HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
The 1925 St. Louis Theatre, an Orpheum-circuit vaudeville/movie palace, reborn 1968 as Powell Symphony Hall — home of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and reportedly haunted by 'George,' a white-tuxedoed figure in the lobby.
718 N Grand Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63103
Research updated October 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
SLSO ticket pricing varies by concert; see slso.org for current pricing.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Wheelchair-accessible seating is available for every performance, on every level except the Upper Balcony. All public entrances are ADA compliant, and elevators or a stair lift reach every level of the concert hall. The tour route ascends some stairs, but most tour areas accommodate mobility devices and an accessible tour can be requested.
Equipment
No Photos
Est. 1925 · 1925 Rapp & Rapp Orpheum-circuit vaudeville/movie palace · Home of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (since 1968) · National Register of Historic Places · City of St. Louis landmark
Powell Hall opened on October 18, 1925 as the St. Louis Theatre, a 4,000-seat vaudeville and movie palace designed by Chicago architects Rapp & Rapp in an ornate Italian Renaissance style. The theatre was part of the Orpheum circuit and hosted vaudeville performers alongside Hollywood films through the heyday of the 1920s and 1930s.
Like many of America's grand picture palaces the St. Louis Theatre declined as television transformed American leisure in the 1950s. In 1966 the St. Louis Symphony Society purchased the building and converted the interior to a concert hall, reducing the seat count to approximately 2,600 to accommodate orchestral acoustics. Renamed for benefactor Walter S. Powell, the renovated Powell Symphony Hall reopened January 24, 1968 and has served as the home of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra continuously since. The Symphony Orchestra itself is the second-oldest in the United States, founded in 1880.
A major renovation, expansion, and acoustic upgrade project was completed in 2025, and the hall reopened in September 2025 as the heart of the new Jack C. Taylor Music Center. The renovated hall has 2,150 seats, and the original 1925 building has been preserved and restored. Powell Hall is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a designated City of St. Louis landmark.
Sources
Per stlghosts.com and the WeJunket ghost-tour app entry, the most-cited resident is 'George,' a figure described consistently as a tall, mustachioed gentleman in a white tuxedo and white top hat. The lore varies in identifying him — some accounts call him a vaudeville performer who hoped for a breakout role; others call him a wealthy patron who attended performances for years and is now said to be unable to bear missing a single concert.
Additional reports describe a female spirit said to haunt the projection room (a vestige from the venue's movie-palace era) and a figure named 'Richard' on the upper floors. A 2010 overnight paranormal investigation, recounted by stlghosts.com, reportedly produced bangs and an incident in which the music director and his secretary briefly found themselves locked inside an auxiliary storage room. We could not independently corroborate the locked-room incident in published news coverage; it is presented as repeated regional aggregator lore.
The Symphony itself does not promote the haunting; the lore is sustained by ghost-tour aggregators and a 2014 STLtoday entertainment-section feature describing the hall as 'in the Halloween spirit all year long.' Treat as folkloric staff lore.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Attend a St. Louis Symphony Orchestra concert in the restored 1925 hall. Powell Hall does not currently operate a dedicated paranormal tour; the building's reputation is documented by regional ghost-literature aggregators.
A behind-the-scenes walking tour of the restored Powell Hall and the new spaces of the Jack C. Taylor Music Center, hosted by the Symphony Volunteer Association. From the expanded backstage to the grand lobby, the tour covers the history of the building and how an orchestra operates. The route ascends some stairs, but most tour areas accommodate mobility devices; to request an accessible tour, reply to the pre-tour email. Tickets are sold through the SLSO Box Office and must be bought in advance; none are sold on the day of the tour, and sales end 72 hours before it. Arrive at least 10 minutes early and enter through the main entrance at the corner of Samuel Shepard Drive and Grand Boulevard.
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St. Louis, MO
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