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===Development=== ==== Planning ==== The [[construction of Rockefeller Center]] occurred between 1932 and 1940.{{efn|[[30 Rockefeller Plaza]] was the first building to start construction, in March 1932.<ref>{{cite news|page=43|title=First Steel Column Erected in 70-Story Rockefeller Unit|date=March 8, 1932|work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1932/03/08/issue.html|issn=0362-4331 |access-date=November 15, 2017 |url-status=live|archive-date=March 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316163403/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1932/03/08/issue.html}}</ref> The last building was completed in 1940.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1940/10/16/102265018.pdf |title=Airline Building Is Dedicated Here; Governors of 17 States Take Part by Pressing Keys |date=October 16, 1940|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=November 21, 2017|archive-date=March 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316163359/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1940/10/16/102265018.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|url-status=live}}</ref>}} on land that [[John D. Rockefeller Jr.]] leased from [[Columbia University]].{{sfn|Glancy|1992|p=431}} The Rockefeller Center site was originally supposed to be occupied by a new [[opera house]] for the [[Metropolitan Opera]].{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1978|p=3}} By 1928, [[Benjamin Wistar Morris (architect)|Benjamin Wistar Morris]] and designer [[Joseph Urban]] were hired to come up with blueprints for the house.{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=21}} The new building was too expensive for the opera to fund by itself, and it needed an [[Financial endowment|endowment]];{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=13}} the project ultimately gained the support of [[John D. Rockefeller Jr.]]{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=13}}{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|pp=31β32}} The planned opera house was canceled in December 1929 due to various issues,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1929/12/06/94215747.pdf|title=Rockefeller Site For Opera Dropped |date=December 6, 1929|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=November 10, 2017|archive-date=March 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316163358/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1929/12/06/94215747.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Balfour|1978|p=11}}{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|pp=16, 48β50}} but Rockefeller made a deal with [[RCA]] to develop Rockefeller Center as a [[mass media]] complex with four theaters.{{sfn|Okrent|2003|pp=137β138}}<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1930/06/14/96156413.pdf|title=Rockefeller Plans Huge Culture Centre|date=June 14, 1930|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=November 15, 2017|archive-date=April 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403220537/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1930/06/14/96156413.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|url-status=live}}</ref> This was later downsized to two theaters.{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=45}}{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=177}} [[Samuel Roxy Rothafel]], a successful theater operator who was renowned for his domination of the city's movie theater industry,{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=203}} joined the center's advisory board in 1930.{{sfn|Balfour|1978|p=91}}{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=213}}{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|p=64}} He offered to build two theaters: a large vaudeville "International Music Hall" on the northernmost block, with more than 6,200 seats, and the smaller 3,500-seat "RKO Roxy" movie theater on the southernmost block.{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=213}}{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|p=65}}{{sfn|Hofmeister|1932|p=355}} The idea for these theaters was inspired by Roxy's failed expansion of the 5,920-seat [[Roxy Theatre (New York City)|Roxy Theatre]] on 50th Street, one and a half blocks away.{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=46}}{{sfn|Balfour|1978|p=92}}<ref>{{cite news |url=http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252018%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Sun%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Sun%25201932%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Sun%25201932%2520-%25206106.pdf|title=Roxy Presents New Mood|last=Gilligan|first=Edmund|date=November 29, 1932|work=The New York Sun|access-date=November 11, 2017|page=20|via=[[Fultonhistory.com]]}}</ref> The Music Hall was to have a single admission price of $2 per person.{{sfn|Hofmeister|1932|p=355}} Roxy also envisioned an elevated promenade between the two theaters,<ref>{{cite news|last=Brock|first=H.I.