The Alte Oper or the Old Opera House still looks as magnificent and imposing as it did when it was opened by Kaiser Wilhelm I in 1880. The building was financed by affluent Frankfurt citizens and was designed in an Italian Renaissance style by Richard Lucae. Destroyed in a 1944 air raid, it was rebuilt later and renamed the 'Old Opera Concert and Conference Center'. The main auditorium, the Grosser Saal with seating for about 2500 people, is the central part of the building and is used for concerts and musical extravaganzas. Smaller rooms can be hired for functions, conferences, corporate events, receptions, product launches and so on. Visitors can obtain refreshments in the café, the restaurant or the bistro.