Editing Radio City Music Hall (section)

==== 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=217–218}} 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=356–357}} 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=217–218}} 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=355–356}} 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=220–221}}