Ahmet Ertegun,  Founder and Chairman of Atlantic Records, along with Rolling Stone magazine publisher Jann Wenner and several other music managers and attorneys dedicated their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation to “the people who have created this music which has become the most popular music of our time.” But first they needed was a permanent home for the foundation. They considered many cities along both coasts and the Midwest, finally settling on Cleveland, which not only gave presented the best deal but hosted many historical firsts in rock ‘n roll.

On this day, September 1, in 1995, after twelve years of building, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum opened in Cleveland, by the Lake Erie waterfront.

Cleveland was the place where Alan Freed, the popular disk jockey of WJW-AM radio show, first popularized the term “rock and roll” on his pioneering “Moondog Rock ‘n’ Roll Party” radio show. Cleveland served launched the careers of many hall-of-fame artists, from Chuck Berry (who made his first public appearance there) to David Bowie (whose U.S. debut was there) to Elvis Presley (who held his first concert north of the Mason-Dixon line in Cleveland.)