View source for Carnegie Hall

{{Short description|Concert venue in Manhattan, New York}}
{{Hatnote group|{{distinguish|Carnegie Hill}}
{{other uses}}}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox venue
| name = Carnegie Hall
| image = Carnegie Hall - Full (48155558466).jpg
| image_size =
| image_alt =
| caption = Carnegie Hall in 2019
| address = 881 [[Seventh Avenue (Manhattan)|Seventh Avenue]] (at [[57th Street (Manhattan)|57th Street]])
| city = [[Manhattan]], New York
| country = United States
| designation =
| architect = [[William Tuthill]]
| builder = [[Andrew Carnegie]]
| owner = [[Government of New York City]]
| tenant =
| operator = Carnegie Hall Corporation
| capacity = Stern Auditorium: 2,790<br />Zankel Hall: 599<br />Weill Recital Hall: 268
| type = [[List of concert halls|Concert hall]]
| opened = {{Start date and age|1891|04}}
| reopened =
| yearsactive =
| rebuilt =
| closed =
| demolished =
| othernames =
| production =
| currentuse =
| publictransit = '''[[New York City Subway|Subway]]:''' [[57th Street–Seventh Avenue station|57th Street–Seventh Avenue]] {{NYCS Broadway|time=bullets}}
| website = [https://www.carnegiehall.org/ carnegiehall.org]
| embedded = {{Infobox NRHP
| name                     = Carnegie Hall
| embed                    = yes
| nrhp_type                = nhl
| coordinates              = {{coord|40|45|54|N|73|58|48|W|region:US-NY_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| area                     =
| built                    =
| architect                =
| architecture             = [[Renaissance Revival architecture|Renaissance Revival]]
| designated_nrhp_type     = December 29, 1962<ref name="nhlsum">{{cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=387&ResourceType=Building|title=Carnegie Hall|date=September 9, 2007|website=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071106090549/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=387&ResourceType=Building|archive-date=November 6, 2007}}</ref>
| added                    = October 15, 1966<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2007a|refnum=66000535}}</ref>
| visitation_num           =
| visitation_year          =
| refnum                   = 66000535
| mpsub                    =
| designated_other1        = New York State Register of Historic Places
| designated_other1_abbr   = NYSRHP
| designated_other1_date   = June 23, 1980
| designated_other1_number = 06101.000409
| designated_other1_num_position = bottom
| designated_other2        = New York City Landmark
| designated_other2_date   = June 20, 1967
| designated_other2_abbr   = NYCL
| designated_other2_number = 0278
}}
}}

'''Carnegie Hall''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɑːr|n|ᵻ|ɡ|i}} {{respell|KAR|nig|ee}})<ref>{{cite web|title=American English: ''Carnegie Hall''|url=https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/carnegie-hall|website=Macmillan Dictionary|access-date=August 27, 2020|archive-date=September 20, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150920034718/http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/carnegie-hall|url-status=live}}; {{cite web|title=''Carnegie Hall'' in British English|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/carnegie-hall|website=Collins English Dictionary|access-date=August 27, 2020|archive-date=September 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150922063504/http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/carnegie-hall|url-status=live}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|name=first|Although founder [[Andrew Carnegie]] pronounced his surname {{IPAc-en|k|ɑr|ˈ|n|ɛ|ɡ|i}} {{respell|kar|NEG|ee}}, with the stress on the second syllable, the building is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable of ''Carnegie''.<ref>{{cite web|title=History of the Hall: History FAQ|url=http://www.carnegiehall.org/History/History-FAQ/|publisher=Carnegie Hall|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607201729/http://www.carnegiehall.org/History/History-FAQ/|archive-date=June 7, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>}} is a concert venue at 881 [[Seventh Avenue (Manhattan)|Seventh Avenue]], between [[56th Street (Manhattan)|56th]] and [[57th Street (Manhattan)|57th Streets]], in [[Midtown Manhattan]], New York City. Designed by architect [[William Burnet Tuthill]] and built by its namesake, industrialist and philanthropist [[Andrew Carnegie]], the venue is one of the most prestigious in the world for both classical music and popular music. Carnegie Hall has its own artistic programming, development, and marketing departments and presents about 250 performances each season. It is also rented out to performing groups.

The Carnegie Hall complex has 3,671 seats divided among three auditoriums. The largest one is the Stern Auditorium, a five-story auditorium with 2,790 seats. Also part of the complex are the 599-seat Zankel Hall, located below ground on Seventh Avenue, as well as the 268-seat Joan and Sanford I. Weill Recital Hall on 57th Street. Besides the auditoriums, Carnegie Hall contains offices on its top stories.

Carnegie Hall, originally the Music Hall, was constructed between 1889 and 1891 as a venue shared by the [[Oratorio Society of New York]] and the [[New York Symphony Society]]. The hall was owned by the Carnegie family until 1925, after which Robert E. Simon and then his son, [[Robert E. Simon]] Jr., became owner. Carnegie Hall was proposed for demolition in the 1950s in advance of the [[New York Philharmonic]] relocating to [[Lincoln Center]] in 1962, but was saved by a public campaign led by [[Isaac Stern]]. Though Carnegie Hall is designated a [[National Historic Landmark]] and protected by the [[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]], it has not had a resident company since the New York Philharmonic moved out. Carnegie Hall was renovated multiple times throughout its history, including in the 1940s and 1980s.

== Site ==
Carnegie Hall is on the east side of [[Seventh Avenue (Manhattan)|Seventh Avenue]] between [[56th Street (Manhattan)|56th Street]] and [[57th Street (Manhattan)|57th Street]], two blocks south of [[Central Park]], in [[Midtown Manhattan]], New York City.<ref name="NYCityMap">{{Cite web|title=NYCityMap|url=http://maps.nyc.gov/|access-date=March 20, 2020|website=NYC.gov|publisher=[[New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications]]|archive-date=February 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210219214900/http://maps.nyc.gov/doitt/nycitymap/|url-status=live}}</ref> The site covers {{convert|27,618|ft2||abbr=}}. Its [[Land lot|lot]] is {{Convert|200|ft||abbr=}} wide, covering the entire width of the block between 56th Street to the south and 57th Street to the north, and extends {{Convert|150|ft||abbr=}} eastward from Seventh Avenue.<ref>{{Cite web|title=881 7 Avenue, 10019|url=https://zola.planning.nyc.gov/l/lot/1/1009/1#16.59/40.765008/-73.978097|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=[[New York City Department of City Planning]]|archive-date=June 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626153842/https://zola.planning.nyc.gov/l/lot/1/1009/1#16.59/40.765008/-73.978097|url-status=live}}</ref>

Carnegie Hall shares the [[city block]] with the [[Carnegie Hall Tower]], [[Russian Tea Room]], and [[Metropolitan Tower (Manhattan)|Metropolitan Tower]] to the east. It is [[wikt:cater-corner|cater-corner]] from [[the Osborne]] apartment building. It also faces the [[Rodin Studios]] and [[888 Seventh Avenue]] to the west; [[Alwyn Court]], [[The Briarcliffe]], the [[165 West 57th Street|Louis H. Chalif Normal School of Dancing]], and [[One57]] to the north; the [[Park Central Hotel]] to the southwest; and [[CitySpire]] and [[New York City Center]] to the southeast.<ref name="NYCityMap" /> Right outside the hall is an entrance to the [[New York City Subway]]'s [[57th Street–Seventh Avenue station]], served by the {{NYCS trains|Broadway}}.<ref>{{cite web|date=2018|title=MTA Neighborhood Maps: 57 St 7 Av (N)(Q)(R)(W)|url=https://new.mta.info/document/2001|access-date=September 13, 2018|website=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority|mta.info]]|publisher=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]]|archive-date=February 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224211132/https://new.mta.info/document/2001|url-status=live}}</ref>

Carnegie Hall is part of a former artistic hub around a two-block section of West 57th Street between [[Sixth Avenue]] and [[Broadway (Manhattan)|Broadway]]. The hub had been developed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its opening in 1891 directly contributed to the development of the hub.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|date=May 9, 1999|title=Streetscapes /57th Street Between Avenue of the Americas and Seventh Avenue; High and Low Notes of a Block With a Musical Bent|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/09/realestate/streetscapes-57th-street-between-avenue-americas-seventh-avenue-high-low-notes.html|access-date=November 18, 2020|archive-date=November 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127115151/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/09/realestate/streetscapes-57th-street-between-avenue-americas-seventh-avenue-high-low-notes.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=November 13, 2001|title=Steinway Hall|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2100.pdf|access-date=November 12, 2020|publisher=[[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]]|pages=6–7|archive-date=November 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109230241/http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2100.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite fednyc|page=232}}</ref> The area contains several buildings constructed as residences for artists and musicians, such as [[130 West 57th Street|130]] and [[140 West 57th Street]], the Osborne, and the Rodin Studios. In addition, the area contained the headquarters of organizations such as the [[American Fine Arts Society]], the [[Lotos Club]], and the [[American Society of Civil Engineers]].<ref>{{cite web|date=December 16, 2008|title=Society House of the American Society of Civil Engineers|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2297.pdf|publisher=[[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]]|page=2|access-date=December 4, 2020|archive-date=August 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210823005513/http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2297.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> By the 21st century, the artistic hub had largely been replaced with [[Billionaires' Row]], a series of luxury skyscrapers around the southern end of [[Central Park]].<ref>{{cite web | last=Scher | first=Robin | title='Round 57th Street: New York's First Gallery District Continues (for Now) to Weather Endless Changes in the Art World | website=ARTnews | date=July 19, 2016 | url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/market/round-57th-street-new-yorks-first-gallery-district-continues-for-now-to-weather-endless-changes-in-the-art-world-6685/ | access-date=June 13, 2024}}</ref>

== Architecture and venues ==
[[File:Carnegie Hall at night.jpg|thumb|Original building at night]]
Carnegie Hall was designed by [[William Tuthill]], along with [[Richard Morris Hunt]] and [[Adler & Sullivan]],<ref name="NY1880" /><ref name="nyt18890719" /> in a modified [[Renaissance architecture|Italian Renaissance]] style.<ref name="NYCL-0278">{{cite web |date=May 10, 1966 |title=Carnegie Hall |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/0278.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727090801/http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/0278.pdf |archive-date=July 27, 2020 |access-date=March 13, 2020 |publisher=[[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]]}}</ref><ref name="rer18901227">{{cite magazine |date=December 27, 1890 |title=The Carnegie Music Hall |url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vollist=1&vol=ldpd_7031148_006&page=ldpd_7031148_006_00001013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818212044/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vollist=1&vol=ldpd_7031148_006&page=ldpd_7031148_006_00001013 |archive-date=August 18, 2021 |access-date=August 18, 2021 |journal=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide |pages=867–868 |via=[[Columbia University|columbia.edu]] |volume=46 |number=1189}}</ref><ref name="nycland">{{cite nycland|page=126}}</ref> While the 34-year-old Tuthill was relatively unknown as an architect, he was an amateur cellist and a singer, which may have led to him getting the commission.<ref name="NY1880" /> [[Dankmar Adler]] of Adler & Sullivan, on the other hand, was an experienced designer of music halls and theaters; he served as the acoustical consultant.<ref name="NY1880" /><ref name="p573493968" /> Carnegie Hall was constructed with heavy masonry [[Load-bearing wall|bearing walls]], as lighter structural steel framework was not widely used when the building was completed.<ref>{{cite web|date=May 28, 2016|title=1891 Andrew Carnegie's new Music Hall opens – Carnegie Hall|url=http://www.carnegiehall.org/History/Timeline/Timeline.aspx?id=4294968416|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528220247/http://www.carnegiehall.org/History/Timeline/Timeline.aspx?id=4294968416|archive-date=May 28, 2016|access-date=August 18, 2021|website=carnegiehall.org}}</ref> The walls measure {{Convert|4|ft}} thick in some places, while the floor slabs, {{Convert|2|ft}} thick, are made of cement and hollow tiles.<ref name="p1114645321">{{cite news |date=9 July 1933 |title=Carnegie Hall a Fortress With Walls 4 Feet Thick: Floors Two Feet Through Discovered by Workmen |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=H2 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1114645321}}}}</ref>

Carnegie Hall is composed of three structures arranged in an "L" shape; each structure contains one of the hall's performance spaces. The original building, which houses the Isaac Stern Auditorium, is an eight-story rectangular building at the corner of Seventh Avenue and 57th Street,<ref name="NPS p. 2" /> measuring {{Convert|150|ft}} along the street and {{Convert|175|ft}} along the avenue.<ref name="TL p. 145">{{harvnb|Tauranac|1985|ps=.|page=145}}</ref> The 16-story eastern wing contains the Weill Recital Hall and is located along 57th Street. The 13-story southern wing, at Seventh Avenue and 56th Street, contains Zankel Hall. Except at the eighth floor, all three structures have floor levels at different heights.<ref name="NPS p. 2">{{harvnb|National Park Service|1962|ps=.|p=2}}</ref>

=== Facade ===
Carnegie Hall was designed from the outset with a facade of Roman brick.<ref name="NYCL-0278" /><ref name="p573484756" /> The facade was decorated with a large amount of Renaissance details. Most of the exterior walls are covered in reddish brown brick, though decorative elements such as [[band course]]s, [[pilaster]]s, and [[arch]]es are made of [[architectural terracotta]] originally by the [[New York Architectural Terra-Cotta Company]].<ref name="NYCL-0278" /><ref name="rer18901227" /> As originally designed, the terracotta and brick were both brown, and the pitched roof was made of corrugated black tile,<ref name="rer18901227" /> but this was later replaced with the eighth floor.<ref name="NPS p. 2" />[[File:Carnegie Hall - Entrance (48155558951).jpg|thumb|The main entrance has five arches at the first floor and its mezzanine, with another arcade above it.]]
The original section of the building is divided into three horizontal sections. The lowest section of the building comprises the first floor and the first-floor mezzanine, above which is a heavy [[cornice]] with [[modillion]]s. The main entrance of Carnegie Hall is placed in what was originally the center of the primary facade on 57th Street. It consists of an [[Arcade (architecture)|arcade]] with five large arches, originally separated by granite pilasters.<ref name="rer18901227" /><ref name="p94939305">{{cite news|date=May 6, 1891|title=It Stood the Test Well: the First Concert in the New Music Hall. Its Acoustic Properties Found to Be Adequate – a Russian Composer Warmly Greeted – Bishop Potter as a Lover of Music|page=5|newspaper=The New York Times|id={{ProQuest|94939305}}}}</ref> An entablature, with the words "Music Hall Founded by Andrew Carnegie", runs across the loggia at the [[Springer (architecture)|springing]] of the arches. The center three arches lead directly to the Stern Auditorium's lobby, while the two outer arches lead to staircases to upper floors. On either side of the main entrance are smaller doorways (one on the west and two on the east), topped by blank panels at the mezzanine. There are five similar doorways on Seventh Avenue.<ref name="p94939305" /> The original backstage entrance is on 161 West 56th Street.<ref name="nyt19860831">{{Cite news|last=Kraus|first=Lucy|date=August 31, 1986|title=The Carnegie Hall of the Future|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/08/31/arts/the-carnegie-hall-of-the-future.html|access-date=August 20, 2021|archive-date=August 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820015008/https://www.nytimes.com/1986/08/31/arts/the-carnegie-hall-of-the-future.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

On the third and fourth floors, above the main entrance, is a two-and-a-half story arcade on 57th Street with five round-headed arches. A balcony with a [[balustrade]] is carried on [[console bracket]]s in front of this arcade.<ref name="p94939305" /> Each arch has a horizontal terracotta [[Transom (architecture)|transom]] bar above the third floor; two third-floor windows separated by a Corinthian column; and two fourth-floor windows separated by a pilaster. A broad [[terracotta]] frieze runs above the fourth floor, at the springing of the arches.<ref name="rer18901227" /><ref name="p94939305" /> To either side of the arcade, there are two tall round-arched windows on the second floor; those on the east flank a blind arch.<ref name="p94939305" /> There are pairs of pilasters on the fourth-floor mezzanine, above which is a string course. The Seventh Avenue facade is similar in design, but instead of window openings, there are blind openings filled with brick.<ref name="rer18901227" /><ref name="p94939305" /> Additionally, the arcade at the center of the Seventh Avenue facade has four arches instead of five.<ref name="rer18901227" />

The sixth floor, at the center of the 57th Street facade, contains five square openings, each with a pair of round-arched windows. On either side of these five openings, there are round-arched windows, arranged as in a shallow [[loggia]].<ref name="rer18901227" /><ref name="p94939305" /> There are four arched windows on the eastern portion of the sixth floor, as well as two arches on the west portion, which flank a blind arch.<ref name="p94939305" /> A frieze and cornice run above this floor.<ref name="rer18901227" /> The seventh floor was originally a mansard roof.<ref name="nycland" /> As part of an 1890s alteration, the mansard was replaced with a vertical wall resembling a continuous arcade. The seventh floor is topped by balustrades with decorated columns. The flat roof was converted into a roof garden with kitchen and service rooms.<ref name="p573728011">{{cite news|date=December 28, 1892|title=For a Bigger Music Hall: Elaborate Plans of Reconstruction There Will Be High Tower and Other Changes Will Be Made|page=7|newspaper=New-York Tribune|id={{ProQuest|573728011}}}}</ref><ref name="nyt18921228">{{Cite news|date=December 28, 1892|title=Addition to Music Hall; Work Planned That Will Make a Great Improvement. Better Exterior Appearance Promised and Much More Room – a Lofty Tower of Unique Design – Garden on the Roof – New Concert Room and Studios|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1892/12/28/archives/addition-to-music-hall-work-planned-that-will-make-a-great.html|access-date=August 20, 2021|archive-date=August 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820013950/https://www.nytimes.com/1892/12/28/archives/addition-to-music-hall-work-planned-that-will-make-a-great.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Carnegie Hall was also extended to the corner of Seventh Avenue and 56th Street, where a 13-story addition was designed in a similar style as the original building. The top of this addition contains a main dome, as well as smaller domes at its four corners.<ref name="nyt18921228" />

