Digbeth Institute

The O2 Institute is a music venue located in Birmingham, England. The venue opened in 1908 as a methodist congregational chapel. It has also served as an event centre, civic building and nightclub.It has three main rooms: the 2000-capacity main auditorium called "The Institute" which has a seated upper balcony, the downstairs room which holds up to 600 people called "O2 Institute2" and the 250-capacity upstairs room "O2 Institute3" .The venue also houses "Un-Plug", an intimate club with a capacity of 400, located in the building's cellar. The space formerly operated as the "Midland Jazz Club", "Jug 'O Punch Folk Club", Dance Factory and "Barfly".HistoryDesigned by Arthur Harrison, it was officially opened January 16, 1908 by the wife of the Pastor of Carrs Lane Church, John Henry Jowett, as an institutional church associated with to Carr's Lane Congregational Church. In the week that followed, it hosted a variety of acts. The area which surrounded it was predominantly slums and industrial buildings.In 1954, the building was put up for sale by the trustees as they felt the building was not needed for its originally intended use. It was bought by Birmingham City Council in 1955 for £65,000 and was used as a civic hall. People known to have made speeches at the Digbeth Institute include Neville Chamberlain, Henry Usborne, Florence L. Barclay and Herbert Hensley Henson.