Radio City Music Hall – Overview

Located on the east side of Sixth Avenue between 50 and 51st Streets in New York City is one of the world’s most renowned venues. Nicknamed the “Showplace of the Nation,” Radio City Music Hall has been an epicenter of entertainment since its grand opening on December 27, 1932.

Radio City Music Hall was built at the height of the Great Depression as the brainchild of billionaire John D. Rockefeller, Jr. He wanted Radio City Music Hall to be a “palace for the people,” offering elevated entertainment at prices the common man could afford. It gets its name from the Radio Corporation of America, later known as RCA, one of the first tenants of the Rockefeller Center complex.

More than 300 million people have attended an event at Radio City Music Hall. The theater’s signature show, the Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes, draws in more than a million people each year alone. These staggering numbers make it hard to imagine that Radio City Music Hall almost closed its doors for good in the late ‘70s due to declining attendance.

Radio City Music Hall has certainly bounced back since then, undergoing changes to its programming and a comprehensive, $70 million renovation that took place in 1999. Now returned to its original grandeur, Radio City Music Hall is once again the pinnacle of New York City showbiz.

Overview

Grand Foyer: Radio City Music Hall’s Grand Foyer certainly lives up to its lofty name. The ceiling rises four stories high and is adorned with glittering gold leaf. Suspended from it are two towering chandeliers created by the esteemed Edward F. Caldwell & Co. that bathe the Grand Foyer in a warm glow. “Quest for the Fountain of Eternal Youth,” a 2,400-square-foot mural painted by Ezra Winter spans the northern side of the Grand Foyer, rising high above the grand staircase that leads to the first mezzanine. This lavish space can be rented out for gatherings of up to 500 guests.
Auditorium: The grandeur continues in Radio City Music Hall’s auditorium. Epic in size and design, the auditorium measures 160 feet from back to stage and the ceiling reaches a height of 84 feet. It features nearly 6,000 seats, 3,500 of which are located in the orchestra section on ground level. The rest of the seats are distributed among the auditorium’s three mezzanines. The walls and ceiling are formed by a series of eight telescoping arches meant to evoke the appearance of a setting sun. These arches convene on the Great Stage, which is framed by a proscenium arch thought to be one of the heaviest ever used in a theater.
Great Stage: The 10,000-square-foot Great Stage was considered to be a technical marvel when it was first built. That sentiment still holds true today. As large as half a football field, the stage is comprised of three sections mounted on hydraulic-powered elevators, which make it possible to create dynamic sets and achieve spectacular staging effects. Another elevator raises and lowers the entire orchestra. A turntable located within the perimeter of the four elevators is used for quick scene changes and special stage effects.
Mezzanines: On the back wall of Radio City Music Hall’s auditorium are three mezzanines stacked above the rear of the orchestra section. Though the mezzanines provide ample seating, they are shallow enough to not loom over the seats below. Each of the mezzanine levels features a men’s smoking room and a women’s lounge, as well as men’s and women’s restrooms. Interestingly enough, no two lounges or restrooms have the same design.
Grand Lounge: Located on the lower level of Radio City Music Hall is the opulent Grand Lounge. The walls are coated in a shiny black material known as “permatex.” Diamond-shaped light fixtures run the length of the ceiling, mirrored by the diamond shapes incorporated into the pattern on the carpeting. The lounge features several art pieces, including a series of murals known as “Phantasmagoria of the Theater” by Louis Bouche and “Spirit of the Dance,” a sculpture by William Zorach. Like the Grand Foyer, the Grand Lounge can be rented out. The space can accommodate up to 400 guests.
Roxy Suite: Formerly the private, two-story apartment of Samuel “Roxy” Rothafel, Radio City Music Hall’s impresario, the Roxy Suite now serves as the theater’s most exclusive event spaces. With its 20-foot-high ceiling covered in gold leaf and rich, cherry-paneled walls, the Roxy Suite is just as opulent as the rest of Radio City Music Hall. The space is adorned with many historic gems, including a guestbook signed by the likes of Walt Disney, Alfred Hitchcock, and many other famous figures. Today the Roxy Suite hosts intimate gatherings of up to 75 guests.

