£32m project to restore the glory of historic town hall

Birmingham Town Hall, the Grade 1-listed landmark where works by Mendelssohn and Elgar were first aired, has won a £13.5m lottery grant to restore it to its 19th-century prime.

The building, with 56 Corinthian columns and based on the Castor and Pollux temples in the Roman Forum, took six years to build and was completed in 1834. Visitors included Charles Dickens, William Gladstone and David Lloyd George, but it was best known as a musical venue for classical works and for more modern artists including Duke Ellington, Bob Dylan and the Beatles.

Now, seven years after being closed because of decay, the Town Hall will benefit from a £32m refurbishment project also funded by Birmingham City Council. Among improvements to be started this summer will be floodlights for its columns and re-creation of a "standing concert space", used during Victorian performances and dances, and seated halls. Two balconies – one added in 1927 – will be replaced by a single tier, in keeping with Joseph Hansom's original designs, to aid original acoustics and the sense of space within the hall. It is due to reopen in 2006.

Graham Allen, the project director, said the building had once symbolised grand aspirations for the city. "It is in the heart of Birmingham, funded by the town rates and built as a meeting place for the people, not for the borough council, which met elsewhere," he said. "We intend to restore it as a place of civic gathering and performance." Anne Jenkins, the Heritage Lottery Fund regional manager, said: "It will be an incredible thrill to see it brought back to life. It is a stunning building and it has touched the lives of many."