Aeolian Building (42nd Street)

The Aeolian Building is a skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, at 29–33 West 42nd Street and 34 West 43rd Street, just north of Bryant Park. The 1912 building was the fourth headquarters of the Aeolian Company, which manufactured pianos and other musical instruments.^{[lower-alpha 1][2]} the 18-story building contained the 1,100-seat Aeolian Hall (1912–1927), a top concert hall of its day.^[3] The building stands next to the Grace Building.

Not to be confused with 689 Fifth Avenue, once known as the Aeolian Building.

Aeolian Building
General information
Location	Manhattan, New York City
Coordinates	40.7544°N 73.9822°W / 40.7544; -73.9822
Opened	1912
Height	260 feet (79 m)
Technical details
Floor count	18
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Warren and Wetmore

History

Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue premiered at Aeolian Hall in February 1924 (pictured here in 1923)

The building, on the site of the Latting Tower, a popular observatory during the 19th century, was designed by the architects Whitney Warren and Charles Wetmore and completed in 1912. Its name refers to the Aeolian 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 the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and today houses the State University of New York's College of Optometry.^[6]

Aeolian Hall

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]

The New York Symphony Society performed concerts in both Aeolian Hall and Carnegie Hall, but moved in 1924 to the new Mecca Auditorium on 55th Street. In 1923 American contralto Edna Indermaur made her singing debut at Aeolian Hall.^[8]

From 1923 to 1926 the WJZ (now WABC) 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 Paderewski and Vladimir Rosing, as well as Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra. Upon its return to the United States after several years in Europe, the Zoellner Quartet gave 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 how jazz could be performed in the concert hall, the concert included a suite by Victor Herbert and closed with the Pomp and Circumstance marches by Edward Elgar. The concert is remembered, however, for the penultimate piece, the world premiere of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with the composer at the piano, orchestrated by Whiteman's arranger Ferde Grofe. This concert is today considered a defining event of the Jazz Age and the cultural history of New York City.^[10]

The building continued to host concerts by the International Composers' Guild up to January 1926, at least, when the appearance of African American Broadway performer Florence Mills, singing jazz-based pieces by William Grant Still, caused a minor sensation. Nadezhda Plevitskaya reportedly 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

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. Archived from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
2. "The Aeolian Building (Aeolian Hall), 33 West 42nd Street, ca. 1912". New York Historical Society – Digital Collections. Archived from the original on September 11, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
3. "Aeolian Hall Sold". Time. August 11, 1924. Archived from the original on December 23, 2007. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
4. "Aeolian Hall Opening" Archived March 25, 2022, at the Wayback 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. Archived from the original on November 5, 2019. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
6. "Our Mission, Values and History". SUNY College of Optometry. 2019. Archived from the original on October 22, 2019. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
7. George Gershwin & The New Aeolian Hall Archived May 27, 2016, at the Wayback 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. Archived from the original on February 12, 2024. Retrieved November 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. Archived from the original on November 5, 2019. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
11. "Social News". The New York Times. April 3, 1926, page 14.
12. The New York Times. May 1, 1927.

External links

• George Gershwin & The New Aeolian Hall (video)
• Aeolian Hall organ specifications: "Aeolian Hall located at 29 West 42nd Street". The New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Archived from the original on October 12, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2021.