|title=Problems Confronting the Designers of Radio City|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|date=April 5, 1931|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1931/04/05/102224374.pdf|access-date=November 28, 2017|archive-date=April 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403220542/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1931/04/05/102224374.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|url-status=live}}</ref> but this was never published in any of the official blueprints.{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=213}} ==== Design process ==== In September 1931, a group of NBC managers and architects toured Europe to find performers and look at theater designs.{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|p=65}}{{sfn|Balfour|1978|p=93}}{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=214}}{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1978|p=5}}<ref>{{cite news |title=Radio City Leaders Plan Foreign Tour|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331 |date=September 11, 1931 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1931/09/11/118233762.pdf|access-date=November 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403220539/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1931/09/11/118233762.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|archive-date=April 3, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> However, the group did not find any significant architectural details that they could use in the Radio City theaters.{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|p=66}} In any case, Roxy's friend [[Peter Clark (theatrical expert)|Peter Clark]] turned out to have much more innovative designs for the proposed theaters than the Europeans did.{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=215}} Roxy had a list of design requests for the Music Hall.{{sfn|Balfour|1978|p=94}}{{sfn|Okrent|2003|pp=217β218}} First, he did not want the theater to have either a large balcony over the [[Box (theatre)|box seating]] or rows of box seating facing each other, as implemented in opera houses.{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=217}} One alternative called for "a rather deep balcony" and a shallower second balcony, but would have obstructed views from the rear orchestra.{{sfn|Hofmeister|1932|p=357}}{{sfn|Hofmeister|1932|pp=356β357}} Consequently, the final plan used three tiers of balconies, cantilevered off the back wall.{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=217}}{{sfn|Hofmeister|1932|p=357}} Second, Roxy specified that the stage contain a central section with three parts so the [[Set construction|sets]] could be changed easily.{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1978|p=5}} Roxy wanted red seats because he believed it would make the theater successful,{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=217}} and he wished for the auditorium to be oval in shape because contemporary wisdom held that oval auditoriums had better acoustic qualities.{{sfn|Balfour|1978|p=94}}{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1978|p=9}} Finally, he wanted to build at least 6,201 seats in the Music Hall so it would be larger than the Roxy Theatre. There were only 5,960 audience seats, but Roxy counted exactly 6,201 seats by including elevator stools, [[orchestra pit]] seats, and dressing-room chairs.{{sfn|Okrent|2003|pp=217β218}} Roxy also wanted the theater to have an "intimate" design as well. According to architect Henry Hofmeister, a single level of steeply raked [[stadium seating]] would likely have been used in a larger auditorium, quoting a theatrical proverb: "A house divided against the performer cannot stand."{{sfn|Hofmeister|1932|p=356}} Despite Roxy's specific requests for design features, the Music Hall's general design was determined by the Associated Architects, the architectural consortium that was designing the rest of Rockefeller Center.{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1978|p=5}} The Music Hall was to be at the northwest corner of the Rockefeller Center complex, at the base of the 1270 Sixth Avenue office building; the theater's rear wall would have to support the offices above.{{sfn|Hofmeister|1932|pp=355β356}} Radio City Music Hall was designed by architect [[Edward Durell Stone]]{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1978|p=7}} and interior designer [[Donald Deskey]]{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1978|p=10}} in the [[Art Deco]] style.{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1978|p=1}} Stone used [[Indiana Limestone]] for the facade, as with all the other buildings in Rockefeller Center, but he also included some distinguishing features. Three {{convert|90|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall}} signs with the theater's name were placed on the facade, while intricately ornamented [[fire escape]]s were installed on the walls facing 50th and 51st Streets. Inside, Stone designed {{convert|165|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}} Grand Foyer with a large staircase, balconies, and mirrors and commissioned [[Ezra Winter]] for the grand foyer's {{convert|2400|ft2|m2|adj=on}} mural, "Quest for the Fountain of Eternal Youth".