Razzle Dazzle 'Em
Seventy years ago today, Radio City Music Hall opened in New York City.
After the stock market crash of 1929, John D. Rockefeller took a great risk and conceived his large midtown Manhattan property as a major entertainment center. Along with media partners, he created Radio City Music Hall, a "palace for the people." When the complex was completed, high profile entertainment was offered at affordable prices. Now it is a famous venue for stage shows, movies, concerts, and special events. Today Radio City Music Hall remains the largest indoor theater in the world!
Today's etching of the Radio City construction site shows the vision of those early partners, who had the optimism to build this masterpiece in bleak times. Russian-born painter, etcher, and teacher Abbo Ostrowsky built a kind of monument, too. He founded and directed the Educational Alliance Art School in New York City. Since 1897, the art school has offered instruction in the visual arts to people of diverse backgrounds. Teachers and students have included Louise Nevelson, Mark Rothko, Peter Blume, and Ben Shahn.
Pictured: Abbo Ostrowsky, 1889 Russia–1975 USA, Radio City Excavation, about 1936, etching on paper, 13 7/8 x 10 7/8 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Ella Ostrowsky.
Seventy years ago today, Radio City Music Hall opened in New York City.
After the stock market crash of 1929, John D. Rockefeller took a great risk and conceived his large midtown Manhattan property as a major entertainment center. Along with media partners, he created Radio City Music Hall, a "palace for the people." When the complex was completed, high profile entertainment was offered at affordable prices. Now it is a famous venue for stage shows, movies, concerts, and special events. Today Radio City Music Hall remains the largest indoor theater in the world!