Theatre Design & Technology - May 1970 - 18

CAPITOL BUILDING

A LETTER OF PROTEST

Building Owner:
Uris Capitol Corporation
Emery Roth and Sons
Building Architect:
Theatre Tenant:
N ederlander-O estreicher'
Theatre Architect:
Ralph Alswang
Design Associate: William Cruse
Consultants:
Project Engineer-John Walsh

Legitimate Theatre:
Stage:
Lot Size:
FAR.:

Mrs. Leslie A. Cortesi
Chairman, Theatre Architecture Committee
U. S. Institute for Theatre Technology, Inc.
245 West 52nd Street
New York, N. Y. 10019

Rigging-Nolan Scenic Studios
Acoustical Engineer-Dr. C. P. Boner
Technical-Charles Bender
Structural-James Ruderman
Mechanical and Electrical-Jaros,
Baum, and Bolles
1800 seats
Flexible Proscenium
89,4 76 square feet
20.80

Dear Mrs. Cortesi:
Thank you for your note of the 4th. I believe that the City of New York under Mayor
Lindsay has made the first effort in our municipal history to prevent the erosion and the
disappearance of our theatre on Broadway.
Their motivation was concerned with the
threatened physical disappearance of the
theatre. My concern is for a new vigorous
life for the "FABULOUS INVALID."

Rentable F.A.R. square
feet excluding theatre: 1,780,00
Square Feet for Theatre: 107,900'
'In same building as Circle in the Square

Building Owner:
Building Architect:
Theatre Tenant:
Theatre Architect:
Consultants:

As I explained at the meeting, the so called
"bonus plan" devised by New York City gives
to the three or four developers who have
chosen to build office buildings in the theatre district, what admittedly represents a
subsidy in increased earnings over the years
to the builders of some $150,000,000.
What I am asking is that some of this subsidy be channeled into the purchase of theatre tickets for selected plays at box office
prices and be passed down to selected
audiences at reduced rates.

Uris Capitol Corporation
Emery Roth and Sons
Circle in the Square'
Alan Sayles
Theatre Planning-Jules Fisher
Stage and General Lighting-Jules
Fisher
Structural-James Ruderman
Mechanical and Electrical-Jaros,
Baum, and Bolles
650 seats
Thrust (U-shapel
89,4 7 6 square feet
20.80

Legitimate Theatre:
Stage:
Lot Size:
F.A.R.:
Rentable F.A.R. square
feet excluding theatre
1,780,000
Square Feet for Theatre: 107,900 +

The Theatre Development Fund is presently
operating in this fashion in New York. They
purchased tickets in theamountof $40,000
for the "INDIANS" at box office prices and
channeled them to students and others at
$2.00 each and helped keep the play alive.

- In same building as N ederlander-Oestreicher-Alswang th eatre

Eighteen months and over 60 developed
drawings, plans, elevations and details have
gone into the designing of the musical theatre seating 1800 people in the new Uris
office building.
We hope to have created an elegant, comfortable, environment for the th eatregoer
and, equally important, stage facilities that
will please a cross-section of theatre professionals with their many different points
of view-this has always meant to me

maximum flexibility.
This flexibility includes:
-Proscenium or thrust stage presentation
-Proscenium can slide to off-stage position
-Side walls in auditorium (light towers)
are moved by air cells to off-stage position
to form staging areas
-Orchestra pit, elevator to form thrust
stage or split for additional seats
-Secondary grid iron for thrust stage to
fly lighting and scenic elements over audience
-Auditorium ceiling panels adjustable over
thrust stage

-Stage conventionally trapped but is totally
removable in order to stage productions at
any level desired.
-Counterweight pinrail at stage level-slot
in floor- to facil itate adjustable speed el ectric motor on rails in basement. Any set
can be motorized; counterweight arbors installed for automation.
-Spot lines can be automated through this
central switchboard
I have been able to design this theatre
expressing my feelings about theatre esthetics, as well as mechanics, based on my
experience as a craftsman. This is most
unusual in this day of committees and bigness.
I have always felt the traditional opera
house is the real home of theatre. I have
attempted withi n a contemporary idiom to
express that same sense of theatre excitement. I have been fortunate to be engaged
by the lease holder on the theatre, James
Nederlander and Gerald Oestreicher, with
the fine cooperation of the building architect, Emery Roth, as well as Nat Stein who
coordinates the job for the Uris Corporation.

RALPH ALSWANG
~

The realty, restaurant, transportation and hotel interests who derive and feed on the
theatre and who would be seriously hurt by
the demise of the theatre, contribute to the
city tens of millions of dollars in real estate
taxes. Could not a small portion of those
sums be diverted into the purchase of tickets
to carefully selected plays, making the theatre part of the educational process of our
public, high school, and city university programs? Labor unions whose coffers are swollen and who have made contributions to
Lincoln Centre and Carnegie Hall, likewise
represent a potential source.
Not only are immediate audiences the problem, but development of future audiences is
likewise an absolute necessity. The habit of
theatre going must be cultivated, as is the
habit of reading. If something is not done
by way of providing audiences who presently
cannot afford to go to the theatre with
tickets they can afford to pay, the cultural
void that will be created will be serious indeed.
There are few or no places left where the
human comment can be made without fearof
censorship. Let us be more concerned therefore, with the creation of audiences than
with the emphasis on better architecture.
Sincerely yours,
Joel W. Schenker

THEATER DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

MAY, 1970

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