Landmarks Preservation Gammission November 28, 1978, Designation List 121 LP-1011 'IDWN HALL, 113-123 West 43rd Street, Borough of Manhattan. Built 1919-21; Archit eet McKim, Mead & White. Landmarks Site: Borough of Manhattan Tax Map Block 996, Lot 21. On September 12, 1978, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing on the proposed designation as a Landmark of the Town Hall and the proposed designation of the related Landmark Site (Item l\Io. 10). The hearing had been duly advertised in accordance with the provisions of law. Nineteen witnesses spoke in favor of designation. There were no speakers in opposition to designation. DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS Characterized by one contemporary observer as "an idea with a roof over it" Town Hall was built in 1919-1921 as a meeting hall for the city of New York. The architectural finn of McKim, Mead & White was asked by the League for Political Education to design a structure to accarm:xJate the organization's needs for a speaker's auditorium, a concert hall, a novie theater and club house. A versatile and functional design was demanded, not an architectural conceit. Because of the versatility of its design, Town Hall, as perhaps no other hall in the city, has been able to keep pace with changing needs. Following its beginning as a forum to educate the city's men and wanen in political issues, 'lbwn Hall attained national .in'q::x:>rtance in 1935 when radio spread "America's Town Meeting of the Air" across the country. Concurrently the audit oriu rn became highly acclaimed for its excellent acoustics and intima.te atrrosphere. For these reasons Town Hall was selected for most New York musical debuts. One music critic explained: Both to the ear and to the eye Town Hall remains unrivalled arrong New York's auditoriums. Artists singing or playing there start with an advantage-- heard at their best, seen at their best, and in close, easy contact with an audience predisposed to enjoyment by the pleasant ambience.l Begun as an outgrowth of the defeat of the wanen' s suffrage arrEildrnent to the New York constitution in 1894, the League for Political Education was founded by six praninent New York wanen who had lost in their effort to obtain suffrage but who were detennined to educate more wane:n in political issues so that they might not continue to be excluded fran town meetings and other fonns of government. The idea of a political education program had orginated with Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi, the daughter of George Palmer Putnam, the publisher, and the first ~ to be admitted to the French Ecole de Medicine. Dr. Jacobi's address before the Albany constitutional convention in 1894 was reprinted and used as a document in the successful suffrage efforts in 1915. The other founders of the League included: Lucia G. Runkle, a member of the editorial staff of the New York Tribune; Adele M. Fielde, a missionary and translator; catherine A.B. Abbe, President of the City History ·Club; Eleanor B. Sanders; and Lee W. Haggin. The League which was founded l n 1894 drew experts in many fields to "town meetings" where the audience was encouraged to ask questions following the lecture. The programs were successful, and by 1899 the League boasted 600 members. Contacts at Harvard University were especially helpful

-in providing speakers and guidance to the program. After lecturing to the League for several years Professor of Education,· Robert E. Ely, decided to leave Harvard in 1901 and becane Executive Director of the program. Fran the beginning the League had been open to both 'M:ITiel1 and men, but because of the routine of morning lectures few men had been able to attend. In 1907 Ely and J .W. Beatson founded the Econanic Club of New York which was an outgrowth of the League and which offered dinner meetings. Fonrer President of the Economic Club, Wendall L. Wilkie, described it as "the forenost non partisan forum of men in the country. "2 The early meetings of the League were held at the

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