Happy Birthday, Radio City Music Hall! On December 27, 1932, Radio City Music Hall opened its doors to the public! Construction began on the project in 1930 on land leased by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. His original plan was to help gentrify the neighborhood (coined the “speakeasy belt”) by building a new Metropolitan Opera House but the idea was scratched after the stock market crash of 1929 and Rockefeller instead opted to create a complex of buildings (Rockefeller Center) to attract commercial tenants. Another plan that was changed was the name of the music hall Rockefeller decided to build in this complex. Originally, the name was going to be the “International Music Hall” but was changed to “Radio City Music Hall” when the Radio Corporation of America became one of the complex’s first tenants. Working on the project along with Rockefeller were Samuel Roxy Rothafel (of the Roxy Theatre/Rockettes) and RCA chairman David Sarnoff.
Look who I spotted hanging out in Teany’s entrance to avoid the cold and snow! Smart bird!
photo credit: Carina Zimmerman
(Post No Bills-Variations on a Theme, NYC click to enlarge)
“Post No Bills” announcements cover NYC construction sites… always covered with bills and graffiti. This is my favorite finding of poetic defacement of a block full of those signs!
photo credit: Carina Zimmerman
-On the first day open, 51,694 vehicles passed through the tunnel! Cars paid 50 cents, motorcycles paid 25 cents, and trucks paid up to $2.00. (source/source)
-The tunnel cost $54,000,000- equivalent to around $700,000,000 today! (source)
-The tunnel took 7 years to complete, with construction beginning on February 1, 1920. (source)
-Number of ceiling tiles: 3.1 million | Number of wall tiles: 2.9 million (source)
Keep reading to view old photos of the tunnel under construction and its early days!
Last week, we hosted our first annual Halloween Costume Party at TLB Music! Our amazing staff teamed up to transform our music studio and playspace with giant cobwebs, bats, jack-o-lanterns, lights, balloons, LED candles, and more. We created a Trick-or-Treat table filled with yummy vegan sweets like YumEarth lollipops, Dandies Marshmallows, Newman’s Own Cookies, and fruit. I also baked almost 300 mini brownies! (Brownies are so easy to veganize: just substitute eggs with flax eggs in any brownie recipe.) Continue reading to see my photos from the party!
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[Spring Street Pigeon, NYC click to enlarge]
I have a thing for pigeons so I was excited when I spotted this Staple Design pigeon sticker on a building under construction on Spring and Thompson Streets. I love the colors on the image behind the sticker! Makes the pigeon look a bit like a red-feathered peacock, don’t you think?
photo credit: Carina Zimmerman
(The Great Bartholdi Statue: Liberty Enlightening the World, 1886 source)
Happy Birthday, Statue of Liberty! The Statue of Liberty, designed by French sculptor Frédéric Bartholdi, was a gift from France and took 21 years from its conception (1865) to its completion in New York Harbor. After years of struggling to raise the money for the pedestal (France required the US would provide), the statue finally made its way to America on June 17, 1885 and by April of 1886, the pedestal was complete and construction began placing Lady Liberty on her outlook from Bedloe’s Island. The Statue of Liberty opened on October 28, 1886 with a dedication ceremony led by President Grover Cleveland and a parade that traveled from Madison Square to the southern tip of the Manhattan!
Today is also another special day for The Statue of Liberty: today, the statue reopened exactly one year after closing due to the damage caused from Hurricane Sandy! In honor of its 127th birthday and reopening, I put together some old photos and illustrations of The Statue of Liberty under construction and at its unveiling. Click on images to enlarge.
[Insert Banksy Here, NYC click to enlarge]
When I spotted this sticker on Jersey Street in Soho, I had to snap a photo to share! Like lots of New Yorkers, I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled, hoping to find a Banksy somewhere on the streets of NYC during his month-long residency. No luck so far!
Photo credit: Carina Zimmerman
[Duane Street, NYC: October 14, 1891 source | enlarge photo ]
I love these photos of construction on Duane and Barclay Streets taken 122 years ago today!
[Barclay Street, NYC: October 14, 1891 source | enlarge photo]
Top photo: Prince Street, Soho (1985) by Matt Weber
Bottom photo: Carina on Prince Street, Soho (2013) by Katia Asthalter
Katia and I are so excited to be throwing our first Halloween costume party for kids at TLB Music! We can’t wait to decorate the studio with cobwebs, spiders, glowing lights, pumpkins, and more. If you live in the NYC area, please join us on October 30th for music, making Halloween-themed crafts, playing in our indoor playspace, and snacking on yummy sweets. We’ll be giving away $100 in Bird Bucks to TLB’s staff pick for favorite costume of the day and will be raffling off a full session of music classes ($688 value) for our Winter/Spring 2014 session!
What: Halloween Costume Party for kids ages 4 months – 6 years
Where: TLB Music 266 East 78th Street (between 2nd and 3rd) NY, NY 10075
When: Wednesday, October 30th 2013
Time: come anytime between 2:30 – 5:00! We think most people will stay about an hour.
Tickets: $20 per child in advance | $25 per child at door | 50% off siblings
How to Purchase Tickets: Call 212-744-0404, email tlb@tlbmusic.com, or purchase tickets online at: www.tlbmusic.com/workshops-events/
