The Reid Concert Hall is located in the southwest corner of Bristo Square, opposite the McEwan Hall and next to the Teviot Row Student Union building, all of which are part of the University of Edinburgh.
The hall was built in 1858, to designs by David Cousin (1809-78) as a music classroom, with an impressive integral coffered-vault concert hall, featuring an ornate cornice and a modern organ (1978). The building was constructed with purpose-built galleries which hold a fine collection of more than 1000 historic musical instruments in crowded show-cases. This is said to be the world's oldest purpose-built museum of musical instruments. The collection includes brass, percussion, stringed and woodwind and is complementary to the University's other collection, the Russell Collection of Early Keyboard Instruments, which is held in St. Cecilia's Hall. Both collections are open to the public.
