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155-525: The group was incorporated by Hal Weiner, Esq., of Coles & Weiner, a two-person firm, after Weiner defended Sylvia Rivera in a criminal court proceeding where she had been arrested in Times Square while obtaining signatures on a petition for the first proposed LGBTQ legislation in the New York City Council , Intro 475 , and charged with soliciting for the purpose of sex, rather than exercising

310-636: A National Historic Landmark in 1987. Radio City finally recorded a net gain of $ 2.5 million in 1985, its first profit in three decades. This was partly attributed to the addition of music concerts, which appealed toward younger viewers. Radio City also started hosting televised events including the Grammy Awards , the Tony Awards , the Daytime Emmy Awards , the MTV Video Music Awards , and

465-402: A carpenter 's studio, a scene shop , sewing rooms, dressing rooms for 600 people, a green room for performers' guests, and a dormitory. Two elevators are placed on either side of the stage, as well as a circular staircase. The female performers' restrooms and dressing rooms are placed as close as possible to the stage, and the male performers' dressing rooms are placed on the opposite side of

620-399: A fluid take on gender and sexuality , referring to herself alternately as a gay man , a "gay girl", and a drag queen /street queen, embodying all of these experiences and seeing none of these identities as excluding the others. Rivera writes of having considered gender-affirming surgery much earlier in life, but of ultimately choosing to reject it, taking hormone therapy only near

775-525: A niche partially under 1270 Avenue of the Americas, the theater is housed under the building's first setback on the seventh floor. An entrance to the New York City Subway 's 47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center station, served by the B , ​ D , ​ F , <F> , and ​ M trains, is on Sixth Avenue directly adjacent to the north end of the marquee, within

930-581: A 2-foot (0.61 m) overlap with the next band, placed at 30-foot (9.1 m) intervals. In Joseph Urban's original plans, the ceiling was to be coffered but, after the cancellation of the Opera House, designers proposed many different designs for the proposed Music Hall's ceiling. The current design was put forth by Raymond Hood , who derived his band-system idea from a book that Urban had written. The arches are made of plaster and contain ridges every 6 feet (1.8 m). The original plans had been to build

1085-440: A 70 percent decrease from the 5 million visitors reported in 1968. The theater needed about 4 million annual visitors to break even. By January 1978, Radio City was in debt, and officials stated that it could not remain open after April. Rockefeller Center president Alton Marshall announced that, due to a projected loss of $ 3.5 million for the upcoming year, Radio City Music Hall would close on April 12. This came after

1240-402: A Rockette, was also involved in the preservation efforts. The alliance made hundreds of calls to Rockefeller Center's manager; The New York Times described that the callers "jammed the switchboards" there. The Rockettes also protested outside New York City Hall . The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) held public hearings on whether to designate the theater's interior as

1395-550: A brick." The first bottle? He still refused. Finally Kohler agreed to lie and say Rivera had been there and had at some point thrown a bottle. Randy Wicker, who was part of the Mattachine Society and a witness to the riots, said that Marsha Johnson had told him that Sylvia had not been at Stonewall "as she was asleep after taking heroin uptown". At the 1973 Christopher Street Liberation Day Rally in New York City, which

1550-523: A city landmark in March 1978. Of more than 100 speakers, most argued in favor of landmark status, but Rockefeller Center president Alton G. Marshall said that "landmark designation may well be the last nail in the Music Hall's coffin." In total, more than 100,000 people supported designating Radio City as a landmark. The LPC designated the interior as a city landmark on March 28. Rockefeller Center Inc. filed

1705-413: A citywide gay rights, anti-discrimination ordinance. But for all of her work, when it came time to make deals, GAA dropped the portions in the civil rights bill that dealt with transvestitism and drag — it just wasn't possible to pass it with such "extreme" elements included. As it turned out, it wasn't possible to pass the bill anyway until 1986. But not only was the language of the bill changed, GAA — which

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1860-543: A civil right to petition. The corporate certificate was rejected by the New York State Division of Corporations and State Records, on the grounds that the name was not a fit name for a New York corporation because of the connotation in which the word "gay" was being used, and that the corporation was being formed to violate the sodomy laws of New York. It took five years to win the right to incorporate under that name. The founding members, seven men and one woman, of

2015-633: A cocktail." "There are several other statements Johnson made to highly credible witnesses — namely, Randy Wicker , Bob Kohler, and Doric Wilson , all with deep and enduring ties to the LGBTQ rights movement — about Rivera not having been at the Uprising." Kohler told Carter that although Rivera had not been at the uprising, he hoped that Carter would still portray her as having been there. Another Stonewall veteran, Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt, claimed that he wanted to add her "so that young Puerto Rican transgender people on

2170-550: A day. Van Schmus subsequently hired Serge Sudeikin , Albert Johnson, and Boris Aronson as the theater's art directors, under senior producer Leon Leonidoff. Early films screened at Radio City included Becky Sharp (1935), the first feature film to use three-strip Technicolor production; a 1936 film version of the musical Show Boat ; and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Walt Disney 's first full-length feature film. The theater's non-cinematic events included

2325-400: A deal with RCA to develop Rockefeller Center as a mass media complex with four theaters. This was later downsized to two theaters. Samuel Roxy Rothafel , a successful theater operator who was renowned for his domination of the city's movie theater industry, joined the center's advisory board in 1930. He offered to build two theaters: a large vaudeville "International Music Hall" on

2480-548: A gala concert on October 4, 1999. Radio City Music Hall announced a decision to remain open on March 12 and 13, 2020, amid a ban on gatherings of 500 or more in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City . This decision initially stood in contrast to many other venues and public events in New York City, which had shut down. Radio City decided to remain closed after March 13, with no set reopening date, since other venues had also closed indefinitely. This affected events like

2635-619: A grand foyer, a large main auditorium, and stairs and elevators that lead to several mezzanines. Designed by Edward Durell Stone , the theater had Art Deco decoration, whose sharp lines represented a break with the traditional ornate rococo ornament associated with movie palaces at the time. Donald Deskey coordinated the interior design process and designed some of the wallpaper, furniture, and other decor in Radio City. Deskey's geometric Art Deco designs incorporate glass, aluminum, chrome, bakelite , and leather; these materials are used in

2790-409: A group dedicated to helping homeless young drag queens, gay youth, and trans women . Rivera was born and raised in New York City and lived most of her life in or near the city; she was born to a Puerto Rican father and a Venezuelan mother. She was abandoned by her birth father José Rivera early in life, and became an orphan after her mother died by suicide when Rivera was three years old. Rivera

2945-531: A larger auditorium, quoting a theatrical proverb: "A house divided against the performer cannot stand." Despite Roxy's specific requests for design features, the Music Hall's general design was determined by the Associated Architects, the architectural consortium that was designing the rest of Rockefeller Center. The Music Hall was to be at the northwest corner of the Rockefeller Center complex, at

3100-481: A lawsuit to try to reverse the landmark designation, claiming that landmark status would be unattractive to potential investors, but the lawsuit was unsuccessful. Rockefeller Center Inc. indicated that it would demolish the theater had it succeeded in overturning the landmark designation. In April, just a few days before the planned closing date, the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) voted to create

