New York City Center Logo

New York City Center is a 2,750-seat performing arts venue located on West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Manhattan, New York City. It is one block south of Carnegie Hall. City Center is especially known as a performing home for several major dance companies as well as the Encores! series and most recently the "Fall For Dance" Festival. Manhattan is an island bordering the lower Hudson River. ... Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the United States, the most densely populated major city in North America, and is at the center of international finance, politics, entertainment, and culture. ... Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Manhattan, New York City. ...

Early History

Early Postcard of the Mecca Temple, New York City

Built in 1923, New York City Center was originally the Mecca Temple, a meeting hall for the Ancient Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, also known as Shriners. The Shriners had previously held their meetings at Carnegie Hall. According to Broadway lore, Carnegie Hall management was disturbed by the amount of cigar smoke generated during the Shriner's meetings and evicted them. The Shriners then decided to build their own meeting hall one block to the south. The building's design is Neo-Moorish and features elaborate interior tile work, murals, and a recently restored terra cotta tiled rooftop dome. The 102 foot wide, 54 foot tall dome is covered with more than 28,000 individual tiles. The building was designed by architects Harry P. Knowles and Clinton & Russell. 1923 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... A member of the Syrian Corvettes group of Shriners participates in a Memorial Day parade The Shriners, or Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, are an Order appendant to Freemasonry. ... Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Manhattan, New York City. ... Terra cotta is a hard semifired waterproof ceramic clay used in pottery and building construction. ...

In the early 1940s, the building was slated for demolition when Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia and then New York City Council President Newbold Morris decided to convert the building into a home for the performing arts. On December 11th, 1943 the "New York City Center of Music and Drama" opened its doors with a concert by the New York Philharmonic. The Star Spangled Banner was conducted that evening by none other than Mayor Laguardia. Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (December 11, 1882–September 20, 1947) was the Mayor of New York from 1934 to 1945. ... The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of the City of New York. ... 1943 is a common year starting on Friday. ... The New York Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in New York City. ...

1962 City Center Playbill showing building façade.

Each season, from the 1940s through the 1960s, City Center presented numerous music and theatrical events with many renowned performers appearing there. Helen Hayes, Gwen Verdon, Charlton Heston, Celeste Holm, Marcel Marceau, Bob Fosse, Tallulah Bankhead, Vincent Price, Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn and Uta Hagen have all graced the City Center stage. Helen Hayes circa 1931 Helen Hayes (October 10, 1900 - March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose successful and award-winning career spanned almost 70 years. ... Gwen Verdon (January 13, 1925 - October 18, 2000) was an acclaimed Tony Award winning American dancer and actress. ... Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter on October 4, 1922, although the year is usually given as 1924), is an American film actor noted for heroic roles, and his personal conservative Republican politics. ... Celeste Holm, circa 1950 Celeste Holm (born April 29, 1919) is an American stage, film, and television actress. ... Marcel Marceau (born March 22, 1923) is a well-known mime and among the most popular representatives of this art form world-wide. ... Bob Fosse (June 23, 1927 - September 23, 1987) is known as one of musical theaters greatest choreographers and directors. ... Tallulah Bankhead, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1934 Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 - December 12, 1968) was a United States actress, talk-show host and bonne vivante, born in Huntsville, Alabama. ... Vincent Price on Broadway as Mr. ... Jessica Tandy (born Jessie Alice Tandy) was born on June 7, 1909 in London, UK and was a noted British-American theatre, film and TV actress. ... Hume Blake Cronyn, OC (July 18, 1911 – June 15, 2003) was a stage and film actor. ... Uta Hagen (12 June 1919 - 14 January 2004) was an American stage actress and acting teacher. ...

New York City Center was also the early home to the New York City Opera and the New York City Ballet. But in the 1970s, with the construction of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, City Center Theater lost those two major companies, and once again faced demolition. This time, with Howard M. Squadron at the helm, the theater was rededicated as "The City Center 55th Street Theater Foundation" and given landmark status. The New York City Opera (NYCO) is New York Citys second opera company (after the Metropolitan Opera). ... The New York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. ... Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a 15 acre (61,000 m²) complex of buildings in New York City which serves as home for 12 arts companies. ...

In 1984, the Manhattan Theatre Club made New York City Center's lower level their home. The Manhattan Theater Club performance space is comprised of a 299-seat theater and a 150-seat theater.

The Present

In 1994, New York City Center launched its first "Encores! Great American Musicals In Concert" productions. The popular series, which continues to this day, spawned the Broadway revivals of Chicago and Wonderful Town. Chicago is a musical, first performed in 1975, based on the play Chicago by Maurine Dallas Watkins. ... Logo for the New Broadway Revival Overview Wonderful Town is a musical written by Leonard Bernstein (music), and Betty Comden and Adolph Green (lyrics), and Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov (book). ...

Today, New York City Center is the New York performance home to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre's fall season, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Eifman Ballet of Saint Petersburg, the Martha Graham Dance Company and The New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players to name a few. Alvin Ailey, Jr. ... The American Ballet Theatre is one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century, and a leading company in America. ... Paul Taylor (born July 29, 1930) is one of the foremost American choreographers of the 20th century. ... Martha Graham and Bertram Ross in Visionary Recital, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1961 Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991), an American dancer and choreographer, is recognized as one of the foremost innovators in modern dance. ...

In 2000, the American Theatre Wing presented a "Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre" award to City Center for the Encores! series. What is popularly called the Tony Award (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award) is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theater, including musical theater. ...

In 2004, New York City Center began the annual "Fall for Dance Festival" which featured 30 dance companies in six performances. In 2005, "Fall for Dance" will again showcase 30 dance companies, five performing at each of the six nights of the festival. 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ...

External links

• New York City Center Official Website
• Internet Broadway Database Listing

References

• Louis Botto, Playbill: At This Theatre, 2002.