=== Venues ===

==== Main Hall (Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage) ====
The Stern Auditorium is six stories high with 2,790 seats<ref name="Carnegie Hall w744">{{cite web | title=Where is the best seat at Carnegie Hall? | website=Carnegie Hall | date=October 26, 2025 | url=https://www.carnegiehall.org/Explore/Articles/2022/04/04/Where-is-the-best-seat-at-Carnegie-Hall | access-date=October 26, 2025}}</ref> on five levels.<ref>{{cite web|date=October 15, 1966|title=Carnegie Hall|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/5b82f3e2-d183-472f-88f1-e4c82ffca307|access-date=March 13, 2020|publisher=[[National Register of Historic Places]], [[National Park Service]]|archive-date=July 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727084027/https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/5b82f3e2-d183-472f-88f1-e4c82ffca307|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Page p. 18">{{harvnb|Page|2011|p=18|ps=.}}</ref> Originally known as the main auditorium, it was renamed after violinist [[Isaac Stern]] in 1997 to recognize his efforts to save the hall from demolition in the 1960s.<ref>{{cite web|date=September 23, 2013|title=The A to Z of Carnegie Hall: S is for Stern|url=http://www.carnegiehall.org/BlogPost.aspx?id=4294989134|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709115621/https://www.carnegiehall.org/BlogPost.aspx?id=4294989134|archive-date=July 9, 2017|access-date=November 14, 2014|publisher=Carnegie Hall}}</ref> The main auditorium was originally planned to fit 3,300 guests, including two tiers of boxes, two balconies, and a [[wikt:parquet|parquet]] seating 1,200.<ref name="nyt18890719" /><ref name="rer18890720">{{cite magazine|date=July 20, 1889|title=Men and Things|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vollist=1&vol=ldpd_7031148_004&page=ldpd_7031148_004_00000118|journal=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=44|page=1017|via=[[Columbia University|columbia.edu]]|number=1114|access-date=August 18, 2021|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818152705/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vollist=1&vol=ldpd_7031148_004&page=ldpd_7031148_004_00000118|url-status=live}}</ref> The main hall accommodated the performances of the [[New York Philharmonic]] from 1892<ref name="Page p. 19" /> to 1962, when the Philharmonic moved to [[Lincoln Center]].<ref name=nyt-1962-05-21>{{Cite news|date=May 21, 1962|title=Philharmonic Cheered In Carnegie Hall Finale|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/05/21/archives/philharmonic-cheered-in-carnegie-hall-finale.html|access-date=April 23, 2023}}</ref>

Its entrance is through the Box Office Lobby on 57th Street near Seventh Avenue.<ref>{{cite web|title=Parking & Directions|url=https://www.carnegiehall.org/Visit/Directions-and-Parking|access-date=August 18, 2021|website=Carnegie Hall|archive-date=October 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211005021520/https://www.carnegiehall.org/Visit/Directions-and-Parking|url-status=live}}</ref> When planned in 1889, this entrance was designed with a marble and mosaic vestibule measuring {{Convert|25|ft}} high and {{Convert|70|ft}} long.<ref name="rer18890720" /><ref name="nyt18890719" /> The entrance lobby is three stories high and had an organ loft at the top, which was converted into a lounge area by the mid-20th century.<ref name="NPS p. 2" /> The lobby ceiling was designed as a [[barrel vault]], containing [[soffit]]s with heavy [[coffer]]s and cross-arches, and was painted white with gold decorations. At either end of the barrel vault were lunettes. The walls were painted salmon and had pairs of gray-marble pilasters supporting an entablature. The cross-arches had decorated cream-colored [[Tympanum (architecture)|tympana]].<ref name="p94939305" /> The lobby was originally several feet above street level, but it was lowered to street level in the 1980s.<ref name="Oculus 1986-03">{{cite magazine|date=Mar 1986|title=Carnegie Hall's New Lobby|url=https://usmodernist.org/AIANY/AIANY-1986-03.pdf|journal=Oculus|volume=48|pages=3–11|number=7|access-date=August 20, 2021|archive-date=January 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130215841/https://usmodernist.org/AIANY/AIANY-1986-03.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Shepard 1986">{{Cite news|last=Shepard|first=Joan|date=December 15, 1986|title=Encore for Carnegie Hall|page=101|newspaper=[[New York Daily News]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83713265/encore-for-carnegie-hall/|access-date=August 19, 2021|archive-date=August 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819012949/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83713265/encore-for-carnegie-hall/|url-status=live}}</ref> The rebuilt lobby contains geometric decorations evocative by the work of [[Charles Rennie Mackintosh]], as well as [[Corinthian order|Corinthian]]-style [[Capital (architecture)|capitals]] with lighting fixtures.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 732" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Goldberger|first=Paul|date=September 8, 1983|title=Architecture: Carnegie Hall Restoration, Phase 1|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/08/arts/architecture-carnegie-hall-restoration-phase-1.html|access-date=August 21, 2021|archive-date=August 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210821151425/https://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/08/arts/architecture-carnegie-hall-restoration-phase-1.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The design also includes ticket windows on the south wall of the lobby. Past that, stairs on either side lead to the auditorium's parquet level; previously, stairs continued straight from the lobby to the parquet level.<ref name="Oculus 1986-03" />

[[File:Carnegie-hall-isaac-stern.jpg|thumb|left|Isaac Stern Auditorium]]

All but the top level can be reached by elevator; the top balcony is 137 steps above parquet level.<ref>{{cite web|title=Information: Accessibility|url=http://www.carnegiehall.org/Information/Accessibility/|access-date=November 14, 2014|publisher=Carnegie Hall|archive-date=September 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916154355/https://www.carnegiehall.org/Information/Accessibility/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Page p. 20">{{harvnb|Page|2011|p=20|ps=.}}</ref> The lowest level is the parquet level, which has twenty-five full rows of thirty-eight seats and four partial rows at stage level, for a total of 1,021 seats.<ref name="rentals" /> The parquet was designed with eleven exits to a corridor that entirely surrounded it; the corridor, in turn, led to the main entrance vestibule on 57th Street.<ref name="p573484756">{{cite news|date=September 10, 1889|title=The New Music Hall Plans: a Fine Building to Be Erected It Will Be Ready for the World's Fair—architectural Features and Interior Arrangements|page=7|newspaper=New-York Tribune|id={{ProQuest|573484756}}}}</ref> The first and second tiers consist of sixty-five boxes; the first tier has 264 seats, eight per box, and the second tier has 238 seats, six to eight per box.<ref name="rentals" /> As designed, the first tier of boxes was entirely open, while the second tier was partially enclosed, with open boxes on either end.<ref name="p573484756" /> The third tier above the parquet is the Dress Circle, seating 444 in six rows; the first two rows form an almost-complete semicircle. The fourth and the highest tier, the balcony, seats 837. Although seats with obstructed views exist throughout the auditorium, only the Dress Circle level has structural columns.<ref name="rentals">{{cite web|last1=Carnegie Hall|title=Stern Auditorium-Perelman Stage Rentals|url=http://www.carnegiehall.org/Rentals/Stern-Auditorium-Perelman-Stage-Rentals/|access-date=May 5, 2015|ref=rentals|archive-date=March 21, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321150319/http://www.carnegiehall.org/Rentals/Stern-Auditorium-Perelman-Stage-Rentals/|url-status=live}}</ref> An elliptic arch rises from the Dress Circle level; along with a corresponding arch at the rear of the auditorium, it supports the ceiling.<ref name="p94939305" />

The Ronald O. Perelman Stage is {{Convert|42|ft}} deep.<ref name="rentals" /> It was originally designed with six tiers that could be raised and lowered hydraulically.<ref name="rer18890720" /> The walls around the stage contain pilasters. The ceiling above the stage was designed as an ellipse, and the soffits of the ceiling were originally outfitted with lights.<ref name="p94939305" /> Originally, there were no stage wings; the backstage entrance from 56th Street led directly to a small landing just below the stage, while the dressing room was above the stage. During a 1980s renovation, a stage wing, orchestra room, and dressing rooms were added and the access to the stage was reconfigured.<ref name="nyt19860831" />

==== Zankel Hall ====
Zankel Hall, located below ground on the Seventh Avenue side of the building, is named after Judy and Arthur Zankel, who funded a renovation of the venue.<ref name="nyt20000130">{{cite news|last=Dunlap|first=David W.|author-link=David W. Dunlap|date=January 30, 2000|title=Carnegie Hall Grows the Only Way It Can; Burrowing Into Bedrock, Crews Carve Out a New Auditorium|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/30/nyregion/carnegie-hall-grows-only-way-it-can-burrowing-into-bedrock-crews-carve-new.html|access-date=November 14, 2014|archive-date=November 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120115032/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/30/nyregion/carnegie-hall-grows-only-way-it-can-burrowing-into-bedrock-crews-carve-new.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Kinneberg|first=Caroline|title=Judy and Arthur Zankel Hall|url=https://nymag.com/listings/attraction/Zankel-Hall/|access-date=August 18, 2021|website=NYMag.com|archive-date=March 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306090014/https://nymag.com/listings/attraction/Zankel-Hall/|url-status=live}}</ref> Originally called simply Recital Hall, this was the first auditorium to open to the public in April 1891. It had a balcony, elevated side galleries, a beamed ceiling, and removable seats.<ref name="nyt19980103">{{Cite news|last=Blumenthal|first=Ralph|author-link=Ralph Blumenthal|date=January 3, 1998|title=In the Offing, Another Hall In Carnegie's Basement|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/03/arts/in-the-offing-another-hall-in-carnegie-s-basement.html|access-date=August 19, 2021|archive-date=August 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819182657/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/03/arts/in-the-offing-another-hall-in-carnegie-s-basement.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The space was an oratorio hall capable of accommodating over 1,000 people, and it could double as a banquet hall.<ref name="p573484756" /><ref name="nyt19980103" /> There was a full kitchen service,<ref name="nyt19980103" /> as well as a [[dais]] on either side.<ref name="nyt18890719" /><ref name="rer18890720" /> The space was originally designed with dimensions of {{Convert|90|by|96|ft}}.<ref name="nyt18890719" /> Following renovations made in 1896, it was renamed Carnegie Lyceum. It was leased to the [[American Academy of Dramatic Arts]] in 1896, then converted into the Carnegie Hall Cinema in May 1961.<ref name="nyt20000130" /><ref name="Carnegie Hall 2" /> The venue became a performance space in 1997.<ref name="nyt20000130" /><ref name="UPI 2003">{{cite web|date=September 15, 2003|title=At Carnegie Hall, music goes underground|url=https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2003/09/15/At-Carnegie-Hall-music-goes-underground/48201063666309/|access-date=August 21, 2021|website=UPI|archive-date=January 9, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109212923/http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2003/09/15/At-Carnegie-Hall-music-goes-underground/48201063666309/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The completely reconstructed Zankel Hall opened in September 2003.<ref name=Muschamp>{{cite news|last=Muschamp|first=Herbert|author-link=Herbert Muschamp|title=Architecture Review; Zankel Hall, Carnegie's Buried Treasure|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 12, 2003|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/12/movies/architecture-review-zankel-hall-carnegie-s-buried-treasure.html|access-date=November 14, 2014|archive-date=November 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120063142/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/12/movies/architecture-review-zankel-hall-carnegie-s-buried-treasure.html|url-status=live}}</ref> It is accessed from Seventh Avenue,<ref name="UPI 2003" /> where there is a marquee.<ref name="nyt19990112">{{Cite news|last=Kozinn|first=Allan|author-link=Allan Kozinn|date=January 12, 1999|title=A New Stage and Lineup for Concerts at Carnegie|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/12/arts/a-new-stage-and-lineup-for-concerts-at-carnegie.html|access-date=August 19, 2021|archive-date=August 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819182701/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/12/arts/a-new-stage-and-lineup-for-concerts-at-carnegie.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="AR 2005-01">{{cite magazine|last=Weathersby| first=William Jr. |date=Jan 2005|title=Zankel Hall, New York City|url=https://usmodernist.org/AR/AR-2005-01.pdf|journal=Architectural Record|volume=193|pages=157–161|access-date=August 21, 2021|archive-date=November 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127195114/https://usmodernist.org/AR/AR-2005-01.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Two escalators lead down to the balcony and orchestra levels.<ref name="UPI 2003" /> The venue can be configured with the stage at either one end of the hall or in the center.<ref name="nyt19990112" /><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Lewis|first=Julia Einspruch|date=Mar 1999|title=A new stage for a hallowed hall|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015013161651&view=1up&seq=8|journal=Interior Design|volume=70|issue=4|page=35|access-date=August 19, 2021|archive-date=August 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819182521/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015013161651&view=1up&seq=8|url-status=live}}</ref> This is accomplished through the division of the floor into nine sections, each {{Convert|45|ft}} wide with a separate lift underneath.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 733" /> There are 599 seats in Zankel Hall,<ref name="Page p. 18" /><ref name="Carnegie Hall 2" /> spread across two levels. The parterre level seats a total of 463 and the mezzanine level seats 136. Each level has several [[Box (theatre)|boxes]] perpendicular to the stage; there are 54 seats in six boxes on the parterre level and 48 seats in four boxes on the mezzanine level. The boxes on the parterre level are raised above the level of the stage. Zankel Hall is wheelchair-accessible. Its stage is {{convert|44|ft}} wide and {{convert|25|ft}} deep.<ref name="Carnegie Hall 2">{{cite web|last1=Carnegie Hall|title=Zankel Hall Rental|url=http://www.carnegiehall.org/Rentals/Hall-Rentals/|access-date=May 5, 2015|ref=zankelrental|archive-date=September 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916075449/https://www.carnegiehall.org/Rentals/Hall-Rentals/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Due to the limited space available on the land lot, the construction of Zankel Hall required excavating {{Convert|8,000|ft3}} of additional basement space, at some points only {{Convert|10|ft}} under the Stern Auditorium's parquet level.<ref name="nyt20000130" /> The excavations descended up to {{Convert|22|ft}} below the original space's floor and came as close as {{Convert|9|ft}} to the adjacent subway tunnel.<ref name="UPI 2003" /> This also required the removal of twelve cast-iron columns holding up the Main Hall. In its place, a temporary framework of steel pipe columns, supporting [[I-beam]] girders and thick [[Neoprene]] insulation pads, was installed.<ref name="nyt20000130" /><ref name="Stern (2006) p. 733">{{harvnb|Stern|Fishman|Tilove|2006|ps=.|p=733}}</ref> [[JaffeHolden Acoustics]] installed the soundproofing, which filters out noise from both the street and the subway.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Pogrebin|first=Robin|author-link=Robin Pogrebin|date=April 3, 2003|title=A New Underground at Carnegie, in More Ways Than One|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/03/arts/a-new-underground-at-carnegie-in-more-ways-than-one.html|access-date=August 19, 2021|archive-date=August 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819212817/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/03/arts/a-new-underground-at-carnegie-in-more-ways-than-one.html|url-status=live}}</ref> An elliptical concrete wall, measuring {{Convert|12|in}} wide, surrounds Zankel Hall and supports the Stern Auditorium. The elliptical enclosure measures {{Convert|114|ft}} long and {{Convert|76|ft}} wide.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Dunlap|first=David W.|author-link=David W. Dunlap|date=May 5, 2002|title=When Expansion Leads to Inner Space|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/05/realestate/when-expansion-leads-to-inner-space.html|access-date=August 19, 2021|archive-date=August 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819212819/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/05/realestate/when-expansion-leads-to-inner-space.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The walls are sloped at a 7-degree angle and contain sycamore paneling. The lighting and sound equipment is mounted from twenty-one trusses.<ref name="AR 2005-01" />

==== Weill Recital Hall ====
The Joan and Sanford I. Weill Recital Hall is named after [[Sanford I. Weill]], a former chairman of Carnegie Hall's board, as well as his wife Joan.<ref>{{cite web|title=Weill Recital Hall|url=https://www.carnegiehall.org/About/Building-Overview/Weill-Recital-Hall|access-date=August 18, 2021|website=Carnegie Hall|archive-date=July 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709103819/https://www.carnegiehall.org/Information/Weill-Recital-Hall/|url-status=live}}</ref> This auditorium, in use since the hall opened in 1891, was originally called Chamber Music Hall<ref name="nyt19870106">{{Cite news|last=Rockwell|first=John|author-link=John Rockwell|date=January 6, 1987|title=Weill Recital Hall Opens at Carnegie|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/06/arts/weill-recital-hall-opens-at-carnegie.html|access-date=August 18, 2021|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818152704/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/06/arts/weill-recital-hall-opens-at-carnegie.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and was placed in the "lateral building" east of the main hall.<ref name="p573484756" /> The space later became the Carnegie Chamber Music Hall, and the name was changed to Carnegie Recital Hall in the late 1940s.<ref name="nyt19870106" /> The venue was renamed after Joan and Sanford I. Weill in 1986,<ref name="nyt-1986-11-06">{{Cite news |last=Holland |first=Bernard|author-link=Bernard Holland|date=November 6, 1986 |title=Carnegie Recital Hall to Be Renamed|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/06/arts/carnegie-recital-hall-to-be-renamed.html |url-status=live |access-date=September 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210821151421/https://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/06/arts/carnegie-recital-hall-to-be-renamed.html |archive-date=August 21, 2021}}</ref><ref name="n110349671">{{Cite news |last=Nash |first=Dawn |date=November 6, 1986 |title=Carnegie renames recital hall |page=137|newspaper=[[New York Daily News]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110349671/carnegie-renames-recital-halldawn-nash/ |access-date=September 28, 2022}}</ref> reopening in January 1987.<ref name="nyt19870106" /><ref name="Stern (2006) p. 733" />

