New York City Center
New York City Center (previously known as the Mecca Temple, City Center of Music and Drama, and the New York City Center 55th Street Theater[2]) is a performing arts center at 131 West 55th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Developed by the Shriners between 1922 and 1924 as a Masonic meeting house, it has operated as a performing arts complex owned by the government of New York City. City Center is a performing home for several major dance companies as well as the Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC), and it hosts the Encores! musical theater series and the Fall for Dance Festival annually.
Address
131 W. 55th St.
New York, New York
United States
City Center 55th Street Theater Foundation
Performing arts center
Off-Broadway (MTC)
Main stage: 2,257
Stage I: 299
Stage II: 150
1924 (building)
1984 (Stages I & II)
1943–present
Harry P. Knowles and Clinton & Russell
less than one acre
Moorish
1234
September 7, 1984
April 12, 1983
The facility was designed by Harry P. Knowles and Clinton and Russell in the Moorish Revival style and is divided into two parts. The southern section houses a main auditorium, with 2,257 seats across three levels; this auditorium could originally fit over four thousand people, but it has been downsized over the years. Immediately beneath the main auditorium are two smaller theaters, one of which is used by MTC; these occupy what was originally a banquet hall. This section contains an ornate sandstone facade with an alfiz–like entryway made of terracotta, as well as a dome measuring about 104 feet (32 m) across. The northern section is much simpler in design, with a largely windowless brick facade, and contains four rehearsal studios and a 12-story office tower.
The Shriners decided in 1921 to construct the 55th Street building after having outgrown their previous headquarters, and the new building was dedicated on December 29, 1924. The Great Depression prompted the Shriners to downsize their activities in the 1930s and relocate out of the building entirely by 1940. New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia and New York City Council president Newbold Morris established the City Center of Music and Drama Inc. (CCMD) to operate the building as a municipal performing-arts venue, which reopened on December 11, 1943. In its early years, City Center housed the City Opera and City Ballet, as well as symphony, dance theater, drama, and art companies. After the City Opera and Ballet relocated to Lincoln Center in the 1960s, the CCMD continued to operate the building until 1976, when the City Center 55th Street Theater Foundation took over operation. City Center largely hosted dance performances during the late 20th century, although it also began hosting off-Broadway shows when the MTC moved to City Center in 1984. The venue was renovated in the 1980s and again in the 2010s.
Site[edit]
New York City Center, originally the Mecca Temple, is at 131 West 55th Street, between Sixth Avenue and Seventh Avenue, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City.[3] The building's L-shaped land lot covers 25,153 square feet (2,336.8 m2), extending 200 feet (61 m) northward to 56th Street,[4] with frontage of 150 feet (46 m) along 55th Street and 100 feet (30 m) on 56th Street.[5][6] City Center abuts the CitySpire office building to the west and 125 West 55th Street to the east.[4][3] Immediately to the north are Carnegie Hall, Carnegie Hall Tower, Russian Tea Room, and Metropolitan Tower from west to east. Other nearby buildings include 140 West 57th Street, 130 West 57th Street, and the Parker New York hotel to the northeast, as well as the 55th Street Playhouse to the southwest and 1345 Avenue of the Americas to the southeast.[4][3]
The neighborhood was historically part of an artistic hub that developed around the two blocks of West 57th Street from Sixth Avenue west to Broadway during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, following the opening of Carnegie Hall.[7][8][9] Several buildings in the area were constructed as residences for artists and musicians, such as 130 and 140 West 57th Street, the Rodin Studios, and the Osborne Apartments, as well as the demolished Sherwood Studios and Rembrandt. In addition, the area contained the headquarters of organizations such as the American Fine Arts Society, the Lotos Club, and the American Society of Civil Engineers.[10]
When the Mecca Temple was constructed in 1923, the city block had contained garages, stables, and a school.[11][12] The lots on the southern part of the building's site, at 131–133 West 55th Street, had been used by Famous Players–Lasky Corporation as a movie studio.[13][14] The two lots on the northern part of the site, at 132 and 134 West 56th Street, contained horse stables.[15][16]
History[edit]
Mecca Temple[edit]
The City Center building on 55th Street was constructed as the Mecca Temple, the headquarters of the Shriners. The order's previous headquarters had been located at Sixth Avenue and 23rd Street since 1875.[21][55] The order began hosting large events at Carnegie Hall in 1891, but the hall banned smoking,[55] even though many Shriners enjoyed smoking large cigars during their meetings.[56] Although the Shriners moved to the 71st Regiment Armory on Park Avenue in 1905, the armory was not well-suited for theatrical productions. The Shriners also had trouble booking a theater except during the workday.[55] By 1911, the Shriners owned a converted brownstone row house at 107 West 45th Street, and they also held large meetings in the concert hall of Madison Square Garden.[57] The row house contained a grill room on the ground floor, a lounge and committee room on the second floor, executive offices on the third floor, and an assembly room on the fourth floor.[58]
Management and governance[edit]
City Center of Music and Drama Inc.[edit]
The 55th Street theater was originally controlled by the City Center of Music and Drama Inc. (CCMD),[103][104] which the city government established in July 1943.[94] The City Center for Music and Drama Inc. is the organizational parent of the New York City Ballet and was formerly also the parent company of the New York City Opera,[289] which was liquidated in 2013.[290] During its first two decades, the CCMD was largely synonymous with the 55th Street theater, which for the most part was its only location.[195] The CCMD temporarily operated the International Theatre on Columbus Circle during the 1948–1949 season.[291][292] In January 1965, the CCMD became a member company of Lincoln Center.[192] In subsequent years, the CCMD used other venues such as the ANTA Theatre.[293]
Several of the CCMD's constituent companies are no longer affiliated with City Center or no longer exist. The New York City Symphony performed there from 1944 to about 1948,[139][140] and the New York City Dance Theater only performed at the 55th Street theater during the 1949–1950 season.[144] The City Center Art Gallery operated between 1953 and 1961.[182] Another former constituent company was the City Center Cinematheque, which was proposed in 1970[46] but never formally opened.[224][225]
55th Street Theater Foundation[edit]
The City Center 55th Street Theater Foundation took over the 55th Street theater in August 1976,[234] subleasing the theater from the CCMD.[36] The foundation rents out the main auditorium to various performers and leases the basement space to the Manhattan Theatre Club.[51]
New York City Center Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 1976, controls the theater. As of 2023, Michael S. Rosenberg is listed as the president and CEO of New York City Center Inc.[294][295] For the fiscal year that ended in June 2020, the organization recorded $21,340,158 in revenue and $23,620,235 in expenses, for a total net loss of $2,280,077.[295]