Hammerstein Ballroom
 | |
 | |
| Location | New York, New York |
|---|---|
| Owner | Unification Church |
| Type | Music |
| Capacity | 2,500 (Reception/Theater Style) 1,000 (Seated Dinner) 3,900 (Standing/Concerts) |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1906 |
| Renovated | 1997 |
| 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, United States. 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.
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.
Events
The Hammerstein Ballroom has seen performances from a wide variety of musical acts, including Kylie Minogue, Grace Jones, 311, Pet Shop Boys, Kraftwerk, Yes, Foo Fighters, Jack's Mannequin, Switchfoot, Tiesto, Jethro Tull, The Mars Volta, Morrissey, Motörhead, Mike Doughty, Franz Ferdinand, KoRn, Veruca Salt, Fatboy Slim, Hanson, HIM, Marilyn Manson, Oasis, O.A.R., Counting Crows, Nine Inch Nails, Trey Anastasio, The Offspring, Incubus, Coheed and Cambria, Mötley Crüe, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest, Jay-Z, Radiohead, 30 Seconds to Mars, Stone Temple Pilots, R.E.M. (see here), Bryan Adams, Arctic Monkeys, Regina Spektor, The Goo Goo Dolls, Avenged Sevenfold, Moby, Tiësto, Tool, the Beastie Boys, Wu-Tang Clan, No Doubt, PJ Harvey, Kelly Clarkson, Iron Maiden, Kanye West, O-Town, The Strokes, the Pixies, Shoshana Bean, The Disco Biscuits, Rammstein, Gov't Mule Evanescence, Muse, Matt White, Brand New, Bob Dylan, Café Tacuba, Enrique Iglesias, The Boys Choir of Harlem, Danity Kane, Donna Summer and Britney Spears.
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.
In addition, the ballroom has also been used to host conventions, art exhibitions and formal dinners.
See also
References
 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (December 2007) |