The recital hall is served by its own lobby, which contains a pale color palette with red geometric metalwork. Prior to a 1980s renovation, it shared a lobby with the main auditorium.<ref name="p424782471">{{cite news|last=Goldberger|first=Paul|date=September 8, 1983|title=Architecture: Carnegie Hall Restoration, Phase 1|page=C16|newspaper=The New York Times|id={{ProQuest|424782471}}}}</ref> The Weill Recital Hall is the smallest of the three performance spaces, with a total of 268 seats.<ref name="Carnegie Hall 2" /><ref name="Stern (2006) pp. 732-733">{{harvnb|Stern|Fishman|Tilove|2006|ps=.|pp=732–733}}</ref><ref name="Carnegie Hall" /> The orchestra level contains 196 seats in fourteen rows, while the balcony level contains 72 seats in five rows.<ref name="Carnegie Hall">{{cite web|last1=Carnegie Hall|title=Weill Recital Hall|url=http://www.carnegiehall.org/Information/Weill-Recital-Hall/|access-date=May 5, 2015|ref=weillhall|archive-date=July 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709103819/https://www.carnegiehall.org/Information/Weill-Recital-Hall/|url-status=live}}</ref> The modern-day recital hall contains off-white walls and blue seats.<ref name="nyt-1986-11-06" /><ref name="n110349671" /> In the mid-20th century, the recital hall was decorated with red and gold, which was replaced in the 1980s with Palladian arches similar to those in the hall's original design. A [[proscenium]] arch made of plywood, as well as a paneled wall behind the stage, were installed after the recital hall's completion but were removed in the 1980s to improve acoustics.<ref name="nyt-1986-11-06" /><ref name="Stern (2006) pp. 732-733" /> The room has three chandeliers, which also amplify the room's acoustics.<ref name="nyt-1986-11-06" />

=== Other facilities ===
[[File:HAND_RAIL_AT_THIRD_FLOOR_ELEVATOR_LOBBY_-_Music_Hall,_154_West_Fifty-seventh_Street,_New_York,_New_York_County,_NY_HABS_NY,31-NEYO,108-3.tif|alt=Detail of a handrail in Carnegie Hall|thumb|Architectural details in Carnegie Hall, documented in the [[Historic American Buildings Survey]]]]
A boiler room was placed under the sidewalk on Seventh Avenue.<ref name="p573484756" /> A small electric generation plant for 5,300 lamps was also planned.<ref name="nyt18890719" /> At the ground level of the main hall was a lobby with gray marble [[Pilaster|pilasters]] and salmon-colored walls.<ref name="TL p. 145" /> Stores were added to the lobby in the 1940s.<ref name="NPS p. 3">{{harvnb|National Park Service|1962|ps=.|p=3}}</ref> The storefronts, as well as a restaurant at the corner of 57th Street and Seventh Avenue, were removed in a 1980s renovation.<ref name="p424782471" /><ref name="p135117567" /> Originally, there was a 150-seat dining room on the ground level below the Chamber Music Hall. Above the dining room, but below the venue itself, were parlors, cloak rooms, and restrooms.<ref name="p573484756" />

Above the Chamber Music Hall was a large chapter-room, a meeting room, a gymnasium, and twelve short-term "lodge rooms" in the roof.<ref name="p573484756" /> The 56th Street side of Carnegie Hall was designed with rooms for the choruses, soloists, and conductors, as well as offices and lodge rooms. On the roof of the 56th Street section were janitors' apartments. Three elevators, two on the 57th Street side and one on the 56th Street side, originally served the building.<ref name="p573484756" /> The addition at the corner of 56th Street and Seventh Avenue was arranged with offices, studios, and private music rooms.<ref name="p573728011" /><ref name="nyt18921228" />

The eighth floor of the main hall, which contained studios, was installed after the complex was completed.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /> There were a total of 133<ref name="nyt-1981-01-18">{{Cite news |last=Phelps |first=Timothy M. |date=January 18, 1981 |title=Carnegie Hall and Tenants Wrangle Over Rent Rises|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/01/18/nyregion/carnegie-hall-and-tenants-wrangle-over-rent-rises.html |access-date=September 28, 2022}}</ref> or 150 studios, many of which doubled as living quarters.<ref name="Page p. 19">{{harvnb|Page|2011|p=19|ps=.}}</ref><ref name="n110355510" /> Over the years, personalities such as [[Leonard Bernstein]], [[Isadora Duncan]], [[Martha Graham]], and [[Norman Mailer]] lived in the studios.<ref name="Page p. 19" /><ref name="n110355510">{{Cite news |last=Moritz |first=Owen |date=January 11, 1978 |title=Notes of Protest Sound in Aria of Carnegie Hall |page=184|newspaper=[[New York Daily News]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110355510/notes-of-protest-sound-in-aria-of/ |access-date=September 28, 2022}}</ref> The spaces were designed for artistic work, with very high ceilings, skylights and large windows for natural light. Documents showed that Andrew Carnegie had always considered the spaces as a source of income to support the hall and its activities.<ref name="Page p. 19" /> After 1999, the space was re-purposed for music education and corporate offices. In 2007, the Carnegie Hall Corporation announced plans to evict the 33 remaining studio residents, including celebrity portrait photographer [[Editta Sherman]] and fashion photographer [[Bill Cunningham (American photographer)|Bill Cunningham]].<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Wendy|last=Goodman|title=Great Rooms: Bohemia in Midtown|url=http://nymag.com/homedesign/greatrooms/42385/|magazine=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|date=December 30, 2007|access-date=November 14, 2014|archive-date=January 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190125204454/http://nymag.com/homedesign/greatrooms/42385/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|first=Jessica|last=Pressler|title=Editta Sherman, 96-Year-Old Squatter|url=http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2008/10/editta_sherman_96-year-old_squ.html|magazine=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|date=October 20, 2008|access-date=November 14, 2014|archive-date=October 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014183126/http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2008/10/editta_sherman_96-year-old_squ.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The last resident, poet Elizabeth Sargent, moved out during 2010.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Slotnik |first=Daniel E. |date=April 22, 2017 |title=Elizabeth Sargent, 96, Poet and Last Tenant Above Carnegie Hall, Dies|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/21/nyregion/elizabeth-sargent-dead-last-resident-of-carnegie-hall.html |access-date=September 28, 2022}}</ref>

The building also contains the Carnegie Hall Archives, established in 1986, and the [[Rose Museum]], which opened in 1991. The Rose Museum is east of the first balcony of the Stern Auditorium and has dark [[makore]] and light [[anigre]] paneling with brass edges, as well as columns with brass [[Capital (architecture)|capitals]], supporting a [[coffer]]ed ceiling. The Rose Museum space is separated from two adjacent rooms by sliding panels.<ref name="Arch 1992-03">{{cite magazine|last=Stephens|first=Suzanne|date=Mar 1992|title=Architectural Ethics|url=https://usmodernist.org/AJ/A-1992-03.pdf|journal=Architecture|page=75|access-date=August 21, 2021|archive-date=August 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210821000546/https://usmodernist.org/AJ/A-1992-03.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

== History ==
The idea for what is now Carnegie Hall came from [[Leopold Damrosch]], the conductor of [[Oratorio Society of New York]] and the [[New York Symphony Society]].<ref name="NY1880">{{cite NY1880|page=691}}</ref><ref name="Page pp. 17-18">{{harvnb|Page|2011|pp=17–18|ps=.}}</ref> The Oratorio Society had been looking for a permanent performance venue ever since it was founded in 1873.<ref name="TL pp. 144–145">{{harvnb|Tauranac|1985|ps=.|pages=144–145}}</ref> Though Leopold died in 1885,<ref name="Page pp. 17-18" /><ref>{{Cite news|date=February 16, 1885|title=Death of Dr. Damrosch.; Fatal Result of a Brief Illness|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1885/02/16/archives/death-of-dr-damrosch-fatal-result-of-a-brief-illness-end-of-a-busy.html|access-date=August 17, 2021|archive-date=August 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817224720/https://www.nytimes.com/1885/02/16/archives/death-of-dr-damrosch-fatal-result-of-a-brief-illness-end-of-a-busy.html|url-status=live}}</ref> his son [[Walter Johannes Damrosch]] pursued his father's vision for a new music hall.<ref name="NY1880" /><ref name="Page pp. 17-18" /><ref name="Shanor 1988" /> While studying music in Germany in 1887, the younger Damrosch was introduced to the businessman [[Andrew Carnegie]], who served on the board of not only the Oratorio Society but also the New York Symphony.<ref name="NY1880" /><ref name="Shanor 1988">{{cite book|last=Shanor|first=Rebecca|title=The City That Never Was : Two Hundred Years of Fantastic and Fascinating Plans That Might Have Changed the Face of New York City|publisher=Viking|year=1988|isbn=978-0-670-80558-7|publication-place=New York|page=77|oclc=17510109|url=https://archive.org/details/citythatneverwas0000shan/page/77|url-access=registration}}</ref> Carnegie was originally uninterested in funding a music hall in Manhattan, but he agreed to give $2 million after discussions with Damrosch.<ref name="NY1880" /><ref name="NPS p. 3" /> According to architectural writer [[Robert A. M. Stern]], the Music Hall was "unique in that it was free of commercial sponsorship and exclusively dedicated to musical performance".<ref name="NY1880" /> At the time, New York City's performance halls were mainly clustered around [[14th Street (Manhattan)|14th Street]],<ref name="Page p. 17" /> as well as around [[Union Square, Manhattan|Union Square]] and [[Herald Square]].<ref name="TL p. 144">{{harvnb|Tauranac|1985|ps=.|page=144}}</ref> The area around 57th Street was still mostly residential.<ref name="Page p. 17">{{harvnb|Page|2011|p=17|ps=.}}</ref><ref name="TL p. 144" />

=== Development and opening ===
[[File:Andrew Carnegie, three-quarter length portrait, seated, facing slightly left, 1913.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Andrew Carnegie, 1913]]
In early March 1889, Morris Reno, director of the Oratorio and New York Symphony societies acquired nine lots on and around the southeast corner of Seventh Avenue and 57th Street.<ref name="nyt18890315">{{Cite news|date=March 15, 1889|title=A New Music Hall; Carnegie Takes Hold of the Project and a Site Is Bought|page=4|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1889/03/15/106205420.pdf|access-date=August 17, 2021|archive-date=January 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130215818/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1889/03/15/106205420.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=March 15, 1889|title=To Build a Music Hall: Plans for a Magnificent Building|page=1|newspaper=[[New-York Tribune]]|id={{ProQuest|573444377}}}}</ref> William Tuthill had been hired to design a "great music hall" on the site.<ref name="nyt18890315" /><ref name="rer18890323" /> The Music Hall, as it was called, would be a five-story brick and limestone building, containing a 3,000-seat main hall with and several smaller rooms for rehearsals, lectures, concerts, and art exhibitions.<ref name="nyt18890315" /><ref name="rer18890323">{{cite magazine|date=March 23, 1889|title=Out Among the Builders|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vollist=1&vol=ldpd_7031148_003&page=ldpd_7031148_003_00000434|journal=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=43|pages=392–393|via=[[Columbia University|columbia.edu]]|number=1097|access-date=August 17, 2021|archive-date=August 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817224723/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vollist=1&vol=ldpd_7031148_003&page=ldpd_7031148_003_00000434|url-status=live}}</ref> ''The New York Times'' said "The location for the music hall is perhaps rather far uptown, but it is easily accessible from the 'living' part of the city."<ref name="nyt18890315" /> The Music Hall Company was incorporated on March 27, 1889, with Carnegie, Damrosch, Reno, Tuthill, and [[Stephen M. Kneval]] as trustees.<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 28, 1889|title=The New Music Hall Company|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1889/03/28/archives/the-new-music-hall-company.html|access-date=August 17, 2021|archive-date=August 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817224720/https://www.nytimes.com/1889/03/28/archives/the-new-music-hall-company.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=March 28, 1889|title=Incorporating a Music Hall Company|page=1|newspaper=New-York Tribune|id={{ProQuest|573489130}}}}</ref> Originally, the Music Hall Company intended to limit its [[capital stock]] to $300,000, but this was increased before the end of 1889 to $600,000, of which Carnegie held five-sixths. The cost of the building was then projected to be $1.1 million, including the land.<ref>{{Cite news|date=December 15, 1889|title=Some Fine New Buildings; Grand Edifices Now Going Up in This City. The Carnegie Music Hall, Century, Republican, and Athletic Club Houses, and Lenox Lyceum|page=11|newspaper=The New York Times|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1889/12/15/100981377.pdf|access-date=August 17, 2021|archive-date=January 31, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220131162044/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1889/12/15/100981377.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

By July 1889, Carnegie's company had acquired additional land, with frontage of {{Convert|175|ft}} on 57th Street. The architectural drawings were nearly completed and excavations for the music hall had been completed.<ref name="nyt18890719">{{Cite news|date=July 19, 1889|title=Carnegie Music Hall; the Work of Construction Is Expected to Begin Soon|page=8|newspaper=The New York Times|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1889/07/19/106356928.pdf|access-date=August 17, 2021|archive-date=January 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130215826/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1889/07/19/106356928.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The Henry Elias Brewery owned the corner of Seventh Avenue and 56th Street and originally would not sell the land, as its proprietor believed the site had a good water source.<ref name="nyt19980103" /> Plans for the Music Hall were filed in November 1889.<ref name="p573493968">{{cite news|date=November 21, 1889|title=Plans for a Big Building Filed: the Music Hall Company Getting Ready to Begin Work—expectations of the Stockholders|page=7|newspaper=New-York Tribune|id={{ProQuest|573493968}}}}</ref> Carnegie's wife [[Louise Whitfield Carnegie|Louise]] laid the cornerstone for the Music Hall on May 13, 1890.<ref>{{Cite news|date=May 14, 1890|title=A New Home for Music|page=7|newspaper=[[The Sun (New York City)|The Sun]]|location=New York City|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/23665310/carnegie-music-hall-5th-7th-1890/|access-date=August 18, 2021|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818152705/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/23665310/carnegie-music-hall-5th-7th-1890/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=May 14, 1890|title=A Great Home of Music: Mrs. Carnegie Lays the Cornerstone of the Building Addresses by Morris Reno, E. Francis Hyde and Andrew Carnegie|page=7|newspaper=New-York Tribune|id={{ProQuest|573539715}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|year=1890|title=The New Music Hall|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yikxAQAAMAAJ|journal=Architecture and Building: A Journal of Investment and Construction|publisher=W. T. Comstock|volume=12|page=234|access-date=August 18, 2021|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818212042/https://books.google.com/books?id=yikxAQAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> Andrew Carnegie said at the time that the venue was to not only be "a shrine of the goddess of music" but also a gathering hall.<ref name="TL p. 145" /> [[Isaac A. Hopper|Isaac A. Hopper and Company]] was the contractor in charge of building the Music Hall.<ref>{{Cite news|date=January 1, 1893|title=Isaac A. Hopper's Record; Some Notable Achievements in His Line as a Builder|page=9|newspaper=The New York Times|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1893/01/01/106858697.pdf|access-date=August 18, 2021|archive-date=June 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626153857/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1893/01/01/106858697.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|date=January 5, 1895|title=A Busy Life|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vol=ldpd_7031148_015&page=ldpd_7031148_015_00000037&no=2|journal=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=55|page=7|via=[[Columbia University|columbia.edu]]|number=1399|access-date=August 18, 2021|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818212044/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vol=ldpd_7031148_015&page=ldpd_7031148_015_00000037&no=2|url-status=live}}</ref> The ''Real Estate Record and Guide'' praised the building's design as "harmonious, animated without restlessness, and quiet without dullness."<ref name="rer18901227" /> In February 1891, Damrosch announced that he had created a subscription fund for a "permanent orchestra" that would perform mainly in the new Music Hall.<ref>{{Cite news|date=February 6, 1891|title=Damrosch's Liberal Backers|page=4|newspaper=[[The Evening World]]|location=New York City|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83698532/damroschs-liberal-backers/|access-date=August 18, 2021|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818221448/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83698532/damroschs-liberal-backers/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=February 6, 1891|title=Our Permanent Orchestra|page=1|newspaper=The Sun|location=New York City|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83698800/our-permanent-orchestra/|access-date=August 18, 2021|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818221453/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83698800/our-permanent-orchestra/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Recital Hall opened in March 1891 for recitals of the New York Oratorio Society.<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 13, 1891|title=A New Concert Room|page=3|newspaper=The Sun|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83699497/a-new-concert-room/|access-date=August 18, 2021|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818221452/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83699497/a-new-concert-room/|url-status=live}}</ref> It was around this time that tickets for the official opening of the Music Hall were being sold.<ref>{{cite news|date=March 22, 1891|title=To Open the New Music Hall: the Amended Programme—many Eminent Performers|page=24|newspaper=New-York Tribune|id={{ProQuest|573653596}}}}</ref> The oratorio hall in the basement opened on April 1, 1891,<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 731" /><ref name="nyt19980103" /> with a performance by [[Franz Rummel]].<ref>{{cite news|date=April 2, 1891|title=Amusements|page=4|newspaper=The New York Times|id={{ProQuest|94850411}}}}</ref> The Music Hall officially opened on May 5, 1891, with a rendition of the [[Old 100th]] hymn, a speech by Episcopal bishop [[Henry C. Potter]], and a concert conducted by Walter Damrosch and Russian composer [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]].<ref name="p94939305" /><ref>{{Cite news|date=May 6, 1891|title=The Music Hall Opened|pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83701940/music-hall-opened/ 7]|newspaper=New-York Tribune|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83701889/the-music-hall-opened/|access-date=August 18, 2021|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818221447/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83701889/the-music-hall-opened/|url-status=live}}</ref> During the performance, Tuthill looked at the crowds on the auditorium's top tiers and reportedly left the hall to consult his drawings. He was uncertain that the supporting columns would withstand the weight of the crowd in attendance, but the dimensions turned out to be sufficient to support the weight of the crowd.<ref name="NY1880" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Schonberg|first=Harold C.|author-link=Harold C. Schonberg|date=June 29, 1980|title=Carnegie Hall, at 90, Is Thinking Young; Music View Carnegie Hall, Approaching 90, Is Thinking Young|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/06/29/archives/carnegie-hall-at-90-is-thinking-young-music-view-carnegie-hall.html|access-date=August 18, 2021|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818224625/https://www.nytimes.com/1980/06/29/archives/carnegie-hall-at-90-is-thinking-young-music-view-carnegie-hall.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Tchaikovsky considered the auditorium "unusually impressive and grand" when "illuminated and filled with an audience".<ref name="NY1880" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Yoffe|first=Elkhonon|title=Tchaikovsky in America : the composer's visit in 1891|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1986|isbn=978-0-19-504117-0|publication-place=New York|url=https://www.archive.org/details/tchaikovskyiname00yoff/page/83|url-access=registration|pages=83–84|oclc=13498952}}</ref> The ''[[New York Herald]]'' praised the auditorium's acoustical qualities, saying "each note was heard".<ref name="NY1880" /><ref>{{Cite news|date=May 6, 1891|title=Music Crowd in Its New Home|page=7|newspaper=[[New York Herald]]}}</ref> The Music Hall had cost $1.25 million to construct<ref name="nyt-1991-05-05">{{Cite news |last=Schonberg |first=Harold C.|author-link=Harold C. Schonberg|date=May 5, 1991 |title=Extra! Read All About It – Carnegie's $1.25 Million Hall|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/05/arts/classical-music-extra-read-all-about-it-carnegie-s-1.25-million-hall.html |access-date=September 28, 2022}}</ref> and was the second major performance hall in New York City, after the [[Metropolitan Opera House (39th Street)|Metropolitan Opera House]].<ref name="n110350207">{{Cite news |date=May 6, 1891 |title=Carnegie Music Hall Dedicated |page=1 |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110350207/carnegie-music-hall-dedicated/ |access-date=September 28, 2022}}</ref>