3255-482: A layer of dirt measuring almost 1 ⁄ 4 inch (6.4 mm) thick. Two or three hundred workers cleaned the theater around the clock, and it reopened on March 8, 1965, with the film Dear Heart . Repairs were also performed on the theater's organs during the nighttime. Also in 1965, Will Irwin and Rayburn Wright replaced Raymond Paige as the theater's musical directors following the latter's death. Russell V. Downing retired as Radio City's president in 1966 and

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3410-432: A light organ in front of the orchestra pit. The Great Stage, designed by Peter Clark, measures 66.5 by 144 ft (20.3 by 43.9 m); it is placed within a proscenium arch that resembles a setting sun. Roxy reportedly envisioned the sunset design of the stage while traveling home from Europe on an ocean liner. There are two stage curtains; the main one is made of steel and asbestos, which can part horizontally, while

3565-447: A midblock site would have. The theater's exterior also has visual features signifying its purpose. Above the entrance, Hildreth Meiere created six small bronze plaques of musicians playing different instruments, as well as three larger metal and enamel plaques signifying dance, drama, and song; these plaques denote the theater's theme. At one point, a tennis court was located on the theater's rooftop garden. The interior contains

3720-520: A nonprofit subsidiary to lease Radio City. Plans for a 20-story mixed-use tower above Radio City were announced the same month, with rents from the proposed tower providing the necessary funds to keep the theater open. An alternative involving transferring the theater's air rights to another building in the complex was also privately discussed. The UDC and Rockefeller Center Inc. agreed on April 12 to keep Radio City open, just hours before it had been set to close. On May 12, 1978, Radio City Music Hall

3875-487: A psychiatrist before being employed), and a zap at the New York Daily News , which printed a scurrilous editorial attacking "queers, lezzies, pansies, call them what you will." Four were arrested. Although, GAA was nominally non-violent, zaps could sometimes involve physical altercations and vandalism. GAA co-founder Morty Manford got into scuffles with security and administration during his successful effort to found

4030-523: A result, popular films such as Chinatown , Blazing Saddles , and The Godfather Part II failed Radio City's screening criteria. By 1972, Radio City had fired the performers' unions as well as six of the 36 Rockettes. The theater's management donated a painting by Stuart Davis to the Museum of Modern Art to reduce Radio City Music Hall's tax burden. That October, Radio City was closed temporarily after officials could not reach an employment agreement with

4185-645: A stage show about the history of lighting, as well as a fundraiser for the Red Cross. By January 1937, more than 25 million people had visited the theater over the previous four years, paying total admission of $ 17.5 million. Radio City was used for Easter worship services starting in 1940. The next year, the theater hosted "the most elaborate benefit performance ever held in New York", a World War II fundraiser. After Van Schmus died in January 1942, G. S. Eysell took over as

4340-521: A telegram with the notification of her friend's death, Rivera returned to the city. Homeless now, she took up residence on the "Gay Piers" at the end of Christopher Street, and became an advocate for homeless members of the gay community. In May 1995, Rivera tried to end her life by walking into the Hudson River. That year she also appeared in the Arthur Dong documentary episode "Out Rage '69", part of

4495-485: A theater called Radio City Music Hall. The names "Radio City" and "Radio City Music Hall" derive from one of the complex's first tenants, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) , which planned a mass media complex called Radio City on the west side of Rockefeller Center. Over time, the appellation of "Radio City" devolved from describing the entire complex to just the complex's western section. Radio City Music Hall

4650-508: A whole. It remained open even as other theaters such as the Paramount and the Roxy closed. A committee led by Radio City's director, Russell V. Dowling, selected the theater's live acts and other performances. Upon its 30th anniversary in 1962, Radio City had nearly 200 million total patrons to date, more than the entire U.S. population at the time. The theater had shown 532 feature films to date;

4805-482: A year, more than the Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty combined. However, the proliferation of subtitled foreign movies had reduced attendance at Radio City. Changes in film distribution made it difficult to secure exclusive bookings of many films, forcing Radio City's managers to show reruns. Radio City preferred to show only family-friendly movies, which further limited their film choices. As

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4960-681: Is an entertainment venue and theater at 1260 Avenue of the Americas , within Rockefeller Center , in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City . Nicknamed " The Showplace of the Nation ", it is the headquarters for the Rockettes . Radio City Music Hall was designed by Edward Durell Stone and Donald Deskey in the Art Deco style. Radio City Music Hall was built on a plot of land that

5115-559: Is called Sylvia's Place, both in her honor. Season 1, episode 1 and Season 3, episode 1 of the podcast Making Gay History are about her. Named in her honor (and established in 2002), the Sylvia Rivera Law Project is dedicated "to guarantee that all people are free to self-determine gender identity and expression, regardless of income or race, and without facing harassment, discrimination or violence". In 2002, actor/comedian Jade Esteban Estrada portrayed Rivera in

5270-511: Is located on the northern side of the main lounge. A marble wall with three large columns comprises the western side of the lounge. A hallway extends off the eastern side of the lounge and leads to a men's smoking room and a women's lounge, which both connect to restrooms of their respective genders. The smoking room has a masculine theme with terrazzo floors, brown walls, and copper ceilings. The accompanying men's restroom has black-and-white tiles and simple geometric fixtures, which are duplicated in

5425-526: Is only two blocks from the Stonewall Inn. In January 2007, a new musical based upon Rivera's life, Sylvia So Far , premiered in New York at La Mama in a production starring Bianca Leigh as Rivera and Peter Proctor as Marsha P. Johnson. The composer and lyricist is Timothy Mathis ( Wallflowers, Our Story Too, The Conjuring ), a friend of Rivera's in real life. The show moved off-Broadway in the winter of 2007/2008. The Spring 2007 issue of CENTRO: Journal of

5580-491: Is supported by six diamond-shaped piers , as well as three full-height piers of a similar shape that exist only for aesthetic purposes. The lounge is decorated with several artworks (see § Art ). Deskey also designed the chrome furniture and the carpeting of the lounge. The lounge also contained a passageway to the "Forum", along Sixth Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, where it linked with Rockefeller Center's other buildings. The landing for Radio City's elevator bank

5735-935: Is to destroy the Human Rights Campaign, because I'm tired of sitting on the back of the bumper. It's not even the back of the bus anymore — it's the back of the bumper. The bitch on wheels is back. Rivera's struggles did not relate exclusively to gay and trans people, as they intersected with issues of poverty and discrimination faced by people of color, which caused friction in the GAA as it was mainly made up of white middle-class gay people. The transgender person-of-color activist and scholar Jessi Gan discusses how mainstream LGBT groups have routinely dismissed or not paid sufficient attention to Rivera's Latina identity, while Puerto Rican and Latino groups have often not fully acknowledged Rivera's contribution to their struggles for civil rights. Tim Retzloff has discussed this issue with respect to

5890-407: Is used as the exit lobby, while the southern vestibule is an emergency exit. The grand foyer's eastern wall contains openings from the first, second, and third mezzanine levels, and the western wall contains 50-foot-tall (15 m) mirrors within gold frames. Eleven doors leading to Radio City's auditorium are also located on the grand foyer's eastern side. Chambellan commissioned several plaques on

