Tarrytown Music Hall facts for kids
West profile and south elevation, 2010
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| Address | 11 Main St. Tarrytown, NY USA |
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| Coordinates | 41°04′36″N 73°51′32″W / 41.07659°N 73.85890°W |
| Owner | The Friends of the Mozartina Musical Arts Conservatory, Inc |
| Designation | NRHP #80002795 |
| Type | Music hall |
| Capacity | 843 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1885–1976 |
| Reopened | 1981 |
| Rebuilt | Early 1980s |
| Architect | Philip Edmunds |
| Website | |
| http://www.tarrytownmusichall.org | |
The Music Hall in Tarrytown, New York, is a historic building. It stands on West Main Street in the heart of downtown. This brick building was built in the late 1800s. It shows off the beautiful Queen Anne architectural style. In 1980, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it is a special place worth protecting.
The Music Hall is the oldest theater in Westchester County that is still used for shows. Many people think it is one of the best examples of Queen Anne style in the area. In 1901, it was one of the first theaters to show movies. Famous musicians like Dave Brubeck, Louis Armstrong, and Miles Davis have performed here. Many classical music concerts have been recorded here. This is because the theater has amazing acoustics, which means the sound is really clear. It is also one of only a few theaters in the United States built before 1900.
The theater closed in 1976 because it was old and needed repairs. Soon after it was listed as a historic place, a local group bought it. They worked hard to restore it. The Music Hall reopened a few years later and has been open ever since. It has had more updates over the years. Many famous artists have performed there. It has also been used in movies and TV commercials.
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What the Building Looks Like
The Music Hall is on the corner of West Main and Kaldenberg Place. This is one block west of Broadway (U.S. Route 9). The area around it is a busy town center. There are many two-story shops and buildings with both homes and businesses. Some tall trees grow above the buildings. There are also a few parking lots nearby. The ground gently slopes down towards the Hudson River. The river is about 0.6 miles (1 km) to the west.
Outside the Music Hall
The Music Hall is a two-and-a-half-story building. It has three sections on the front and seven sections along the side. The front (south side) and the first three sections on the east and west are made of rough-cut granite at the bottom. The rest of the building has a brick base. The upper parts are covered with stucco and wood beams. A limestone ledge at the corner looks like the foundation. This is because the ground slopes down. The building has a hipped roof covered with slate tiles. There is a cast iron railing around the flat part of the roof.
The front of the building is very detailed and fancy. It has square towers on the corners. The middle part has a pointed roof (a gable). Two smaller square towers with special corner stones are on each side of the middle. Two small shops are on either side of the main entrance. Their windows have frosted glass at the top. These glass panels have colorful designs made with stained glass and lead. Similar panels are above the doors that lead to the upper floors.
Above the main entrance is the marquee. It has a flat top with another iron railing. Bright letters on it spell "Music Hall" on all three sides.
Two decorative terra cotta bands go around the second story. They have panels between them. Large supports (called corbels) are on the corner towers. The top band forms the bottom of the windows. These are large double-hung windows with painted wood frames. They have glass panels above them and terra cotta tops. On the towers next to the center, these windows also have triangular panels above them. In the middle, a door leads to the balcony. It looks like a triple window with two more windows on the sides. Above it is an arched brick, stone, and terra cotta panel. "Music Hall" is spelled out in a half-circle below large, wedge-shaped stones. The numbers "18" and "85" on the sides show when the building was finished.
A terra cotta and sandstone band tops the second-story windows. There are supports between it and the roofline. The towers next to the center have even more detailed decorations. The pointed roof section has an eight-pane double casement window. The brick and terra cotta change to wood shingles that look like fish scales halfway up. Above the window is a bell-shaped hood with a decorative top. The roofline is decorated the same way as the flat parts of the roof.
The front sides of the corner towers have small arched windows. They have a fan-shaped window above them. Two small, smooth wooden Doric columns are on each side. Similar openings on the other sides have been covered with slate shingles. The tops of the towers have bell-shaped roofs covered in slate. They also have decorative tops and weather vanes. The center towers have flared pyramid-shaped roofs and decorative tops.
The back part of the building has stucco and wood beams. It has six rectangular windows and five doors. They are placed in different spots on the two stories. The only decoration is a triangular top on one window that sticks out from the roof.
Inside the Music Hall
The lobby mostly uses marble and limestone with shiny brass trim. The decorations are inspired by classical styles. In the back, the large performance area has been changed a lot from how it first looked. It has a sloped floor with 843 permanent seats. Plaster panels on the walls hide the original wooden arches. Silhouettes of people in old-fashioned clothes decorate wall niches. They also decorate stair landings and hallways. Similar landscape pictures in silhouette fill the curved ceilings under the balcony.
