Who can imagine New York City today without Radio City Music Hall?
(PHOTO: Saving community treasures is not for the Birds. Hear More Saturday, 4pm.)
If not for the courage, resourcefulness, and determination of dancer Rosemary Novellino-Mearns, Radio City Music Hall, one of New York City’s truly iconic landmarks, would have fallen to the wrecking ball in 1978.
Against all odds, when the president of Rockefeller Center shockingly announced plans to close the Music Hall and tear it down, Ms. Novellino-Mearns, the dance captain for the Radio City Ballet Company. led an extraordinary effort to save it.
With no experience in activism or preservation, she quickly organized the Showpeople’s Committee to Save Radio City Music Hall. The group garnered extensive publicity and exerted public pressure through petitions and dramatic media events. Radio City’s interior was then designated as a New York City Landmark. It is considered an Art Deco masterpiece.
Hear the story of her David and Goliath match up with the Rockefeller establishment of that era, as recounted in her recent book, Saving Radio City Music Hall: A Dancer’s True Story, at the Rye Meeting House, Saturday, June 10, at 4 pm. Sponsored by the Bird Homestead nonprofit and the Westchester County Historical Society.
Refreshments will be served after the presentation. Admission is free. Donations will be gratefully accepted. 624 Milton Road, Rye, NY. For further information, contact birdhomestead.meetinghouse@gmail.com or 914-967-0099.
