Radio City Music Hall opened two days after Christmas in 1932. Originally intended for the Metropolitan Opera, its purpose shifted after the Great Crash of 1929, and it was reimagined as a grand theater with nearly 6,000 seats and a hydraulic stage.
With its iconic neon marquee and sweeping art deco foyer, it was soon nicknamed the “Showplace of the Nation.”
But as New York City declined in the 1970s, so did attendance—dropping from 5 million guests in 1968 to just 1.5 million in 1978. Developers licked their chops to shutter the hall and convert it into lucrative office space.
Radio City was rescued by a grassroots effort led by the “Showpeople’s Committee,” which secured landmark protection for the interiors in 1978 and the exterior in 1985. Since then, the venue has been carefully maintained to preserve its historic integrity and style.
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