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Aeolian Building (42nd Street)

Coordinates:40°45′16″N73°58′56″W/ 40.7544°N 73.9822°W/40.7544; -73.9822
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Not to be confused with689 Fifth Avenue,once known as the Aeolian Building.
Aeolian Building
Map
General information
LocationManhattan,New York City
Coordinates40°45′16″N73°58′56″W/ 40.7544°N 73.9822°W/40.7544; -73.9822
Opened1912
Height260 feet (79 m)
Technical details
Floor count18
Design and construction
Architect(s)Warren and Wetmore

TheAeolian Buildingis a skyscraper inMidtown ManhattaninNew York City,at 29–33West 42nd Streetand 34 West 43rd Street, just north ofBryant Park.The 1912 building was the fourth headquarters of theAeolian Company,which manufacturedpianosand other musical instruments.[a][2]the 18-story building contained the 1,100-seatAeolian Hall(1912–1927), a topconcert hallof its day.[3]The building stands next to theGrace Building.

History

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Gershwin'sRhapsody in Bluepremiered at Aeolian Hall in February 1924 (pictured here in 1923)

The building, on the site of theLatting Tower,a popularobservatoryduring the 19th century, was designed by the architectsWhitney Warren and Charles Wetmoreand completed in 1912. Its name refers to theAeolian Company,which manufactured pianos. It is 260 feet (79 m) high and has 18 floors.[4]In mid-1922, the company sold the building to the Schulte Cigar Stores Company for over $5 million.[5]

From 1961 to 1999, the building housed theGraduate Center of the City University of New York,and today houses theState University of New York's College of Optometry.[6]

Aeolian Hall

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The concert hall, which could seat 1,100 spectators, was on the 43rd Street side of the building, on the first and second floors.[7]

TheNew York Symphony Societyperformed concerts in both Aeolian Hall andCarnegie Hall,but moved in 1924 to the newMecca Auditoriumon55th Street.In 1923 American contraltoEdna Indermaurmade her singing debut at Aeolian Hall.[8]

From 1923 to 1926 the WJZ (nowWABC) studios were at Aeolian Hall, with towers atop the building.

Aeolian Hall also featured concerts by leading musical figures such as William Grant Still,Ottorino Respighi,Sergei Rachmaninoff,Beniamino Riccio,Josef Hofmann,Sergei Prokofiev,Ferruccio Busoni,Guiomar Novaes,Rebecca Clarke,May Mukle,Ignacy Jan PaderewskiandVladimir Rosing,as well asPaul Whitemanand His Orchestra. Upon its return to the United States after several years in Europe, theZoellner Quartetgave its first New York performance there on January 7, 1914.[9]

The hall is most famous for a concert given by Whiteman's orchestra on February 12, 1924, titled "An Experiment in Modern Music". Intended to be an educational demonstration on how far American music had progressed in recent decades and howjazzcould be performed in the concert hall, the concert included a suite byVictor Herbertand closed with thePomp and Circumstancemarches byEdward Elgar.The concert is remembered, however, for the penultimate piece, theworld premiereofGeorge Gershwin'sRhapsody in Bluewith the composer at the piano,orchestratedby Whiteman's arrangerFerde Grofe.This concert is today considered a defining event of theJazz Ageand the cultural history of New York City.[10]

The building continued to host concerts by theInternational Composers' Guildup to January 1926, at least, when the appearance ofAfrican AmericanBroadway performerFlorence Mills,singing jazz-based pieces byWilliam Grant Still,caused a minor sensation.Nadezhda Plevitskayareportedly delighted the Aeolian Hall audience with her Russian folk songs in April 1926.[11]

The concert hall closed in May 1927,[12]with a performance by violinist Leon Goldman.

References

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Notes

  1. ^The earlier buildings, all in Manhattan, were at 831 Broadway (1887–91), 18 West 23rd Street (1891–1902), and 362 Fifth Avenue (1902–12).[1]

Citations

  1. ^"The Aeolian Company".Radio Museum.April 29, 1924.Archivedfrom the original on March 1, 2021.RetrievedJuly 20,2021.
  2. ^"The Aeolian Building (Aeolian Hall), 33 West 42nd Street, ca. 1912".New York Historical Society – Digital Collections.Archivedfrom the original on September 11, 2021.RetrievedJuly 21,2021.
  3. ^"Aeolian Hall Sold".Time.August 11, 1924. Archived fromthe originalon December 23, 2007.RetrievedSeptember 5,2009.
  4. ^"Aeolian Hall Opening"ArchivedMarch 25, 2022, at theWayback Machine.The New York Times.October 13, 1912.
  5. ^Kozenko, Lisa A. (November 19, 2015)."Aeolian Hall, 1912–1927: 'A building without precedent'".The Gotham Center for New York City History.Archivedfrom the original on November 5, 2019.RetrievedNovember 5,2019.
  6. ^"Our Mission, Values and History".SUNY College of Optometry.2019.Archivedfrom the original on October 22, 2019.RetrievedNovember 5,2019.
  7. ^George Gershwin & The New Aeolian HallArchivedMay 27, 2016, at theWayback Machine(video); floor plans at 1:00–1:10.
  8. ^Thorold, W.J.; Hornblow, A.; Maxwell, P.; Beach, S. (1923)."Edna Indermaur".Theatre Magazine.No. v. 37. Theatre Magazine Company. p. 36.Archivedfrom the original on February 12, 2024.RetrievedNovember 5,2019.
  9. ^"Zoellner Quartet Plays"(PDF).The New York Times.January 8, 1914.Archived(PDF)from the original on June 16, 2022.
  10. ^"The Whiteman Concert of 1924 Lives On".The New York Times.February 15, 1987.Archivedfrom the original on November 5, 2019.RetrievedNovember 5,2019.
  11. ^"Social News".The New York Times.April 3, 1926, page 14.
  12. ^The New York Times.May 1, 1927.
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