Radio City Music Hall the "International Music Hall" and the Center Theatre, as part of the "Radio City" portion of Rockefeller Center. The 5,960-seat Music Hall was the larger of the two venues. It was largely successful until the 1970s, when declining patronage nearly drove the Music Hall to bankruptcy. Radio City Music Hall was designated a New York City Landmark in May 1978, and the Music Hall was restored and allowed to remain open. The hall was extensively renovated in 1999. Radio City Music Hall was designed by Edward Durell Stone and Donald Deskey in the Art Deco style. One of the more
Radio City Music Hall to Rockefeller Center, and "The New York Times" described that the callers "jammed the switchboards" there. The Rockettes also protested outside New York City Hall. Following the closure announcement, the interior was made a city landmark on March 29. This designation was contested, and Rockefeller Center Inc. unsuccessfully filed a lawsuit to try to reverse the landmark designation. On April 8, four days before the planned closing date, the Empire State Development Corporation voted to create a nonprofit subsidiary to lease the Music Hall. month later, on May 12, Radio City Music Hall was placed on the National Register of