=== Late 19th to mid-20th century ===
==== 1890s to 1910s ====
[[File:Carnegie Hall in 1895.jpg|thumb|Carnegie Hall in 1895]]
The Philharmonic did not play at the Music Hall during the venue's initial operating season.<ref name="Page p. 19" /><ref name="SW p. 18">{{harvnb|Schickel|Walsh|1987|page=18|ps=.}}</ref> Nonetheless, almost from the outset, [[Ticket resale|scalpers]] resold tickets to the hall's  shows at greatly inflated prices, and ushers began selling off tickets to unoccupied seats at the start of each concert. For an inflated fee, the ushers allowed latecomers to sit down during the middle of a show, to the consternation of existing ticket holders.<ref name="TL p. 145" /> In May 1892, the stockholders of the Music Hall Company of New York discussed expanding the Music Hall into the site of a brewery at Seventh Avenue and 56th Street, which they had purchased about three months previously. The Music Hall Company also discussed enlarging the main auditorium's stage so it could accommodate operas.<ref>{{cite news|date=May 12, 1892|title=Changes at the Music Hall: Plans Which May Change the Place Into an Opera House|page=7|newspaper=New-York Tribune|id={{ProQuest|573781812}}}}</ref> 

By September 1892, the Music Hall's stockholders planned to enlarge the hall to accommodate operatic performances, following a fire that severely damaged the Metropolitan Opera House.<ref>{{Cite news|date=September 5, 1892|title=A Home for Grand Opera; Plans for Transforming Music Hall Into an Opera House|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1892/09/05/archives/a-home-for-grand-opera-plans-for-transforming-music-hall-into-an.html|access-date=August 20, 2021|archive-date=August 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820013952/https://www.nytimes.com/1892/09/05/archives/a-home-for-grand-opera-plans-for-transforming-music-hall-into-an.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="n110352614">{{Cite news |date=September 6, 1892 |title=Grand Opera Need Not Be Given Up |page=7|newspaper=The Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110352614/grand-opera-need-not-be-given-up/ |access-date=September 28, 2022}}</ref> At the time, Morris Reno said the stage could not be modified until at least early 1893.<ref>{{Cite news|date=September 19, 1892|title=No Grand Opera This Season.; the Carnegie Music Hall Stage Cannot Be Rebuilt for It|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1892/09/19/archives/no-grand-opera-this-season-the-carnegie-music-hall-stage-cannot-be.html|access-date=August 20, 2021|archive-date=August 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820013953/https://www.nytimes.com/1892/09/19/archives/no-grand-opera-this-season-the-carnegie-music-hall-stage-cannot-be.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Music Hall Company filed plans for alterations in December 1892. The plans called a tower of about {{Convert|240|ft}} at the corner of Seventh Avenue and 56th Street. In addition, the original building's mansard roof would become a flat roof, and the seventh story would be converted into a full story.<ref name="p573728011" /><ref name="nyt18921228" /> The Philharmonic Society moved into the Music Hall in November 1892, drawing further crowds.<ref name="Page p. 19" /> The studios atop the building were constructed shortly afterward, from 1894 to 1896.<ref name="Page p. 19" /> 

The American Academy of Dramatic Arts moved into the basement recital hall in 1896, leasing the basement recital hall for the next fifty-four years.<ref name="nyt19980103" /> Also during the mid-1890s, the Music Hall was renamed Carnegie Hall for its main benefactor.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /><ref name="Page p. 17" /> According to Carnegie Hall archivist Gino Francesconi, the renaming occurred "so that it shouldn't be confused by European artists with a vulgar music hall".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Shepard|first=Richard F.|date=May 12, 1988|title=Carnegie Hall Marks a Milestone for a Cornerstone|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/12/arts/carnegie-hall-marks-a-milestone-for-a-cornerstone.html|access-date=August 18, 2021|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818224625/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/12/arts/carnegie-hall-marks-a-milestone-for-a-cornerstone.html|url-status=live}}</ref> During the early 20th century, Carnegie Hall accommodated many recitals and concerts because of its acoustic qualities.<ref name="Page pp. 19-20">{{harvnb|Page|2011|pp=19–20|ps=.}}</ref> Until World War I, though, the venue hosted few events related to the predominating "artistic, intellectual and experiential strains" of society, as one writer put it.

==== 1920s to 1940s ====
[[File:Carnegiehall 1910.jpg|thumb|Carnegie Hall in 1910]]
Carnegie Hall officials renovated the building in 1920, replacing its [[porte-cochère]], overhauling the Philharmonic Society's office, and removing staircases for about $70,000.<ref name="nyt-1920-07-04">{{Cite news |date=July 4, 1920 |title=Change in Carnegie Hall; Substantial Steps to Provide New York's Temple of Music with a New Stoop Line|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1920/07/04/archives/change-in-carnegie-hall-substantial-steps-to-providle-new-yorks.html |access-date=September 28, 2022}}</ref> By late 1924, the Carnegie Foundation was considering selling the hall to a private developer because of increasing financial deficits, which amounted to $15,000 a year.<ref name="The New York Times">{{Cite news |date=January 31, 1925 |title=Musical Centre is Likely to Shift; Approaching Sale of Carnegie Hall Will Compel Building in Another District|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1925/01/31/archives/musical-centre-is-likely-to-shift-approaching-sale-of-carnegie-hall.html |access-date=September 28, 2022}}</ref> At the time, the site was valued at $2.5 million,<ref name="p1113115352">{{cite news |date=September 12, 1924 |title=Carnegie Hall To Be Razed for Office Building: Famous Structure Will Be Put on Market Soon as Result of Its Deficits; Price Around $2,500,000 |page=1|newspaper=The New York Herald, New York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1113115352}}}}</ref> and another performance venue in midtown, [[Aeolian Hall (42nd Street)|Aeolian Hall]], had been sold for redevelopment.<ref name="The New York Times" /> In February 1925, Carnegie's widow sold the hall to a real estate developer, Robert E. Simon.<ref>{{Cite news|date=February 1, 1925|title=New Leader Rises in City Real Estate; Carnegie Hall Deal Discloses Robert E. Simon as a Manipulator of Millions|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1925/02/01/archives/new-leader-rises-in-city-real-estate-carnegie-hall-deal-discloses.html|access-date=December 18, 2020|archive-date=August 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814231114/https://www.nytimes.com/1925/02/01/archives/new-leader-rises-in-city-real-estate-carnegie-hall-deal-discloses.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The sale agreement included a clause requiring that either Carnegie Hall would continue to operate as a performance venue for at least the next five years, or another performance venue would be erected on the site.<ref name="p1112791299">{{cite news|date=January 30, 1925|title=Carnegie Hall Sold, but Wins 5 Years' Grace: R. E. Simon Buys Historic Music Center, Agreeing to Time Clause Unless New Auditorium Is Built Sooner|page=11|newspaper=The New York Herald, New York Tribune|id={{ProQuest|1112791299}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=January 30, 1925|title=Carnegie Hall Is About to Be Sold, but Won't Close Yet; Clause in Sale Contract Safeguards Concerts There for the Next Five Years|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1925/01/30/archives/carnegie-hall-is-about-to-be-sold-but-wont-close-yet-clause-in-sale.html|access-date=August 24, 2021|archive-date=August 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824143937/https://www.nytimes.com/1925/01/30/archives/carnegie-hall-is-about-to-be-sold-but-wont-close-yet-clause-in-sale.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Simon said the hall would continue to operate for as long as it was profitable,<ref name="nyt-1925-02-06">{{Cite news |date=February 6, 1925 |title=Carnegie Hall Sale is Now Complete; But R.E. Simon Says Buildings Will Stand Indefinitely if Income Warrants|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1925/02/06/archives/carnegie-hall-sale-is-now-complete-but-re-simon-says-buildings-will.html |access-date=September 28, 2022}}</ref> and he wished to restore the basement recital hall as well.<ref name="p1113011924">{{cite news |date=February 6, 1925 |title=Carnegie Hall Has Passed from Iron Master's Estate |page=26|newspaper=The New York Herald, New York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1113011924}}}}</ref>

Under Simon's ownership, a new organ was installed in Carnegie Hall<ref name="p1111977225">{{cite news|date=June 2, 1929|title=A New Organ To Be Installed In Carnegie Hall: Preliminary Work for Placing the Instrument Will Be Started Tomorrow|page=F9|newspaper=New York Herald Tribune|id={{ProQuest|1111977225}}}}</ref> and dedicated in December 1929.<ref>{{Cite news|date=December 28, 1929|title=Oratorio Society Gives ''Messiah''; Stoessel Leads Chorus of 250 Voices Augmented by New Organ of Carnegie Hall|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1929/12/28/archives/oratorio-society-gives-messiah-stoessel-leads-chorus-of-250-voices.html|access-date=August 24, 2021|archive-date=August 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824143940/https://www.nytimes.com/1929/12/28/archives/oratorio-society-gives-messiah-stoessel-leads-chorus-of-250-voices.html|url-status=live}}</ref> An art gallery was installed at street level in 1932.<ref name="The New York Times k743">{{cite web |date=1932-10-05 |title=Art Gallery Opened in Carnegie Hall; Artists Who Make Their Homes in Building Display Works on Street Floor. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1932/10/05/archives/art-gallery-opened-in-carnegie-hall-artists-who-make-their-homes-in.html |access-date=2025-10-28 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> After Robert Simon died in 1935,<ref name="p1317982631">{{cite news|date=September 8, 1935|title=Robert E. Simon Dies at 58; Kin of Morgenthau|page=23|newspaper=New York Herald Tribune|id={{ProQuest|1317982631}}}}</ref> Murray Weisman succeeded Simon as president of Carnegie Hall's board of directors, while the late owner's son [[Robert E. Simon]] Jr. became the vice president.<ref>{{Cite news|date=September 29, 1935|title=Weisman Is Head of Carnegie Hall; Elected President to Succeed Late Robert E. Simon, Whose Son Is Made an Officer|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/09/29/archives/weisman-is-head-of-carnegie-hall-elected-president-to-succeed-late.html|access-date=December 18, 2020|archive-date=May 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220530193208/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/09/29/archives/weisman-is-head-of-carnegie-hall-elected-president-to-succeed-late.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p1237352810">{{cite news|date=September 29, 1935|title=M. Murray Weisman Carnegie Hall President: Managing Director Succeeds Late Robert E. Simon|page=24|newspaper=New York Herald Tribune|id={{ProQuest|1237352810}}}}</ref> A bust of the senior Simon was installed in the lobby in 1936.<ref name="p1237393750">{{cite news|date=May 6, 1936|title=Robert E. Simon Bust Unveiled In Carnegie Hall|page=16|newspaper=New York Herald Tribune|id={{ProQuest|1237393750}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=May 6, 1936|title=R. E. Simon Lauded at Bust Unveiling; Tributes Paid to His Idealism in Preserving Carnegie Hall for Community Use|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/05/06/archives/re-simon-lauded-at-bust-unveiling-tributes-paid-to-his-idealism-in.html|access-date=August 24, 2021|archive-date=August 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824143937/https://www.nytimes.com/1936/05/06/archives/re-simon-lauded-at-bust-unveiling-tributes-paid-to-his-idealism-in.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The main hall was modified around 1946 during filming for the movie [[Carnegie Hall (film)|''Carnegie Hall'']].<ref name="Page p. 20" /><ref name="Walsh 1987" /> A hole was made in the stage's ceiling to allow the installation of ventilation and lights for the film. Canvas panels and curtains were placed over the hole, but the acoustics in the front rows became noticeably different.<ref name="Walsh 1987">{{cite magazine|last=Walsh|first=Michael|date=February 16, 1987|title=Sounds in the night|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,963548-1,00.html|url-status=dead|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|volume=129|issue=7|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930122117/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,963548-1,00.html|archive-date=September 30, 2007}}</ref> In 1947, Robert E. Simon Jr. renovated the hall to designs by [[Kahn and Jacobs]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Stratigakos|first1=Despina|title=Elsa Mandelstamm Gidoni|url=https://pioneeringwomen.bwaf.org/elsa-mandelstamm-gidoni|access-date=September 25, 2020|website=Pioneering Women of American Architecture|publisher=Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation|archive-date=August 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200830104728/https://pioneeringwomen.bwaf.org/elsa-mandelstamm-gidoni/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Carnegie Hall History Timeline|url=https://www.carnegiehall.org/About/History/Timeline|website=CarnegieHall.org|publisher=The Carnegie Hall Corporation|access-date=September 25, 2020|archive-date=October 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201004234550/https://www.carnegiehall.org/About/History/Timeline|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Preservation ===
By the 1950s, changes in the music business prompted Simon to sell the hall. In April 1955, Simon negotiated with the [[New York Philharmonic]], which booked a majority of the hall's concerts each year.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Taubman|first=Howard|author-link=Howard Taubman|date=April 28, 1955|title=Orchestra to Bid on Carnegie Hall; Philharmonic May Lose Old Home Unless It Buys|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1955/04/28/archives/orchestra-to-bid-on-carnegie-hall-philharmonic-may-lose-old-home.html|access-date=December 18, 2020|archive-date=May 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220530193337/https://www.nytimes.com/1955/04/28/archives/orchestra-to-bid-on-carnegie-hall-philharmonic-may-lose-old-home.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The orchestra intended to move to [[Lincoln Center]] once it had been built (at the time, plans to build it were still at an early stage).<ref name="NY1960">{{cite NY1960|pages=1112–1113}}</ref>  Simon notified the Philharmonic that he would terminate the lease by 1959 if it did not purchase Carnegie Hall.<ref>{{Cite news|date=September 18, 1955|title=World of Music: Philharmonic Problem; Termination of the Carnegie Lease May Force Orchestra to Vacate in 1959|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1955/09/18/archives/world-of-music-philharmonic-problem-termination-of-the-carnegie.html|access-date=December 18, 2020|archive-date=June 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626153841/https://www.nytimes.com/1955/09/18/archives/world-of-music-philharmonic-problem-termination-of-the-carnegie.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In mid-1955, longtime employee John Totten organized a fundraising drive to prevent the demolition of Carnegie Hall.<ref>{{Cite news|date=June 2, 1955|title=Drive Set to Bar Sale of Carnegie; Hall's Superintendent Seeks Aid of Public to Prevent Destruction of Building|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1955/06/02/archives/drive-set-to-bar-sale-of-carnegie-halls-superintendent-seeks-aid-of.html|access-date=August 19, 2021|archive-date=August 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819182524/https://www.nytimes.com/1955/06/02/archives/drive-set-to-bar-sale-of-carnegie-halls-superintendent-seeks-aid-of.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Meanwhile, the Academy of Dramatic Arts had moved out of the basement recital hall in 1954. The Academy's former space was rented for the time being to other tenants.<ref name="nyt19980103" /><ref name="Stern (2006) p. 733" />

Simon sold the entire stock of Carnegie Hall, Inc., the venue's legal owner, to a commercial developer, the Glickman Corporation, in July 1956 for $5 million.<ref name="NY1960" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Fowler|first=Glenn|date=July 25, 1956|title=Music Landmark Brings 5 Million; Buyer of Carnegie Hall Offers to Resell to Orchestra but May Tear It Down Society Hopes to Move|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/07/25/archives/music-landmark-brings-5-million-buyer-of-carnegie-hall-offers-to.html|access-date=December 18, 2020|archive-date=June 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626153841/https://www.nytimes.com/1956/07/25/archives/music-landmark-brings-5-million-buyer-of-carnegie-hall-offers-to.html|url-status=live}}</ref> With the Philharmonic ready to move to Lincoln Center, the building was slated to be replaced by a 44-story skyscraper designed by Pomerance and Breines.<ref name=nyt19570808 /> The replacement tower would have had a red facade and would have been constructed on stilts, with art exhibits and other cultural facilities at the base.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=A red tower replacing Carnegie Hall|magazine=[[Life (magazine)|Life]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UT8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA91|date=September 9, 1957|page=91|access-date=September 23, 2019|archive-date=July 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727174348/https://books.google.com/books?id=UT8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA91|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=nyt19570808>{{Cite news|last=Callahan|first=John P.|date=August 8, 1957|title=Red Tower Is Set for Carnegie Site; a Forty-four-story Office Building Is to Be Built Where Carnegie Hall Now Stands|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1957/08/08/archives/red-tower-is-set-for-carnegie-site-a-fortyfourstory-office-building.html|access-date=December 18, 2020|archive-date=March 31, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180331164000/https://www.nytimes.com/1957/08/08/archives/red-tower-is-set-for-carnegie-site-a-fortyfourstory-office-building.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|date=September 1957|title=Red-and-gold Checks|url=https://usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1957-09.pdf|journal=Architectural Forum|volume=107|page=43|access-date=December 17, 2020|archive-date=February 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227120503/https://usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1957-09.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> However, Glickman was unable to come up with the $22 million that the construction budget for the skyscraper called for.<ref name="NY1960" /> This, combined with delays in Lincoln Center's construction, prompted Glickman to decline an [[Option (finance)|option]] to buy the building itself in July 1958.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Schonberg|first=Harold C.|author-link=Harold C. Schonberg|date=July 4, 1958|title=Longer Life Won by Carnegie Hall; Glickman Drops Plan to Buy Building as the Site for Big Red Skyscraper Property Off Market Decision Is Due on Whether Philharmonic Will Stay Till New Home Is Ready|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1958/07/04/archives/longer-life-won-by-carnegie-hall-glickman-drops-plan-to-buy.html|access-date=December 18, 2020|archive-date=June 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626153842/https://www.nytimes.com/1958/07/04/archives/longer-life-won-by-carnegie-hall-glickman-drops-plan-to-buy.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=July 21, 1958|title=Plan to Raze Old Carnegie Hall Is Off: Realtor Drops Option on Landmark in New York|page=3|newspaper=The Sun|id={{ProQuest|540427905}}}}</ref>