Higher up, the plaster panels on the arched ceiling and decorative bands are painted gold. The classical decorations on the stage wall are also gold. The plaster ceiling decorations where the chandeliers hang are original. Backstage, the original ceiling arches are still there. The murals and door frames are also original. Other original finishes can be found in one of the second-floor apartments. This space is now used as offices.
History of the Music Hall
In 1885, William L. Wallace, who made chocolate in Tarrytown, had an idea. He wanted to build a theater in the middle of town. The building would be used for many things. It would have apartments and shops, plus a big entertainment area in the back. Architect Philip Edmunds designed the building. His design showed off the Queen Anne style. This style mixes different materials, as suggested by Richard Norman Shaw. It cost Wallace $50,000 to build. The theater opened in December 1885. The first show included music from The Mikado and a song called "Moonlight on the Lake."
When it first opened, the performance area had a flat floor. The seats could be moved around. The stage was probably not movable, even though that was possible back then. The wooden arches on the ceiling could be seen. There were also fancy classical decorations. These included carved supports for the balcony and decorative brackets for the main floor posts.
The flexible inside space allowed the theater to host many different events. In 1886, it even had roller skating contests. In 1901, it was changed to show movies. It was one of the first theaters to show this new type of entertainment. The next year, rich people in Tarrytown started sponsoring flower shows. These shows happened every year. John D. Rockefeller often lent palm trees from his nearby estate, Kykuit, for the sets. In 1910, the original gas lights were replaced with electric ones.
In 1915, another change moved the main entrance to where it is now. That year, the Music Hall hosted the Cotton Ball. This was a big rally for women's right to vote. Other political events happened here too. Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt gave speeches. Performers from that time included Antonín Dvořák and Mae West.
In 1922, the inside was changed again to how it looks today. The floor was sloped, and permanent seats were added. The wall arches were covered with plaster. The new inside also had some Art Nouveau and Art Deco designs. By 1930, the theater only showed films. It continued to do so until 1976. By then, TV and bigger movie theaters hurt its business. The village thought about tearing down the empty theater to make a parking lot.
But that did not happen. Around the time it was listed as a historic place, a group called the Friends of the Mozartina Musical Arts Conservatory bought the theater in 1980. They are a not-for-profit organization. They wanted to save the theater and create a place for performing arts. They had to fix the electricity and plumbing. These had been damaged from years of not being used.
For 23 years, volunteers ran the Music Hall. Berthold Ringeisen, a local music professor, and his wife Helen were key volunteers. Because of its wooden arches, the theater's acoustics are excellent. Many classical music performances have been recorded there. In 2009, the Canadian Brass could be heard clearly in the back of the theater without any microphones.
Bjorn Olsson became the theater's first full-time director in 2003. That year, the theater spent $100,000 to fix one side of the roof. They also replaced the stage curtain, spotlights, and sandbags. Four years later, in 2007, they bought the land behind the theater. They use it for staff parking and might build a loading dock there later. In 2008, a local Junior League group raised money to replace the air conditioning after it broke. The restrooms were made accessible for people with disabilities in 2011.
Today, the theater hosts performances about 180 days a year. Several movies and TV commercials have been filmed in the building. These include The Preacher's Wife (1996), The Impostors (1998), The Secret Lives of Dentists (2003), Mona Lisa Smile (2003), Game 6 (2005), and The Good Shepherd (2006). The Good Shepherd was directed by Robert De Niro and filmed at the Music Hall in November 2005. More recently, scenes from the 2011 movie Henry's Crime, starring Keanu Reeves, were filmed there in January 2010.
Several groups are currently based at the Tarrytown Music Hall. These include Random Farms Kids Theater, Ars Viva Chamber Orchestra, and Westchester Symphonic Winds. Random Farms Kids Theater is a non-profit children's theater. Ars Viva Chamber Orchestra is a top chamber orchestra. Westchester Symphonic Winds is a group of 60 adult musicians.
In 2012, the music group guster filmed a DVD at the Music Hall. This was during their acoustic tour.
In 2018, the Music Hall started a theater arts program for young people. It is called The Tarrytown Music Hall Academy. It offers workshops to kids in the Hudson Valley and beyond. The program focuses on how theater is made. This includes lighting, costume, and set design. It also teaches play writing, stage combat, and performing.
See also