6045-471: The 74th Tony Awards , originally scheduled for June 7 but was then postponed after Radio City's closure. In early 2021, New York governor Andrew Cuomo announced that Radio City would be able to open with limited capacity that April. Cuomo subsequently announced Radio City would reopen that June, without capacity limits or mask restrictions , but only to patrons who had received a COVID-19 vaccine . Development firm Tishman Speyer submitted proposals to

6200-458: The Grammy Awards , the Tony Awards , the Daytime Emmy Awards , the MTV Video Music Awards , and the NFL Draft , as well as university graduation ceremonies. The construction of Rockefeller Center occurred between 1932 and 1940. on land that John D. Rockefeller Jr. leased from Columbia University . The Rockefeller Center site was originally supposed to be occupied by a new opera house for

6355-582: The Metropolitan Opera . By 1928, Benjamin Wistar Morris and designer Joseph Urban were hired to come up with blueprints for the house. The new building was too expensive for the opera to fund by itself, and it needed an endowment ; the project ultimately gained the support of John D. Rockefeller Jr. The planned opera house was canceled in December 1929 due to various issues, but Rockefeller made

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6510-530: The NFL Draft . A new golden curtain was installed at the main stage in January 1987. The curtain was the third one to be installed since Radio City's opening in 1932; it had last been replaced in 1965. Because of Radio City's historic status, the curtain had to be the same style, texture, and color as the previous curtains. In 1997, Radio City was leased to the Madison Square Garden Company (then known as Cablevision ), providing funding to keep

6665-510: The PBS series The Question of Equality , which featured the 1973 footage of her "Gay Power" speech at Pride and gave an extensive interview to gay journalist Randy Wicker in which she discussed her suicide attempts, Johnson's life and death, and her advocacy for poor and working-class gay people made homeless by the AIDS crisis . At various times in her life, Rivera battled substance abuse and lived on

6820-557: The 1973 rally, Rivera left Manhattan in the mid-1970s, relocating to Tarrytown, New York . In these years Rivera lived with her lover and together they ran a catering business. In the documentary The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson , Rivera shares footage of the drag shows she hosted at the Music Hall in Tarrytown during this time. In early July 1992, shortly after the New York City Pride March , Marsha P. Johnson's body

6975-520: The Americas and their guests. The garden opened in September 2021 and is formally known as Radio Park. Designed by the firm of HMWhite, Radio Park includes birch trees, a set of bleachers, and various pathways. The entirety of Radio Park is placed on a gradual slope because the connection to 50 Rockefeller Plaza is higher than Radio City Music Hall's roof. Radio City Music Hall is on the east side of Sixth Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets. Located in

7130-598: The Center for Puerto Rican Studies , which was dedicated to "Puerto Rican Queer Sexualities" and published at Hunter College , included a special dossier on Rivera, including a transcription of a talk by Rivera from 2001 as well as two academic essays exploring the intersections of Rivera's trans and Latina identities. The articles in this journal issue complement other essays by Puerto Rican scholars who have also emphasized Rivera's pioneering role. In 2014, The Social Justice Hub at The New School ’s newly opened University Center

7285-532: The GAA from admission fees to the social events. This sub-committee is just one example of the Gay Activist Alliance's commitment to gay and lesbian youth. The Youth Information Service was dedicated to offering representative of the GAA to speak, "on the topic of Gay Liberation for youthful or youth-orientated groups or organizations especially including high schools and colleges." Sylvia Rivera Sylvia Rivera (July 2, 1951 – February 19, 2002)

7440-672: The Gay Activists Alliance were dissatisfied members of the Gay Liberation Front. Some of the founding members included Fred Orlansky, Arthur Bell, Arthur Evans, Marty Robinson , Tom Doerr, Peter Marleau, Kay Tobin Lahusen , and Fred Cabellero. The group members wanted to form a " single issue , politically neutral [organization], whose goal would be to "secure basic human rights, dignity and freedom for all gay people." The political neutrality and single-themedness stood in contrast to

7595-471: The Gay Liberation Front in 1969. After Activists met to officially disband the Alliance a year later..." GAA members performed zaps (first conceived by Marty Robinson), raucous public demonstrations designed to embarrass a public figure or celebrity while calling the attention of both gays and straights to issues of LGBT rights. Some of their more visible actions included protests against an anti-gay episode on

7750-604: The Gay Liberation Front, which allied itself with the radical Black Panther Party , criticized the Vietnam War and had a hard left-wing, anti-capitalistic stance. GAA was most active from 1970 to 1974. In one action in March 1970, the GAA organized protests against the police raid on the Snake Pit bar in Greenwich Village and the injuries suffered by Diego Viñales in the resulting chaos. These protests helped spark interest in

7905-454: The LPC to construct a 24,000-square-foot (2,200 m ) rooftop terrace on Radio City Music Hall, as well as a pedestrian bridge to 1270 Avenue of the Americas. These plans dated from an original proposal for the theater that was never carried out. The LPC approved the plans in March 2021. At the time, the terrace was scheduled to open in late 2021 and would only be usable by tenants of 1270 Avenue of

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8060-458: The Music Hall so it would be larger than the Roxy Theatre. There were only 5,960 audience seats, but Roxy counted exactly 6,201 seats by including elevator stools, orchestra pit seats, and dressing-room chairs. Roxy also wanted the theater to have an "intimate" design as well. According to architect Henry Hofmeister, a single level of steeply raked stadium seating would likely have been used in

8215-575: The Rockettes and the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City. In exchange, Cablevision would be able to renovate and manage the theater. Radio City was closed on February 16, 1999, for a comprehensive renovation. During the closure, many components were cleaned, modernized, or replaced, including the curtains, seats, carpets, doorknobs, and light fixtures. Workers installed a gold-silk curtain measuring 112 feet (34 m) wide, as well as 5,901 seats upholstered in salmon-colored fabric. The ceiling

8370-607: The Roxyettes (later to be known as the Rockettes) left the Roxy Theatre and announced that they would be moving to Radio City. By then, Roxy was busy adding music acts in preparation for the theater's opening at the end of the year. Radio City Music Hall opened to the public on December 27, 1932, with a lavish stage show featuring numbers including Ray Bolger , Ronnie Mansfield , Doc Rockwell , Martha Graham , The Mirthquakers , The Tuskegee Choir and Patricia Bowman . The opening

8525-509: The Stonewall riots occurred, Rivera was only 17 years old, and according to Bob Kohler , who was there on the first two nights of the riots, Rivera "always hung out uptown at Bryant Park" and never came downtown. In 1987, Marsha P. Johnson told gay rights historian Eric Marcus that in the hours prior to Johnson arriving downtown to join the riots, Johnson had attended a party uptown and that "Sylvia Rivera and them were over in [Bryant] park having

8680-484: The Stonewall uprising, Rivera began claiming that she (Rivera) was also instrumental in the riots, even going so far as to have claimed to have started the riots herself. Stonewall historian David Carter, however, questioned Rivera's claims of even being at the riots, based on contradictory statements that Rivera made, and on testimony relayed to him by early gay rights activists, such as Marsha P. Johnson, who denied in multiple interviews that Rivera had been there. When

8835-506: The arches themselves in a curved shape, but this would have concentrated the sound onto several small spots. The walls are covered by intricate fabric silhouette patterns of performers and horses, which were created by Reeves. The radiating arches of the proscenium unite the large auditorium, allowing a sense of intimacy and grandeur. The ceiling arches also contain grilles that camouflage the air-conditioning system, amplifying equipment, and organ pipes. The sound system could be controlled by

