Today we did the tour of the Radio City Music Hall.
This glorious golden building nicknamed the ‘Showplace of the Nation’, was built in 1932 by John D. Rockefeller Jnr. The Radio City Music Hall which takes up the whole block, was designed by architect Edward Durell Stone and interior designer Donald Deskey in the Art Deco style. 
According to Wikipedia, its originally planned name was International Music Hall. The names "Radio City" and "Radio City Music Hall" derive from one of the complex's first tenants, the Radio Corporation of America. Radio City Music Hall was a project of Rockefeller; Samuel Roxy Rothafel, who previously opened the Roxy Theatre in 1927; and RCA chairman David Sarnoff.
Amazingly, after all that hype, the opening show format was a huge flop and so on January 11, 1933, the Music Hall converted to the then-familiar format of a feature film, with a spectacular stage show perfected by Rothafel at the Roxy Theatre in New York City. 
The first film that was ever shown on Music Hall’s giant screen was Frank Capra's ‘The Bitter Tea of General Yen’, starring Barbara Stanwyck, and the Music Hall became the premiere showcase for films from the RKO-Radio Studio. The film-plus-stage-spectacle format continued at the Music Hall until 1979, with four complete performances presented every day.
Movie premieres and feature runs have occasionally taken place there such as the Harry Potter film series, but the focus of the theatre throughout the year is now on concerts (like the Leonard Cohen spectacular we attended there last month) and live stage shows. The Radio City Christmas Spectacular continues to be an important annual event. The Music Hall has presented most of the leading pop and rock performers of the last 30 years, as well as televised events including the Grammy Awards, the Tony Awards, the MTV Video Music Awards, and the NFL Draft.
Radio City Music Hall has 5,931 seats for spectators, and additional seating can be placed on the pit elevator during events that do not require that space bringing the seating capacity to over 6,000. As a result it was, at the time of its opening, and for many years thereafter, by far the largest movie theatre in the world.
Designed by Edward Durell Stone, the interior of the theatre with its austere Art Deco lines represented a break with the traditional ornate rococo ornament associated with movie palaces at the time. The radiating arches of the proscenium united the large auditorium, allowing a sense of intimacy as well as grandeur. The interior decor was created by designer Donald Deskey. Deskey's geometric Art Deco designs incorporate glass, aluminium, chrome, and leather in the ornament for the theatre's wall coverings, carpet, light fixtures, and furniture.
His work borrowed heavily from the European Modern aesthetic style, of which he was the foremost exponent in the United States. The carpet displays musical instrument and the colours of grey, gold and cobalt were representative of the industrial era and the rose included to provide comfort to patrons in the depression. The seating design is curved and raked and supported entirely along the back wall so that there are no pillars to obstruct lines of sight. As a result there are no bad seats in the house!
The Great Stage, designed by Peter Clark, measures 66.5 by 144 ft (20.3 by 44 m), and resembles a setting sun. The stage has no backstage but to the sides there are stairs for access to stage left and right. Its system of elevators was so advanced that the U.S. Navy incorporated identical hydraulics in constructing World War II aircraft carriers; according to Radio City lore, during the war, government agents guarded the basement to assure the Navy's technological advantage.
This elevator system was also designed by Peter Clark, and was built by Otis Elevators. The curtain, which weighs 3000lbs, has 15 motors so that it can be configured in a multitude of ways. It is interwoven with gold thread and, when all of the hall’s 5000 lights are trained on it, those threads light up the entire theatre and, as the curtain rises, the audience sees, not just a stage curtain rising, but the shimmering gold glow of the rising sun itself. At which point everybody smiles, and show can begin.
The public areas of the Music Hall feature the work of many famous Depression era artists. The large mural in the grand foyer is entitled "The Fountain of Youth" and was painted by Ezra Winter. The murals on the wall of the grand lounge are collectively known as the "Phantasmagoria of the Theatre" by Louis Bouche. Three female nudes cast in aluminium were commissioned for the Music Hall, however Roxy Rothafel thought that they were inappropriate for a family venue and banned two of them from public display.
