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The Hidden History of Symphony Space: From Failed Food Market to Thriving NYC Arts Space

In past lives, the NYC building that now houses Symphony Space was once a food market, an ice rink, a boxing ring, and more!

The Hidden History of Symphony Space: From Failed Food Market to Thriving NYC Arts Space
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On the southwest corner of Broadway and 95th Street, depending on when you may have dropped by over the past century, you would have been able to either purchase produce, glide around an ice rink, or catch a movie. Since 1915, this building on Mahattan's Upper West Side corner has transformed multiple times. It started as a failed marketplace built by one of America's richest men and today is home to Symphony Space, a thriving multi-disciplinary performing arts venue. Untapped New York visited the venue and spoke with Executive Director Kathy Landau about the building's storied past and exciting future.

The Lost Astor Market

A slighlty overhead view of the intersection where Astor Market stood with people and carriages in the street
Astor Market, Photo via Library of Congress

Astor Market opened to large crowds and much praise from New York's newspapers on October 16th, 1915. The expansive two-story structure was designed by the architecture firm of Tracy & Swartwout (architects of the Yale Club) and inspired by the "renaissance markets of Florence." A 290-foot-long frieze depicted a procession of farmers and dealers exchanging goods like meat, fish, poultry, fruit, and vegetables.

The New York Tribune reported the "first impression upon entering the building is that of light and cleanliness." The "spick and span" market featured "white tile floors, white Carrara glass counters, and huge white enameled ice boxes." The architect noted that this market was so clean, "a fly would starve."

A large group of people stand in a food market
Photo via Library of Congress

Astor Market, so named because the financial backing came from real estate mogul Vincent Astor, was intended to be a model market. Astor was on the mayor's market commission which sought to improve food markets across the city. A predecessor to the supermarkets we shop at today, Astor's market offered consumers a new way to shop. "Any housewife can obtain any eatable...in the shortest time possible," the Tribune reported.

It turned out, New Yorkers weren't quite ready to change their shopping habits. They preferred to shop at smaller grocers closer to home rather than travel to a large central market. Astor Market closed just two years after opening.

Crystal Carnival Rink and Sunken Gardens

Shortly after the market closed a new venture opened, Thomas Healy's Crystal Carnival Rink and Sunken Gardens. Healy was a developer who created the nearby private street of Pomander Walk. He also ran a successful restaurant and rooftop ice rink on 66th Street called Golden Glades.

Ice skating was all the rage in late 19th and early 20th century New York. New Yorkers flocked to frozen lakes and ponds in Central Park and watched entertainers perform waltzes and other dances on ice at venues like Healy's.

However, like the market beforehand, the ice rink and sunken garden restaurant were short-lived. Due to a WWI-related shortage of ammonia—a key ingredient in making ice—the rink shut down in 1918.

The Symphony Theatre and Thalia Theatre

After the ice rink and restaurant closed, those spaces became movie theatres. The ice rink on the upper level turned into the Symphony Theatre in 1918, while the restaurant below became the Thalia Theatre in 1931. In Greek mythology, Thalia is the muse of comedy and idyllic poetry.

A view of Symphony Theatre from across the street
1940 Image of Symphony Theatre, Courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archives

Designer Ben Schlanger renovated the Thalia for optimal movie viewing. One of the most unique features he added was a parabolic reversed floor. This meant that the seats inside the Art Moderne space dipped in the middle of the auditorium so everyone had a comfortable view of the screen.

As the 20th century progressed, the Thalia became a go-to spot for cinephiles. It ran art house films, classic revivals, independent movies, and foreign flicks. The unique selection of showings drew celebrity filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Peter Bogdanovich. The theater even makes a cameo in the 1976 Woody Allen film Annie Hall.

A New Use for the Old Theatres

The 1970s were a tough time for New York City and both the Thalia and Symphony struggled. The Symphony Theatre greatly reduced the number of film screenings and the space was used mostly for boxing and wrestling events. The Thalia's cult following of film buffs kept the theatre going until 1987.

By January 1978, the Symphony Theatre was basically abandoned. Upper West Side neighbors Isaiah Sheffer and Allan Miller had an idea to bring some joy and art to the defunct space. Sheffer, a playwright and director, and Miller, a conductor, rented the theater for a one-day extravaganza called Wall to Wall Bach.

Photo of a Symphony Space Marquee that reads "Sat March 24 11am-11pm Free Wall to Wall Bach Famous Soloists orchestras and you join in"
Symphony Space Marquee, 1982: Marquee advertising Symphony Space’s fifth annualWall toWall Bach. Photo courtesy of Symphony Space

This free, 12-hour music festival featured the classical music of Johann Sebastian Bach played by members of the American Symphony and a rotating group of amateur players—anyone who brought an instrument and could play.