8990-401: The auditorium doors' exteriors, which resemble the vaudeville representations in the lobby and depict the types of performances that have taken place at Radio City. The foyer connects to four elevators that serve the main lounge level through the third mezzanine level. At ground level, a marble lobby for these elevators is to the west of the northern exit vestibule. Chambellan also designed

9145-447: The base of the 1270 Sixth Avenue office building; the theater's rear wall would have to support the offices above. Radio City Music Hall was designed by architect Edward Durell Stone and interior designer Donald Deskey in the Art Deco style. Stone used Indiana Limestone for the facade, as with all the other buildings in Rockefeller Center, but he also included some distinguishing features. Three 90-foot-tall (27 m) signs with

9300-431: The block between 49th and 50th Streets be protected. By contrast, almost everyone else who supported Rockefeller Center's landmark status recommended that the entire complex be landmarked. The LPC granted landmark status to the exteriors of all of the original complex's buildings, including the previously unprotected exterior of Radio City Music Hall, on April 23, 1985. Rockefeller Center's original buildings also became

9455-402: The center. Originally, six ticket booths were placed about 22 feet (6.7 m) from the main doors, dividing the lobby into corridors measuring 16 feet (4.9 m) wide. This permitted adequate traffic flow within the lobby while also making it difficult for crowds to congregate. Large black pillars support a low, slightly coffered ceiling. Circular light fixtures are set into the ceiling of

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9610-515: The city, and the two were close friends from 1961 through 1973. In 1970, Rivera and Johnson co-founded Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR). STAR offered services and advocacy for homeless queer youth, and fought for the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act in New York. SONDA prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment, housing, public accommodations, education, credit, and

9765-462: The day of her death Rivera, while bed ridden and declining health, she met with Empire State Pride Agenda delegates to advocate for trans rights in the pending SONDA bill which they had been excluded from. Rivera died during the dawn hours of February 19, 2002, at St. Vincent's Hospital , of complications from liver cancer . Activist Riki Wilchins noted, "In many ways, Sylvia was the Rosa Parks of

9920-449: The early 1980s, the LPC was considering designating the original Rockefeller Center complex as a city landmark, including the exterior of Radio City Music Hall. In 1983, the LPC held hearings to determine how much of Rockefeller Center should be protected as a landmark. The Rockefeller family and Columbia University acknowledged that the buildings were already symbolically landmarks, but their spokesman John E. Zuccotti recommended that only

10075-403: The elevator doors with reliefs of musicians in atypical representations. The maple circular roundels inside the cabs were designed by Edward Trumbull and represent wine, women, and song. Each of the three mezzanine levels has a men's smoking room, a women's lounge, and men's and women's restrooms. No two restrooms or lounges have the same design. A 1932 New York Times article described

10230-406: The elliptical grand foyer, whose four-story-high ceiling and dramatic artwork contrast with the compactness of the lobby. The space is about 40 feet (12 m) deep and extends the width of the auditorium. Two long, tubular chandeliers created by Edward F. Caldwell & Co. hang from the ceiling. The northern side of the grand foyer contains Ezra Winter's mural. A grand staircase, leading up to

10385-412: The end of each row of seats, and more legroom space than in other theaters. Six aisles extend the length of the orchestra level, dividing each row into sections of up to 14 seats. The aisles measure 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) wide at the rear, tapering to 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) at the center and 3 feet 4 inches (1.02 m) at the front. A crossover aisle separates

10540-432: The end of her life. I left home at age 10 in 1961. I hustled on 42nd Street. The early 60s was not a good time for drag queens, effeminate boys or boys that wore makeup like we did. Back then we were beat up by the police, by everybody. I didn't really come out as a drag queen until the late 60s when drag queens were arrested, what degradation there was. I remember the first time I got arrested, I wasn't even in full drag. I

10695-465: The energy disperses, like a firmament the arched structure rises outward and forward. The 'ceiling', uniting sides and top in its one great curve, proceeds by successive broad bands, like the bands of northern lights." In the theater's early years, the Federal Writers' Project noted that "nearly everything about the Music Hall is tremendous". At the time, Radio City had the world's largest orchestra;

10850-460: The exercise of civil rights. While Johnson freely admitted to not being the one to start the Stonewall riots , Johnson is one of the few people who multiple, independent witnesses all agree was instrumental in the week of rioting and "known to have been in the vanguard" of the pushback against police once the rioting peaked late the first night. After Johnson was being praised for being involved in

11005-474: The final plan used three tiers of balconies, cantilevered off the back wall. Second, Roxy specified that the stage contain a central section with three parts so the sets could be changed easily. Roxy wanted red seats because he believed it would make the theater successful, and he wished for the auditorium to be oval in shape because contemporary wisdom held that oval auditoriums had better acoustic qualities. Finally, he wanted to build at least 6,201 seats in

11160-523: The first-mezzanine foyer, runs along the northern wall next to Winter's mural. Another set of stairs below the grand staircase descends from the northern side of the foyer to the main lounge one level below. A smaller staircase to the first-mezzanine lounge runs along the southern wall, connecting to a curved extension of that level's balcony. The southern and northern sides of the grand foyer, respectively leading to 50th and 51st Streets, contain shallow vestibules with red marble walls. The northern vestibule

11315-627: The forefront of the LGBT movement. She traveled to Italy for the Millennium March in 2000 , where she was acclaimed as the "mother of all gay people". In early 2001, after a service at the Metropolitan Community Church of New York referring to the Star of Bethlehem announcing the birth of Jesus , she decided to resurrect STAR as an active political organization (now changing " Transvestite " to

11470-414: The front one-third of the orchestra from the rear two-thirds. Each row of seats was originally placed 2 feet 10 inches (0.86 m) apart, giving more legroom than in contemporary theaters. Radio City contains three mezzanines within the back wall of the auditorium, as well as a main lounge in the basement. Each of the mezzanines is shallow, and all three mezzanine levels are stacked on top of

11625-402: The gay community: "Transvestites are homosexual men and women who dress in clothes of the opposite sex. Male transvestites dress and live as women. Half sisters like myself are women with the minds of women trapped in male bodies." In interviews and writings in her later years, notably her 1995 interview with Randy Wicker and her 2002 essay, "Queens In Exile, The Forgotten Ones," she expressed

11780-441: The gays and lesbian committee. This committee oversaw all other political sub-committees in the GAA, because this sub-committee's purpose was to recommend the formation of new sub-committees, and also changes in mandates to pre-existing political sub-committees. This sub-committee was in charge of organizing and hosting various social events in order to unite the gay and lesbian community. More importantly, it helped raise money for

11935-402: The giant screen was Frank Capra's The Bitter Tea of General Yen . One critic said the same year that the Music Hall "is alone in carrying on the tradition of bigger things which underlay the whole project at the beginning". William G. Van Schmus was hired as the theater's managing director that March, though he had never managed a theater before. The top admission in the theater's first year

12090-472: The hours before the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City, was released. A large, painted mural depicting Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson went on display in Dallas, Texas, in 2019 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. The painting of the "two pioneers of the gay rights movement" in front of a transgender flag claims to be the world's largest mural honoring the trans community. In May 2019, it

