Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts

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The Metropolitan Opera House (left) and Avery Fisher Hall (right) at twilight

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a 16.3-acre (61,000 m²) complex of buildings in New York City which serves as home for 12 arts organizations: Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Film Society of Lincoln Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Juilliard School, Lincoln Center Theater, Metropolitan Opera, New York City Ballet, New York City Opera, New York Philharmonic, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, School of American Ballet, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc..

History of facilities

A consortium of civic leaders and others led by, and under the initiative of John D. Rockefeller III, built Lincoln Center as part of the "Lincoln Square Renewal Project" during Robert Moses' program of urban renewal in the 1960s. Rockefeller was its inaugural president from 1956 and became its chairman in 1961. He is credited with raising more than half of the $184.5 million in private funds needed to build the complex, including drawing on his own funds; the Rockefeller Brothers Fund also contributed to the project.[1] The Lincoln Center was the largest and most ambitious arts project in New York City's history.

The center's plans included a new Metropolitan Opera House, the New York State Theater, the Avery Fisher Hall, the Alice Tully Hall, and two theaters. The Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center was founded in 1960, as a nonprofit theater designed to offer a permanent company. With the center still in the final planning stages and under construction, a training program for a core of performers was initiated in 1962.[2] The company's first production was Arthur Miller's After the Fall. The first two seasons, split between new American plays and American and European classics, but was met with cool critical reception.

A new creative director, Gregory Mosher, and executive producer, Bernard Gersten, were hired, and they abandoned the idea of a repertory ensemble. Since the late 1980s, the theater company has flourished and now goes simply by the name of the Lincoln Center Theatre. It is currently run by Andre Bishop and Bernard Gersten.[2]

The first structure to be completed and occupied as part of this renewal was the Fordham Law School of Fordham University in 1962. Located between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues, from West 60th to West 66th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, the Lincoln Center complex was the first gathering of major cultural institutions into a centralized location in an American city.

Lincoln Center cultural institutions also make use of facilities located away from the main campus. In 2004, Lincoln Center was expanded through the addition of Jazz at Lincoln Center's newly built facilities (Frederick P. Rose Hall) at the new Time Warner Center, located a few blocks to the south. In March 2006 Lincoln Center launched construction on a major redevelopment plan that will modernize, renovate, and open up the Lincoln Center campus in time for its 50th anniversary celebration in 2009.

The New York State Theater at Lincoln Center, home of the New York City Opera and New York City Ballet.

In March 2006, and continuing through 2009, Lincoln Center launched the 65th Street Project—part of a major redevelopment plan—to create a new pedestrian promenade designed to improve accessibility and the aesthetics of that area of the campus. Diller Scofidio & Renfro are the designers in association with FX Fowle Architects. Turner Construction is the general contractor for the project.[3]

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. is one of the 12 resident organization listed above, and serves three primary roles: Presenter of artistic programming, national leader in arts and education and community relations, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. As a presenter of more than 400 events annually, its programs include American Songbook, Great Performers, Lincoln Center Festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Midsummer Night Swing, the Mostly Mozart Festival, and the Emmy Award-winning Live From Lincoln Center.

In July 2006, LCPA announced it will join with publishing company John Wiley & Sons, Inc. to publish at least 15 books, which will focus on performing arts, and draw on Lincoln Center Institute’s educational background and archives.[4]

