The Beacon Theater is a historic New York City Art Deco theater on upper Broadway in Manhattan. A 2,800-seat, three-tiered concert hall and early movie palace, it was designed by Chicago architect Walter W. Ahlschlager as a forum for vaudeville acts, musical productions, drama, opera, and the "new" talking pictures. Flag Seal Nickname: Big Apple Location Location in the state of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,214. ... Asheville City Hall. ... This article is about the street in New York City. ... The Borough of Manhattan, highlighted in yellow, lies between the East River and the Hudson River. ... Movie palace is a synonym for movie theater, but nowadays usually used for the grand art deco cinemas of the 1910s to 1940s, contrasting with modern multiplexes. ... Vaudeville is a style of multi-act theatre which flourished in North America from the 1880s through the 1920s. ... A sound film (or talkie) is a motion picture with synchronized sound, as opposed to a silent movie. ...

Opened in 1928, its ornate neo-Grecian interior is protected from alteration by its well-deserved national landmark status. Twin thirty-foot-tall Greek goddesses flank the proscenium arch of its curtainless stage, which can rise from its basement level carrying a full classical orchestra. Under its marquee is an exterior lobby with tile flooring extending to the sidewalk along Broadway between 74th and 75th Streets, across from the Beaux Arts Ansonia Hotel. Entry is gained through its bronze-doored vestibule into an opulent two-story circular lobby. White marble floors give way to mahogany bars on both the orchestra and mezzanine levels, and two more levels provide access to both the foot and top of its steeply inclined upper balcony. Exquisite detailing abounds throughout, including polished hardwood and terra cotta moldings, brass staircase rails, and corridor murals depicting Eastern scenes of trading caravans with elephants, camels and other animals depicted. A proscenium theater is a theater space whose primary feature is a large archway (the proscenium arch) at or near the front of the stage, through which the audience views the play. ... Apollo Theater marquee, c. ... Beaux-Arts architecture denotes the academic classical architectural style that was taught at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris, the home territory of this style, which influenced American architecture in the period 1885 – 1920. ... Describing the building as a rich, startling mass of scrolls, brackets, balconies and cornices, with leering satyrs over the doorways, Mr. ... Vestibule can have the following meanings, each primarily based upon a common origin, from early 17th century French, derived from Latin vestibulum ‘entrance court. ... Mezzanine may refer to: Mezzanine (architecture), an intermediate floor between main floors of a building In technology, a mezzanine can refer to a thin sheet of plastic insulating different parts of circuitry from each other in cramped environments, such as laptop interiors. ... Terra cotta is a hard semifired waterproof ceramic clay used in pottery and building construction. ... Caravans comprise land-based trading convoys, often utilising the camel as a beast of burden, and generally associated with crossing deserts in Asia or Africa. ...

With its flawless acoustics, the Beacon has been a favored New York City stop for tops acts since the Roaring Twenties. Once host to opera and orchestras, ragtime and jazz bands, silent and talking pictures, the theater boasts a distinguished history as an Upper West Side R&B and hard rock forum, featuring such headliners as Aerosmith, The Allman Brothers, Jerry Garcia, and Queen. Its stage has also supported political debates, gospel choirs, and a wide variety of dramatic productions. VH-1 broadcast its popular production "Divas Live" from there. Lately, the Beacon Theater also often offers light comedy geared toward African-American audiences, making it a favorite destination for troupes working the Chitlin Circuit. Acoustics is a branch of physics and is the study of sound, mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids. ... A scene typical of the Follies of Florenz Ziegfeld, the most popular Broadway impresario of the decade. ... Second edition cover of Maple Leaf Rag, perhaps the most famous rag of all Ragtime is an American musical genre enjoying its peak popularity between 1899–1918. ... Jazz is an original American musical art form originating around the start of the 20th century in New Orleans, rooted in Western music technique and theory and marked by the profound cultural contributions of African Americans. ... The Upper West Side is a neighborhood of the borough of Manhattan in New York City that lies between Central Park and the Hudson River above West 59th Street. ... Aerosmith is a prominent American rock band that prides itself as Americas Greatest Rock and Roll Band [1] [2]. Although they are known as a Boston, Massachusetts band, none of the members are actually from the city. ... The Allman Brothers Band is a pioneering and innovative Southern rock group from Macon, Georgia originally popular in the 1970s, described by Rolling Stones George Kimball in 1971 as the best . ... Jerome John Jerry Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was famous as the lead guitarist and vocalist of the psychedelic rock band the Grateful Dead, though his extensive career involved many other projects. ... Look up queen in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Gospel (disambiguation). ... VH1 (which stands for Video Hits 1) is an American cable television channel that was created in 1985. ... Faith Hill, Diana Ross and Mariah Carey from the 2000 concert in New York City First used in Vincenzo Bellinis 1831 opera Norma, the word diva has gone from describing an extraordinary singer whose onstage passions often spilled into her daily life, to encompassing any finger-snapping female celebrity... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... A troupe is a theatre company of touring actors, singers and/or dancers. ... The chitlin circuit was the general name given to the string of venues throughout the easter and southern United States that catered primarily to African American audiences. ...