Thousands of people showed up for the event, so Sheffer and Miller decided to lease the building and create a permanent cultural arts venue. Symphony Space was born.

Musicians playing drums and a horns walk through a cheering crowd in the auditorium of Symphony Space
Photo from the Wall to Wall Prince in 2024, Photo by Carlos Alayo

"Wall to Wall is a tradition that carries on to this day," says current Symphony Space Executive Director Kathy Landau, "We've now presented over fifty Wall to Wall events, everything from that first one in 1978 to last year's Wall to Wall Prince, which was magnificent."

"Wall to Wall is a tremendous undertaking," Landau continued, "It's nonstop music, discussion, dance...it's everything! We throw open the doors. It is the best of who we are and what is possible through the arts."

Throughout its early years, Symphony Space was embroiled in legal battles over building ownership. Finally, in June 1996, the arts venue won and settled into its permanent home on the Upper West Side.

Embracing the Past at Symphony Space

As the new millennium dawned a new age began for Symphony Space. Renovations of the nearly 800-seat Symphony Theatre and the basement Thalia were funded by revenue from the sale of the building's air rights and contributions from donors like Peter Norton, the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, Leonard and Susan Bay Nimoy, and many others. Ennead Architects led the renovation work to revitalize both theater spaces, create a dynamic and modern new facade, and add a new lobby, box office, and cafe.

"There are vestiges throughout the building of all these other things the theaters once were," Landau told Untapped New York, "The Thalia Theatre (now the Leonard Nimoy Thalia) has a deep, deep history in movies. We still have the original marquee letters and numbers they used to put outside both theaters. I have them up in my office." Landau also told us that a recent study of the building found that pipes from the old ice rink are still underneath the floor!

"We have the old ceramic tiles and deco lights up in the theater and some of the exit signs are original to the 1930s. What I love is that you get a history of the building as you walk through," Landau shares, "It has been reconfigured a thousand times but there are moments of surprise."

Looking Towards the Future

Today, Symphony Space's multi-disciplinary programming is as diverse as the building's storied past. "We are both a significant part of and distinct in the New York cultural scene because we're not a traditional theater," says Landau.

"We are multi-disciplinary in the truest sense of the word. As opposed to being a theater that specializes in new playwrights or opera or dance...we do it all: theater dance, literature, comedy, talks, education, etc., and that is unique."

On any night at Symphony Space, you might see a bestselling author like John Green, a Broadway great like Patti Lupone, a klezmer band, a crossword comedy show, a museum exhibit, global dance performances, or international theater on film. We enjoyed seeing a staged reading of Bobos (Cheap Sneakers), a play written by National Book Award winner James McBride and playwright Ed Shockley.

"We strive for our programming to represent the tapestry of the city in which we exist and the arts and artists within that beautiful colorful, multi-cultural, diverse environment," says Landau, "The philosophy [with our program] is to bring the arts to the community and the community to the arts."

As we made our way to our seats to settle in for the show, a feeling of community was evident. Guests waved to each other across the crowd, groups chatted together in the lobby, and snippets of conversations about what shows people had recently seen or were excited to see next could be overheard. After the show, guests were eager to stand up and take part in a Q&A with the artists, an interactive session through which new connections were made and much appreciation was expressed.

Keeping with the spirit of that first Wall to Wall event, everything at Symphony Space is one night only and only at Symphony Space. "That spark of excitement for what the arts can be—in terms of bringing surprise, delight, magic, celebration, and sometimes solace and sometimes community—that happens because each evening is its own," Landau enthuses, "It's part of the alchemy of what happens when artists and audiences come together. We bring artists and audiences as close together as they can be. Our spaces are incredibly intimate."

A singer on stage at Symphony Space
Photo from the Wall to Wall Prince in 2024, Photo by Carlos Alayo

Last year, Symphony Space welcomed audience members not just from New York City, but from all 50 states and 71 countries worldwide.

In addition to performance programming, Symphony Space hosts educational programs for children and adults. These programs promote literacy and cultural appreciation inside the theater and in classrooms across the city.

"There was one young student who looked at her friend and said, 'Now I can say I danced on Broadway!'," Landau remembers, "Unleashing that creativity is a really powerful motivator...and a tonic. We live in stressful times so if we can be that for our students, our educators, our artists, and our audiences—whether it's for 90 minutes of joy or respite or community—that's pretty great."

See all upcoming Symphony Space events here, including A Gala Celebration of Stevie Wonder's "Songs in the Key of Life."

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