Osaka City Central Public Hall

Built in 1918 using a one-million-yen donation from a local merchant who was inspired by civic giving he witnessed during a trade mission to the United States. The red-and-white neo-Renaissance building on Nakanoshima island has hosted figures ranging from Helen Keller to Albert Einstein on its main stage. After a thorough restoration from 1999 to 2002, its third-floor Special Room reopened with fresco-style paintings depicting Japanese myths alongside a stained-glass window combining phoenix motifs with the city's official miotsukushi channel-marker seal.