12245-502: The late-1970s out of New York state. The GAA Firehouse on Wooster Street also served as a community center and had extremely popular dances that helped fund the organization. The stairwell was decorated with a photomontage agitprop mural created by the British artist Mario Dubsky (1939–85) and the American painter John Button (1929–82) both of whom were early victims of AIDS . The Mural

12400-404: The lighting bases. The entrance to Radio City is at its southwestern corner, where there are adjacent ticket and advance sales lobbies. Both lobbies contain terrazzo floors and marble walls. The ticket lobby, accessible from Sixth Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets, is the larger of the two lobbies. There are four brass ticket booths: one each on the northern and southern walls and two booths in

12555-513: The lobby or simply left early. Some news reporters, tasked with writing reviews of the premiere, guessed the ending of the program because they left beforehand. Reviews ranged from furious to commiserate. The film historian Terry Ramsaye wrote that "if the seating capacity of the Radio City Music Hall is precisely 6,200, then just exactly 6,199 persons must have been aware at the initial performance that they were eye witnesses to [...]

12710-402: The loosening of regulations on explicit content, Radio City's audience was mostly relegated to families. Radio City was closed entirely for five days in March 1965 for its first full cleaning, which included changing the curtains and painting the ceiling. While the seating areas and floors had been cleaned regularly, the walls and ceilings had never been thoroughly cleaned and had accumulated

12865-572: The main stage, Rivera, representing STAR, called out the heterosexual males who were preying on vulnerable members of the community. Rivera espoused what could be seen as a third gender perspective, saying that LGBT prisoners seeking help "do not write women. They do not write men. They write to STAR." After the speech, Rivera was backstage talking to people about having been at the Stonewall uprising. Doric Wilson recalls that Marsha P. Johnson said to Rivera, “You know you weren't there.” After Marsha Johnson confronted Rivera about lying about Stonewall at

13020-494: The mainstream LGBT movement's strained relationship to the radical politics of many earlier gay liberation activists. After Rivera's death, Michael Bronski recalled her anger when she felt that she was being marginalized within the community, in "Hell hath no fury like a drag queen scorned": After Gay Liberation Front folded and the more reformist Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) became New York's primary gay rights group, Sylvia Rivera worked hard within their ranks in 1971 to promote

13175-458: The managing director. During this time, Radio City hosted films such as The Philadelphia Story (1940), Sunny (1941), The Valley of Decision (1945), and The Late George Apley (1947). Lines for the theater's Christmas show frequently stretched around the block. Performances by the Rockettes and a 60-member orchestra accompanied many live shows. Ernö Rapée , who had headed Radio City's orchestra since its opening, continued to lead

13330-514: The marquee. Although the theater's main entrance could have been placed anywhere along the Sixth Avenue frontage, the architects chose to place the entrance near the intersection of 50th Street, rather than in the middle of the block, because it was highly visible from the Broadway theater district to the west. Additionally, a corner site allowed the architects to place more doorways on the facade than

13485-562: The men's restrooms on each mezzanine level. The women's lounge is mostly designed with the same soft colors as Witold Gordon 's "History of Cosmetics Mural", located on the room's walls, although the wall area not covered by the mural is painted beige. The attached women's restroom is similar to the men's restroom on the same floor but contains vertical cylindrical lighting, stools, and circular mirrors above aqua sinks. The offstage area of Radio City contains many rooms that allow all productions to be prepared on-site. The offstage rooms include

13640-523: The modern transgender movement". As an active member of the Metropolitan Community Church of New York , Rivera ministered through the Church's food pantry , which provides food to hungry people. As well, recalling her life as a child on the streets, she remained a passionate advocate for queer youth. MCC New York has a food pantry called the Sylvia Rivera Food Pantry, and its queer youth shelter

13795-572: The more recently coined term "Transgender," which at that time was understood to include all gender-nonconforming people). STAR fought for the New York City Transgender Rights Bill and for a trans-inclusive New York State Sexual Orientation Non Discrimination Act . STAR also sponsored street pressures for justice for Amanda Milan , a transgender woman murdered in 2000. Rivera attacked Human Rights Campaign and Empire State Pride Agenda as organizations that were standing in

13950-458: The most expansive theater screen; the heaviest proscenium arch in a theater; and the "finest precision dancers", the Rockettes . The auditorium has around 5,960 seats. Around 3,500 of these seats are at the ground-level orchestra, while the remaining seats are distributed among the three mezzanines. The orchestra and mezzanine sections all contain reddish-brown plush seating throughout, as well as storage compartments under each seat, lights at

14105-803: The most frequent actor was Cary Grant , who had appeared in 25 such films. Even so, officials had intended to close down Radio City Music Hall in 1962, one of several such unheeded announcements. Radio City closed temporarily in 1963 due to fears of a power failure, and the first full-day closure in its history took place on November 26, 1963, following the assassination of John F. Kennedy . By 1964, Radio City had an estimated 5.7 million annual visitors, who paid ticket prices of between 99 cents and $ 2.75 (equivalent to between $ 7 and $ 21 in 2023). The theater had evolved to show fewer adult-oriented films, instead choosing to show films for general audiences. However, Radio City's operating costs were almost twice as high as those of smaller performance venues. In addition, with

14260-626: The movement. Rivera sometimes exaggerated her importance, purporting to have been active during the civil rights movement , the movement against the Vietnam war , second-wave feminist movements , as well as Puerto Rican and African American youth activism, particularly with the Young Lords and the Black Panthers but she could not prove her claims. Rivera's older friend Marsha P. Johnson had been Rivera's protector and friend since Rivera arrived in

14415-430: The newest lighting innovations at the time, including lights that changed colors automatically and adjusted their own brightness based on different lighting levels in the theater. The main lounge in the basement is about twice the size of the grand foyer above it. The walls are composed of black "permatex", which was a new material at the time of Radio City's construction. The ceiling has diamond-shaped light fixtures and

14570-403: The northernmost block, with more than 6,200 seats, and the smaller 3,500-seat "RKO Roxy" movie theater on the southernmost block. The idea for these theaters was inspired by Roxy's failed expansion of the 5,920-seat Roxy Theatre on 50th Street, one and a half blocks away. The Music Hall was to have a single admission price of $ 2 per person. Roxy also envisioned an elevated promenade between

14725-469: The omission of discussions about race and ethnicity in mainstream U.S. LGBT history , particularly with regard to Rivera's legacy. Rivera's gender identity was complex and varied throughout her life. In 1971, she spoke of herself as a "half sister". In her essay "Transvestites: Your Half Sisters and Half Brothers of the Revolution", she specifically claims her use of transvestite as applying to only

14880-472: The plush curtain behind it has several horizontal sections that can be raised or lowered independently of each other. The original curtain weighed three tons and measured 112 feet (34 m) wide by 78 feet (24 m) tall. The center of the stage contains a rotating floor measuring 50 feet (15 m) across. The floor is divided into three sections that can be lowered and raised either separately or in sync. The orchestra pit , which could fit 75 musicians,