Performance facilities

  • Alice Tully Hall - 1,095-seat concert hall located within the Juilliard School building; home stage of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Currently closed for renovations; scheduled to open in winter 2008.
  • Avery Fisher Hall – 2,738-seat symphony hall; home stage of the New York Philharmonic; formerly Philharmonic Hall
  • The Metropolitan Opera House – 3,900-seat opera house; home stage of the Metropolitan Opera. This is the second Metropolitan Opera House; the original one opened in 1883 and was demolished in 1966, the year of the opening of the new Metropolitan Opera facilities at Lincoln Center.
  • The New York State Theater – 2,713-seat theater; originally constructed to be the home of the New York City Ballet, now also serves as home to the New York City Opera. Many Broadway musicals have also been revived there.
  • Vivian Beaumont Theater – 1,080-seat Broadway-style theater operated since 1985 as the main stage of Lincoln Center Theater. Previously occupied by The Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center (1965-1973) and The New York Shakespeare Festival (1973-1977).
  • Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater (originally known as the Forum) – intimate 299-seat theater operated by Lincoln Center Theater for its Off-Broadway-style productions
  • The Walter Reade Theatre – 268-seat movie theater; used by the Film Society of Lincoln Center; features a raised dais used for post-screening filmmaker discussions
  • Jazz at Lincoln Center, while a part of Lincoln Center, is located separately in the Frederick P. Rose Hall complex within the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle. It consists of the following performance and related facilities:
    • The Allen Room – 508 - seat amphitheater with 50-foot glass wall overlooking Central Park; part of Jazz at Lincoln Center's facilities
    • Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola – nightclub-style venue in the Jazz at Lincoln Center facility; allows jazz to be performed in its traditional venue
    • Rose Theater – 1,094-seat concert hall designed for jazz performances.
    • Irene Diamond Education Center – rehearsal, recording, and classroom facility at Jazz at Lincoln Center

Other associated and local theatres and facilities

Lincoln Center and public art: Nancy Rubins's Big Pleasure Point, August 2006
  • Church of St. Ignatius Loyola – Roman Catholic Church located on Park Avenue between 83rd and 84th Streets on the Upper East Side; used by Lincoln Center for its great acoustics and its pipe organ (allowing expanded organ repertoire, since the Metropolitan Opera House and Alice Tully Hall are the only Lincoln Center venues with a pipe organ)
  • Clark Studio Theater – 120-seat dance theater; part of the facilities of the Lincoln Center Institute for the Arts in Education
  • Damrosch Park – outdoor amphitheater with bowl-style stage known as the Guggenheim Band Shell, used for free Lincoln Center Out of Doors presentations
  • Daniel and Joanna S. Rose Rehearsal Studio – rehearsal studio of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
  • The Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College – theater at John Jay College of Criminal Justice; used for the Lincoln Center Festival and Great Performers series
  • Josie Robertson Plaza – central plaza of Lincoln Center featuring its iconic fountain; the three main buildings (Metropolitan Opera House, Avery Fisher Hall, and New York State Theater) face onto this plaza; used as an outdoor venue during Midsummer Night Swing and Lincoln Center Out of Doors presentations
  • Juilliard School – facility housing the school of the same name; building also incorporates Alice Tully Hall, Morse Recital Hall, Paul Recital Hall, the Juilliard Drama Theater, and the Peter J. Sharp Theater]]
  • Peter J. Sharp Theater
  • Morse Recital Hall – recital hall within the Juilliard School
  • New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
  • Paul Recital Hall – recital hall within the Juilliard School
  • Pope Auditorium - theater located in Leon Lowenstein Hall of Fordham University's Lincoln Center campus (located across West 62nd Street from Lincoln Center)
  • Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse – nightclub-style venue; used for intimate concerts, “Meet the Artist” and Great Performers events, lectures, and other events where a small, intimate space is preferred; was also used for jazz performances prior to the construction of the new Jazz at Lincoln Center facilities

Resident Organizations

Lincoln Center houses several cultural companies and institutions, including:

  • American Ballet Theatre
  • The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
  • Film Society of Lincoln Center (sponsor of the New York Film Festival)
  • Jazz at Lincoln Center
  • The Juilliard School
  • Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc.
  • Lincoln Center Theater
  • Metropolitan Opera
  • New York City Ballet
  • New York City Opera
  • New York Philharmonic
  • New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
  • School of American Ballet

Each organization has its own board of directors and administration. Together, they present thousands of performances, educational programs, tours, and other events every year.[5]

Architects

Architects who designed buildings at Lincoln Center include:

