Today In History

When the stock market crashed in 1929, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. held a $91 million, 24-year lease on a piece of midtown Manhattan property known as "the speakeasy belt." He planned to gentrify the neighborhood by building a new Metropolitan Opera House on the site but his plans were dashed by the failing economy. He then partnered with Radio Corporation of America, a young company whose NBC radio programs were attracting huge audiences and whose RKO studios were producing popular motion pictures. A third partner was impresario S.L. "Roxy" Rothafel who had earned a reputation as a theatrical genius by employing an innovative combination of vaudeville, movies, and razzle-dazzle decor to revive struggling theatres across America. Together, they all realized a fantastic dream. RCA head David Sarnoff dubbed "Radio City Music Hall”, the palace for the people.