New York City's great lady of classical music has recently been enshrouded in scaffolding, which has caused many a pedestrian to gaze skyward and wonder what is going on at Carnegie Hall. As a matter of fact, quite a bit is happening all over the landmark concert venue, for as the 95-year-old neo-Romanesque structure's exterior is being restored to weather-resistant stability, the famous red, white, and gold interior is undergoing an extended process of redesign and rehabilitation. To facilitate all this renovation activity, the famed theater will close in mid-May for intensive work and then reopen in December with a gala concert to celebrate long overdue rebirth for the venerable site.
The story of Carnegie hall is rich in anecdotes for virtually every significant music an has performed there over the years, and the acoustics of the main recital hall are regarded as among the very best in the entire world. How this building came into being, what went on during its heyday, and why such desperate measures were taken as it approaches a century in age illustrated as much about the climate of classical music impresarios as they do about the nature of real estate entrepreneurship in what is perhaps American's most expensive and inhumane city. It also happens to be the globe's artistic nexus.
Anyone who attended the May 16, 1985, City hall ceremony announcing "Carnegie Hall Day" will know that much of the expenditure for guaranteeing the showplace's future is being underwritten by New York City, which was virtually shamed into its responsibility by violinist Isaac Stern and others determined to keep the institution from being torn down in 1960. That it has survived at all during the last twenty-five years is a credit to their commitment.
In shouldering a hefty portion of the $50 million needed to repair Carnegie Hall, Mayor Edward Koch and Carnegie Board chairman James D. Wolfensohn assumed a partnership based on a fund-raising campaign aimed at capital improvements as well as the creation of an endowment. Through an eight-phase program of rescue measures under the supervision of James Steward Polshek and Partners, the Tishman Construction company of New York will be restoring, renovating, and expanding the facility. Subsequent to the major facelift, a lot adjacent to the hall, known as the Rembrandt site, will be transformed by the Rockrose Development corporation into a commercial and residential to war to be designed by the architect Cesar Pelli. He was the man responsible for the Museum of Modern Art Tower several blocks to the south, and once again will be charged with creating an edifice of distinction that will both enhance the setting and provide income for its cultural institution parent.
Anyone who has been in Carnegie Hall recently has seen the ceiling paint peeling, observed water damage along the plastered walls, and noticed how ill-designed the interior public spaces are by modern standards. All these problems, as well as many others less visible to patrons, will be dealt with in the Polshek master plan, which includes: complete refurbishment of the Main Hall, with new carpeting and seats; the replacement of antiquated, deteriorated, and inefficient building systems, such as plumbing and air conditioning, the improvement of building safety and circulation, currently hampered by narrow corridors and steep staircases; the upgrading of the various lobbies, which are incapable of handling full-house crowds in comfort; the establishment of support areas for artists, whose dressing rooms are
...
Read Full Article
|
