Chickering Hall (1875 - 1893) was a concert and

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, located on

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...

History

Chickering Hall, commissioned by

Chickering & Sons Chickering & Sons was an American piano manufacturer located in Boston, Massachusetts. The company was founded in 1823 by Jonas Chickering and James Stewart, but the partnership dissolved four years later. By 1830 Jonas Chickering became partners ...

, was situated at the northwest corner of

and 18th Street in the New York City borough of

. It was designed by the American architect

George B. Post George Browne Post (December15, 1837November28, 1913) was an American architect trained in the Beaux-Arts tradition. Active from 1869 almost until his death, he was recognized as a master of several contemporary American architectural genres, an ...

and F.C. Murray. The building housed a

music store A music store or musical instrument store is a retail business that sells musical instruments and related equipment and accessories. Some music stores sell additional services, such as Music lesson, music lessons, music instrument or equipment ...

, piano warehouse, and

concert hall A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage (theatre), stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats. This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention ...

. Above the ground-level salesroom, its 1,450-seat auditorium, located on the second and third floors, hosted

concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

lecture A lecture (from ) is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history, background, theo ...

s, and

conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

s. At the inauguration of the new music hall on November 15, 1875, German pianist

Hans von Bülow Freiherr Hans Guido von Bülow (; 8 January 1830 – 12 February 1894) was a German conductor, pianist, and composer of the Romantic era. As one of the most distinguished conductors of the 19th century, his activity was critical for establishi ...

gave his first New York City performance. The concert hall was managed by Edward H. Colell in 1891 and was still under the ownership of Chickering and Sons. In 1893, the building was entirely repurposed into a

retail space Retail is the sale of goods and Service (economics), services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturing, manufacturers ...

for

John Wanamaker John Wanamaker (July 11, 1838December 12, 1922) was an American merchant and religious, civic and political figure, considered by some to be a proponent of advertising and a "pioneer in marketing". He served as United States Postmaster General ...

's department store, taking over city piano sales. The original Chickering Hall building in New York City was sold and demolished in the early 1900s.

merged with the

American Piano Company American Piano Company (Ampico) was an American piano manufacturer formed in 1908 through the merger of Wm. Knabe & Co., Chickering & Sons, Marshall & Wendell, and Foster-Armstrong. They later purchased the Mason & Hamlin piano company as their ...

who later established a new building in the borough of Manhattan on 57th Street under the same name in 1924.

Events & Performances

piano concert, November 15-24, 1875 *5th

International Congress of Ophthalmology The International Congress of Ophthalmology (, or International Ophthalmological Congress), now known as the World Ophthalmology Congress is a biennial international scientific conference to promote ophthalmological science. History Dr. Évarist ...

, September 12-14, 1876 *

Robert G. Ingersoll Robert Green Ingersoll (; August 11, 1833 – July 21, 1899), nicknamed "the Great Agnostic", was an American lawyer, writer, and orator during the Golden Age of Free Thought, who campaigned in defense of agnosticism. Personal life Robert Inge ...

lecture, February 3, 1878 *

Chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

with

Ema Pukšec Ema Pukšec (February 6, 1834 – January 14, 1889), also known as Ilma de Murska, as well as Ilma di Murska, was a 19th-century operatic dramatic soprano with a voice with nearly three octaves compass from Croatia. Life Ema Pukšec was born i ...

, Sebastian Bach Mills, Ferdinand Quentin Dulcken, and more, April 1, 1879 *15th Annual Commencement of the New York College of Dentistry, February 23, 1881 *

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

English Renaissance The English Renaissance was a Cultural movement, cultural and Art movement, artistic movement in England during the late 15th, 16th and early 17th centuries. It is associated with the pan-European Renaissance that is usually regarded as beginni ...

lecture, January 9, 1882 *

Kneisel Quartet The Kneisel Quartet was a string quartet founded in 1885 by violinist Franz Kneisel, then concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. It continued to perform until 1917, and was generally considered the leading string quartet of its time in ...

Pol Plançon Pol Henri Plançon (; 12 June 1851 – 11 August 1914) was a French operatic Bass (vocal range), bass (''basse chantante''). He was one of the most acclaimed singers active during the 1880s, 1890s and early 20th century—a period often referred ...

, Antoinette Szumowska, and more, February 8, 1898 *

Frederic Farrar Dean Frederic William Farrar (Bombay, 7 August 1831 – Canterbury, 22 March 1903) was a senior-ranking cleric of the Church of England, schoolteacher and author. He was a pallbearer at the funeral of Charles Darwin in 1882. He was a member of ...

lecture, October 29, 1885Farrar, F. W. (1866). Temperance Address, Delivered at Chickering Hall, New York, October 29, 1885. United States: John B. Alden.

Gallery

Chickering Hall, New York City.jpg, Chickering Hall, northwest corner of Fifth Avenue and 18th Street, New York City Chickering Hall, 5th Ave, 1892.jpg, Exterior view of Chickering Hall, 1892

References

{{reflist Music venues completed in 1875 Demolished buildings and structures in New York City Event venues established in 1875 Cultural history of New York City Music venues in New York City 19th century in New York City

History

Events & Performances

Gallery

See also

References