15035-642: The popular TV series Marcus Welby, M.D. , many zaps of Mayor John Lindsay at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and later at Radio City Music Hall , a zap against Governor Nelson Rockefeller (the "Rockefeller 5"), a zap at the Marriage License Bureau demanding marriage rights for gays, a zap against Fidelifacts, which provided anti-gay information to employers, a zap at the NYC Taxi Commission (which required gay cab drivers to get an OK from

15190-621: The potential tax benefits of preserving the theater, Rockefeller Center's managers were uninterested in saving Radio City, as they were focused on the site's real-estate development potential. Huxtable claimed that the managers' approach was "singularly lacking in any creative or cultural sensitivities". Radio City Music Hall Ballet Company dance captain Rosemary Novellino formed the Showpeople's Committee to Save Radio City Music Hall . Lieutenant governor Mary Anne Krupsak , who had once been

15345-477: The proposed theaters than the Europeans did. Roxy had a list of design requests for the Music Hall. First, he did not want the theater to have either a large balcony over the box seating or rows of box seating facing each other, as implemented in opera houses. One alternative called for "a rather deep balcony" and a shallower second balcony, but would have obstructed views from the rear orchestra. Consequently,

15500-412: The rear orchestra. Since the mezzanines are shallow, there is no need to have a crossover aisle, and only four aisles are provided. Ramps on either side of the stage lead to the first mezzanine level, creating the impression of a stage encircling the orchestra. The auditorium's ceiling contains eight telescoping bands, which Haskell described as the "northern lights". Each of the bands' edges contains

15655-433: The reasons for such varied designs: "Since the auditoriums, men's lobbies, smoking rooms and women's lounges are used for a few hours only, decorative schemes are appropriate in them that would be too dramatic for a home." Architectural critic Douglas Haskell said of the auditorium: "The focus is the great proscenium arch, over 60 feet [18 m] high and 100 feet [30 m] feet wide, a huge semi-circular void. From that

15810-444: The rent. It's not like there was a lot of fancy furniture in there...I mean, the furniture were the rejects from the street." Silverstein says GAA meetings drew 200-300 people and the dances drew "easily 1,000." While the majority demographic of the Gay Activist Alliance were men, this sub-committee was important because it was devoted to planning events in order, "to support a sense of community among all lesbians." This sub-committee

15965-422: The same structure that houses Radio City Music Hall. Its exterior has a long marquee sign that wraps around the corner of Sixth Avenue and 50th Street, as well as narrower, seven-story-high signs on the north and south ends of the marquee's Sixth Avenue side; both signs display the theater's name in neon letters. The main entrance to Radio City was placed at the corner of Sixth Avenue and 50th Street, underneath

16120-690: The store is now called Philly AIDS Thrift at Giovanni's Room , also known as PAT @ Giovanni's Room. The GAA published the Gay Activist newspaper until 1980. GAA first met at the Church of the Holy Apostles (9th Ave. & 28th St.) Their next New York City headquarters, the Firehouse at 99 Wooster Street in Soho, was occupied in May 1971 and burned down by arsonists on October 15, 1974. "By 1980 GAA had begun to sound like

16275-400: The street would have a role model." When Kohler and Rivera had a discussion over whether Kohler would back Rivera's claims to Carter for the book, Rivera asked Kohler to say that Rivera threw a Molotov cocktail. Kohler responded, "Sylvia, you didn't throw a Molotov cocktail!" Rivera continued to bargain with him, asking if he'd say she threw the first brick. He replied, "Sylvia, you didn't throw

16430-645: The streets, largely in the gay homeless community at the Christopher Street docks. Her experiences made her more focused on advocacy for those who, in her view, were left behind by the mainstream society and the assimilationist sectors of the gay community. Rivera fought partly for herself for those reasons but most importantly for the rights of people of color and low-income LGBT people. As someone who suffered from systematic poverty and racism, she used her voice for unity, sharing her stories, pain, and struggles to show her community they are not alone. She amplified

16585-402: The student club Gay People at Columbia University in 1971, as well as at a famous protest against homophobia at the elite Inner Circle event in 1972. GAA was associated with a series of combative zaps against homophobic politicians and anti-gay activists in the summer of 1977. Although Time magazine derided them as "Gay goons", the actions succeeded in keeping the conservative backlash of

16740-522: The summer. Yet again, rumors spread that the venue would close, but Radio City's managers denied these claims. Architectural critic Ada Louise Huxtable wrote that Radio City was still more popular than other visitor attractions, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art , the American Museum of Natural History , and the Bronx Zoo . In 1977, annual attendance reached an all-time low of 1.5 million,

16895-510: The theater during the remaining 14 weeks. These live shows were split into two periods of seven weeks. Radio City's managers attempted to draw patrons by using the stage for rock concerts, pop festivals, and telecasts of boxing matches. Nonetheless, Radio City continued to lose $ 600,000 a year by early 1975. It cost $ 55,000 a week just to rent the theater, plus another $ 20,000 for employee salaries. There were just 3.5 million visitors annually, despite high attendance during Christmas, Easter, and

17050-468: The theater had lost $ 2.3 million in 1977. Many of Radio City's regular patrons moved to the suburbs, and there was a lingering fear of crime in New York City. A lack of family-friendly movies was also a factor in the planned closure. One proposal included converting the theater into tennis courts, a shopping mall, an aquarium, a hotel, a theme park, or the American Stock Exchange . Despite

17205-443: The theater hosted the premieres of over 650 movies. At the theater's peak, four complete performances were presented every day. In addition to its movie screenings, Radio City hosted a holy hour for Catholics, Protestants, and Jews starting in 1933. The theater started experimenting with operatic performances in May 1934. The performances were so popular that Van Schmus decided to produce more opera shows to be performed four times

17360-480: The theater on April 25, 1979, with the screening of The Promise . The theater was closed immediately afterward for renovation. It reopened with a ceremony on May 31, 1979. After the theater reopened to the public, Radio City started creating its own music concerts. Previously, the theater had only hosted events created by external producers. Time slots were set aside for movie screenings, but Radio City had mostly turned to stage shows. By January 1980, Radio City

17515-503: The theater's musicians. Though the theater reopened a few days later, this was the first time it had ever been closed due to staffing issues. Another labor dispute in 1973 forced Radio City to cut back its policy of mixed films and stage shows. A total shutdown was only avoided when the musicians' union agreed to a three-year contract in which musicians would be paid for 38 weeks per year, rather than 52. This allowed Radio City's managers to schedule other forms of live entertainment for

17670-462: The theater's name were placed on the facade, while intricately ornamented fire escapes were installed on the walls facing 50th and 51st Streets. Inside, Stone designed 165-foot-long (50 m) Grand Foyer with a large staircase, balconies, and mirrors and commissioned Ezra Winter for the grand foyer's 2,400-square-foot (220 m ) mural, "Quest for the Fountain of Eternal Youth". Deskey, meanwhile,

17825-448: The theater's orchestra until he died in 1945. Radio City continued to operate every day, although it sometimes closed briefly for part of the day. For example, it partially closed after U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt died in 1945 and again during a fuel shortage the next year. Alexander Smallens became the theater's musical director in 1947, and Raymond Paige assumed that position three years later. The theater's sound system

17980-491: The theater's wall coverings, carpet, light fixtures, and furniture. All of the theater's staircases were fitted with brass railings, an aspect of the Art Deco style. Deskey commissioned textile designers Marguerita Mergentime and Ruth Reeves to create carpet designs and designs for the fabrics covering the walls. Reeves designed a carpet that contained musical motifs in "shades of red, brown, gold, and black", but her design

