The Town Hall (New York City) facts for kids
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| Address | 123 West 43rd Street Manhattan, New York City United States |
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| Coordinates | 40°45′22″N 73°59′05″W / 40.7560°N 73.9847°W |
| Owner | Town Hall Foundation, Inc. |
| Capacity | 1,495 |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1919 |
| Opened | January 12, 1921 |
| Years active | 1921–present |
| Architect | Teunis J. van der Bent of McKim, Mead & White |
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Town Hall
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| Area | 12,563 square feet (1,167.1 m2) |
| Architectural style | Late 19th and 20th century revivals, Neo-Federal |
| NRHP reference No. | 80002724 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | April 23, 1980 |
| Designated NHL | March 2, 2012 |
The Town Hall is a famous performance spot in New York City. It is located at 123 West 43rd Street in Midtown Manhattan. This area is part of the Theater District, close to Times Square. The building was constructed between 1919 and 1921. It was designed by the architects McKim, Mead & White. The Town Hall was built for a group called the League for Political Education.
The main hall has 1,495 seats on two levels. It has been used for many different events. These include speeches, music concerts, and even movie showings. Both the outside and inside of the building are special New York City landmarks. It is also listed as a National Historic Landmark.
Town Hall was built in the Georgian Revival style. It has a brick front with stone details. The entrance has seven arched doorways. Inside, a lobby leads to the main hall. The upper floors once held offices for different groups.
The Town Hall auditorium opened on January 12, 1921. It was first meant for speeches. But it quickly became one of New York City's best music places. A famous radio show, America's Town Meeting of the Air, was broadcast from here. This show ran from 1935 to 1956. Later, New York University (NYU) rented Town Hall. But its popularity went down in the 1950s and 1960s. NYU closed the hall in 1978. After that, it was fixed up and reopened by the Town Hall Foundation.
Contents
Location and Surroundings
Town Hall is at 123 West 43rd Street. This is between Broadway and Sixth Avenue. It is very close to Times Square in Midtown Manhattan. The building sits on a piece of land that is about 12,563 square feet. It has a front length of 125 feet on 43rd Street.
Many other buildings are nearby. These include the Millennium Times Square New York and Hudson Theatre. Also close are the Hotel Gerard and the Chatwal New York hotel. The Belasco Theatre and Bank of America Tower are also in the area.
Building Design
The Town Hall was designed by McKim, Mead & White. It was built in the Georgian Revival style. This style was chosen because it made people think of "grassroots democracy." This means power coming from regular people. The building was meant to be a place for talks and lectures.
The main front of the building faces 43rd Street. It is made of brown brick. It looks like a four-story building. The first floor has seven arched doorways. These are the main entrances. Five of these arches have cool steel-and-glass covers above them.
The middle part of the building is mostly brick. It has a stone sign in the middle. This sign has the words: "The Town Hall Founded by the League for Political Education 1894–1920 'Ye Shall Know the Truth and the Truth Shall Make You Free'". On each side of the sign are two empty spaces called niches. The top floor has seven large windows.
Inside the Building
The Town Hall has a lobby and the main auditorium on its lower levels. Offices are on the upper floors. The auditorium is shaped like a half-circle. It is surrounded by areas for performers and staff.
Lobby Area
The lobby is where you enter from 43rd Street. It has a floor made of terrazzo tiles. It also has fancy columns and a paneled ceiling. There are staircases on each side of the lobby. These stairs lead up to the first balcony level of the auditorium.
Main Auditorium
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The auditorium has seats on the main floor and a single balcony. There is a stage at the front. The hall can hold 1,495 people. The designers made sure that every seat had a clear view. This led to the saying, "Not a bad seat in the house." The balcony hangs out without columns blocking the view. The seats were designed to absorb sound well. This helps with the acoustics, meaning how sound travels in the room.
The walls have marble panels at the bottom. Above that, they are made of carved stone. The ceiling has decorative patterns and chandeliers. The main chandelier hangs from the center. The stage has a large arch called a proscenium arch. This arch is 25 feet tall and 49.5 feet wide.
Other Spaces
The upper floors used to have offices for the League for Political Education. They also had a library and social spaces. These included a bar, lounge, and dining areas. The fourth floor had a large library. It was decorated with pine wood from floor to ceiling. Many of the original decorations are still there today.
