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Top 10 Incredible Facts about Radio City Music Hall

Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and theater. Radio City Music Hall is located in Manhattan within the Rockefeller Center. This is the headquarters for the Rockettes. The Rockettes are an American precision dance company that was founded in 1925. Since 1932, they have been performing in Radio City Music Hall since 1932.

Radio City Music Hall was designed by Edward Durell Stone and Donald Deskey. The building was constructed in the Art Deco style. Radio City Music Hall has received very many visitors since it was opened. Let’s look at the Top 10 Incredible Facts about Radio City Music Hall.

1. It was the largest auditorium when it was opened

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Radio City’s four-tiered auditorium was the world’s largest when it opened. The auditorium has around 5,960 seats. Around 3,500 of these seats are at the ground-level orchestra.

The remaining seats are distributed among the three mezzanines. At the time, Radio City had the world’s largest orchestra, the most expansive theater screen and the heaviest proscenium arch in a theater.

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2. Radio City Music Hall has hosted many major events

Apart from hosting concerts such as those by leading pop and rock musicians and live stage shows such as the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, the hall has hosted major events.

These include the Grammy Awards, the Tony Awards, the Daytime Emmy Awards, the MTV Video Music Awards, the NFL Draft, as well as graduation ceremonies for New York University and Barnard College.

3. It was designed by Edward Durell Stone and Donald Deskey

The music hall was designed by Edward Durell Stone and Donald Deskey. Durell is known for the formal, highly decorative buildings he designed in the 1950s and 1960s. Together with Deskey, they did a magnificent job.

Donald Deskey coordinated the interior design process. He designed some of the wallpaper, furniture, and other decor in Radio City. Deskey’s geometric Art Deco designs incorporate glass, aluminum, chrome, bakelite, and leather.

4. It is a designated New York City landmark

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The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) held public hearings on whether to designate the theater’s interior as a city landmark in March 1978. Of more than 100 speakers, most argued in favor of landmark status. In total, more than 100,000 people supported designating Radio City as a landmark. The LPC designated the interior as a city landmark on March 28.

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5. The building was initially called the International Music Hall

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The International Music Hall evolved into a theater called Radio City Music Hall. The names “Radio City” and “Radio City Music Hall” we’re derived from one of the complex’s first tenants, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA).

The corporation planned a mass media complex called Radio City on the west side of Rockefeller Center. Radio City Music Hall was the only part of the complex that retained the name by 1937. The name “Radio City” became shorthand for the theater.

6. The opening of Radio City Music Hall was a pompous affair

Radio City Music Hall opened to the public on December 27, 1932. The opening featured a huge stage that hosted major names in the music industry. This included Ray Bolger, Ronnie Mansfield, Doc Rockwell, Martha Graham, The Mirthquakers, The Tuskegee Choir and Patricia Bowman. The opening was meant to be a return to high-class variety entertainment. However, the program went under since it was too packed. The program ran from 8am to 2pm.

7. Initially, Radio City Music Hall was meant to host live shows only

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Radio City Music Hall was initially intended to host stage shows. Radio City’s initial policy of live shows was poorly received. Just two weeks after its opening, its managers announced that the theater would switch to showing feature films.

This would be accompanied by a spectacular stage show that Roxy had perfected. On January 11, 1933, Radio City became a movie and live-show house. The first film shown on the giant screen was Frank Capra’s The Bitter Tea of General Yen.

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8. Radio City Music Hall was almost closed down due to debt

In 1977, annual attendance reached an all-time low of 1.5 million. The theater needed about 4 million annual visitors to break even. By January 1978, Radio City was in debt.

The officials intimated that the music hall could not remain open after April. Rockefeller Center president Alton Marshall announced that, due to a projected loss of $3.5 million for the upcoming year, Radio City Music Hall would close on April 12.

9. Radio City Music Hall has a beautiful auditorium

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The interior of Radio City Music Hall was designed by Donald Deskey. To make the Music Hall presentable in his opinion, Deskey designed upholstery and furniture that was custom to the theater.

Deskey’s plan was regarded the best of 35 submissions, and he ultimately used the rococo style in his interior design. Deskey was selected as part of a competition for interior designers for the Music Hall.

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10. It features many works of art

The public areas of Radio City feature the work of many Depression-era artists. The artiss  were commissioned by Deskey as part of his general design scheme. The large 2,400-square-foot mural in the grand foyer, “Quest for the Fountain of Eternal Youth”, was painted by Ezra Winter.

It depicts a fable from a Native American tribe in Oregon. The murals on the wall of the grand lounge, which depict five eras of differing theater scenes, are collectively known as the “Phantasmagoria of the Theater” by Louis Bouche.