David Geffen Hall
100 Columbus Avenue | also 10 Lincoln Center Plaza, 132 West 65th Street, 60 Columbus Avenue | Lincoln Square | built 1964
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The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.
Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.
- 1962
Philharmonic Hall opens as the New York Philharmonic's home
Designed by Max Abramovitz, the hall opened on September 23, 1962, with a program that included the premiere of Samuel Barber's Piano Concerto. Acoustic problems troubled it for decades. It was renamed Avery Fisher Hall in 1973 after a $10.5 million gift and rebuilt inside in 1976 by acoustician Cyril Harris and architect Philip Johnson.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1963
Thelonious Monk records the first live jazz album at Philharmonic Hall
In December 1963 Monk, who had grown up a few blocks away in San Juan Hill, became the first jazz musician to record a live album in Philharmonic Hall, released as Big Band and Quartet in Concert. He returned to the hall for Newport Jazz Festival concerts in 1972 and 1975. Nina Simone also played here several times between 1966 and 1971.
Source: lincolncenter.org
- 1964
Miles Davis plays a civil rights benefit at Philharmonic Hall that becomes two live albums
Miles Davis leads his band at a civil rights fundraiser for voter registration in Louisiana and Mississippi, also seen as an unofficial tribute to the assassinated John F. Kennedy. The band, with 18-year-old Tony Williams and 23-year-old Herbie Hancock, argues just before showtime over whether to play for free. The recording of the night later becomes two live albums, My Funny Valentine and Four & More.
Source: npr.org
- 1964
Bob Dylan performs a concert at Philharmonic Hall
Folk singer Bob Dylan performs at Philharmonic Hall on October 31, 1964, one of several rock and pop bookings the classical concert hall hosts in its early years alongside a Miles Davis benefit concert and a later Simon & Garfunkel recording session.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1973
Avery Fisher's $10.5 million gift renames the hall
Philanthropist Avery Fisher donates $10.5 million to the New York Philharmonic, and Philharmonic Hall is renamed Avery Fisher Hall in his honor. The gift arrives as the hall still struggles with the acoustic complaints that had dogged it since its 1962 opening.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1974
Lincoln Center's chairman talks acoustician Cyril Harris into looking at the hall's plans
Amyas Ames, chairman of Lincoln Center, visits Cyril Harris in his apartment on December 4. Harris had not commented on the hall's acoustics for twelve years and at first refuses. Ames answers that he is saying no to everyone in the city who loves music, and Harris relents enough to offer to examine the architectural drawings. They are delivered to his apartment before noon.
Source: The New Yorker
- 1976
Acoustician Cyril Harris rebuilds the hall's interior to fix its sound
Acoustician Cyril Harris and architect Philip Johnson demolish and rebuild much of the hall's interior in 1976, aiming to fix acoustic problems that had plagued it since its 1962 opening. The renovation brings little improvement, and by 1977 Philharmonic musicians are said to be calling the venue "A Very Fishy Hall."
Source: Wikipedia
- 1992
Under Kurt Masur, maple panels go up to improve the hall's sound
Under Kurt Masur, the Philharmonic's music director, solid maple convex surfaces are fitted to the side walls and hung from the stage ceiling to improve the hall's acoustics. The wood was chosen to keep its grain pattern from showing, and the panels are filled with fiberglass to deaden vibrations. Like the 1976 rebuilding, the work brings only partial improvement.
“…several solid maple wood convex surfaces were installed on the side walls and suspended from the ceiling of the stage to improve acoustics.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 2003
Plan to move the Philharmonic to Carnegie Hall collapses after four months
The New York Philharmonic and Carnegie Hall announce they will not merge, four months after the idea surfaced. The plan had been driven by Carnegie's acoustics and by the price of renovating Fisher Hall, which could reach $400 million. The orchestra's executive director says Carnegie could not fit the 120 to 130 concerts it plays each season, so the orchestra stays at Lincoln Center.
Source: billboard.com
- 2015
Avery Fisher Hall is formally renamed for David Geffen after his $100 million gift
Lincoln Center unveils new David Geffen Hall signage on the building's south side as the Philharmonic opens its 2015-16 season. Chair Katherine Farley had announced the $100 million gift in March, hoping to fund a renovation. Geffen, a New York native, says he wishes his mother could have been there.
Source: playbill.com
- 2022
The rebuilt hall reopens as David Geffen Hall
Named for David Geffen after his $100 million gift in 2015, the hall reopened on October 8, 2022, after a $550 million renovation begun in 2020. The redesign cut seating to about 2,200, aimed at the acoustic problems that had dogged the hall since 1962, and added the Wu Tsai Theater, named for a $50 million donation.
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
- David Geffen HallWikipedia
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