Meanwhile, soon after the sale, Simon started planning how to preserve the hall, and approached some of its resident artists-in-residence for help. Violinist [[Isaac Stern]] enlisted his friends Jacob M. and Alice Kaplan, as well as J. M. Kaplan Fund administrator Raymond S. Rubinow, for assistance in saving the hall.<ref name="NY1960" /> In 1959, two hundred residents of Carnegie Hall's studios were asked if they wanted to buy the building.<ref>{{cite news|last=Molleson|first=John|date=June 17, 1959|title=Bids Residents Buy Carnegie Hall: Studio Tenant Urges 200 to Gel Together to Avert Demolition|page=12|newspaper=New York Herald Tribune|id={{ProQuest|1323977017}}}}</ref> Stern, the Kaplans, and Rubinow ultimately decided that the best move would be for the city government to become involved.<ref name="NY1960" /> The move gained support from mayor [[Robert F. Wagner Jr.]], who created a taskforce to save Carnegie Hall in early 1960,<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 31, 1960|title=New Unit Formed to Save Carnegie; Society Would Lease Hall if City Can Acquire It|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/03/31/archives/new-unit-formed-to-save-carnegie-society-would-lease-hall-if-city.html|access-date=December 18, 2020|archive-date=August 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814231126/https://www.nytimes.com/1960/03/31/archives/new-unit-formed-to-save-carnegie-society-would-lease-hall-if-city.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Molleson|first=John|date=March 31, 1960|title=Mayor Aids Plan to Save Carnegie Hall: Pledges 'Fast Work' To Back Committee|page=19|newspaper=New York Herald Tribune|id={{ProQuest|1325120353}}}}</ref> but Simon and his co-owners still filed eviction notices against some studio tenants.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Talese|first=Gay|author-link=Gay Talese|date=April 30, 1960|title=Evictions Fought at Carnegie Hall; Landlord Presses Cases Despite City Plan to Save Famous Music House|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/04/30/archives/evictions-fought-at-carnegie-hall-landlord-presses-cases-despite.html|access-date=August 20, 2021|archive-date=August 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820145555/https://www.nytimes.com/1960/04/30/archives/evictions-fought-at-carnegie-hall-landlord-presses-cases-despite.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The same year, special legislation was passed allowing the city government to buy the site from Simon for $5&nbsp;million, and Simon used the money to establish [[Reston, Virginia]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=McFadden|first=Robert D.|date=September 21, 2015|title=Robert E. Simon Jr., Who Created a Town, Reston, Va., Dies at 101|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/22/realestate/communities/robert-e-simon-jr-founder-of-reston-va-dies-at-101.html|access-date=December 18, 2020|archive-date=May 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190524030217/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/22/realestate/communities/robert-e-simon-jr-founder-of-reston-va-dies-at-101.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The city leased the hall to the Carnegie Hall Corporation, a nonprofit organization formed to run the venue.<ref name="NY1960" /> For 15 years, the Carnegie Hall Corporation paid the New York City government $183,600 in cash. Afterward, the corporation started paying the city through benefit concerts and outreach programs.<ref name="nyt19820221" /><ref name="Stern (2006) p. 731" /> Carnegie Hall was designated a [[National Historic Landmark]] in 1962.<ref name="nhlsum" /><ref>{{cite web|last=Greenwood|first=Richard|date=May 30, 1975|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory: Carnegie Hall|url={{NHLS url|id=66000535}}|access-date=November 14, 2014|publisher=[[National Park Service]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=May 30, 1975|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory: Carnegie Hall—Accompanying Photos|url={{NHLS url|id=66000535|photos=y}}|access-date=November 14, 2014|publisher=National Park Service}}</ref> The landmark status was certified in 1964, and a National Historic Landmark plaque was placed on the building.<ref>{{Cite news|date=November 7, 1964|title=Carnegie Hall Designated as a 'National Landmark'|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/11/07/archives/carnegie-hall-designated-as-a-national-landmark.html|access-date=August 19, 2021|archive-date=August 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819014455/https://www.nytimes.com/1964/11/07/archives/carnegie-hall-designated-as-a-national-landmark.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=November 7, 1964|title=Carnegie Hall Made National Landmark|page=9|newspaper=[[Democrat and Chronicle]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83713903/carnegie-hall-made-national-landmark/|access-date=August 19, 2021|archive-date=August 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819012954/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83713903/carnegie-hall-made-national-landmark/|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]] also designated Carnegie Hall as a city landmark in September 1967.<ref name="nycland" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Callahan|first=John P.|date=August 7, 1967|title=Old Water Tower Now a Landmark; City Commission Designates Pillar on Harlem River and 10 Other Structures|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/08/07/archives/old-water-tower-now-a-landmark-city-commission-designates-pillar-on.html|access-date=August 20, 2021|archive-date=August 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820144213/https://www.nytimes.com/1967/08/07/archives/old-water-tower-now-a-landmark-city-commission-designates-pillar-on.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Deterioration and renovation ===

==== 1960s and 1970s ====
A minor renovation of Carnegie Hall's interior, as well as a steam-cleaning of the facade, took place in mid-1960.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hughes |first=Allen|author-link=Allen Hughes|date=July 22, 1960 |title=Carnegie Hall Getting New Paint and Upholstery for Fall Season|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/07/22/archives/carnegie-hall-getting-new-paint-and-upholstery-for-fall-season.html |url-status=live |access-date=August 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819182659/https://www.nytimes.com/1960/07/22/archives/carnegie-hall-getting-new-paint-and-upholstery-for-fall-season.html |archive-date=August 19, 2021}}</ref> The basement recital hall became a movie theater called the Carnegie Playhouse. A screen was installed at the front of the former stage, while the balconies and side galleries were sealed.<ref name="nyt19980103" /><ref name="Stern (2006) p. 733" /> The Carnegie Hall Cinema opened in May 1961 with a showing of the film ''[[White Nights (1957 film)|White Nights]]'' by [[Luchino Visconti]].<ref>{{cite news |date=May 29, 1961 |title=Film Notes |page=4|newspaper=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1326941243}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Crowther |first=Bosley|author-link=Bosley Crowther|date=May 29, 1961 |title=Italian Film Opens New Carnegie Hall Cinema|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/05/29/archives/italian-film-opens-new-carnegie-hall-cinema.html |url-status=live |access-date=August 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819182526/https://www.nytimes.com/1961/05/29/archives/italian-film-opens-new-carnegie-hall-cinema.html |archive-date=August 19, 2021}}</ref> Carnegie Hall received a concert organ from the Netherlands in 1965, although the stage had to be renovated before the organ could be installed.<ref name="nyt-1965-06-30">{{Cite news |last=Strongin |first=Theodore|author-link=Theodore Strongin|date=June 30, 1965 |title=A $125,000 Organ Given to Carnegie; Installation Requires Major Alterations to Stage|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/06/30/archives/a-125000-organ-given-to-carnegie-installation-requires-major.html |access-date=September 28, 2022}}</ref> The installation of the organ was delayed several times, as opponents feared that the changes would damage the hall's acoustics.<ref name="nyt-1969-03-20">{{Cite news |last=Henahan |first=Donal|author-link=Donal Henahan|date=March 20, 1969 |title=At Carnegie Hall: 'No Serious Problems'|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/03/20/archives/at-carnegie-hall-no-serious-problems.html |access-date=September 28, 2022}}</ref> Meanwhile, Carnegie Hall was profitable by the late 1960s, having consistently hosted about 350 shows a year during that decade.<ref name="nyt-1969-03-20" />

Carnegie Hall became a more popular destination in the 1960s and 1970s, in part because of complaints over acoustics in the new Philharmonic Hall.<ref name="nyt19820221" /><ref name="Stern (2006) p. 731">{{harvnb|Stern|Fishman|Tilove|2006|ps=.|p=731}}</ref> The deficiencies with Carnegie Hall's facilities became more prominent after the latter's renovation.<ref name="nyt19820221" /> Carnegie Hall began to deteriorate due to neglect, and the corporation faced fiscal deficits. By the mid-1970s, the venue suffered from burst pipes and falling sections of the ceiling, and there were large holes in the balconies that patrons could put their feet through. At the same time, operating costs had increased from $3.5 million in 1977 to $10.3 million in 1984, and the deficits had also risen accordingly.<ref name="p135117567">{{cite news|last=Cox|first=Meg|date=May 17, 1985|title=Fabled Carnegie Hall, Often Close to Death, Will Receive Surgery: But the Challenge to Restorers Of New York Auditorium Is to Avoid Harming It Fabled Carnegie Hall in New York Will Soon Receive Major Surgery|page=1|newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|id={{ProQuest|135117567}}}}</ref> Carnegie Hall's equipment included a rundown air-conditioning system that did not work in the summer.<ref name="Stern (2006) pp. 731-732">{{harvnb|Stern|Fishman|Tilove|2006|ps=.|pp=731–732}}</ref>

In 1977, the Carnegie Hall Corporation decided to stop allowing new residents for its upper-story studios; existing residents were allowed to continue living there.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Schumach |first=Murray |date=November 14, 1977 |title=Carnegie Hall to End Its Live-In Studios for Artists|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/11/14/archives/carnegie-hall-to-end-its-livein-studios-for-artists-carnegie-hall.html |url-status=live |access-date=August 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820144537/https://www.nytimes.com/1977/11/14/archives/carnegie-hall-to-end-its-livein-studios-for-artists-carnegie-hall.html |archive-date=August 20, 2021}}</ref> The studios were instead offered mainly to commercial tenants, who could afford to pay higher rents.<ref name="Herman 1979">{{Cite news |last=Herman |first=Robin |date=February 26, 1979 |title=City Studies Artists' Protests Over Rents at Carnegie Hall|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/02/26/archives/city-studies-artists-protests-over-rents-at-carnegie-hall-250000.html |access-date=September 28, 2022}}</ref> This prompted protests from the existing tenants.<ref name="n110355510" /><ref name="Herman 1979" /> In 1979, the board of Carnegie Hall Corporation hired [[James Stewart Polshek]] and his firm, [[Polshek Partnership]], to create a master plan for Carnegie Hall's renovation and expansion. Polshek found that Carnegie Hall's electrical systems, exits, fire alarms, and other systems were not up to modern building codes.<ref name="nyt19820221" /> The next year, the Carnegie Hall Corporation and the New York City government signed a [[memorandum of understanding]], which would permit the development of the adjacent site to the east, a parking lot.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 732" /><ref name="Shipp">{{Cite news|last=Shipp|first=E. R.|author-link=E. R. Shipp|date=October 21, 1980|title=Carnegie Hall and City Negotiating on Renovation and Air-Rights Use|page=B3|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/10/21/archives/carnegie-hall-and-city-negotiating-on-renovation-and-airrights-use.html|access-date=August 19, 2021|archive-date=August 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819000418/https://www.nytimes.com/1980/10/21/archives/carnegie-hall-and-city-negotiating-on-renovation-and-airrights-use.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Smith|first=Randy|date=October 21, 1980|title=Mull sale of air rights over Carnegie Hall|page=65|newspaper=New York Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83767827/mull-sale-of-air-rights-over-carnegie/|access-date=August 19, 2021|archive-date=August 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819224128/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83767827/mull-sale-of-air-rights-over-carnegie/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1981, the federal government gave Carnegie Hall $1.8 million for the renovation; the city and Astor Foundation had previously given $450,000.<ref>{{Cite news|date=January 21, 1981|title=U.S. Gives $1.8 Million For Carnegie Renovation|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/01/21/arts/us-gives-1.8-million-for-carnegie-renovation.html|access-date=August 21, 2021|archive-date=August 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210821151423/https://www.nytimes.com/1981/01/21/arts/us-gives-1.8-million-for-carnegie-renovation.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== 1980s ====
The first renovations started in February 1982 with the restoration and reconstruction of the recital hall and studio entrance.<ref name="nyt19820221">{{Cite news|last=Rockwell|first=John|author-link=John Rockwell|date=February 21, 1982|title=Carnegie Hall Begins $20 Million Renovation|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/02/21/arts/carnegie-hall-begins-20-million-renovation.html|access-date=December 18, 2020|archive-date=August 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819002354/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/02/21/arts/carnegie-hall-begins-20-million-renovation.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The lobby was lowered to street level, the box office was relocated behind the main auditorium, and two archways were added to the 57th Street facade.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 732" /><ref>{{cite news|last=Goldberger|first=Paul|date=March 7, 1982|title=A Superb Scheme for the Renovation of Carnegie Hall|page=D27|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/07/arts/architecture-view-superb-scheme-for-renovation-carnagie-hall-paul-goldberg.html|access-date=August 21, 2021|id={{ProQuest|121888912}}|archive-date=August 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210821151430/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/07/arts/architecture-view-superb-scheme-for-renovation-carnagie-hall-paul-goldberg.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A new lobby and dedicated elevator for the recital hall were also created.<ref name="p424782471" /><ref name="n83763694">{{Cite news|date=July 4, 1982|first=Peter|last=Goodman|title=A building boom for the arts|page=117|newspaper=[[Newsday]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83763694/a-building-boom-for-the-arts/|access-date=August 19, 2021|archive-date=August 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819213805/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83763694/a-building-boom-for-the-arts/|url-status=live}}</ref> The Carnegie Hall Corporation was also looking to develop a vacant lot immediately east of Carnegie Hall.<ref name="n83763694" /><ref name="Shipp"/> The renovation was complicated by the fact that some parts of the original plans had been lost.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 732" /><ref name="nyt19820221" /> A controversy also emerged when the Carnegie Hall Corporation started evicting longtime tenants of the upper-story studios, particularly those who refused to pay steeply increased rents.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Phelps|first=Timothy M.|date=January 18, 1981|title=Carnegie Hall and Tenants Wrangle Over Rent Rises|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/01/18/nyregion/carnegie-hall-and-tenants-wrangle-over-rent-rises.html|access-date=August 20, 2021|archive-date=August 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820144536/https://www.nytimes.com/1981/01/18/nyregion/carnegie-hall-and-tenants-wrangle-over-rent-rises.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=King|first=Martin|date=April 2, 1982|title=Tenants: Carnegie Hall is giving us the hook|page=94|newspaper=New York Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83713538/tenants-carnegie-hall-is-giving-us-the/|access-date=August 19, 2021|archive-date=August 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819012947/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83713538/tenants-carnegie-hall-is-giving-us-the/|url-status=live}}</ref> The first phase of the renovation was completed in September 1983 for $20 million.<ref name="p424782471" /> A second phase included upgrades to mechanical systems, such as air-conditioning and elevators.<ref name="nyt19850517" /><ref name="n110354481">{{Cite news |last=Shepard |first=Joan |date=July 28, 1986 |title=Carnegie crescendoing |page=93|newspaper=[[New York Daily News]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110354481/carnegie-crescendoingjoan-shepard/ |access-date=September 28, 2022}}</ref><ref name="n110355099">{{Cite news |last=Goodman |first=Peter |date=December 16, 1985 |title=Carnegie gets $3.7 Million gifts |page=123|newspaper=[[Newsday]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110355099/carnegie-gets-37-million-giftspeter/ |access-date=September 28, 2022}}</ref>

[[File:Carnegie Hall Tower.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Carnegie Hall Tower]] next to Carnegie Hall]]

