
On May 14, 1959, the official groundbreaking for Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts took place. The photo above is from the official ceremony, which included President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and a performance by the New York Philharmonic with Leonard Bernstein of Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man.
(Photo: Bob Serating)
In the last number of months, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts has worked to become more “green” by buying and using renewable energy for buildings on campus. Between October 2012 and March 2013, Lincoln Center used a collective 9,372,524 kWh of electricity.
The environmental benefit measure of the above is estimated at:
- 10,274,030 carbon dioxide (CO2, in pounds) emissions avoided
According to the EPA, this translates to:
- 11,415,558 equivalent automobile miles not driven, or the annual greenhouse gas emissions from 971 passenger vehicles, or 522,446 gallons of gasoline consumed
- The equivalent CO2 emissions from the electricity use of 698 homes for one year
- The equivalent Carbon sequestered annually by 3,820 acres of U.S. forests.
Approximately 12,000 students from the New York area will participate in commencement exercises at Lincoln Center’s concert halls during “graduation season.” Graduations from the most prestigious colleges and universities in New York take place at Avery Fisher and Alice Tully Halls, as well as a number of high school graduations. The graduation programs also attract top level speakers to the campus, and over the years such prominent figures as Rudolph Guilliani, Hillary Rodham Clinton, John E. Sununu, and Geraldine A. Ferraro have given commencement addresses to graduating classes.
Now approaching the finish line, Lincoln Center’s redevelopment program has won an enviable collection of awards. These include:
- 2007 AIA New York State Award of Excellence, School of American Ballet
- 2008 Architectural Lighting Commendable Achievement Award, School of American Ballet
- 2008 International Association of Lighting Designers Award of Excellence, School of American Ballet
- 2008 Architectural Lighting Commendable Achievement Award, School of American Ballet
- 2009 Los Angeles Times, Top 10 Architecture Moments of 2009, Alice Tully Hall
- 2009 The Washington Post, Best Architecture of the Decade, Alice Tully Hall
- 2009 AIA New York State Merit Award, Alice Tully Hall
- 2009 New York Construction, Best of 2009, Best Cultural Project, Alice Tully Hall
- 2009 Society of Registered Architects, Design Award, Alice Tully Hall
- 2009 Progressive Architecture Award Citation, Alice Tully Hall
- 2009 Honor Award for Interior Architecture from AIA for the School of American Ballet’s Lincoln Kirstein dance studios (Diller Scofidio + Renfro)
- New York Magazine’s 2009 Cultural Project of the Year Award for Alice Tully Hall
- 2010 MASterworks Award, Alice Tully Hall
- 2010 Ontario Steel Design Award of Excellence, Alice Tully Hall/The Juilliard School
- 2010 SCUP (Society for College & Urban Planning) Excellence in Architecture Honor Award, The Juilliard School
- 2010 National Award from the American Institutes of Steel Construction IDEAS2 committee for the Juilliard/Alice Tully Hall project
- 2010 AIA Institute Honor Award for Architecture for Alice Tully Hall
- A Citation by the 2010 American Institute of Architects (AIA) New York State Design Awards Jury in the Unbuilt category for Lincoln Center Theater’s Claire Tow Theater (H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture)
- 2011 AIA Architecture Honor Award for the Hypar Pavilion Lawn and Restaurant
- 2011 AIA Urban Design Award for Lincoln Center’s Public Spaces
- 2011 Interiors Honor Award for the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center
- 2011 National Award for Structural Engineering from the American Institutes of Steel Construction, Hypar Lawn & Restaurant
- 2011 “Best in Show” AIANY Design Awards
The Movado Timesculpture located in Dante Park, the triangular island at 63rd Street and Broadway, is the only modern clock tower in New York City designed by architect Philip Johnson. It was his fourth major contribution to the architectural landscape of Lincoln Center after his design of the New York State Theater, the original Fountain Plaza (now named the Josie Robertson Plaza), and the interior of Avery Fisher Hall. It was only after Mr. Johnson committed to creating the piece that funding was secured.
Installed in 1999, the bronze twisting rectangle stands 18 feet high with four clock faces of different diameters placed at various heights, set upon a 3.5-foot base. The clock inset, created in Switzerland, communicates with GPS for accuracy better than plus or minus one millisecond. The generous donation from Mr. and Mrs. Grinberg and the Movado Group, Inc. paid for the design, installation, ongoing maintenance of the timepiece and its artistic casing. Movado continues to support Lincoln Center, Inc. for many other projects.
Every month, approximately 100 personal items end up in the Lost and Found department at Lincoln Center’s Security Office. Umbrellas, eyeglasses, gloves, and cell phones are the most common things left behind after performances or found by security guards.
However, occasionally they’ll get something a bit more unexpected. The department once received a package containing cremated remains. No note of explanation was enclosed, so with only the name of the deceased and the address of a Florida funeral parlor as clues, a lengthy investigation to contact the family ensued. The mystery was solved when it was discovered that the daughter-in-law of the deceased had shipped the ashes to Lincoln Center. It turned out that, while she was alive, the woman would constantly reminisce about how wonderful it was to live near Lincoln Center. When she passed away, her daughter-in-law felt that Lincoln Center was where her ashes should be kept. Eventually, another member of the family was contacted and the ashes were taken off campus.
For questions about property lost in Lincoln Center, the Lost and Found department can be reached at (212) 875-5520. It’s open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, in the Central Security Office on the Lower Concourse. For items lost at the Metropolitan Opera, David H. Koch Theater, Vivian Beaumont Theater, and Performing Arts Library, contact each constituent’s Lost and Found department directly.