Radio City Music Hall
1260 6th Avenue,
New York,
NY
10020
1260 6th Avenue,
New York,
NY
10020
118 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1,226 - 1,250 of 3,332 comments
sounds cool…this should keep the Hall busy throughout the next decade.
The Music Hall, just one among many (in 1934)…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lWQF30YAT0
The Music Hall at 0:08.
They do not remove seat for the NFL Draft – they build platforms above seats in in the orchestra. The 3 mezzanines are available for seating. This was the third year the NFL Draft was held at RCMH, previously it held at the Theatre at Madision Square Garden. There has not been an Easter Show at RCMH in over 10 years
Which leaves 1,000+ seats for guests, fans, and their friends and family. Once it’s over, then they install the seats back before shows go on….upcoming shows include Dora the Explorer Live as well as the usual music concerts. That gives time for the Rockettes to spend some time off with their friends and family before they return to work in the late fall for the Xmas Spectacular. Due to the economy, will changes affect the show, as well as its easter counterpart?
Do they remove all – perhaps 4,000 – orchestra auditorium seats? That seams like a tremendous effort for a two day rental.
For the umpeenth time , the NFL Draft is being held today and tomorrow at this location. Erin Andrews from ESPN will be working for the first time at this storied venue, where the auditorium seats have been replaced with team tables while the stage is all NFL-style billboards.
This video shows how the marquee was “cut” to fit around the 6th Avenue Elevated RR:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o_ttvFhfmM
at 1:16 after the “El” was gone in 1939 or so.
GabeDF, Coincidental to your posting of a silent video showing “The Bells of St. Mary’s” on the RCMH marquee, that was the answer to a pricey question on “Millionaire” recently: What was the movie indicated in the background when Michael and Kay left a theater in “The Godfather”? (Or words to that effect.) I always thought that was a good choice by Francis Ford Coppola, not just because it was period-appropriate but because it seemed so suitable a choice for that idealistic couple just before the moment when he began evolving into the future Corleone don.
From more than a few years ago, 1934 I believe:
http://images.nypl.org/?id=1558056&t=w
And the Music Hall’s sister (long gone and undeservedly almost forgotten), 1 short block away on 49th Street:
View link
The exquisitely beautiful and huge Center Theater reminds me of the stepchild that is hidden away when company arrives. “The powers that be” certainly have no interest in informing the public about the Music Hall’s long lost sister. It would be nice if there was at least a plaque on the building; but then I say the same thing about the old Roxy Theatre site.
Thank goodness the Music Hall still lives. The last remaining cultural wind of the 1920s (yes, I know the theater was completed in ‘32) is and always was the best (I think). The Music Hall is a far greater theater than the Center Theater was. But given what we’ve got today; if the Center was still around, it would be among the best in the country.
Flashing marquee lights at the Music Hall:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-3ERi_aoaM
We need to start a campaign to bring back the flashing lights. I know I would join. It’s is still the best Art Deco marquee (theater, hotel, or otherwise) in the world, in my opinion.
It has aged well, or not at all, from a stylistic point of view; in fact, it is far superior to most of what is built today in the way of commercial signage.
I agree with Warren. Notic that the headlight are on all cars and taxis. “Roxy” Rothafel gave some ideas that were incorporated into the design of RCMH, such as the idea for the “sunburst stage (I read that he got the idea when he was taking an ocean cruise and was watching the sun setting) but he is not the designer.
Renewing link.
Thank you REndres for the above marquee building layout. I’ve wondered for years what occupies that area as I’ve seen many other spots in the fabulous Radio City so now puzzle is complete. Thank again.
They didn’t flash from just before 1974 on, much to the delight of the sound department. The triggering of the three layers of neon created “pops” in the P.A. system that were hard to get rid of. There was much rejoycing when they stopped. There was also the problem of meeting the city code which forbids flashing signs on 6th Avenue. The Hall would have been grandfathered since the neon was designed to flash in 1932 before the ban was instituted, but while the three levels of neon were restored during the restoration, I’ve never seen them flash and I can see the part of the marquee from our office window. They did change some of the neon to yellow which they claim was part of the original design, and restore the blue neon in the coves of the vertical pieces. They also changed a layer on the vertical “Radio City” lettering to blue which makes the overall look of the words slightly different than the words as they appear horizontally, although they claim that that too was part of the original design.
I’m kind of curious. Do the marquee lights still have the capacity to flash as they used to?
Actually, the row of windows right above the marquee at the 6th Ave./ 50th St. corner were in the publicity office when I was there. Later it beacme kind of storage space and I’m not sure what’s there now. Above that the offices aren’t part of Radio City, but are part of what was the RKO building. In between the corner publicity office and the 1st Mezzanine Men’s Room is an electrical room with a circuit breaker panel and steps leading up to a window that opens out to the marquee, which is different than the other windows in the row. This provides access for maintenance. For the 50th Anniversary picture that appeared in Life Magazine, the Rockettes, Music Hall executives and Peter Allen all lined the marquee for a two page photo, with the rest of the cast and crew under the marquee. Access was from that room. The windows to 51st St. beyond that on the 2nd floor are offices in the office building.
hank- mostly stairways to upper mezz on 50thstreet side& stars dressing rooms&rockettes on 51st street side, don’t quote me as my brain is scrambled eggs since my stroke 3 years ago
I am wondering what is located in the six stories located directly above the main marquee entrance. Are they restrooms or office adminestration, or an other company?
Not that there’s anything wrong with the Ziegfeld, but the Music hall is the better theatre.
I was pushing for a reprise of the Easter show, but,since i’m missing
Ihave no input&must shut my mouth for now, wait till I get back!!!
The Loew’s Jersey is still a work in progress on restoring it back to life as a full time theatre.
Not at all, since the writer is covering theaters functioning as movie theaters.
Maybe it’s that RCMH does not show enough film anymore. The listed theatres still show film on a regular schedule.
Yes, indeed it is. My only guess is that Radio City rarely shows any films any more and it looks like the ones actually listed do.
Or, they were purists and since Radio City was not originally designed as a movie palace, but instead for live performances/vaudeville, they did not include it. Otherwise, they would have to include The New Amsterdam as well, as it is, in my opinion, one of the 10 most beautiful theaters in the country.
RCMH remains one of the most beautiful theatres in the world. I hope it always continues to be well taken care of. It is a treasure that future genrations should be able to see and enjoy.