1932 : Radio City Music Hall opens
At the height of the Great Depression, thousands turn out for the
opening of Radio City Music Hall, a magnificent Art Deco theater in
New York City. Radio City Music Hall was designed as a palace for the
people, a place of beauty where ordinary people could see high-quality
entertainment. Since its 1932 opening, more than 300 million people
have gone to Radio City to enjoy movies, stage shows, concerts, and
special events.
Radio City Music Hall was the brainchild of the billionaire John D.
Rockefeller, Jr., who decided to make the theater the cornerstone of
the Rockefeller Complex he was building in a formerly derelict
neighborhood in midtown Manhattan. The theater was built in
partnership with the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and designed
by Donald Deskey. The result was an Art Deco masterpiece of elegance
and grace constructed out of a diverse variety of materials, including
aluminum, gold foil, marble, permatex, glass, and cork. Geometric
ornamentation is found throughout the theater, as is Deskey's central
theme of the "Progress of Man." The famous Great Stage, measuring 60
feet wide and 100 feet long, resembles a setting sun. Its
sophisticated system of hydraulic-powered elevators allowed
spectacular effects in staging, and many of its original mechanisms
are still in use today.
In its first four decades, Radio City Music Hall alternated as a
first-run movie theater and a site for gala stage shows. More than 700
films have premiered at Radio City Music Hall since 1933. In the late
1970s, the theater changed its format and began staging concerts by
popular music artists. The Radio City Music Hall Christmas
Spectacular, which debuted in 1933, draws more than a million people
annually. The show features the high-kicking Rockettes, a precision
dance troupe that has been a staple at Radio City since the 1930s.
In 1999, the Hall underwent a seven-month, $70 million restoration.
Today, Radio City Music Hall remains the largest indoor theater in the
world.
history.com/tdih.do
General Interest
1932 : Radio City Music Hall opens
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihVideoCategory&id=7124
1831 : HMS Beagle departs England
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5633
1968 : Apollo 8 returns to Earth
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5634
1978 : Spanish king ratifies democratic constitution
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5635
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At the height of the Great Depression, thousands turn out for the
opening of Radio City Music Hall, a magnificent Art Deco theater in
New York City. Radio City Music Hall was designed as a palace for the
people, a place of beauty where ordinary people could see high-quality
entertainment. Since its 1932 opening, more than 300 million people
have gone to Radio City to enjoy movies, stage shows, concerts, and
special events.
Radio City Music Hall was the brainchild of the billionaire John D.
Rockefeller, Jr., who decided to make the theater the cornerstone of
the Rockefeller Complex he was building in a formerly derelict
neighborhood in midtown Manhattan. The theater was built in
partnership with the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and designed
by Donald Deskey. The result was an Art Deco masterpiece of elegance
and grace constructed out of a diverse variety of materials, including
aluminum, gold foil, marble, permatex, glass, and cork. Geometric
ornamentation is found throughout the theater, as is Deskey's central
theme of the "Progress of Man." The famous Great Stage, measuring 60
feet wide and 100 feet long, resembles a setting sun. Its
sophisticated system of hydraulic-powered elevators allowed
spectacular effects in staging, and many of its original mechanisms
are still in use today.
In its first four decades, Radio City Music Hall alternated as a
first-run movie theater and a site for gala stage shows. More than 700
films have premiered at Radio City Music Hall since 1933. In the late
1970s, the theater changed its format and began staging concerts by
popular music artists. The Radio City Music Hall Christmas
Spectacular, which debuted in 1933, draws more than a million people
annually. The show features the high-kicking Rockettes, a precision
dance troupe that has been a staple at Radio City since the 1930s.
In 1999, the Hall underwent a seven-month, $70 million restoration.
Today, Radio City Music Hall remains the largest indoor theater in the
world.
history.com/tdih.do
General Interest
1932 : Radio City Music Hall opens
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihVideoCategory&id=7124
1831 : HMS Beagle departs England
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5633
1968 : Apollo 8 returns to Earth
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5634
1978 : Spanish king ratifies democratic constitution
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5635
##########################################
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