Heavy Metal at Rock And Roll Hall of Fame

Heavy metal was well-represented at Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum as structural steel was set for the facility's 50,000-sq.-ft. expansion.

Although rock music has a raucous, spontaneous reputation, the planning and execution of the project was a study in precision. However, a moment of improvisation at the very start of the construction phase paid huge dividends down the line.

"We realized we had to use hydraulic-boom all-terrain cranes for a job that typically screamed for lattice-boom crawlers," said Brian Meek, project manager for ALL Erection & Crane Rental, flagship branch of the ALL Family of Companies.

Crawlers are the go-to for steel erection in normal circumstances, because they have the reach and capacity to easily handle the heft and unusual dimensions of steel. They also need a lot of room for assembly before any work can begin, and there was simply no space at the Rock Hall's lakefront location.

"We were hemmed-in by Lake Erie to the north, a busy city street to the south and Cleveland's famed Great Lakes Science Center right next door," said Meek.

Instead, ALL called upon its fleet of Liebherr all-terrain cranes (ATs), in capacities of 360, 550 and 900 tons, to make the necessary lifts.

"It's well-documented that there have been extraordinary strides in the capabilities of ATs in the past two decades, with Liebherr at the forefront of much of that innovation," said Meek. "Having so many Liebherr ATs in our fleet, including the 900-ton Liebherr LTM 1750-9.1, enabled us to deliver the right mix of equipment to execute the lifts and adhere to project timelines."

Lifting started in spring of 2025, but the planning began back in 2023. The buffer was crucial, as it allowed the steel fabricator to literally custom-make the steel according to the capacities of the cranes prescribed to perform the lifts.

"We worked closely with Kelley Steel Erectors, our customer, who communicated with Nova Structural Steel to design the steel box beams and other steel material," said Meek.

Steel was fabricated in a range of sizes and weights from 10,000 lbs. to 60,000 lbs. Sequencing was highly coordinated, so box beams were set first, followed by beams and columns. "The order in which steel was set was important, because we were avoiding instances of a crane becoming ‘trapped' within the developing structure," said Meek.

Due to the Rock Hall's unique floorplan, in which the below-ground floor extends well beyond the footprint of the visible building, the construction team had to carefully plan where cranes could set up.

"To support our crane's outriggers, on the west side of the construction site, Kelley worked with the general contractor to drive pile into the addition's excavated area," said Meek. "When setting those outriggers, we had only inches of clearance."

Consequently, each successive AT setting up on the west side had to use the same spot. (The other crane set-up zone, to the south, was unaffected because the crane could work from the street.) As lift radius, which ranged from 75 to 260 ft., got larger, higher-capacity ATs were used to make the required reach. The three main cranes used were Liebherr LTM 1300-6.3, Liebherr LTM 1450-8.1, and the aforementioned 1750. Only the 1450 was configured without luffing jib.

"Although ATs aren't typical for steel erection, this job shows that, when deployed correctly, they can be highly effective in the right environment," said Meek. He added that the ALL team used the site's tight footprint to refine assembly methods and sequencing. "Working within those constraints, our crew achieved exceptional efficiency — gains we're now carrying forward to future projects."

For more information, visit allcrane.com.