{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1978|p=9}}{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=218}} Deskey, meanwhile, was selected as part of a competition for interior designers for the Music Hall.{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=220}} He had reportedly called Winter's painting "God-awful" and regarded the interior and exterior as not much better.{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=218}} 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.{{sfn|Okrent|2003|pp=220β221}} ==== Naming and construction ==== The International Music Hall evolved into a theater called Radio City Music Hall.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7-EDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA252|page=252|title=World's Largest Theater in Rockefeller Center Will Seat Six Thousand|magazine=Popular Mechanics|date=August 1932|access-date=August 6, 2012|archive-date=August 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818185109/https://books.google.com/books?id=7-EDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA252|url-status=live}}</ref> The names "Radio City" and "Radio City Music Hall" derive from one of the complex's first tenants, the [[RCA|Radio Corporation of America (RCA)]], which planned a [[mass media]] complex called Radio City on the west side of Rockefeller Center.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1930/06/14/96156413.pdf|title=Rockefeller Plans Huge Culture Centre; 4 Theatres in $350,000,000 5Th Av. Project; A Huge Theatrical Venture Which Will Exploit Television, Music Radio, Talking Pictures and Plays Will Be Erected, It Was Disclosed Last Night, On the Site Assembled by John D. Rockefeller Jr. Between Fifth And|date=June 14, 1930|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=November 15, 2017|archive-date=April 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403220537/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1930/06/14/96156413.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|url-status=live}}</ref> Over time, the appellation of "Radio City" devolved from describing the entire complex to just the complex's western section.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Fitch |first1=James Marston |url=https://archive.org/stream/grandcentralterm00fitc |title=Grand Central Terminal and Rockefeller Center: A Historic-Critical Estimate of Their Significance |last2=Waite |first2=Diana S. |date=1974 |publisher=The Division |location=Albany, NY |page=12}}</ref> Radio City Music Hall was the only part of the complex that retained the name by 1937, and the name "Radio City" became shorthand for the theater.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=Moscrip |date=1937 |title=Mystery on Sixth Ave. |work=[[Screen & Radio Weekly]] |url=http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252014%2FJamaica%2520NY%2520Long%2520Island%2520Daily%2520Press%2FJamaica%2520NY%2520Long%2520Island%2520Daily%2520Press%25201937%2FJamaica%2520NY%2520Long%2520Island%2520Daily%2520Press%25201937%2520-%25206215.pdf |access-date=November 10, 2017 |via=[[Fultonhistory.com]] |url-status=live |archive-date=April 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403220542/https://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2014/Jamaica%20NY%20Long%20Island%20Daily%20Press/Jamaica%20NY%20Long%20Island%20Daily%20Press%201937/Jamaica%20NY%20Long%20Island%20Daily%20Press%201937%20-%206215.pdf}}</ref> [[File:Radio City Music Hall (36369298022).jpg|thumb|Interior view of auditorium]] Construction on Radio City Music Hall started in December 1931,{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=40}} and the theater [[topped out]] in August 1932.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1932/08/11/100787345.pdf|title=Facade 'Topped Out' In Rockefeller Unit; Last Stone Laid on Exterior of Music Hall β Work on Other Buildings Speeded.|date=August 11, 1932|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=November 14, 2017|archive-date=April 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403220548/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1932/08/11/100787345.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|url-status=live}}</ref> Its construction set many records at the time, including the use of {{convert|15,000|mi}} of copper wire and {{convert|200|mi}} of brass pipe.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1931/08/18/118224102.html?pageNumber=23|title=Radio City Buys 15,000 Miles of Copper Wire; Early Start Looms in Construction Work|date=August 18, 1931|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=April 14, 2020|page=23|archive-date=April 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403220541/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1931/08/18/118224102.html?pageNumber=23|url-status=live}}</ref> In November 1932, [[Russell Markert]]'s prΓ©cision dance troupe [[The Rockettes|the Roxyettes]] (later to be known as the Rockettes) left the Roxy Theatre and announced that they would be moving to Radio City. By then, Roxy was busy adding music acts in preparation for the theater's opening at the end of the year.{{sfn|Balfour|1978|p=96}}{{sfn|Okrent|2003|pp=235β236}}
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