A month later, Elisabeth Severance died after sustaining a stroke on the day before her 64th birthday.  As a result, the new concert hall became John Severance's de facto memorial to his late wife.  Despite the stock market crash of October 29, 1929, known as “Black Tuesday,” Severance remained committed to seeing the project through to its completion: his original $1 million pledge eventually ballooned to more than $2.6 million. On November 14, 1929, Severance made the ceremonial first push of the shovel during the concert hall's groundbreaking at the corner of Euclid Avenue and East Boulevard. Composer, conductor, and piano virtuoso Sergei Rachmaninoff, who had given a recital the night before at Public Hall, shared Severance's box at Severance Hall’s opening-night concert on February 5, 1931. Severance continued to serve as president of the Musical Arts Association into the tenure of the Orchestra's second music director, Artur Rodzinski.  On January 16, 1936, Severance died at the age of 72 and was buried in Cleveland's Lakeview Cemetery, his memory living on in the hall that bears his name.