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New York City Center (previously known as the Mecca Temple, City Center of Music and Drama,. The name "City Center for Music and Drama Inc." is the organizational parent of the
New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...
and, until 2011, the
New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, du ...
.
and the New York City Center 55th Street Theater) is a 2,257-seat
Moorish Revival Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mid-19th centu ...
theater at 131 West 55th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Midtown Manhattan,
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, one block south of Carnegie Hall. City Center is a performing home for several major dance companies as well as the Encores! musical theater series and the Fall for Dance Festival. The center is currently headed by
Arlene Shuler Arlene Shuler is an American arts administrator and former ballet dancer. She is the president and chief executive of the New York City Center. Biography Shuler grew up in Cleveland playing ballet. She began her training at age six under Margue ...
, a former ballet dancer who has been president since 2003. The facility houses the 2,257 seat main stage, two smaller theaters, four studios and a 12-story office tower.New York Times, March 17, 2010, pg C1, "City Center Is to Start Renovations", by Robin Pogrebin


Architecture

The building's design is
Neo-Moorish Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mid-19th centur ...
and features elaborate interior and exterior
polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors. Ancient Egypt Colossal statu ...
d tile work, murals, and a recently restored
terra cotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...
tiled rooftop dome. The wide, tall dome is covered with more than 28,000 individual tiles. The building was designed by architects Harry P. Knowles (a
Master Mason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
), who died before its completion, and Clinton & Russell. The
auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...
and three Masonic lodge rooms included four M.P. Moller pipe organs.


History

The New York City Center was designed by architect Harry P. Knowles and the firm of Clinton & Russell and built in 1923. It was originally called the Mecca Temple, by the
Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine Shriners International, formally known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (AAONMS), is an American Masonic society established in 1870 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. Shriners International describes itself ...
, more commonly known as Shriners. The group had previously held their meetings at Carnegie Hall. According to Broadway lore, Hall management was disturbed by the amount of cigar smoke generated during Shriners meetings and evicted them. Although the Shriners owned a clubhouse at 107 West 45th Street, they also held large meetings in the concert hall of Madison Square Garden.


Construction

In 1921, Mecca Temple bought the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation movie studio site from
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
for $400,000. The
cornerstone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over tim ...
(visible today on West 56th Street) was laid on December 13, 1923, by Judge Arthur S. Tompkins, Grand Master of Masons in New York State. The dedication ceremony took place onstage, December 29, 1924, with the invocation offered by Episcopal Bishop William T. Manning. The first public musical concert took place late the next year, by
John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. He is known as "The March King" or the "American March King", to dis ...
's (a Mason) band, with
Walter Damrosch Walter Johannes Damrosch (January 30, 1862December 22, 1950) was a German-born American conductor and composer. He was the director of the New York Symphony Orchestra and conducted the world premiere performances of various works, including Geo ...
and
Willem Mengelberg Joseph Wilhelm Mengelberg (28 March 1871 – 21 March 1951) was a Dutch conductor, famous for his performances of Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler and Strauss with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest s ...
among the audience.


