Landmarks Preservation Crnmiss!on t.~ 28, 1978, Designation List 121 LP-1012 ~ HALL, first floor interior consisting of the ticket lobby, foyer, curved staircases leading to the first rrezzanine floor, the auditorium, including the seats, and stage or platfonn; first mezzanine floor interior . consisting of the prarenade, reception rcx::m, passages to the loges, and staircases at the eastern and western ends leading to the balcony floor; balcony floor interior consisti."lg of the balcony arrl loges including the seats, projection l:x:lOth and the upper part of the auditorium arx1 the ceiling, and the upper r.art of the rassages to the loges; and the fixtures and interior canp:>nents of these spaces, including but not limited to, all lighting fixtures, wall and ceiling surfaces, floor st:trfaces, railings, doors, and organ grilles; 113-123 west 43rd Street, Manhattan. Built 1919-21; Architect M:::K:i.m, Mead & White. Landmark Site: Borough of Manhattan Tax Map Block 996, lot 21. On September 12, 1978, the Landnlarks Preservation Camri.ssion held a public hearing on the proposed designation of the ~n Hall first floor interior consisting of the tic.lcet lobby, foyer, curved staircases leading to the first rrezzanine floor, the audit oriu rn, including the seats, and stage or platfonn; first rrezzan.ine floor interior consist.i.."1g of the Prcm;:made, reception roCm, passages to the loges, and staircases at t.."le eastern and western ends leading to the balcony floor; baloony floor interior oonsisting of the balcony and .loges including the seats, projection boot..'"! and tr.e Uf.per p:lrt. of the audit oriu rn and the ceiling, arrl the upper part of the passages to the loges; and the fixtures and interior cdrnpqnents of these spaces, in::::luding but not limited to all lighting fixtures, wall and ceiling surfaces, floor surfaces, railings, doors, arrl organ grilles (Itan No. 11). The hearing had been duly advertised in accordance with the provisions pf law. Ninet,.een witnesses spoke in favor of designation. 'lllere were three speakers in opfX>Sition to desiqnation. DESCRJJ?TION AND .ANALYSIS . Characterized by one contenporacy observer as nan idea with a roof over it" 'Itlw.n Hall was built in 1919-1921 as a meeting hall for the city of New York. The architectural finn of McKim, t-1ead & Vhite was as..'l(ed by the League for Political Education to design a structure to aCCCJmDdate the organization's needs for a speakers auditorium, a cx:mcert hall, a novie theater and club house. A versatile and functional design was d.ema..rxle1, not an at:chitectural conceit. Because of the verstaility of its design, ·~ Hall, as perhaps no other hall in the city, has been able to keep pace with changing needs. Following its beginning as a fo.run to educate the city's rcen and waren in political issues, '1bwn Hall attained national i.nq:x:>rtance in 1935 when radio spread "Alrerica' s 'I'ovm ~ting of the Air " ac.rqss the cotmtry. Concurrently the auditoriun became highly acclaimed for its excellent acoustics and intimate atm::>sphere. For these reasons TcMn Hall was selected for ni:lst New York musical debuts. One music critic explained: Both to the ear and to t.~e eye Town Hall ranains unrivalled co:rong New York's audit oriu rns. Artists singing or playing seen there start with an advantage-- heard at their best, at their best, and in close, easy contact with an audience predisposed to enjoym:mt by the pleasant ambience.l

Begun as an outgrowth of the defeat of the 'WCJTe11' s suffrage anerrlrrent to the N2W York constitution in 1894, the League for Political Education was frn.111ded by six prcminent New York waren who had lost in their effort to obtain suffrage but who ~e detennined to educate nore wanen in J.X)li tical issues so t-hat they might. ~t continue to be excluded fran town rooetings arrl other forms of ~t. 'Ibe idea of a political education prcx;ram had orginated with Dr. .Mi?_ry Putnam .Jacx:i>i, the daughter of George Palm& Put

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