Tips

Dress warm. It can get pretty chilly inside Radio City Music Hall, but what else can you expect from a theater that’s almost 100 years old? Bring a jacket, sweater, or other warm piece of clothing to avoid spending the entire show thinking about how cold you are.
Download the Radio City Music Hall app. This app is handy for a number of reasons. First off, you can buy, sell, transfer, and view tickets for upcoming events at Radio City Music Hall. You can also use the app to access the Chase Premium Entrance on 50th Street for expedited entry into the venue. Lastly, the Radio City Music Hall app lets you order select food and drinks for pickup so you can skip the concession line and get back to your seat quicker. Yep, there’s an app for all that.
No outside food or drinks are permitted in Radio City Music Hall. While it’s an inconvenient policy, at least there are plenty of great places to eat in New York City. Consider enjoying a nice meal before your show at a nearby restaurant like Rock Center Café or Bill’s Bar & Burger. They sell concessions inside Radio City Music Hall too if you’re hungry but short on time. These concessions include snacks like pretzels, popcorn, hot dogs, and cookies, as well as a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
Concessions can be pricey. Be prepared to pay up if you’re going to get your snack on during the show. Past visitors report prices as high as $5.50 for bottled water, $11 for beer, and $15 for a small popcorn and 12-ounce soda. Hopefully you’ve got some wiggle room in your budget!
Go to the bathroom before you arrive or as soon as you get inside. Don’t wait until just before the show’s about to start to take a bathroom break. Radio City Music Hall seats close to 6,000 people, which means long bathroom lines are pretty much guaranteed. If you can’t make a quick pit stop on your way to Radio City Music Hall, the next best thing is to make a beeline for the bathrooms once you’re inside.
Leave promptly or be prepared to wait. You’ll also want to make a beeline for the exit as soon as the show’s over. Lines can form at the doors due to the sheer volume of people trying to make their way out. If you’re not lucky, you could get stuck waiting for 30 minutes or so. At that point, you might as well just stick around and go on a self-guided tour of Radio City Music Hall while you wait for the crowds to disperse.
Take a tour of Radio City Music Hall. If you prefer your tours to be a bit more on the guided side, you’re in luck! The Stage Door Tour takes visitors behind the scenes at Radio City Music Hall, where they’ll discover Art Deco masterpieces, learn the secrets of the Great Stage, meet a Rockette, and more. Tours run daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., depart approximately every half hour, and last about 75 minutes.

Trivia

Radio City Music Hall is the largest indoor theater in the world. That’s not all though! The Great Stage’s shimmering gold curtain is also said to be the largest in the world, as well as the two chandeliers located in the Grand Foyer. Each chandelier weighs approximately two tons and can be lowered for cleaning by the simple push of a button. Once lowered, it takes a six-person crew a total of eight hours to clean the both of them.
The Great Stage features elevators outfitted with military-grade hydraulics. What’s particularly interesting about this tidbit of trivia is that it was the U.S. Navy who copied the design, not the other way around. The Navy incorporated identical hydraulics in the aircraft carriers constructed during World War II and, as rumor has it, guarded the basement of Radio City Music Hall to ensure that the technology wouldn’t fall into the wrong hands.
In addition to movie premieres and musicals, Radio City Music Hall has even hosted sporting events. The first instance of a sporting event taking place at Radio City Music Hall was a boxing card headlined by Roy Jones, Jr. and David Telesco, held on January 15, 2000. The New York Liberty of the WNBA also played six games at Radio City Music Hall while Madison Square Garden, their regular home, prepared to host the 2004 Republican National Convention. Yes, Radio City Music Hall’s Grand Stage really is “grand” enough to fit an entire regulation professional basketball court. Other sports-related events that have been held at Radio City Music Hall include the ESPY Awards and the NFL Draft.