18135-399: The ticket lobby, within each of the slight indentations. The advance sales lobby, accessible from 50th Street just east of Sixth Avenue, contains a single ticket booth on the eastern wall. This location allowed the advance-sales booth to be distinguished from the general sales booths while also not blocking traffic flow. To the ticket lobby's east and the advance sales lobby's northeast is

18290-423: The two theaters, but this was never published in any of the official blueprints. In September 1931, a group of NBC managers and architects toured Europe to find performers and look at theater designs. However, the group did not find any significant architectural details that they could use in the Radio City theaters. In any case, Roxy's friend Peter Clark turned out to have much more innovative designs for

18445-450: The unveiling of the world's best 'bust'". Set designer Robert Edmond Jones resigned in disappointment, and Graham was fired. Despite the negative reviews of the performances, the theater's design was very well received. One reviewer stated: "It has been said of the new Music Hall that it needs no performers; that its beauty and comforts alone are sufficient to gratify the greediest of playgoers." Radio City's initial policy of live shows

18600-512: The upcoming Christopher Street Liberation Day events already planned for 28 June. This event, scheduled to commemorate the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots , was the first Pride march celebration in the United States. In 1973 three GAA members, Tom Wilson Weinberg , Dan Sherbo and Bern Boyle , opened the gay bookstore Giovanni's Room at 232 South Street . It was named after James Baldwin 's gay novel Giovanni's Room . The store

18755-480: The voices of the most vulnerable members of the gay community: drag queens, homeless youth, gay inmates in prison and jail , and transgender people. In the last five years of her life, Rivera gave a number of speeches about the Stonewall Uprising and the necessity for all transgender people (which Rivera, in this early definition, defined as including drag queens and butch dykes ) to fight for their legacy at

18910-580: The way of transgender rights. On her deathbed she met with Matt Foreman and Joe Grabarz of ESPA to negotiate transgender inclusion in its political structure and agenda. Rivera was angered that in the late 1990s and early 2000s she perceived the significance of drag queens and drag culture being minimized by the ostensibly assimilationist gay rights agenda, particularly by new would-be "gay leaders" who were focusing on military service ( Don't Ask Don't Tell ) and marriage equality . Rivera's conflicts with these newer, more mainstream, LGBT groups were emblematic of

19065-499: The well-received solo musical ICONS: The Lesbian and Gay History of the World, Vol. 1 (directed by Aliza Washabaugh-Durand and produced by Aliza Washabaugh-Durand and Christopher Durand) winning Rivera renewed national attention. In 2005, the corner of Christopher and Hudson streets was renamed "Sylvia Rivera Way" in her honor. This intersection is in Greenwich Village , the neighborhood in New York City where Rivera started organizing, and

19220-482: The wide-ranging topics the subcommittees covered: Political projects, police power, municipal fair employment law, fair tax, municipal government committee, state government, legal committee, news, leaflets and graphics, fundraising, social affairs, orientations, speakers bureau and agitprop committee. This committee was dedicated to the upkeep of the Firehouse, which became its headquarters in 1971. The Firehouse Committee

19375-544: Was 40 cents during the day and 88 cents at night. Radio City became the premiere showcase for films from the RKO-Radio Studio , with Topaze being the first RKO film to play there in 1933. Some of the films that premiered at Radio City Music Hall included King Kong (1933), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), Mary Poppins (1964), The Jungle Book (1967), and The Lion King (1994). The New York Daily News said that, in total,

19530-508: Was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Radio City lost $ 2.3 million in the first ten months of 1978, despite the fact that a Frank Sinatra concert there had grossed more than $ 1.7 million. From April 13 to September 13, 1978, when the UDC operated the theater, losses totaled $ 1.2 million. The plans for an office building above the theater were recommended in a draft study that

19685-505: Was also restored by John Canning. The renovation was originally projected to cost $ 25 million, but the cost increased to $ 70 million due to various additional tasks that surfaced during the extensive refurbishment. Radio City received a $ 2.5 million tax break from the Empire State Development Corporation , which was meant to accommodate the expenditure of up to $ 66 million in renovation costs. The theater reopened with

19840-605: Was an American gay liberation and transgender rights activist who was also a noted community worker in New York . Rivera, who identified as a drag queen for most of her life and later as a transgender person , participated in demonstrations with the Gay Liberation Front . With close friend Marsha P. Johnson , Rivera co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR),

19995-509: Was announced that LGBT rights activists Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera would be commemorated with a monument in New York's Greenwich Village, near the epicenter of the historic Stonewall riots. The monument was publicly announced on May 30, in honor of the 50th anniversary of Stonewall and just in time for Pride month. In June 2019, the Italian city of Livorno dedicated a green area to Rivera, called Parco Sylvia Rivera. In June 2019, Rivera

20150-422: Was becoming increasingly more conservative, several of its founders and officers had plans to run for public office — even changed its political agenda to exclude issues of transvestitism and drag. It was also not unusual for Sylvia to be urged to "front" possibly dangerous demonstrations, but when the press showed up, she would be pushed aside by the more middle-class, "straight-appearing" leadership. In 1995, Rivera

20305-499: Was christened with her new name by "an old butch dyke and an old queen (the godfather and godmother of 42nd)" who chose the name for her. Rivera's activism began in 1970 after she participated in actions with the Gay Liberation Front 's Drag Queen Caucus and later joined the Gay Activists Alliance at 18 years old, where she fought for not only the rights of gay people but also for the inclusion of drag queens like herself in

20460-419: Was closed shortly afterward due to a homophobic landlord. The store changed hands to lesbian activist Pat Hill in 1974 and then to Ed Hermance and Arleen Oshan in 1976. Hermance and Olshan moved the store first to 1426 Spruce Street and then to its final location on 12th and Pine in 1979. It has been called the "center of gay Philly". Philly AIDS Thrift took over the store after the owner retired in 2014 and so

20615-547: Was dedicated to outlawing homosexual job discrimination in both the public and private sector. The purpose of this committee was, "to recommend strategy to GAA for demonstrations and lobbying in order to effect passage in the City Council." Similar to the Municipal Fair Employment Law sub-committee, this sub-committee recommended strategies to the rest of the GAA for resisting oppression and discrimination against

20770-433: Was destroyed in the fire that destroyed the centre in 1974. The symbol of the Gay Activists Alliance was the lower case Greek letter lambda (λ). The Gay Activist Alliance formed multiple sub-committees that allowed the organization to intensely focus on multiple gay and lesbians issue at one time. The committees were named after the issue they were devoted to. The following list of several different sub-committees illustrate

20925-459: Was found floating in the Hudson River off the West Village Piers . Police promptly ruled Johnson's death a suicide, despite the presence of a head wound. Johnson's friends and supporters, Rivera included, insisted Johnson had not been suicidal, and a people's postering campaign later declared that Johnson had earlier been harassed near the spot where Johnson's body was found. After receiving

