Radio City Music Hall - New York City
Posted by: 
Metro2
N 40° 45.596 W 073° 58.818
18T E 586069 N 4512607
Radio City Music Hall opened in 1932..and is best known as the home of the Rockettes. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Waymark Code: WMRFYJ
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 06/20/2016
Views: 8
The American Guide Series on pages 337 and 338 informs the reader about the Radio City Music Hall... "...the largest indoor theater in the world...opened as a variety house... It proved to be a white elephant." Much of the passage discusses the art deco interior but there is also a mention of the Rockets...the already esteemed precision dancing troupe.
Wikipedia (
visit link) has an extensive page on Radio City which includes...
"Radio City 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; it became the largest movie theater in the world at the time of its opening.
Designed by Edward Durell Stone, the interior of the theater 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, aluminum, chrome, and leather in the ornament for the theater'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 Great Stage, designed by Peter Clark, measures 66.5 feet (20 m) deep and 144 feet (44 m) wide, and resembles a setting sun. 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."