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Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall is a concert hall located at the southeast corner of Seventh Avenue and 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park, in New York City. It is one of the most significant venues for classical as well as popular music in the United States. Opened in 1891, this historical structure is known not just for its beauty and history but also for its fine acoustics. After the Civil War, Americans became transfixed with music. Thus the need for a suitable concert hall arose in the minds of New Yorkers which led to the construction of Carnegie Hall. This heritage building, located in New York State, was constructed and named for its principal benefactor, ^Andrew Carnegie^. The chief architect was William Burnet Tuthill, who designed the building in a revivalist brick and brownstone Italian Renaissance style. Carnegie Hall is made up of three distinct structures - the Main Hall, the Chamber Music Hall, and the Recital Hall. The Main Hall has a seating capacity of 2,804. This large and tall hall has a balcony which can be reached by an elevator as it is difficult for visitors to climb 105 steps from the ground floor to reach there. The main hall’s lobbies are adorned with signed portraits and memorabilia. In 1996, the hall was dedicated as the Isaac Stern Auditorium. The Chamber Music Hall lies on the third floor of Carnegie Hall. This 268 seated elegant auditorium evokes a Belle Epoque salon and is remarkable for the symmetry of its proportions and the beauty of its decorations. It is an intimate auditorium ideal for recitals, chamber music concerts, symposia, discussions, and master classes. In 1986, the Chamber Music Hall was renamed as the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Recital Hall. A studio floor and a 10-story tower were also added in the same year. The Recital Hall, the third one, is now known as Judy and Arthur Zankel Hall. It was leased to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1895 and was used as a theater by various groups until the early 1960s, when it was converted to a cinema. The interior of Carnegie Hall contains marble in its foyer with great slanting arches in the ceiling and the doors. In the corners of the foyer there are columns with intricate carvings. The exterior portion is comprised of bricks which give the building a reddish hue. The building was extensively renovated between 1983 and 1995, by James Polshek. In 1987-1989, a 60-floor office tower, named Carnegie Hall Tower, was completed next to the hall on the same block. The Rose Museum that chronicles Carnegie Hall's history and exhibits its archival treasures was opened as part of Carnegie Hall's 100th anniversary celebration in 1991. The Carnegie Hall Archives, which documents the various aspects of the Hall's history, is a later addition.