21080-580: Was hosting shows such as the stage adaptation of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and the Rockettes Spectacular. However, the theatrical shows proved to be unpopular, so, in 1983, the Radio City Music Hall shifted to creating music concerts and participating in the production of films and TV shows. The parent company, Radio City Music Hall Productions (a subsidiary of Rockefeller Center Inc.), started creating or co-creating films and Broadway shows such as Legs and Brighton Beach Memoirs . By

21235-468: Was in charge of organizing its iconic dances that aided in, "fostering Gay solidarity and understanding through social contact among all members of good will in the gay community." On the LGBTQ&;A podcast, Charles Silverstein said, "It was paid for through our Saturday night dances where people paid us $ 2.00 to come to the dance, and all the soda or beer that you want for the night. Through that they paid

21390-550: Was initially intended to host stage shows, within a year of its opening it was converted into a movie palace , hosting performances in a film-and-stage-spectacle format through the 1970s, and was the site of several movie premieres. By the late 20th and early 21st centuries, it primarily hosted concerts, including by leading pop and rock musicians, and live stage shows such as the Radio City Christmas Spectacular . Radio City has also hosted televised events including

21545-407: Was largely successful until the 1970s, when declining patronage nearly drove the theater to bankruptcy. Radio City was designated a New York City Landmark in May 1978, and it was restored and allowed to remain open. The theater was extensively renovated in 1999. Radio City's four-tiered auditorium was the world's largest when it opened. The theater also contains a variety of art. Although Radio City

21700-415: Was meant to be a return to high-class variety entertainment. However, Radio City's opening program flopped because the program was very long, spanning from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. the next day, and a multitude of acts were crammed onto the world's largest stage, ensuring that individual acts were lost in the cavernous hall. As the premiere went on, audience members, including John Rockefeller Jr, waited in

21855-611: Was named the Baldwin Rivera Boggs Center after activists James Baldwin , Sylvia Rivera, and Grace Lee Boggs . In 2015, a portrait of Rivera was added to the National Portrait Gallery , making Rivera the first transgender activist to be featured in the gallery. In 2016, Rivera was inducted into the Legacy Walk . In 2018, Happy Birthday, Marsha! a short film about Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson , set in

22010-678: Was one of the inaugural fifty American "pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes" inducted on the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor within the Stonewall National Monument (SNM) in New York City ’s Stonewall Inn . The SNM is the first U.S. national monument dedicated to LGBTQ rights and history , and the wall's unveiling was timed to take place during the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City )

22165-412: Was originally intended for a Metropolitan Opera House, although plans for the opera house were canceled in 1929. It opened on December 27, 1932, as part of the construction of Rockefeller Center . The 5,960-seat Music Hall was the larger of two venues built for Rockefeller Center's "Radio City" section, the other being Center Theatre ; the "Radio City" name came to apply only to Radio City Music Hall. It

22320-411: Was placed on a "bandwagon" that was lifted from the basement and could move vertically or longitudinally. The bandwagon could also be lifted to the central opening. From the stage, it could be lowered back into the basement or moved to the side. There is a complex system of indirect cove lighting at the front of the stage, facing the audience. When Radio City first opened, it was equipped with all of

22475-494: Was published in February 1979. Davis Brody Associates had designed a 31-story office and hotel building that was to be cantilevered over the theater, with an entrance carved out of Radio City's Sixth Avenue lobby. The office building was ultimately not built. Robert F. Jani instead assumed control of Radio City's programming, with plans to restore the venue to its original condition. The film-plus-stage-spectacle format ended at

22630-452: Was replaced by James F. Gould. As president of Radio City, Gould expanded its programming to include events such as rock concerts and wrestling matches before he retired in 1973. Radio City had its 200 millionth visitor in January 1967, a little less than two years after its renovation. Tourism to New York City started to decline by 1969, which affected the theater's attendance. Even in the early 1970s, Radio City had five million visitors

22785-473: Was replaced in 1999. Mergentime also produced geometric designs of nature and musicians for the walls and carpets, which still exist. Deskey also created his own carpet design consisting of "singing head" depictions, which still exists. Rene Chambellan produced six "playful" bronze plaques of vaudeville characters, which are located in the lobby just above the entrances to the theater. Henry Varnum Poor designed all of Radio City's ceramic fixtures, especially

22940-486: Was selected as part of a competition for interior designers for the Music Hall. He had reportedly called Winter's painting "God-awful" and regarded the interior and exterior as not much better. To make the Music Hall presentable in his opinion, Deskey designed upholstery and furniture that was custom to the theater. Deskey's plan was regarded the best of 35 submissions, and he ultimately used the rococo style in his interior design. The International Music Hall evolved into

23095-425: Was so poorly received that, just two weeks after its opening, its managers announced that the theater would switch to showing feature films, accompanied by a spectacular stage show that Roxy had perfected. The announcement came amid false rumors that the theater would close. On January 11, 1933, after incurring a net operating loss of $ 180,000, Radio City became a movie and live-show house. The first film shown on

23250-509: Was still hurt: "When things started getting more mainstream, it was like, 'We don't need you no more'". But, she added, "Hell hath no fury like a drag queen scorned". According to Bronski, Rivera was banned from New York's Gay & Lesbian Community Center for several years in the mid-1990s, because, on a cold winter's night, she aggressively demanded that the Center take care of poor and homeless queer youth. A short time before her death, Bronski reports that she said: One of our main goals now

23405-480: Was the four-year anniversary of the Stonewall riots, Rivera gave her famous "Gay Power!" speech. Rivera and fellow queen Lee Brewster jumped onstage during feminist activist Jean O'Leary 's speech, which was critical in tone towards drag queens, and shouted in reply, "Y'all Better Quiet Down! You go to bars because of what drag queens did for you, and these bitches tell us to quit being ourselves!"(O'Leary later regretted her words and stance.) During this speech from

23560-505: Was the only part of the complex that retained the name by 1937, and the name "Radio City" became shorthand for the theater. Construction on Radio City Music Hall started in December 1931, and the theater topped out in August 1932. Its construction set many records at the time, including the use of 15,000 miles (24,000 km) of copper wire and 200 miles (320 km) of brass pipe. In November 1932, Russell Markert 's précision dance troupe

23715-594: Was then raised by her Venezuelan grandmother, who disapproved of Rivera's effeminate behavior, particularly after Rivera began to wear makeup in fourth grade. As a result, in 1962, Rivera left home at ten years old and began living on the streets of New York. Like many other homeless youth in the community, she engaged in survival sex as a child prostitute . She was taken in by the local drag queens , including Marsha P. Johnson , who became Rivera's best friend and protector. In this loose knit community of drag queens and street hustlers "who hung out on 42nd Street ", she

23870-423: Was upgraded in mid-1953, enabling the venue to show 3D films without intermission. Radio City disbanded its in-house male chorus in 1958, instead hiring choral acts from around the world. The theater also hosted benefit parties for Big Brothers Inc. from 1953 to at least 1959. Through the next decade, Radio City was successful regardless of the status of the city's economic, business, and entertainment sectors as

24025-404: Was walking down the street and the cops just snatched me. People now want to call me a lesbian because I'm with Julia, and I say, "No. I'm just me. I'm not a lesbian." I'm tired of being labeled. I don't even like the label transgender . I'm tired of living with labels. I just want to be who I am. I am Sylvia Rivera. Ray Rivera left home at the age of 10 to become Sylvia. And that's who I am. On

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