History of Town Hall
Early Beginnings
The League for Political Education was started in 1894. It was founded by Eleanor Butler Sanders and other women who wanted women to have the right to vote. They held "town meetings" to discuss important topics. These meetings became very popular. At first, they met in homes. Later, they met in different places around New York City.
In 1912, Anna Blakslee Bliss gave money to build a special clubhouse for the League. More donations followed.
Building Town Hall
Plans for a new clubhouse were announced in 1914. After looking at different spots, they chose the land at 113–123 West 43rd Street. This location was picked because it was easy to get to by public transport. The land was bought in 1917.
The plans for Town Hall were shared in April 1919. The building was expected to cost $500,000. Construction started on October 10, 1919. Theodore Roosevelt Jr. helped lay the first stone for the building in January 1920.
Opening and Early Years
Town Hall officially opened on January 12, 1921. About 1,600 people attended the opening. Famous speakers like John J. Pershing gave speeches. The U.S. president Woodrow Wilson also sent a message.
At first, Town Hall hosted lectures in the mornings. It had receptions in the afternoons and large meetings in the evenings. It was praised for its beautiful design. The New-York Tribune newspaper said it would help New York have "wise citizenship."
Under its first director, Robert Erskine Ely, Town Hall offered many programs. It became known as "an idea with a roof over it." Within its first year, 200,000 guests visited. Its popularity grew due to both speeches and music shows.
The building's interior was not fully finished at first due to lack of money. More donations were raised to complete the work. By the end of 1924, the upper floors were finished. The Town Hall Club opened on the top two floors in January 1925. It had a thousand members.
Town Hall became one of New York City's top music venues. It was alongside places like Carnegie Hall.
The Town Meeting Era
In 1930, George V. Denny Jr. joined the League. He believed in sharing different ideas. In 1934, Denny created America's Town Meeting of the Air. This was a radio show to promote open discussions. It was the first public-affairs media program. The show started at Town Hall on May 30, 1935. It was broadcast on NBC.
Even with the radio show, Town Hall still hosted many other events. It was often called the "busiest theater on Broadway." In 1938, the League for Political Education changed its name to Town Hall Inc. This showed that its main focus was now the building and its programs. The radio show was very popular. By 1939, it was on 78 radio stations.
Town Hall was very successful musically after World War II. In October 1947 alone, it hosted 52 concerts. Many solo music performances were held there in the 1950s.
Decline and Closure
In the mid-1950s, fewer performances were held at Town Hall. Other larger venues like Carnegie Hall also saw fewer events. But Town Hall was especially affected. The Times Square area was also changing.
In April 1955, the Town Hall Club was asked to leave the building. It had not paid rent. The club went out of business. The Town Meeting radio show ended in 1956.
New York University Takes Over
In October 1955, New York University (NYU) rented the upper floors. NYU then renovated these floors. The NYU alumni clubhouse opened in September 1956. NYU also started booking Town Hall for many evenings. This helped pay off Town Hall's debts. NYU fully bought Town Hall in March 1958. It became known as The Town Hall of New York University.
However, Town Hall became less popular. The New York Times wrote that it was "much emptier than usual." The opening of Lincoln Center in 1962 also drew events away. By the end of the 1960s, Town Hall was not as important for music events.
By 1975, Town Hall was in danger of closing. NYU warned in 1977 that it might not stay open past 1978.
Closure and Preservation Efforts
By 1978, Town Hall was almost out of money. NYU decided to close the auditorium. But they planned to give it to a group that would keep it running. A group called the Committee to Save Town Hall started a campaign.
In November 1978, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission made the building a city landmark. This helped protect it.
Revival and Renovation
1980s Renovation
In March 1979, the Town Hall Foundation took over Town Hall. They bought it for a very small fee. NYU also gave them money to help for two years. The foundation started fixing up the auditorium. Town Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in April 1980.
The Town Hall Foundation needed to raise money for a big renovation. They got grants from the government and private groups. In 1984, Town Hall closed for two and a half months for renovations. The outside was cleaned. The auditorium was fixed up with new carpet and seats. The building reopened on October 14, 1984.
Recent Years
The NYU Club left Town Hall in 1989. Another social club, the New Yorker Club, then rented the space. In 1992, the Town Hall Foundation received money to fix the marquee (the sign outside). By the late 1990s, Town Hall was doing well. It had 400,000 visitors in 1996.
