Hammerstein Ballroom
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| Location | New York, NY |
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| Type | Music |
| Opened | 1906 |
| Renovated | 1997 |
| Owner | Unification Church |
| Capacity | 2,500 (Reception/Theater Style) 1,000 (Seated Dinner) 3,900 (Standing/Concerts) |
| Website | www.mcstudios.com/mc-studio-events/the-hammerstein.php |
The Hammerstein Ballroom is a two-tiered, 12,000 square feet (1115 m2) ballroom located within the Manhattan Center Studios on 311 West 34th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States of America. It is known for its elegant appearance and excellent acoustical design. The capacity of the ballroom is dependent on the configuration of the room; the ballroom seats 2,500 people for theatrical productions and musical performances, and several thousand for events held within a central ring. The two main balconies - which are unusually close to the ground and gently sloped - seat a total of 1,200. There are six shallow balconies which are normally used for celebrity guests. The floor slants down to the stage area to enable those in the back rows to see easily.
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[edit] History
The Manhattan Center was constructed in 1906 by Oscar Hammerstein as the Manhattan Opera House, an alternative to the popular yet comparatively expensive Metropolitan Opera. In 1910, the Metropolitan Opera paid Hammerstein $1.2 million USD to stop operating the Manhattan Opera House as an opera venue for ten years. This led to the elaborately decorated theater being used for a variety of events, including vaudeville performances.
The ownership of the center changed hands multiple times over the next few decades, with the theater being converted into a large ballroom and being used as a Freemason's temple in the 1930s and a trade union headquarters in the 1940s before falling into disuse in the 1970, before being bought by Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church, the ballroom's current owner. The building was renamed Manhattan Center Studios in 1986, and in 1997 the former theater was renamed the Hammerstein Ballroom and underwent extensive renovation, with the hand painted ceiling being completely restored.
[edit] Notable events
The Hammerstein Ballroom has seen performances from a wide variety of musical acts.
The professional wrestling promotion ECW staged some of its events from the Ballroom. Starting in August 2000, ECW staged two back to back shows, on the first night, a one night tournament was held for the ECW World Tag Team Championship when the titles were vacated in May 2000. ECW would then hold two pay-per-view events, one called ECW Massacre on 34th Street in December 2000, and then ECW Guilty as Charged, which would be the last ECW pay-per-view. The Ballroom then hosted the first two WWE promoted ECW One Night Stand pay-per-views, in June 2005 and June 2006. On September 23, 2010, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling held their show in the Ballroom for the first time. Independent wrestling promotion Ring of Honor usually hosts its pay-per-view shows in the Ballroom.
Patti LaBelle recorded her DVD Live! One Night Only at a sold out concert at the Hammerstein Ballroom with special guests Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey. It was released in 1998 and later won her a Grammy Award for her outstanding performance.
The popular rock/jam band O.A.R. released a live album in 2004, 34th & 8th, which was recorded at the Hammerstein Ballroom.
Pop punk band All Time Low recorded their DVD, Straight to DVD, at Hammerstein.
In 2002, NASCAR held its annual end-of-season awards ceremony in the Ballroom, the only time since 1985 the end-of-season awards ceremony was not held in the Waldorf-Astoria Grand Ballroom.
The rock band Korn recorded their DVD, simply titled Live at the Hammerstein Ballroom.
In addition, the ballroom has also been used to host conventions, art exhibitions and formal dinners.
Several seasons of NBC's America's Got Talent have been taped here.
Nicki Minaj played to a sold out crowd on Thanksgiving 2010 with special guests Drake, Rihanna, Kanye West, Keyshia Cole, and Busta Rhymes.
30 Seconds To Mars played their 300th sold out World Record show on December 7, 2011.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
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This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (December 2007) |
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 40°45′10″N 73°59′39″W / 40.7529078°N 73.9941886°W
