The 10,000-capacity main auditorium shares its stage with a second venue housed at the facility: the 3,000-capacity Music Hall, and as of 2024 serves as the home arena to the Cleveland Charge of the NBA G League.

[1][2][3] Although Public Auditorium was planned and funded prior to World War I, construction did not begin until 1920, and the building did not open until 1922.

Smith & Oby was one local company involved in the project, at the time the largest convention hall in the United States.

This space was reached by an elegant stone staircased with bronze lights which led down from Public Auditorium's lobby.

On the west side of Public Auditorium, a four-story (one source says three-and-a-half story) modern glass and metal entrance pavilion added new lobby space for both buildings.

The rest of the old Exhibition Hall was turned into 15 meeting rooms (ranging in size from 10 to 700 seats), office space, a cocktail lounge, and a piano bar arranged around a central block.

This corridor had decorative stone panels on one side and painted wood on the other, and was lined with sturdy chair upholstered in luggage fabric.

[9] The interior wall coverings of dark wood paneling and bronzed aluminum were replaced with a cream-colored travertine wainscoting[13] topped by a band of polished stone.

[5] Displays about where to eat, drink, and shop in downtown Cleveland were added to the lobby, as were several kiosks where airlines could assist convention-goers in making plane reservations.

[15] When the neighboring Crowne Plaza was sold and renovated as the Westin Hotel Cleveland in 2013, its new owners considered building a skywalk across East 6th Street connecting it to Public Auditorium.

Public Auditorium has hosted many notable events, including the 1924 and 1936 Republican National Conventions, General Eisenhower's address on September 23, 1952, to 15,000 supporters immediately after Richard Nixon's successful Fund Speech, and the 1993 Cleveland Orchestra 75th anniversary concert.

[17] In 1946, jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt made his American debut at Music Hall, accompanied by pianist Duke Ellington.

Canadian hard rock band Triumph's live album King Biscuit Flower Hour (In Concert) was recorded at Music Hall in October 1981.

The annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies have been held in Public Auditorium several times.

[22] Public Auditorium was occasionally used as a home court for the Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball team between 1981 and 1989 until the opening of the Wolstein Center.

Public Hall hosted two athletic events in 2014, the first being a Fed Cup series between the United States and Italy in February, followed by the 2014 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships in March.