As part of the third phase of renovations, a recording studio called the Alice and Jacob M. Kaplan Space was built within the old chapter room on the fifth floor, directly above the main hall.<ref name="n110354481" /><ref name="n110355099" /> The Kaplan Space opened in March 1985.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 4, 1985 |title=Carnegie Hall Opens Studio for Rehearsal and Recording|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/04/04/arts/carnegie-hall-opens-studio-for-rehearsal-and-recording.html |access-date=September 28, 2022}}</ref> The corporation announced in May 1985 that the main hall and recital hall would be closed for several months. The corporation also started a fundraising drive to raise the $50 million needed to fund the renovation; more than half of the funding had already been raised at the time. A new structure designed by [[César Pelli]], later to become the [[Carnegie Hall Tower]], was planned for the lot immediately east of Carnegie Hall.<ref name="p135117567" /><ref name="nyt19850517">{{Cite news|last=Rockwell|first=John|author-link=John Rockwell|date=May 17, 1985|title=Carnegie Hall to Close for 7 Months Next Year|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/17/arts/carnegie-hall-to-close-for-7-months-next-year.html|access-date=August 18, 2021|archive-date=August 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819000419/https://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/17/arts/carnegie-hall-to-close-for-7-months-next-year.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=May 20, 1985|title=Carnegie Hall renovations|page=118|newspaper=[[Newsday]]|first=Peter|last=Goodman|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83806992/carnegie-hall-renovations/|access-date=August 20, 2021|archive-date=August 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820173056/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83806992/carnegie-hall-renovations/|url-status=live}}</ref> Further upgrades, which required the main and recital halls' closure, included upgrades to both halls, the lobby, the facade, backstage areas, and offices. The lobby was lowered to street level and doubled in size.<ref name="Shepard 1986" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Rockwell|first=John|author-link=John Rockwell|date=April 16, 1986|title=Carnegie Hall's Plans|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/16/arts/carnegie-hall-s-plans.html|access-date=August 18, 2021|archive-date=August 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819000421/https://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/16/arts/carnegie-hall-s-plans.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the proposed renovation in July 1985.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 732" /><ref>{{Cite news|date=July 25, 1985|title=Landmarks Panel Backs Carnegie Hall Project|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/25/arts/landmarks-panel-backs-carnegie-hall-project.html|access-date=August 21, 2021|archive-date=August 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210821151423/https://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/25/arts/landmarks-panel-backs-carnegie-hall-project.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Renovation work began afterward. The project was complicated by the need to schedule construction around performances, the lack of a freight elevator, and the requirement that materials be replaced with close or exact replacements.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Purdum|first=Todd S.|date=January 5, 1986|title=Art Slows Carnegie's Rebuilding|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/05/nyregion/art-slows-carnegie-s-rebuilding.html|access-date=August 21, 2021|archive-date=August 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210821151421/https://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/05/nyregion/art-slows-carnegie-s-rebuilding.html|url-status=live}}</ref>  In April 1986, Carnegie officials announced their intent to sublease the vacant lot to Rockrose Development for the construction of Carnegie Hall Tower.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Goldberger|first=Paul|date=April 30, 1986|title=Carnegie Hall Details Plans for Office Tower|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/30/arts/carnegie-hall-details-plans-for-office-tower.html|access-date=August 19, 2021|archive-date=May 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524194608/https://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/30/arts/carnegie-hall-details-plans-for-office-tower.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Flynn|first=Kevin|date=April 30, 1986|title=Carnegie Plans For Office Tower|page=21|newspaper=[[Newsday]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83772420/carnegie-plans-for-office-tower/|access-date=August 19, 2021|archive-date=August 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820000649/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83772420/carnegie-plans-for-office-tower/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Shepard|first=Joan|date=April 30, 1986|title=Deal will make Carnegie tall|page=103|newspaper=New York Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83772217/deal-will-make-carnegie-tall/|access-date=August 19, 2021|archive-date=August 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820000649/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83772217/deal-will-make-carnegie-tall/|url-status=live}}</ref> The following month, the hall closed completely for a seven-month renovation.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Larkin|first=Kathy|date=May 15, 1986|title=They shutter to think of the future for hall|page=157|newspaper=New York Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83807252/they-shutter-to-think-of-the-future-for/|access-date=August 20, 2021|archive-date=August 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820173057/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83807252/they-shutter-to-think-of-the-future-for/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Goodman|first=Peter|date=May 8, 1986|title=Restoring Carnegie Hall to Its Glory|page=199|newspaper=Newsday|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83807475/restoring-carnegie-hall-to-its-glory/|access-date=August 20, 2021|archive-date=August 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820173057/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83807475/restoring-carnegie-hall-to-its-glory/|url-status=live}}</ref> The hall's plaster decorations were restored, although the carpeting and seats were replaced.<ref name="n110354481" /> That November, Carnegie Hall announced it would rename the recital hall after Joan and Sanford I. Weill, who not only were major donors to the renovation but also enlisted other donors to fund the project.<ref name="n110349671" /><ref name="nyt-1986-11-06" /> The Weill family had donated $2.5 million, more than any other donor in the hall's history.<ref name="n110349671" />

The main hall (including the Stern Auditorium) was reopened on December 15, 1986, with a gala featuring [[Zubin Mehta]], [[Frank Sinatra]], [[Vladimir Horowitz]], and the New York Philharmonic.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Rockwell|first=John|author-link=John Rockwell|date=December 16, 1986|title=Rejuvenated Carnegie Is Again Premier Hall|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/12/16/arts/rejuvenated-carnegie-is-again-premier-hall.html|access-date=August 19, 2021|archive-date=August 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819012948/https://www.nytimes.com/1986/12/16/arts/rejuvenated-carnegie-is-again-premier-hall.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Whitaker|first=Barbara|date=December 16, 1986|title=Reborn Splendor on 57th Street|page=4|newspaper=Newsday|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83713663/reborn-splendor-on-57th-street/|access-date=August 19, 2021|archive-date=August 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819012953/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83713663/reborn-splendor-on-57th-street/|url-status=live}}</ref> The Kaplan Rehearsal Space was also created in 1986,<ref>{{cite web|title=History of the Hall: Timeline – 1986 Full interior renovation completed|url=http://www.carnegiehall.org/History/Timeline/Timeline.aspx?id=4294968843|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304095338/http://www.carnegiehall.org/History/Timeline/Timeline.aspx?id=4294968843|archive-date=March 4, 2016|access-date=November 14, 2014|publisher=Carnegie Hall}}</ref> and the Weill Recital Hall opened in January 1987.<ref>{{Cite news|date=January 3, 1987|title=Weill Recital Hall to Open With Festival|page=45|newspaper=Newsday|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83833266/weill-recital-hall-to-open-with-festival/|access-date=August 20, 2021|archive-date=August 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210821000546/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83833266/weill-recital-hall-to-open-with-festival/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Rockwell|first=John|author-link=John Rockwell|date=January 6, 1987|title=Weill Recital Hall Opens at Carnegie|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/06/arts/weill-recital-hall-opens-at-carnegie.html|access-date=August 20, 2021|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818152704/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/06/arts/weill-recital-hall-opens-at-carnegie.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A month after the main hall reopened, ''New York Times'' music critic [[Bernard Holland]] criticized its acoustics, saying: "The acoustics of this magnificent space are not the same."<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 732">{{harvnb|Stern|Fishman|Tilove|2006|ps=.|p=732}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Holland|first=Bernard|author-link=Bernard Holland|date=January 29, 1987|title=Critic's Notebook; Setting the Right Tone for 'new' Carnegie Hall|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/29/arts/critic-s-notebook-setting-the-right-tone-for-new-carnegie-hall.html|access-date=August 20, 2021|archive-date=August 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820173056/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/29/arts/critic-s-notebook-setting-the-right-tone-for-new-carnegie-hall.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Weill Recital Hall also received complaints about its acoustics, prompting Carnegie Hall officials to test out noise-absorbing panels in that space.<ref name="nyt-1987-04-16">{{Cite news |last=Holland |first=Bernard|author-link=Bernard Holland|date=April 16, 1987 |title=New Season for Carnegie and New Sound for Weill|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/16/arts/new-season-for-carnegie-and-new-sound-for-weill.html |access-date=September 28, 2022 }}</ref> Several noise-absorbing panels were installed in the main hall in 1988,<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 732" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Kozinn|first=Allan|author-link=Allan Kozinn|date=September 22, 1988|title=Critic's Notebook; Seeking a Consensus on Carnegie|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/22/arts/critic-s-notebook-seeking-a-consensus-on-carnegie.html|access-date=August 20, 2021|archive-date=August 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820173058/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/22/arts/critic-s-notebook-seeking-a-consensus-on-carnegie.html|url-status=live}}</ref> but complaints continued for several years.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 732" /> Critics alleged there was concrete underneath the stage, but Carnegie Hall officials denied the allegations. Isaac Stern offered to disassemble the stage on the condition that the critics pay for the repairs if no concrete was found.<ref name="nyt19950914">{{cite news|last=Kozinn|first=Allan|author-link=Allan Kozinn|date=September 14, 1995|title=A Phantom Exposed: Concrete at Carnegie|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/14/us/a-phantom-exposed-concrete-at-carnegie.html?pagewanted=all|access-date=November 14, 2014|archive-date=November 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119062208/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/14/us/a-phantom-exposed-concrete-at-carnegie.html?pagewanted=all|url-status=live}}</ref> Polshek Partners won the [[American Institute of Architects]]' Honor Award in 1988 for its renovation of the hall.<ref name="Arch 1992-03" />

==== 1990s and early 2000s ====
During the late 1980s, Carnegie Hall had begun collecting items for the opening of a museum in the under-construction Carnegie Hall Tower.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Shepard|first=Richard F.|date=May 12, 1988|title=Carnegie Hall Marks a Milestone for a Cornerstone|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/12/arts/carnegie-hall-marks-a-milestone-for-a-cornerstone.html|access-date=August 20, 2021|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818224625/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/12/arts/carnegie-hall-marks-a-milestone-for-a-cornerstone.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p280806961">{{cite news|last=Soble|first=Ronald L.|date=May 13, 1989|title=Carnegie Hall Seeks Mementos as 100th Birthday Approaches Musical, Cultural and Political History Taking Shape at Venerable N.Y. Site|page=14|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|id={{ProQuest|280806961}}}}</ref> The Rose Museum was founded in April 1991,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Koenenn|first=Joseph C.|date=April 23, 1991|title=History From the Pockets of Tchiakovsky|page=60|newspaper=[[Newsday]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83839111/history-from-the-pockets-of-tchiakovsky/|access-date=August 21, 2021|archive-date=August 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210821012930/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83839111/history-from-the-pockets-of-tchiakovsky/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Zakariasen|first=Bill|date=April 23, 1991|title=Carnegie halls out its history|page=31|newspaper=New York Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83839140/carnegie-halls-out-its-history/|access-date=August 21, 2021|archive-date=August 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210821012930/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83839140/carnegie-halls-out-its-history/|url-status=live}}</ref> with its own entrance at 154 West 57th Street.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kozinn|first=Allan|author-link=Allan Kozinn|date=February 8, 1992|title=Music Notes; Composers Orchestra Defies the Conventional|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/08/arts/music-notes-composers-orchestra-defies-the-conventional.html|access-date=August 20, 2021|archive-date=August 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820003328/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/08/arts/music-notes-composers-orchestra-defies-the-conventional.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The East Room and Club Room (later renamed Rohatyn Room and Shorin Club Room, respectively<ref>{{cite web|date=April 3, 2020|title=Rent the Shorin Club Room and Rohatyn Room|url=https://www.carnegiehall.org/About/Rentals/Event-Spaces/Shorin-Club-Room-and-Rohatyn-Room|access-date=August 20, 2021|website=Carnegie Hall|archive-date=August 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820004724/https://www.carnegiehall.org/About/Rentals/Event-Spaces/Shorin-Club-Room-and-Rohatyn-Room|url-status=live}}</ref>) were created the same year. Though the East and Club rooms were in Carnegie Hall Tower, they were connected to the original Carnegie Hall.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Deutsch|first=Claudia H.|date=October 11, 1992|title=Commercial Property: Carnegie Hall; What's Playing? Maybe a Rousing Business Meeting|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/10/11/realestate/commercial-property-carnegie-hall-what-s-playing-maybe-rousing-business-meeting.html|access-date=August 20, 2021|archive-date=August 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820004703/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/10/11/realestate/commercial-property-carnegie-hall-what-s-playing-maybe-rousing-business-meeting.html|url-status=live}}</ref> This represented the first new space added to Carnegie Hall since the studios were added in the late 1890s.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Mangaliman|first=Jessie|date=November 21, 1987|title=Expanding Carnegie Hall|page=15|newspaper=[[Newsday]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83776361/expanding-carnegie-hall/|access-date=August 20, 2021|archive-date=August 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820010635/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83776361/expanding-carnegie-hall/|url-status=live}}</ref> At the parquet level, Cafe Carnegie was also renovated.<ref name="Arch 1992-03" />

The stage of the main hall had begun to warp by the early 1990s, and officials disassembled the stage in 1995, where they did in fact discover a slab of concrete.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 732" /><ref name="nyt19950914" /> [[John L. Tishman]], president of [[Tishman Realty & Construction]], which had renovated the stage in 1986, alleged that the concrete was there before the renovation.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 732" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Kozinn|first=Allan|author-link=Allan Kozinn|date=September 20, 1995|title=Case of the Carnegie Concrete, Chapter II|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/20/arts/case-of-the-carnegie-concrete-chapter-ii.html|access-date=August 20, 2021|archive-date=August 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820173058/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/20/arts/case-of-the-carnegie-concrete-chapter-ii.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The concrete was removed in mid-1995 while Carnegie Hall was closed for the summer;<ref>{{Cite news|last=Page|first=Tim|date=September 14, 1995|title=Carnegie Hall Hopes New Floor Is a Sound One|page=8|newspaper=[[Newsday]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83808803/carnegie-hall-hopes-new-floor-is-a/|access-date=August 20, 2021|archive-date=August 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820173056/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83808803/carnegie-hall-hopes-new-floor-is-a/|url-status=live}}</ref> soon afterward, critics described a noticeable change in the acoustics, generally said to be improvement.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Oestreich|first=James R.|author-link=James R. Oestreich|date=March 5, 1996|title=Assessing Carnegie Hall Without the Concrete|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/05/arts/assessing-carnegie-hall-without-the-concrete.html|access-date=August 20, 2021|archive-date=August 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820173056/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/05/arts/assessing-carnegie-hall-without-the-concrete.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the basement, the Carnegie Hall Cinema operated separately from the rest of Carnegie Hall until 1997, when the hall's management closed the cinema, along with two shops on Seventh Avenue. In late 1998, Carnegie Hall announced that it would turn the basement recital hall into another performance venue, designed by Polshek Associates. The project was to cost $50 million; the high cost was attributed to the fact that the work would require excavations under the basement while concerts and other events were ongoing.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Blumenthal|first=Ralph|author-link=Ralph Blumenthal|date=December 14, 1998|title=Carnegie Hall Expanding, Using Underground Space|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/14/arts/carnegie-hall-expanding-using-underground-space.html|access-date=August 19, 2021|archive-date=August 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819182525/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/14/arts/carnegie-hall-expanding-using-underground-space.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In recognition of a $10 million grant from Arthur and Judy Zankel, the new space was renamed after the Zankels in January 1999; the auditorium proper was named after Judith Arron, who donated $5 million.<ref name="nyt19990112" />  Construction took place without disrupting performances or the nearby subway tunnel.<ref name="AR 2005-01" /> Zankel Hall had been planned to open in early 2003, but the opening date was postponed due to the city's economic difficulties after the [[September 11 attacks]] in 2001.<ref name="UPI 2003" /><ref name="The New York Times 2001" /> The excavations also raised the budget to $69 million.<ref name="The New York Times 2001">{{Cite news|date=November 1, 2001|title=Carnegie Delays Opening of Additional Hall|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/01/arts/carnegie-delays-opening-of-additional-hall.html|access-date=August 19, 2021|archive-date=August 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819212820/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/01/arts/carnegie-delays-opening-of-additional-hall.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== 2000s to present ===

In June 2003, tentative plans were made for the Philharmonic to return to Carnegie Hall beginning in 2006, and for the orchestra to merge its business operations with those of the venue. However, the two groups abandoned these plans later that year.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=N.Y. Philharmonic, Carnegie Merger Off |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/ny-philharmonic-carnegie-merger-off-68748/<!-- |agency=[[Associated Press]] -->|date=October 8, 2003 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|access-date=May 10, 2024|archive-date=December 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206141659/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/68748/ny-philharmonic-carnegie-merger-off |url-status=live}}</ref> Zankel Hall opened in September 2003.<ref name="UPI 2003" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Kozinn |first=Allan|author-link=Allan Kozinn|date=September 12, 2003 |title=A Three-Ring House of Music, Willing and Able to Surprise|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/12/movies/a-three-ring-house-of-music-willing-and-able-to-surprise.html |access-date=August 19, 2021|archive-date=August 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819212822/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/12/movies/a-three-ring-house-of-music-willing-and-able-to-surprise.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Music critic [[Anthony Tommasini]] praised Zankel Hall's flexibility, though he said "the builders did not quite succeed in insulating the auditorium from the sounds of passing trains".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tommasini |first=Anthony|author-link=Anthony Tommasini|date=September 15, 2003 |title=Music Review: Opening Weekend at Zankel Hall; Trash Cans on the Stage, a Subway Underfoot|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/15/arts/music-review-opening-weekend-zankel-hall-trash-cans-stage-subway-underfoot.html |access-date=August 19, 2021|archive-date=August 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819214321/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/15/arts/music-review-opening-weekend-zankel-hall-trash-cans-stage-subway-underfoot.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Architecturally, the space was described by critic [[Herbert Muschamp]] as "a luxury version of a black-box theater, the hall has the feel of a broadcasting studio, which it partly is".<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 733" /><ref name=Muschamp /> Though Zankel Hall's large capacity was highly publicized, it was only reconfigured once in its first two and a half years of operation.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wakin |first=Daniel J. |date=November 25, 2005 |title=At Eclectic Zankel Hall, One Thing Rarely Varies|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/25/arts/music/at-eclectic-zankel-hall-one-thing-rarely-varies.html |access-date=August 19, 2021 |archive-date=August 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819212824/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/25/arts/music/at-eclectic-zankel-hall-one-thing-rarely-varies.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The Stern Auditorium's stage was renamed in March 2006 after [[Ronald Perelman]], who had donated $20 million to Carnegie Hall.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gelder |first=Lawrence Van|author-link=Lawrence Van Gelder|date=March 4, 2006 |title=Arts, Briefly|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/04/arts/arts-briefly.html |access-date=August 20, 2021|archive-date=August 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820003328/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/04/arts/arts-briefly.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Frank |first=Robert |date=March 3, 2006 |title=Perelman's New Platform|newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB114134291021688065 |access-date=August 20, 2021|archive-date=August 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820003329/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB114134291021688065 |url-status=live}}</ref>

