Radio City Music Hall

Radio City Music Hall

Nestled amidst the imperial, Art Deco manor of Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall advertises a unique, fifties-style update to New York's long vaudeville tradition. The quality of the shows is up for debate, but the facilities are unparalleled. Opened in 1932 (an opening attended by such timeless luminaries as Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable, and Amelia Aerhart), Radio City is a cathedral throwback to the massive theater- and movie-going years of the thirties, forties, and fifties. The main theater, which seats over 6,000, is one of the largest in the world--but it's the public areas of Radio City which suggest the dusty elegance of eras -- and entertainers -- past. A plush, carpeted entryhall leads to wide, open staircases and three gorgeous mezzanine levels, each leading upwards to a spectacular gold-leaf ceiling. The minor features of the luxurious theater have been recently renovated, faithful to the original, velvet-and-Art Deco style. The net effect has been to restore to a theater famous for kitschy, touristy shows the palatial grandeur of Old Hollywood.