1940s to 1960s

After the financial crash of 1929 the Mecca Shriners were unable to pay the taxes on the building and it became city property. By the early 1940s, the building was slated for demolition when New York City Council President
Newbold Morris Augustus Newbold Morris or Newbold Morris (February 2, 1902 – March 30, 1966) was an American politician, lawyer, president of the New York City Council, and two-time candidate for mayor of New York City. Early life Morris, who never used ...
and Mayor
Fiorello La Guardia Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (; born Fiorello Enrico LaGuardia, ; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the House of Representatives and served as the 99th Mayor of New York City fro ...
decided to convert the building into a home for the performing arts. On December 11, 1943, with publicist and future producer Jean Dalrymple in charge as the volunteer director of public relations, the New York City Center of Music and Drama opened its doors with a concert by the
New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...
. "
The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...
" was conducted that evening by Mayor La Guardia. Each season, from the 1940s through the 1960s, City Center presented numerous music and theatrical events with many renowned performers appearing there. Helen Hayes,
Montgomery Clift Edward Montgomery Clift (; October 17, 1920 – July 23, 1966) was an American actor. A four-time Academy Award nominee, he was known for his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men", according to ''The New York Times''. He is best remembered ...
,
Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
,
Gwen Verdon Gwyneth Evelyn "Gwen" Verdon (January 13, 1925October 18, 2000) was an American actress and dancer. She won four Tony Awards for her musical comedy performances, and served as an uncredited choreographer's assistant and specialty dance coach for t ...
, Charlton Heston,
Marcel Marceau Marcel Marceau (; born Marcel Mangel; 22 March 1923 – 22 September 2007) was a French actor and mime artist most famous for his stage persona, "Bip the Clown". He referred to mime as the "art of silence", and he performed professionally worldw ...
,
Bob Fosse Robert Louis Fosse (; June 23, 1927 – September 23, 1987) was an American actor, choreographer, dancer, and film and stage director. He directed and choreographed musical works on stage and screen, including the stage musicals ''The Pajam ...
,
Nicholas Magallanes Nicholas Magallanes (November 27, 1922 – May 2, 1977) was a principal dancer and charter member of the New York City Ballet. Along with Francisco Moncion, Maria Tallchief, and Tanaquil Le Clercq, Magallanes was among the core group of dan ...
,
Francisco Moncion Francisco Moncion (July 6, 1918 – April 1, 1995) was a charter member of the New York City Ballet. Over the course of his long career, spanning some forty years, he created roles in major works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and others. ...
,
Tallulah Bankhead Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968) was an American actress. Primarily an actress of the stage, Bankhead also appeared in several prominent films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's '' L ...
,
Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...
,
Jessica Tandy Jessie Alice Tandy (7 June 1909 – 11 September 1994) was a British-American actress. Tandy appeared in over 100 stage productions and had more than 60 roles in film and TV, receiving an Academy Award, four Tony Awards, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe ...
,
Hume Cronyn Hume Blake Cronyn Jr. OC (July 18, 1911 – June 15, 2003) was a Canadian-American actor and writer. Early life Cronyn, one of five children, was born in London, Ontario, Canada. His father, Hume Blake Cronyn, Sr., was a businessman and ...
,
Uta Hagen Uta Thyra Hagen (12 June 1919 – 14 January 2004) was a German-American actress and theatre practitioner. She originated the role of Martha in the 1962 Broadway premiere of ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' by Edward Albee, who called her "a ...
, and Christopher Walken have all graced the City Center stage. The center was also famous as an inexpensive venue for revivals of dozens of classic and then-recent Broadway musicals, among them
Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tell ...
, Carousel, South Pacific, and
Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock worke ...
. One of the first dance companies to perform regularly there was the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, from 1944 to 1948. New York City Center was home to the
New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, du ...
(1944–1964) and the
New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...
(1948–1966). City Center's office tower was home for the production team who created the famed television show "Your Show of Shows" starring Sid Caesar. With the 1960s construction of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, City Center Theater lost New York City Opera and New York City Ballet, and once again faced demolition. After Newbold Morris retired, Morton Baum, Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Board led City Center. With the assistance of Lincoln Center, NYCB and NYCO were organized into membership corporations with "City Center of Music and Drama" as the sole member. "CCMD" leased the
New York State Theater The David H. Koch Theater is a theater for ballet, modern and other forms of dance, part of the Lincoln Center, at the intersection of Columbus Avenue and 63rd Street in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Originally ...
from Lincoln Center, which leased it from the City of New York. In 1966, the Robert Joffrey Ballet became a resident dance company, even changing its company name to "City Center Joffrey Ballet." The Joffrey remained at City Center until 1992. "In its brief heyday, the Joffrey danced two six-week seasons at City Center each year."


1970s to 1990s

Since the departure of the opera and ballet companies from the 55th Street building, the corporate name City Center of Music and Drama has referred to the umbrella organization for those Lincoln Center companies. After the shift, the City Center theater on 55th was reorganized as the City Center 55th Street Theater Foundation, under Howard M. Squadron, and the building given landmark status. In celebration of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Centennial, the City Center co-sponsored “Cinémathèque at the Metropolitan Museum,” which showed seventy films dating from the medium's first seventy-five years on thirty-five consecutive evenings from July 29 to September 3, 1970. The films were selected by
Cinémathèque Française The Cinémathèque Française (), founded in 1936, is a French non-profit film organization that holds one of the largest archives of film documents and film-related objects in the world. Based in Paris's 12th arrondissement, the archive offers ...
founder and director
Henri Langlois Henri Langlois (; 13 November 1914 – 13 January 1977) was a French film archivist and cinephile. A pioneer of film preservation, Langlois was an influential figure in the history of cinema. His film screenings in Paris in the 1950s are often ...
, from its archive of more than 50,000 films. Chosen for their significance and contributions to the history of
filmmaking Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, cast ...
, they included work from official film industries as well as current and early avant garde directors. The program was the most diverse film exhibition held in the United States to date. In 1984,
Manhattan Theatre Club Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) is a theatre company located in New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has g ...
made New York City Center's lower level (originally a 136'x96' banquet hall) its home. Manhattan Theatre Club performance space comprises a 299-seat theater and a 150-seat theater. Later in the 1980s, the main stage was extensively renovated in connection with the adjacent construction of the high-rise mixed-use building,
Cityspire CitySpire (also known as CitySpire Center) is a mixed-use skyscraper at 150 West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Completed in 1990 and designed by Murphy/Jahn Architects, the building ...
: "To complete the deal, Eichner Properties agreed to contribute $3 million to the City Opera and $3 million to the City Ballet, which covered the purchase of the air rights ... and to spend $5.5 million to renovate the theater in exchange for the 20 percent space bonus." The renovations were designed by the architect Bernard Rothzeid. In 1994, New York City Center launched its first Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert productions. Encores! was the brainchild of Judith Daykin, who initiated the series shortly after becoming Executive Director of City Center in 1992. The popular series, which continues to this day, spawned the Broadway revivals of ''
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
'', ''
Wonderful Town ''Wonderful Town'' is a 1953 musical with book written by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Leonard Bernstein. The musical tells the story of two sisters who aspire to be a writer and act ...
'', ''
The Apple Tree ''The Apple Tree'' is a series of three musical playlets with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and a book by Bock and Harnick with contributions from Jerome Coopersmith. Each act has its own storyline, but all three are tied toge ...
'', ''
Gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
'' (2008), and '' Finian's Rainbow''. Those Broadway productions were produced independently of City Center, but with many of the artists and creators of the Encores! performances. Besides initiating Encores!, Daykin is credited for turning City Center from a rental hall into a presenting organization.


