s brought many of rock's biggest acts to the Agora, including The Allman Brothers, B.B. King, Lou Reed and Pink Floyd.
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