This color film from 1968 documents the construction of New York City’s famed Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, a massive urban renewal project that saw the destruction of tenements and their replacement with concert halls. The film is narrated by renowned actor Hal Holbrook (1925-2021), who was a member of the Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center at the time of filming. Written, produced and directed by Gilbert Comte. Photography by Marcel Rebiere. Edited by Ross Gaffney. A Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Production.

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a 16.3-acre complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is located in the former San Juan Hill neighborhood, which was demolished in 1959 to accommodate it. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 million visitors annually. It houses nationally and internationally renowned performing arts organizations including the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera, and the New York City Ballet, and the Juilliard School of Music.

00:07 New York City skyline 30 Rockefeller Plaza (Comcast Building), Hudson River, Central Park 00:20 Park Avenue; Waldorf Astoria, Seagram Building 00:25 Central Park; the Majestic, San Remo 00:33 Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Hudson River 00:41 Revson Fountain, Metropolitan Opera under construction 00:53 TITLE CARD 01:07 Tenement buildings in San Juan Hill neighborhood 01:18 Demolition Notice in window 01:20 Dante Park, San Juan Hill 01:33 Lincoln Square street sign 01:36 Tenement demolition 02:02 Groundbreaking (May 14, 1959), President Dwight D. Eisenhower 02:25 Construction begins; bulldozers and heavy equipment 02:35 Amsterdam Houses 02:39 Workers lay foundations 03:06 Posters outside construction site 03:08 Philharmonic Hall (David Geffen Hall) exterior 03:15 Workers add finishing touches; paint, carpet 03:26 “Tragic Mask of Beethoven” by Emile Bourdelle installed 03:34 Sculptor Richard Lippold installs “Orpheus and Apollo” 03:51 Opening night guests arrive; First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy 04:04 Attendees in lobby, auditorium 04:26 Leonard Bernstein conducts orchestra 04:33 New York State Theater (David H. Koch Theater) under construction 05:10 Sign outside theater while under construction 05:14 Revson Fountain, completed theater on opening night (April 23, 1964) 05:24 Patrons enter lobby 05:35 Full auditorium 05:41 Conductor Robert Irving enters orchestra pit 05:53 Scale model of Lincoln Center 05:59 New York Public Library for the Performing Arts under construction 06:36 Metropolitan Opera under construction 06:47 Sign for Juilliard School at Lincoln Center; construction area, Broadway 07:01 Junior and high school students visit Lincoln Center; students exit buses, enter lobby 07:45 Senator Robert F. Wagner Junior High School exterior 07:48 Students unload furniture from Hertz truck and into school 07:54 Students hang posters, murals 08:12 Student closes auditorium doors 08:17 Mozart’s “Cosi Fan Tutte” performed in school auditorium 08:47 String quartette performs; students watch 09:06 Pre-show crowds in Lincoln Center Plaza 09:16 A tour guide leads a tour 09:35 ”Two Female Nudes” by Elie Nadelman 09:52 New York State Theater auditorium interior 10:34 Posters outside; “King Lear,” “The Comedy of Errors,” Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company 10:46 Lincoln Center Plaza, Revson Fountain 10:57 “Orpheus and Apollo” in Philharmonic Grand Promenade 11:11 Empty philharmonic hall 11:23 Posters outside; promenades, concerts, 2nd Annual New York Film Festival 11:40 Adults, children around Revson Fountain; a man aims a movie camera 12:06 A woman brushes a wig 12:12 Leonard Bernstein rehearses with philharmonic 12:22 Ballet dancers rehearse with choreographer 13:21 Revson Fountain, Metropolitan Opera under construction 13:44 Lincoln Center Plaza from above 13:57

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com