Fortunately the Rockefellers (even the famously prudish Junior) loved the sculptures, and as a result of their intervention one was allowed to remain displayed on opening night (December 17, 1932). This was "Goose Girl" by Robert Laurent, which is currently on the first mezzanine. Since opening night the other two sculptures have been put on display at the music hall, "Eve" by Gwen Lux is currently displayed in the southwest corner of the grand foyer, and "Spirit of the Dance" by William Zorach is currently on displayed in the Grand lounge.
Each of the public restrooms has adjoining lounges that display various works of art. Stuart Davis, Witold Gordon, Edward "Buk" Ulrich, Henry Billings and Donald Deskey all have art displayed in these lounges. Georgia O'Keeffe was asked to paint a mural for the second mezzanine lady's lounge, however she never completed the mural. The reason for her withdrawal is still subject to debate.
The Music Hall's "Mighty Wurlitzer" pipe organ is the largest theatre pipe organ built for a movie theatre. Identical consoles with four manuals (keyboards) are installed on both sides of the Great Stage. Each console operates independently, with the one on the audience's left being the primary one of the two. The organ's 4,410 pipes are installed in chambers on either side of the proscenium's arch.
Installed in 1932, the instrument was the largest produced by the Rudolph Wurlitzer Manufacturing Company of North Tonawanda, New York; it was built as a serious concert instrument rather than to accompany silent movies, capable of playing many styles of music including classical organ literature. A total rebuild of the historic organ was completed in time for the theatre's restoration in 1999. 
A smaller Wurlitzer organ was installed in the theatre's radio studios, but was put into storage when the studios were converted into office space. Dick Leibert was the first organist at Radio City Music Hall. He worked there for many years and met his wife, Rosemarie (Bruns) Leibert, who was a Rockette there. He died in October 22, 1976 at the age of 73. He is still known for his wonderful work, such as the composition of the famous tune "Come Dance With Me" which he wrote for his wife. Apparently he was "the master of segue" (the art of seamlessly transitioning between one song to another).
The Radio City Christmas Spectacular is an annual Christmas stage musical produced by MSG Entertainment, which operates in the Music Hall. A New York Christmas tradition since 1933, it features the women's precision dance team known as The Rockettes. Additional companies of Rockettes also tour every holiday season, bringing the show to theatres around the country. The program also features appearances of Santa Claus.
Today the Theatre has New York City ‘Landmark Status’ and thus must be preserved. This is an important feature of the reasons behind the continued survival of the building, but more important still is the huge amount of public support from well-endowed famous New York families like the Rockefellers and individuals like the Jackie Kennedy as well as the NYC general public who are also very supportive of ‘their music hall’.
After this magical tour we walked down to W45th Street and called into a modern day and much less impressive theatre to see ‘42’ the movie about the life and achievements of the baseballer Jackie Robinson. Wikipedia tells me that Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball colour line when the Brooklyn Dodgers started him at first base on April 15, 1947.
As the first major league team to play a black man since the 1880s, the Dodgers ended racial segregation that had relegated black players to the Negro leagues for six decades. The example of Robinson's character and unquestionable talent challenged the traditional basis of segregation, which then marked many other aspects of American life, and contributed significantly to the Civil Rights Movement.
In addition to his cultural impact, Robinson had an exceptional baseball career. Over ten seasons, Robinson played in six World Series and contributed to the Dodgers' 1955 World Championship. He was selected for six consecutive All-Star Games, from 1949 to 1954, was the recipient of the inaugural MLB Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949—the first black player so honoured. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.
In 1997, Major League Baseball "universally" retired his uniform number, 42, across all major league teams; he was the first pro athlete in any sport to be so honoured. Initiated for the first time on April 15, 2004, Major League Baseball has adopted a new annual tradition, "Jackie Robinson Day", on which every player on every team in the League wears #42.
Robinson was also known for his pursuits outside the baseball diamond. He was the first black television analyst in MLB, and the first black vice-president of a major American corporation. In the 1960s, he helped establish the Freedom National Bank, an African-American-owned financial institution based in Harlem, New York. In recognition of his achievements on and off the field, Robinson was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. He died of a heart attack after a long battle with diabetes in 1972. He was only 53.
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