A testament to humanity's achievements in culture lies in the heart of New York City, located in Midtown Manhattan at 881 Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street. A hallmark of United States culture, Carnegie Hall stands as an international standard for music venues and concert halls. Labeled a National Historic Landmark, Carnegie Hall is a regional center for the performing and visual arts. Carnegie Hall's cousin (there is a culmination of four active Carnegie Halls currently in existence) aptly titles their mission objective as three-fold:

    1. Present and promote artistic performances and exhibitions,

    2. Educate the community in and about the arts, and

    3. Encourage and support active community participation in the arts.

Evidence will be provided accordingly to substantiate these claims.

    Carnegie Hall's status as one of the most famous concert halls in the world assures its elite ranking among ‘legendary' cultural institutions. Forgoing its extravagant history and architecture, it possesses impeccable acoustics sounds that lure the world's best musicians and ensembles. It stands as one of the most illustrious and noteworthy venues for classical as well as popular music in the United States. The Hall regularly presents about one hundred performances each season; it is also rented out to performing groups. It has no resident company.

    Carnegie Hall boasts three individual concert halls/auditoriums which are each housed separately in its interior. The Hall is also comprised of separate institutions which include The Rose Museum and the Carnegie Hall Archives. Together, these facilities form the composition of Carnegie Hall. As stated before, Carnegie Hall contains three distinct, separate performing arts venues: the Main Hall, the Recital Hall and the Chamber Music Hall. The Main hall, officially called the “Isaac Stern Auditorium/Ronald O. Pereleman Family Stage,” seats two thousand eight hundred four, split on five levels, making the theater enormously large. The Zankel Hall, originally called “Recital Hall,” was named after its purpose. It seats five hundred ninety-nine and was the first auditorium to open to the public in April 1891. The Chamber Music Hall seats two hundred sixty-eight. It is an auditorium/theater in use since the hall opened in 1891. After several revisions of the name, it finally became Weill Recital Hall in 1986.

    The buildings themselves, however, rely on their architecture to promote their position in society as arts/performance venues. With Moorish-style arches added to the overall façade, the building is brown, square, and stout. Albeit the style of the buildings' architecture is supposedly inspired by the Italian Renaissance, the facilities bear vague similarities to the Victorian Age. The sophistication that the architecture possesses once attracted New York's socially elite; to put it in blunt terms, the interior is beautiful. Credit must be given to William Burnet Tuthill, the chief architect responsible for the master plan of Carnegie Hall and an amateur musician himself.

    Carnegie Hall is famous for its treasured history. Its history began roughly a century and a half ago. Construction began on May 13, 1890; it spanned over a period of seven years. In May 5, 1891, the concert hall hosted an “Opening Concert” featuring the Symphony Society and the Oratorio Society under the direction of Walter Damrosch and Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Carnegie Hall was soon recognized as an international symbol of excellence, regularly hosting the world's great musicians and the world's best ensembles. The name of the Hall (originally called “The Music Hall”) was revised to honor Andrew Carnegie, the Hall's founder and contributor.

    The Hall was closed for 28 weeks for extensive renovation and restoration in Mid-May of 1986. In 1990 and 1991, The Hall celebrated its 100th birthday (Centennial Season) with a concert of more than 100 orchestras and soloists. As Carnegie Hall commemorates another season of greatness with dazzling events, it continues to astound, amaze, and stupefy the people of the world.