At the end of 2005, Carnegie Hall formed a partnership with the neighboring  City Center.<ref name="n120243767">{{Cite news |last=Dobnik |first=Verena |date=December 3, 2005 |title=Carnegie Hall, City Center forge artistic partnership |page=20|newspaper=[[The Journal News]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120243767/carnegie-hall-city-center-forge/ |access-date=March 5, 2023}}</ref><ref name="nyt-2005-12-03">{{Cite news |last=Wakin |first=Daniel J. |date=December 3, 2005 |title=Two Halls Will Share Theaters and Funds|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/03/arts/music/two-halls-will-share-theaters-and-funds.html |access-date=March 5, 2023}}</ref> The agreement would have allowed the venues to host each other's dance, music, and theater programs; however, the partnership was canceled in early 2007.<ref name="nyt-2007-09-01">{{Cite news |last=Wakin |first=Daniel J. |date=September 1, 2007 |title=As Merger with Carnegie Crumbles, City Center Will Delay Its Renovation|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/01/arts/music/01carn.html |access-date=March 5, 2023}}</ref> Carnegie Hall Corporation announced later in 2007 that it would evict all the remaining tenants of its upper-story studios so the corporation could convert the space into offices.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dwyer |first=Jim|author-link=Jim Dwyer (journalist)|date=August 1, 2007 |title=A Requiem for Tenants of Carnegie|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/01/nyregion/01about.html |access-date=August 20, 2021|archive-date=August 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820144538/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/01/nyregion/01about.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=August 12, 2007 |title=Carnegie Artist Tenants Fight Eviction |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12721925 |access-date=August 20, 2021 |website=NPR.org |archive-date=August 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820144538/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12721925 |url-status=live}}</ref> By 2010, the last tenant had moved out.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Robbins |first=Liz |date=August 28, 2010 |title=In Apartments Above Carnegie Hall, a Coda for Longtime Residents|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/28/nyregion/28carnegie.html |access-date=August 20, 2021|archive-date=August 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820144539/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/28/nyregion/28carnegie.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2014, Carnegie Hall opened its Judith and Burton Resnick Education Wing.<ref name=nyt20140912 /> The new wing houses 24 music rooms, one of which is large enough to hold an orchestra or a chorus.<ref name=nyt20140912 /><ref name="AIA2017" /> The $230&nbsp;million project was funded with gifts from [[Sanford I. Weill|Joan and Sanford I. Weill]] and the Weill Family Fund, Judith and Burton Resnick, [[Lily Safra]] and other donors, as well as $52.2&nbsp;million from the city, $11&nbsp;million from the state, and $56.5&nbsp;million from bonds issued through the Trust for Cultural Resources of the City of New York.<ref name=nyt20140912>{{cite news |first=Michael |last=Cooper |date=September 12, 2014 |title=Carnegie Hall Makes Room for Future Stars: Resnick Education Wing Prepares to Open at Carnegie Hall |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/13/arts/music/resnick-education-wing-prepares-to-open.html|newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=November 14, 2014|archive-date=July 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706163106/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/13/arts/music/resnick-education-wing-prepares-to-open.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[American Institute of Architects]] gave an architectural award to the project in 2017.<ref name="AIA2017">{{cite web |url=https://www.aia.org/showcases/25541-carnegie-hall-studio-towers-renovation-proje |title=Carnegie Hall Studio Towers Renovation Project |publisher=American Institute of Architects |date=2017 |access-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-date=December 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214170534/https://www.aia.org/showcases/25541-carnegie-hall-studio-towers-renovation-proje |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Warerkar 2017">{{cite web |last=Warerkar |first=Tanay |title=4 NYC buildings are among AIA's best projects by U.S. architects |website=Curbed NY |date=January 17, 2017 |url=https://ny.curbed.com/2017/1/17/14296618/best-nyc-architecture-aia-carnegie-hall-rainbow-room |access-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-date=January 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170120161257/http://ny.curbed.com/2017/1/17/14296618/best-nyc-architecture-aia-carnegie-hall-rainbow-room |url-status=live}}</ref>

Carnegie Hall closed temporarily in March 2020 due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in New York City]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hernández |first=Javier C. |date=June 8, 2021 |title=Bruised by the Pandemic, Carnegie Hall Plans a Comeback|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/08/arts/music/carnegie-hall-pandemic-reopening.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/08/arts/music/carnegie-hall-pandemic-reopening.html |archive-date=December 28, 2021 |url-access=limited |access-date=August 18, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="ABC News 2021" /> The hall reopened on October 6, 2021, with a performance by the [[Philadelphia Orchestra]].<ref name="Simon 2021">{{cite web |last=Simon |first=Stephanie |title=Carnegie Hall reopens to music inspired by 7 p.m. cheering |website=Spectrum News NY1 &#124; New York City |date=October 6, 2021 |url=https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2021/10/06/carnegie-hall-reopens-to-music-inspired-by-7-oclock-cheering-for-first-responders-and-medical-workers |access-date=November 21, 2021 |archive-date=November 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121161635/https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2021/10/06/carnegie-hall-reopens-to-music-inspired-by-7-oclock-cheering-for-first-responders-and-medical-workers |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Carnegie Hall reopened Wednesday night for 1st live concert since start of pandemic |website=ABC7 New York |date=October 6, 2021 |url=https://abc7ny.com/11089319/ |access-date=November 21, 2021 |archive-date=October 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006143920/https://abc7ny.com/11089319/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Carnegie Hall returned to hosting a full schedule of programming during the 2022–2023 season.<ref name="Press 2022">{{cite web |agency=Associated Press |title=Carnegie Hall plans return to full schedule in 2022–23 |website=amNewYork |date=April 26, 2022 |url=https://www.amny.com/entertainment/arts-entertainment/carnegie-hall-plans-return-to-full-schedule-in-2022-23/ |access-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609003150/https://www.amny.com/entertainment/arts-entertainment/carnegie-hall-plans-return-to-full-schedule-in-2022-23/ |url-status=live}}</ref> A new cafe at Carnegie Hall, the Weill Cafe, opened in January 2024.<ref name="Orlow 2024 t958">{{cite web | last=Orlow | first=Emma | title=Carnegie Hall Is Adding a New Restaurant | website=Eater NY | date=January 10, 2024 | url=https://ny.eater.com/2024/1/10/24029976/carnegie-hall-weill-cafe-restaurant-opening | access-date=January 10, 2024}}<br />{{cite web | last=Fabricant | first=Florence | title=You Don't Need a Ticket for Weill Café at Carnegie Hall | website=The New York Times | date=January 16, 2024 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/16/dining/weill-cafe-carnegie-hall.html | access-date=January 17, 2024}}</ref> Although Carnegie Hall was recording record-high box-office revenue by the 2023–2024 season, inflation and ongoing renovations had reduced the venue's operating surplus to $2 million, compared with $10 million in 2019.<ref>{{cite web | last=Elstein | first=Aaron | title=Moody's signals concern for Carnegie Hall despite record-breaking box office season | website=Crain&#039;s New York Business | date=July 23, 2025 | url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/arts-entertainment/carnegie-halls-outlook-lowered-negative-moodys | access-date=November 14, 2025}}</ref>

== Events and performances ==
{{See also|World premieres at Carnegie Hall|Category:Albums recorded at Carnegie Hall}}

=== Orchestral performances ===
[[Symphony No. 9 (Dvořák)|Symphony No. 9, opus 95, "From the New World"]] by [[Antonín Dvořák]], performed on December 16, 1893, was the first world premiere at Carnegie Hall.<ref name="Page p. 19" /> By the 1900s, conductors such as [[Richard Strauss]], [[Ruggero Leoncavallo]], [[Camille Saint-Saëns]], [[Alexander Scriabin]], [[Edward Elgar]], and [[Sergei Rachmaninoff]] were staging or performing their own music at Carnegie Hall.<ref name="Page pp. 19-20" /> In its early years, Carnegie Hall hosted the New York Philharmonic and Symphony, as well as the [[Boston Symphony Orchestra]], the [[Philadelphia Symphonic Orchestra]], and other visiting orchestra companies.<ref name="nyt-1920-07-04" /> In particular, the Boston Symphony Orchestra regularly performed at Carnegie Hall after its first concert in 1893, and [[Leopold Stokowski]] of the Philadelphia Symphonic Orchestra regularly performed at the hall for six decades.<ref name="Page p. 20" />

The hall also hosted recitals by solo performers such as pianists [[Arthur Rubinstein]] and [[Mieczysław Horszowski]], who both debuted at Carnegie Hall in 1906 and continued performing there until 1976 and 1989, respectively.<ref name="Page p. 20" />

The [[NBC Symphony Orchestra]], conducted by [[Arturo Toscanini]], frequently recorded in the Main Hall for [[RCA Victor]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Gold|first=Gerald|date=1990-03-21|title=All of Toscanini's Recordings to be Issued|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/21/arts/all-of-toscanini-s-recordings-to-be-issued.html|access-date=2023-03-06}}</ref> On November 14, 1943, the 25-year-old [[Leonard Bernstein]] had his major conducting debut when he had to substitute for a suddenly ill [[Bruno Walter]] in a concert that was broadcast by [[CBS]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Page|first=Tim|author-link=Tim Page (music critic)|date=September 20, 1985|title=At 67, Bernstein Comes Home to Carnegie Hall|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/09/20/arts/at-67-bernstein-comes-home-to-carnegie-hall.html|access-date=March 6, 2023}} See also [[:File:1943 Nov 14 NYPhil Bernstein.jpg|Playbill]] and [[:File:1943 Nov 14 NYPhil Bernstein.ogg|CBS announcement]], concert on November 14, 1943.</ref> In late 1950, the NBC Symphony Orchestra's weekly broadcast concerts were moved there,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Taubman|first=Howard|author-link=Howard Taubman|date=December 27, 1950|title=Toscanini to Lead N.B.C. Broadcasts; First of New Symphony Series Starting on Jan. 27 Will Be a Verdi Memorial|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1950/12/27/archives/toscanini-to-lead-nbc-broadcasts-first-of-new-symphony-series.html|access-date=March 6, 2023}}</ref> remaining until the orchestra disbanded following Toscanini's retirement in April 1954.<ref>{{cite magazine| last=Francesconi | first=Gino | title=The Maestro Retires |magazine=[[Playbill]]| date=April 1, 2004 | url=https://playbill.com/article/the-maestro-retires | access-date=March 6, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Taubman|first=Howard|author-link=Howard Taubman|date=April 5, 1954|title=Toscanini Quits Symphony, May Close 68-Year Career; Announcement at the End of His Sunday Concert Comes as Surprise|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/04/05/archives/toscanini-quits-symphony-may-close-68year-career-announcement-at.html|access-date=March 6, 2023}}</ref>

=== Other concerts and recitals ===
[[File:National_Youth_Orchestra_of_China_at_Carnegie_Hall.jpg|thumb|A performance at Carnegie Hall]]
Carnegie Hall was desegregated from its opening, in contrast to other music venues like the [[National Theatre (Washington, D.C.)|National Theatre]], which remained segregated well into the 20th century.<ref name="Page p. 21">{{harvnb|Page|2011|p=21|ps=.}}</ref> [[Sissieretta Jones]] became the first African-American to sing at Carnegie Hall on June 15, 1892, less than a year after the hall opened.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lee |first=Maureen D. |title=Sissierettta Jones, "The Greatest Singer of Her Race," 1868–1933 |date=May 2012 |publisher=University of South Carolina Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Hudson |first=Rob |date=September 3, 2007 |title=From Opera, Minstrelsy and Ragtime to Social Justice: An Overview of African American Performers at Carnegie Hall, 1892–1943 |url=http://www.blackpast.org/?q=perspectives/opera-minstrelsy-and-ragtime-social-justice-overview-african-american-performers-carneg |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130916133528/http://www.blackpast.org/?q=perspectives%2Fopera-minstrelsy-and-ragtime-social-justice-overview-african-american-performers-carneg |archive-date=September 16, 2013 |access-date=November 14, 2014 |publisher=The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed}}</ref>

The hall was used for popular music as early as 1912, when [[James Reese Europe]]'s Clef Club Orchestra performed a "proto-jazz" concert there.<ref name="Page p. 20" /> Many jazz performers have also given performances at Carnegie Hall,<ref name="Francesconi 2004 y296">{{cite magazine| last=Francesconi | first=Gino | title=Jazz at Carnegie Hall |magazine=[[Playbill]]| date=June 1, 2004 | url=https://playbill.com/article/jazz-at-carnegie-hall | access-date=February 13, 2024}}</ref>  including [[Benny Goodman]],<ref>{{Cite news|date=January 18, 1938|title=Hot Music at Carnegie|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1938/01/18/archives/hot-music-at-carnegie.html|access-date=February 13, 2024|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> [[Fats Waller]],<ref>{{Cite news|author=R.P.|date=January 15, 1942|title=Fats Waller Heard in Carnegie Recital; 2,600 Attend Event Given by Pianist, Composer and Leader|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1942/01/15/archives/fats-waller-heard-in-carnegie-recital-2600-attend-event-given-by.html|access-date=February 13, 2024|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> [[Duke Ellington]],<ref>{{Cite news|author=N.S.|date=December 12, 1943|title=Ellington's Fans Applaud Concert; Duke Introduces 'New World A-coming' Before Capacity Throng at Carnegie Hall|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1943/12/12/archives/ellingtons-fans-applaud-concert-duke-introduces-new-world-acoming.html|access-date=February 13, 2024|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> [[Norman Granz]],<ref>{{Cite news|date=September 17, 1956|title=Music: Intellectual Jazz; Modern Quartet Stars in Two Concerts Here by the Norman Granz Troupe|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/09/17/archives/music-intellectual-jazz-modern-quartet-stars-in-two-concerts-here.html|access-date=February 13, 2024|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> [[Louis Armstrong]],<ref>{{Cite news|date=February 9, 1947|title=Louis Armstrong Heard; Trumpeter Presents Program of Jazz at Carnegie Hall|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1947/02/09/archives/louis-armstrong-heard-trumpeter-presents-program-of-jazz-at.html|access-date=February 13, 2024|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> [[Dizzy Gillespie]], [[Ella Fitzgerald]], [[Charlie Parker]], [[Billie Holiday]], [[Miles Davis]], [[Gil Evans]],<ref name="carnegiehall.org 2023 o102">{{cite web | website=carnegiehall.org | date=April 25, 2023 | url=https://www.carnegiehall.org/Explore/Articles/2023/04/25/A-Snapshot-of-Jazz-at-Carnegie-Hall |title=A Snapshot of Jazz at Carnegie Hall | access-date=February 13, 2024}}</ref> [[Nina Simone]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Wilson|first=John S.|author-link=John S. Wilson (music critic)|date=January 8, 1968|title=Nina Simone Draws Full House to Carnegie Hall Song Session|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/01/08/archives/nina-simone-draws-full-house-to-carnegie-hall-song-session.html|access-date=February 13, 2024|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> [[Mary Lou Williams]], [[Cecil Taylor]],<ref>{{Cite news|last=Wilson|first=John S.|author-link=John S. Wilson (music critic)|date=April 19, 1977|title=Jazz: Strange Double Piano Bill|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/04/19/archives/jazz-strange-double-piano-bill.html|access-date=February 13, 2024|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> [[Paquito D'Rivera]], [[Arturo Sandoval]], and [[Chucho Valdés]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=June 30, 1978|title=Jazz: Band From Cuba Is an Extra|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/06/30/archives/jazz-band-from-cuba-is-an-extra.html|access-date=February 13, 2024|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> The Benny Goodman Orchestra gave a [[The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert|sold-out swing and jazz concert]] on January 16, 1938, with guest performers such as [[Count Basie]] and members of [[Duke Ellington]]'s orchestra.<ref>{{cite book |last=Tackley |first=Catherine |url=https://archive.org/details/bennygoodmansfam0000tack/page/168/mode/2up |url-access=subscription |title=Benny Goodman's Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert |publisher=OUP USA |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-19-539830-4 |series=Oxford Studies in Recorded Jazz |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=hHESDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA168 168]}}</ref> [[Judy Garland]]'s multi-Grammy-winning live album ''[[Judy At Carnegie Hall]]'' was recorded at the venue on April 23, 1961.<ref>{{cite book | last=Betancourt | first=Manuel | title=Judy Garland's Judy at Carnegie Hall | publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA | date=May 14, 2020 | isbn=978-1-5013-5512-7 | url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Judy_Garland_s_Judy_at_Carnegie_Hall/T5nSDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Judy+At+Carnegie+Hall+recorded+on+April+23,+1961&pg=PA82&printsec=frontcover | page=82}}</ref>

Rock and roll music first came to Carnegie Hall when [[Bill Haley & His Comets]] appeared in a variety benefit concert on May 6, 1955.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1955/05/07/85693342.pdf|title=Stars assist the blind|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 7, 1955|access-date=November 14, 2014|archive-date=March 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200325070325/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1955/05/07/85693342.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|url-status=live}}</ref> Rock acts were not regularly booked at the Hall however, until February 12, 1964, when [[The Beatles]] performed two shows<ref>{{cite web|title=The Beatles at Carnegie Hall|url=http://www.itallhappened.com/the-beatles-at-carnegie-hall-1964-02-12|website=It All Happened – A Living History of Live Music|access-date=April 12, 2013|archive-date=April 7, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130407100249/http://www.itallhappened.com/the-beatles-at-carnegie-hall-1964-02-12|url-status=live}}</ref> during their first trip to the United States.<ref>{{cite news|title=2,900-Voice Chorus Joins The Beatles|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1964/02/13/97379541.pdf|first=John S.|last=Wilson|author-link=John S. Wilson (music critic)|newspaper=The New York Times|date=February 13, 1964|access-date=November 14, 2014|archive-date=March 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200325070319/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1964/02/13/97379541.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|url-status=live}}</ref> Promoter [[Sid Bernstein (impresario)|Sid Bernstein]] convinced Carnegie officials that allowing a Beatles concert at the venue "would further international understanding" between the United States and Great Britain.<ref>{{cite book|first=Nicholas|last=Schaffner|title=The Beatles Forever|location=New York|publisher=Fine Communications|date=July 1977|page=14|isbn=978-1-56731-008-5|url=https://archive.org/details/beatlesforever00scha/page/14|url-access=registration}}</ref> Two concerts by [[Led Zeppelin]] were performed on October 17, 1969.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ledzeppelin.com/show/october-17-1969|date=October 17, 1969|title=Led Zeppelin Timeline – October 17, 1969, New York, NY US|website=ledzeppelin.com|access-date=December 25, 2015|archive-date=February 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207052403/http://www.ledzeppelin.com/show/october-17-1969|url-status=live}}</ref> Since then many rock, [[blues]], [[jazz]] and [[country music|country]] performers have appeared at the hall every season.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.carnegiehall.org/BlogPost.aspx?id=4294989121|date=September 22, 2012|website=The A to Z of Carnegie Hall: R is for Rock 'n' Roll|access-date=December 25, 2015|title=This installment of our A to Z of Carnegie Hall series looks at the letter R—for 'Rock'|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709094901/https://www.carnegiehall.org/BlogPost.aspx?id=4294989121|archive-date=July 9, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> Some performers and bands had contracts that specified decibel limits for performances, an attempt to discourage rock performances at Carnegie Hall.<ref name="p135117567" /> [[Jethro Tull (band)|Jethro Tull]] performed a benefit concert at Carnegie Hall in November 1970, which was recorded and subsequently [[Live at Carnegie Hall 1970|issued in several parts]].<ref name="Rabey 2013 p. 67">{{cite book | last=Rabey | first=Brian | title=A Passion Play: The Story Of Ian Anderson & Jethro Tull | publisher=Soundcheck | year=2013 | isbn=978-0-9571442-4-8 | url=https://archive.org/details/passionplaystory0000rabe/page/67 |url-access=registration | page=67}}</ref> [[Ike & Tina Turner]] performed a concert April 1, 1971, which resulted in their album ''[[What You Hear Is What You Get – Live at Carnegie Hall]]''.<ref name="Brackett 2020 p. 89">{{cite book | last=Brackett | first=Donald | title=Tumult!: The Incredible Life and Music of Tina Turner | publisher=Backbeat | year=2020 | isbn=978-1-4930-5507-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h2T5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA89 | access-date=June 27, 2023 | pages=89–90}}</ref> [[Chicago (band)|Chicago]] recorded its four-LP box set ''[[Chicago at Carnegie Hall]]'' in 1971.<ref name="Goldsmith 2019 p. 69">{{cite book | last=Goldsmith | first=M.U.D. | title=Listen to Classic Rock! Exploring a Musical Genre | publisher=ABC-CLIO | series=Exploring Musical Genres | year=2019 | isbn=978-1-4408-6579-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D6W-DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA69 | access-date=June 27, 2023 | page=69}}</ref> 