Historical events

  • April 21, 1955—Lincoln Square designated for urban renewal
  • June 22, 1956—Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. incorporated
  • May 14, 1959—Ground breaking ceremony with President Dwight D. Eisenhower
  • September 23, 1962—Philharmonic Hall (now Avery Fisher Hall) opened. A two-hour live CBS special, Opening Night at Lincoln Center, preserved the event on videotape
  • April 6, 1964—Lincoln Center Fountain opened
  • April 23, 1964—New York State Theater opened
  • October 14, 1965—Vivian Beaumont Theater and the Forum (now Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater) opened
  • November 30, 1965—The Library & Museum of the Performing Arts opened
  • September 16, 1966—The Metropolitan Opera House opened
  • May 22, 1969—Damrosch Park and the Guggenheim Band Shell opened
  • September 11, 1969—Alice Tully Hall opened
  • October 26, 1969—Juilliard School opened
  • October 19, 1976—Avery Fisher Hall re-opened after renovation to improve acoustics
  • December 4, 1981—The Big Apple Circus performed at its winter home in Damrosch Park for the first time. The circus has performed every winter at Lincoln Center ever since
  • September 7, 1982—New York State Theater re-opened after renovation to improve acoustics
  • September 2, 1986—Former Jewish Defense League National Chairman Victor Vancier throws a tear gas grenade during a performance of Soviet ballet in the Metropolitan Opera House as a protest against the Soviet practice of not letting its Jews emigrate to Israel
  • November 19, 1990—The Samuel B. and David Rose Building opened; houses the Walter Reade Theater, the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, the Daniel and Joanna S. Rose Rehearsal Studio, the Clark Studio Theater, and Juilliard School student residences, as well as office space for a number of the member organizations
  • December 3, 1991—The Walter Reade Theater opened within the previously completed Samuel B. and David Rose Building
  • July 12, 1997—The Paul Milstein Plaza dedicated
  • October 18, 2004—Jazz at Lincoln Center opened
  • March 2006—Preliminary construction on the West 65th Street Project begins
  • June 8, 2006—Plans for Lincoln Center to transform the nearby Harmony Atrium into a public space for the arts open to the public, neighbors, students, and Lincoln Center patrons are announced
  • June 12, 2006—The Lincoln Center Promenade initiative to revitalize Lincoln Center's Columbus Avenue frontage and the iconic Josie Robertson Plaza is unveiled
  • August 20, 2006—Paul Milstein Plaza dismantled as part of 65th Street Redevelopment project

In popular culture

In popular culture, in the 1990s PBS game show Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? Robocrook steals Lincoln Center. The Center also appears in the movies The Producers (1968 film), August Rush, Moonstruck, and Ghostbusters.

The center has been seen many times on the Young People's Concerts, and is regularly featured on PBS's Live from Lincoln Center.

Legacy

The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts remains one of the world's leading presenters of performing arts. Its performances range from authentic kabuki theater and dance premieres from world-renowned choreographers, to outdoor dancing to live music, to opera performed with life-size puppets and free performances of Korean drumming and African dance. In the 2007 season alone, there were roughly 5000 performances by over 3000 artists, from every corner of the globe.[5]

The Lincoln Center has won Emmy Awards for its Live From Lincoln Center telecasts. It remains a leader in arts and education, as well as community relations, and takes a maintains a wide range of activities beyond its concert halls and through its education arm. The Lincoln Center Institute offers arts-related symposiums, family programming, and other community initiatives. It also is responsible for providing curricula to educational institutions in in Australia, China, Mexico, and South Africa. The Lincoln Center strives to make art from around the world accessible to everyone.[5]

See also

  • List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City
  • John D. Rockefeller 3rd
  • Jazz at Lincoln Center
  • Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition and Festival

Notes

  1. ↑ Rockefeller Philanthropy, Lincoln Center. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Answers.com, Lincoln Center. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
  3. ↑ New York Times, Glimpsing The Future On 65th St. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
  4. ↑ Kimberly Maul, Wiley and Lincoln Center Dance Together. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Lincoln Center, About Lincoln Center. Retrieved August 4, 2008.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Young, Edgar B. Lincoln Center: The Building of an Institution. New York: New York University Press, 1980.

External links

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