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The Building of Radio City (1932)

1932 · Short film · 6 min

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Synopsis

This brief vintage film features the construction of Radio City Music Hall in New York City off Sixth Avenue. The film was shot by Walter H. Kilham, Jr., a Harvard graduate in the architectural school class of 1928 who obtained a masters degree from NYU in 1930. Kilham worked for the firm of Wallace K. Harrison on the Rockefeller Apartments and the Trylon and Perisphere at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Later he formed his own practice. The Radio City Music Hall was commissioned by John D. Rockefeller, who signed a lease for the large swath of land in midtown Manhattan intended to build a new Metropolitan Opera House. The stock market crash of 1929 led to abandonment of those plans and the use of the land for a different type of entertainment venue. Construction began in 1931 and opened in 1932. It was and is the headquarters for the famed Rockettes. Radio City Music Hall was designed by Edward Durell Stone and Donald Deskey in art deco style. This film was captured and edited by Walter H. Kilham Jr. (:13). New York Times newspaper headlines are laid out in letterpress sets, and then the newspapers hit the printing press (:27). Stacks are pulled and sent off to the corner to be sold by city streetwalkers or newsboys (:39). A pedestrian reads a headline about the construction of Radio City Hall in the New York Times (:43). A note informs viewers the cornerstone was to be laid out at 11am on July 2nd, 1932 (:51). A New York City Street cop appears (1:02). Blueprints appear…

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Details

Running time
6 minutes
Collection
Ephemeral Films

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