European folk dance music first came to Carnegie Hall when [[Tanec]] performed a concert on January 27, 1956, becoming the first dance company from [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] to perform in America.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/01/28/archives/ballet-yugoslav-folk-art-tanec-dancers-appear-at-carnegie-hall-in.html|date=January 28, 1956|title=Ballet: Yugoslav Folk Art 'Tanec' Dancers Appear at Carnegie Hall in Display of Tremendous Skill|author=John Martin|author-link=John Martin (dance critic)|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=March 24, 2020|archive-date=August 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818230203/https://www.nytimes.com/1956/01/28/archives/ballet-yugoslav-folk-art-tanec-dancers-appear-at-carnegie-hall-in.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2024, Puerto Rican singer [[Ivy Queen]] became the first [[reggaeton]] artist to headline a concert at the Carnegie Hall.<ref>{{cite magazine | last=Lopez | first=Julyssa | title=Ivy Queen Made History at Carnegie Hall. She's Got More Surprises Coming | magazine=Rolling Stone | date=December 2, 2024 | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-latin/ivy-queen-carnegie-hall-new-music-1235182648/ | access-date=December 31, 2024}}</ref>

=== Other events ===
In its early years, Carnegie Hall hosted other events, including conferences and speeches.<ref name="SW p. 23">{{harvnb|Schickel|Walsh|1987|page=23|ps=.}}</ref> For example, Irish nationalists met there in 1899 for a protest, and [[Winston Churchill]] gave a speech there in 1900 as a young journalist.<ref name="SW p. 23" /> The hall has also been the site of lectures, including the [[Tuskegee Institute Silver Anniversary Lecture]] by [[Booker T. Washington]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 23, 1906 |title=Choate and Twain Plead for Tuskegee; Brilliant Audience Cheers Them and Booker Washington |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1906/01/23/archives/choate-and-twain-plead-for-tuskegee-brilliant-audience-cheers-them.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121141948/https://www.nytimes.com/1906/01/23/archives/choate-and-twain-plead-for-tuskegee-brilliant-audience-cheers-them.html |archive-date=November 21, 2021 |access-date=January 6, 2020 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> and the last public lecture by [[Mark Twain]], both in 1906.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 22, 1906 |title=Nation's Orators Glorify Schurz; Carnegie Hall Memorial a People's Tribute |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1906/11/22/archives/nations-orators-glorify-schurz-carnegie-hall-memorial-a-peoples.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121141945/https://www.nytimes.com/1906/11/22/archives/nations-orators-glorify-schurz-carnegie-hall-memorial-a-peoples.html |archive-date=November 21, 2021 |access-date=November 21, 2021 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> In addition, the venue hosted a peace conference in 1907.<ref>{{cite web |date=1907-01-08 |title=Peace Congress Here Some Time in April; Committee Outlines Plans for the National Meeting |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1907/01/08/archives/peace-congress-here-some-time-in-april-committee-outlines-plans-for.html |access-date=2025-10-28 |website=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="SW pp. 24–25">{{harvnb|Schickel|Walsh|1987|pages=24–25|ps=.}}</ref>

To celebrate the 125th anniversary of the hall, during the 2015–2016 season, Carnegie Hall officials commissioned 125 new works, with "Fifty for the Future" coming from Kronos (25 by female composers and 25 by male composers).<ref name="WQXR 2015 j618">{{cite web | title=Carnegie Hall to Mark 125th Anniversary in 2015-16 Season | website=WQXR | date=January 28, 2015 | url=https://www.wqxr.org/story/carnegie-halls-2015-16-season/ | access-date=May 10, 2024}}</ref><ref name="Kaliss i530">{{cite web | last=Kaliss | first=Jeff | title=The Kronos Quartet Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary | website=Playbill | date=November 2, 2023 | url=https://playbill.com/article/the-world-of-kronos | access-date=May 10, 2024}}</ref> The hall was also used for commencement ceremonies, including those of the [[City College of New York]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 24, 1904 |title=City College Holds Its Commencement; Largest Class in Its History Graduated at Carnegie Hall|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1904/06/24/archives/city-college-holds-its-commencement-largest-class-in-its-history.html |access-date=September 28, 2022}}</ref> the [[New York Law School]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 19, 1925 |title=Large Crowd Sees Law School Rites; Ex-Justice Putnam Addresses 279 Graduates of New York Institution in Carnegie Hall|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1925/06/19/archives/large-crowd-sees-law-school-rites-exjustice-putnam-addresses-279.html |access-date=September 28, 2022}}</ref> as well as the [[Juilliard School]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 3, 1929 |title=Juilliard School to Give 73 Diplomas; Music Institution Will Hold Its Commencement Tonight in Carnegie Hall|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1929/06/03/archives/juilliard-school-to-give-73-diplomas-music-institution-will-hold.html |access-date=September 28, 2022}}</ref>

== Management and operations ==
{{As of|2021}}, the Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall is Sir [[Clive Gillinson]], formerly managing director of the [[London Symphony Orchestra]].<ref name="ABC News 2021">{{cite web |title=Carnegie Hall reopens in October after 19-month closure |website=ABC News |date=June 8, 2021 |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/carnegie-hall-reopens-october-19-month-closure-78152439 |access-date=August 18, 2021 |archive-date=August 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819000419/https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/carnegie-hall-reopens-october-19-month-closure-78152439 |url-status=live}}</ref> Gillinson started serving in that position in 2005.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Carnegie Hall Names Executive/Artistic Director |magazine=Billboard |date=June 1, 2005 |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/1431593/carnegie-hall-names-executiveartistic-director |access-date=August 18, 2021 |archive-date=August 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819011735/https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/1431593/carnegie-hall-names-executiveartistic-director |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Clive Gillinson Biography |website=Carnegie Hall |url=https://www.carnegiehall.org/About/Press/Clive-Gillinson-Biography |access-date=August 18, 2021 |archive-date=August 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819000419/https://www.carnegiehall.org/About/Press/Clive-Gillinson-Biography |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Robert F. Smith (investor)|Robert F. Smith]] has been the chairman of Carnegie Hall's board since 2016.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Cooper |first1=Michael |last2=Gelles |first2=David |date=June 2, 2016 |title=At Carnegie Hall, a New Leader With a Son Named Hendrix|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/03/arts/music/trustees-elect-carnegies-halls-first-african-american-chairman.html |access-date=March 6, 2023 }}</ref> As of the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, the Carnegie Hall Corporation had $718,141,781 in assets, which includes about $185 million in liabilities, $112 million in net assets without donor restrictions, and $421 million in net assets with donor restrictions.<ref name="Financial Statement">{{cite web |website=Carnegie Hall |title=Audited Financial Statement for Fiscal Year 2021 |date=2021 |author=[[KPMG]] |url=https://www.carnegiehall.org/About/Financials-and-Policies |access-date=March 6, 2023}}</ref>{{rp|page=3}} During that year, the Carnegie Hall Corporation's total operating revenue was about $74 million, while total expenses and losses were about $62 million.<ref name="Financial Statement" />{{rp|page=4}}

== Carnegie Hall Archives ==
It emerged in 1986 that Carnegie Hall had never consistently maintained an archive. Without a central repository, a significant portion of Carnegie Hall's documented history had been dispersed. In preparation for the celebration of Carnegie Hall's centennial in 1991, the management established the Carnegie Hall Archives that year.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3zTfCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1|title=Opening Carnegie Hall: The Creation and First Performances of America's Premier Concert Stage|last=Binkowski|first=C. J.|publisher=McFarland|year=2016|isbn=978-1-4766-2398-6|page=1|access-date=October 15, 2019|archive-date=July 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727174407/https://books.google.com/books?id=3zTfCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/classical0000hill/page/44/mode/2up|url-access=registration|title=Classical|last=Hill|first=Brad|publisher=Facts On File, Incorporated|year=2005|isbn=978-0-8160-6976-7|series=American Popular Music|page=45}}</ref> The historical archival collections were renamed the Carnegie Hall Susan W. Rose Archives in 2021, after a longtime trustee and donor to the Archives and Rose Museum.<ref>{{cite web|date=February 9, 2021|title=Carnegie Hall's Historical Archival Collections Named as Carnegie Hall Susan W. Rose Archives|url=https://www.carnegiehall.org/About/Press/Press-Releases/2021/02/09/Carnegie-Halls-Historical-Archival-Collections-Named-as-Carnegie-Hall-Susan-W-Rose-Archives-2-9-2021|access-date=August 20, 2021|website=Carnegie Hall|archive-date=August 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820003335/https://www.carnegiehall.org/About/Press/Press-Releases/2021/02/09/Carnegie-Halls-Historical-Archival-Collections-Named-as-Carnegie-Hall-Susan-W-Rose-Archives-2-9-2021|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Folklore ==
=== Famous joke ===
<!-- [[How do you get to Carnegie Hall?]] redirects here-->

<blockquote>Rumor is that a pedestrian on Fifty-seventh Street, Manhattan, stopped Jascha Heifetz and inquired, "Could you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?" "Yes," said Heifetz. "Practice!"<ref>{{cite book|author-link=Bennett Cerf|last=Cerf|first=Bennett|title=The Life of the Party: A New Collection of Stories and Anecdotes|location=Garden City, New York|publisher=Doubleday|year=1956|page=335}}</ref></blockquote>

This joke has become part of the folklore of the hall, but its origins remain a mystery.<ref name="Carlson2020">{{cite web|last1=Carlson|first1=Matt|title=The Joke|url=https://www.carnegiehall.org/Explore/Articles/2020/04/10/The-Joke|website=Carnegie Hall|access-date=August 27, 2020|date=April 10, 2020|archive-date=August 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200826084106/https://www.carnegiehall.org/Explore/Articles/2020/04/10/The-Joke|url-status=live}}</ref> Although described in 1961 as an "ancient wheeze", its earliest known appearances in print date from 1955.<ref name="Carlson2020" /><ref name="Popik2004">{{cite web|last1=Popik|first1=Barry|author-link1=Barry Popik|title='How do you get to Carnegie Hall?' (joke)|url=https://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/how_do_you_get_to_carnegie_hall|website=The Big Apple|access-date=August 27, 2020|date=July 5, 2004|archive-date=September 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919005540/https://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/how_do_you_get_to_carnegie_hall/|url-status=live}}</ref> Attributions to [[Jack Benny]] are mistaken; it is uncertain if he ever used the joke.<ref name="Pollak2009" /> Alternatives to violinist [[Jascha Heifetz]] as the second party include an unnamed [[beatnik]], [[bebop|bopper]], or "absent-minded [[maestro]]", as well as pianist [[Arthur Rubinstein]] and trumpeter [[Dizzy Gillespie]].<ref name="Carlson2020" /><ref name="Popik2004" /><ref name="Pollak2009">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/nyregion/29fyi.html|newspaper=The New York Times|first=Michael|last=Pollak|title=The Origins of That Famous Carnegie Hall Joke|date=November 29, 2009|access-date=December 4, 2020|archive-date=August 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812235157/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/nyregion/29fyi.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Lees|first1=Gene|title=Meet Me at Jim & Andy's: Jazz Musicians and Their World|date=1988|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-504611-3|page=16|url=https://www.archive.org/details/meetmeatjimandys00lees/page/16|url-access=registration}}</ref> Carnegie Hall archivist Gino Francesconi favors a version told by the wife of violinist [[Mischa Elman]], in which her husband makes the quip when approached by tourists while leaving the hall's backstage entrance after an unsatisfactory rehearsal. The joke is often reduced to a [[riddle]] with no [[framing story]].<ref name="Carlson2020" /> According to ''[[The Washington Post]]'', the joke "shows how firmly the building [...] has lodged itself in American folklore".<ref name=wp19910210>{{Cite news|last=McLellan|first=Joseph|date=February 10, 1991|title=The Hall That Carnegie Built|newspaper=[[Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1991/02/10/the-hall-that-carnegie-built/76fab940-77c7-43f1-853f-579de1fc9f8a/|access-date=August 21, 2021|archive-date=June 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626153850/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1991/02/10/the-hall-that-carnegie-built/76fab940-77c7-43f1-853f-579de1fc9f8a/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Other lore ===
Other stories have been attributed to the folklore of Carnegie Hall.<ref name=wp19910210 /><ref name=nyt19871228 /> One such story concerns a performance on the unusually hot day of October 27, 1917,<ref name=wp19910210 /> when Heifetz made his American debut in Carnegie Hall.<ref>{{cite book|author=Agus|first=Ayke|title=Heifetz As I Knew Him|publisher=Amadeus Press|year=2001|isbn=978-1-57467-062-2|page=4|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/heifetzasiknewhi0000agus/page/4}}</ref> After Heifetz had been playing for a while, fellow violinist Mischa Elman mopped his head and asked if it was hot in there. Pianist [[Leopold Godowsky]], in the next seat, replied, "Not for pianists."<ref name=wp19910210 /><ref name=nyt19871228>{{Cite news|last=Schonberg|first=Harold C.|author-link=Harold C. Schonberg|date=December 28, 1987|title=Critic's Notebook; Repertory of Legends Immortalizes Jascha Heifetz|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/28/arts/critic-s-notebook-repertory-of-legends-immortalizes-jascha-heifetz.html|access-date=August 21, 2021|archive-date=December 16, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216014748/http://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/28/arts/critic-s-notebook-repertory-of-legends-immortalizes-jascha-heifetz.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

While the Elman/Godowsky anecdote was confirmed to be true, other accounts about Carnegie Hall may have been [[apocrypha]]l in nature.<ref name=nyt19871228 /> One such story involved violinist [[Fritz Kreisler]] and pianist [[Sergei Rachmaninoff]], who were supposedly performing a [[Beethoven's violin sonatas|Beethoven sonata]] when Kreisler lost track of what he was playing. After a few minutes of improvisation, Kreisler allegedly asked "For God's sake, Sergei, where am I?", to which Rachmaninoff was said to have responded, "In Carnegie Hall."<ref name=wp19910210 /><ref name=nyt19760208>{{Cite news|date=February 8, 1976|title=Music View|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/02/08/archives/music-view-both-great-but-greatly-different.html|access-date=August 21, 2021|archive-date=August 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210821005446/https://www.nytimes.com/1976/02/08/archives/music-view-both-great-but-greatly-different.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Alliance for the Arts]], advocacy organization for Carnegie Hall
* [[List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City]]
* [[List of National Historic Landmarks in New York City]]
* [[List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets]]
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets]]

== References ==
=== Notes ===
{{reflist|group=note}}

=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}

=== Sources ===
* {{cite report|date=December 29, 1962|title=Historic Structures Report: Carnegie Hall|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/5b82f3e2-d183-472f-88f1-e4c82ffca307/|publisher=[[National Register of Historic Places]], [[National Park Service]]|ref={{harvid|National Park Service|1962}}}}
* {{cite book |last=Page |first=Tim |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eTYeM63rL3IC |title=Carnegie Hall Treasures |publisher=HarperCollins |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-06-170367-6}}
* {{Cite New York 2000}}
* {{cite book |last1=Schickel |first1=Richard |url=https://archive.org/details/carnegiehallfirs0000schi |url-access=registration |title=Carnegie Hall, the First One Hundred Years |last2=Walsh |first2=Michael |publisher=Abrams |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-8109-0773-7 }}
* {{Sfn whitelist|CITEREFTauranac1985}}{{Cite Elegant New York}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |last=Peyser |first=Ethel |url=https://ia601407.us.archive.org/6/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.89812/2015.89812.The-House-That-Music-Built-Carnegie-Hall_text.pdf |title=The House that Music Built: Carnegie Hall |date=1936 |publisher=Robert M. McBride}}
* {{cite book|last=Schickel|first=Richard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fMktAAAAMAAJ|title=The World of Carnegie Hall|publisher=Messner|year=1960|isbn=978-0-8371-6946-0|ref=none}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Carnegie Hall}}
* {{Official website|https://www.carnegiehall.org/}}
* [https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/carnegie-hall Carnegie Hall at Google Cultural Institute]
* [http://www.nyc-arts.org/organizations/36/carnegie-hall Carnegie Hall and its events on NYC-ARTS.org]
* [http://honorsperformance.org/ Honors Performance Series], Carnegie Hall performance opportunity for elite student musicians

{{New York City performance spaces}}
{{Midtown North, Manhattan}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan}}
{{Portal bar|Architecture|Music|New York City|National Register of Historic Places}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Carnegie Hall| ]]
[[Category:1891 establishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:57th Street (Manhattan)]]
[[Category:Andrew Carnegie]]
[[Category:Concert halls in New York City]]
[[Category:Event venues on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City]]
[[Category:Italian Renaissance Revival architecture in the United States]]
[[Category:Midtown Manhattan]]
[[Category:Music venues completed in 1891]]
[[Category:Music venues in Manhattan]]
[[Category:National Historic Landmarks in Manhattan]]
[[Category:New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan]]
[[Category:New York State Register of Historic Places in New York County]]
[[Category:Seventh Avenue (Manhattan)]]
[[Category:Theatres in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan]]