In March 2012, the U.S. government named Town Hall a National Historic Landmark. This is a very important title.
Famous Performances
Town Hall was first meant for speeches. But it quickly became known for music. It has hosted hundreds of musicians and composers.
1920s and 1930s Highlights
The first music event was a violin concert in February 1921. In December, German composer Richard Strauss gave three concerts. This helped make Town Hall known for music. Cellist Pablo Casals played there in 1923. Singer Paul Robeson performed in 1927. Guitarist Andrés Segovia played in 1929.
The Town Hall Endowment Series started in 1930. It featured famous musicians like Sergei Rachmaninoff. In 1935, Antonia Brico's all-woman orchestra debuted. Singer Marian Anderson also performed there in 1935. Young violinist Isaac Stern debuted in 1937. The Von Trapp family also performed in 1938.
1940s to 1970s Highlights
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In 1941, the Kolisch Quartet performed a new piece by Béla Bartók. Town Hall became very popular for jazz music. Guitarist Eddie Condon started jazz concerts there in 1942. These concerts were so popular that NBC broadcast them on the radio. A jazz concert in 1945 featured Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. This was an early public show of the jazz style called bebop. Billie Holiday also gave her first solo concert there in 1946.
Town Hall's music popularity was highest in the late 1940s and early 1950s. In 1947, Louis Armstrong performed. This led to the creation of his band, Louis Armstrong and His All Stars. In 1949, Burl Ives gave a folk-song concert. Nina Simone performed in 1959.
Shows in the 1960s included Bob Dylan's first big concert in 1963. Jazz musician Charles Mingus held two concerts there. Bill Evans and his trio recorded a live album in 1966.
In 1971, a famous debate took place. It was between writer Norman Mailer and feminist activists. This event was filmed and later released as the movie Town Bloody Hall.
1980s to Present
The Town Hall Foundation started hosting the People's Symphony Concerts in 1982.
In 2003, the cast of the movie A Mighty Wind performed there. In 2009, singer Whitney Houston chose Town Hall for her first interview in seven years. She had performed there at age 14. The radio show A Prairie Home Companion often broadcast live from Town Hall. Its new version, Live from Here, also often performs there.
Other Important Events
Recordings Made Here
Many musical performances have been recorded at Town Hall. Some famous ones include:
- 1947: One Night ... – The Town Hall Concert 1947, with Sarah Vaughan
- 1959: The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall, by Thelonious Monk
- 1959: Nina Simone at Town Hall, by Nina Simone
Speeches and Discussions
Town Hall has always been a popular place for speeches. Many activists, politicians, and artists have spoken there. At its opening in 1921, suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt spoke. Lady Astor, the first woman in the British Parliament, also spoke there. Authors like Thomas Mann and Carl Sandburg have given talks. U.S. presidents Calvin Coolidge and Woodrow Wilson also spoke at Town Hall. British prime minister Winston Churchill was another famous speaker.
When America's Town Meeting of the Air was on the radio, it featured debates. Speakers would discuss topics like the New Deal and press freedom. During World War II, shows focused on wartime issues. After the war, they often discussed international relations.
Today, Town Hall is still used for political debates. In 2016, U.S. presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton had a debate there.
Educational Programs
Town Hall also offered educational programs. In 1941, it hosted a school for adults to become teachers. It also held a conference for leaders from across the U.S. In 1944, Town Hall started offering courses for adults. These courses covered topics like politics, writing, and world affairs. Nearly 2,500 students took these classes in the first year.
Memorials and Graduations
In 1929, a memorial service for anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti was held at Town Hall. The short film St. Louis Blues premiered there in 1948. This was during a memorial for blues singer Bessie Smith.
Town Hall has also hosted graduation ceremonies. Many local schools and colleges have held their commencements there.
The Community Church of New York used Town Hall as a place of worship from 1933 to 1948.
Management and Programs
The Town Hall is managed by the Town Hall Foundation, Inc. This group was formed in 1973. It took over running the hall in 1979.
The Town Hall Foundation offers free morning shows for public school students. It also has programs with Theatreworks USA. These are part of its Arts in Education program. The hall still hosts jazz concerts. These are part of the Not Just Jazz series. This series also features poetry, film, and dance.
See also
In Spanish: The Town Hall para niños