2000s to present

In 2000, the
American Theatre Wing The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...
presented a
Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre The Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre is a non-competitive award created by the American Theatre Wing in 1990. They are presented to institutions, individuals and/or organizations that have demonstrated extraordinary achievement in theatre, but ...
award to City Center for the Encores! series. In 2003,
Arlene Shuler Arlene Shuler is an American arts administrator and former ballet dancer. She is the president and chief executive of the New York City Center. Biography Shuler grew up in Cleveland playing ballet. She began her training at age six under Margue ...
became president and CEO of the City Center. In 2004, New York City Center introduced the annual Fall for Dance Festival, which has received international acclaim for its quality, innovation and success in introducing new and younger audiences to the world of dance. Since its inception, the Festival has presented 165 different dance companies to almost 200,000 people. Newcomers and dance enthusiasts alike look forward to Fall for Dance as both an introduction to new artists and a welcome return to familiar and beloved companies. In 2010, City Center started a $75 million project to renovate its landmark building. The design was managed by Ennead Architects LLP (formerly Polshek Partnership Architects) and included improved sightlines, improved seating and a new canopy, as well as restoration of historical elements like mosaic walls,
arabesque The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foli ...
ceilings and the original box-office lobby. The construction work occurred from April to September, 2010 and from mid-March to October 2011 completion. The building was reopened in October, in a ceremony led by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Several new programs were introduced in the 2011–12 season, including the New York City Center Choreography Fellowship, a program that supports choreographers at critical stages of their careers. The program continues City Center's long history of nurturing choreographers, from George Balanchine to Christopher Wheeldon. That season also saw the launch of a new producing partnership between City Center and Jazz at Lincoln Center. Its inaugural production, ''Cotton Club Parade'', opened on Broadway in the fall of 2013 with the new title ''After Midnight''. New York City Center's newest offering, ''Encores! Off-Center'', launched in the summer of 2013. Composer
Jeanine Tesori Jeanine Tesori (known earlier in her career as Jeanine Levenson) is an American composer and musical arranger best known for her work in the theater. She is the most prolific and honored female theatrical composer in history, with five Broadway m ...
(''Fun Home, Violet'') is the artistic director of this new series, which features seminal Off-Broadway musicals filtered through the lens of today's most innovative artists. The inaugural season included Marc Blitzstein’s ''The Cradle Will Rock'', Gretchen Cryer and Nancy Ford's ''I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road'', and Jeanine Tesori and Brian Crawley's ''Violet'', which will make its Broadway debut in the spring of 2014. Today, New York City Center is the New York performance home to
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is a modern dance company based in New York City. It was founded in 1958 by choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey. It is made up of 32 dancers, led by artistic director Robert Battle and associate ...
,
Manhattan Theatre Club Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) is a theatre company located in New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has g ...
, The Flamenco Festival, and the
Martha Graham Dance Company The Martha Graham Dance Company, founded in 1926, is known for being the oldest American dance company. Founded by Martha Graham as a contemporary dance company, it continued to perform pieces, revive classics, and train dancers even after Graham's ...
, to name a few.


See also

*
List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets This is intended to be a complete list of properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places on Manhattan Island, the primary portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan (also designated as New York County, New York ...


References


Bibliography

* *Dalrymple, Jean. ''From the Last Row'' (James T. White & Company, 1975) *Doeser, Linda. ''Ballet and Dance: The World's Major Companies'' (St. Martin's Press, 1977) () *Kirstein, Lincoln. ''Thirty Years: The New York City Ballet'' (Knopf, 1978) () *Moore, William D. ''Masonic Temples: Freemasonry, Ritual Architecture, and Masculine Archetypes.'' (University of Tennessee Press, 2006) () *''The New York Times'', November 17, 1998. *''The New York Times'', October 7, 1990 (Dunlap, David W.). *''The New York Times'', December 17, 1995 (Lambert, Bruce). *''The New York Times'', August 13, 1997 (Dunlap, David W.). *''The New York Times'', April 11, 1999 (Gray, Christopher). *''The American Architect'', February 25, 1925. (periodical)


External links

* * * *
Alliance for the Arts web listing
{{Portal bar, Architecture, NRHP, New York City, Theatre Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan Concert halls in New York City Culture of Manhattan Dance venues in the United States Former Masonic buildings in New York (state) Masonic buildings completed in 1923 Midtown Manhattan Moorish Revival architecture in New York City New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan Shriners Special Tony Award recipients Theatres in Manhattan Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan