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 When old is new again
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| A late afternoon stroll. 5:00 PM. Photo: JH. |
| Thursday, October 7, 2011. BREAKING NEWS: Mercedes and Sid Bass announced their mutual agreement to divorce yesterday in Fort Worth after 23 years. Their lawyer's statement affirmed that they "mutually agreed to end their marriage" and that they "continue to love each other and remain good friends." See NYSD 12.2.10, Trouble in Paradise. |
Yom Kippur begins. Yesterday was a lovely autumn day in New York. There was a very bright, slightly hazy half moon in the sky above Manhattan last night.
Last night was the Park Avenue Armory Gala. This is Elihu Rose’s production. I know it’s the production of many but Mr. Rose who is known affectionately as Ellie to his many friends and acquaintances, is the man behind it. There was another man behind it also – Wade Thompson, who shared a vision. Thompson was an enormous influence on the project. He had lived near the Armory most of his adult life. He watched it deteriorate from the windows of his apartment over time. Besides his time and devotion to the project, he gave $35 million to restore it. Unfortunately he died a couple of years ago, and missed the final polishing of the treasure he admired for so long.
I’m talking about the Park Avenue Armory, which up until these two boys got their mitts on it, was known as the Seven Regiment Armory. Built in 1861, the time of Lincoln, by a group of wealthy New Yorkers who were part of the National Guard during the Civil War. I don’t know if there were even railroad tracks on Park Avenue back then. The Lenox Farm still existed and covered most of the surrounding neighborhood (the Frick, today stands on its western-most boundary). Central Park, then referred to as “the Central Park” was only beginning to work its way up from 59th Street and what became Central Park South.
I went into all that detail to give you an idea of the life span of the Park Avenue Armory. And the most amazing thing about it, is that it still exists in its original form, 150 years later. Nothing that existed then around it exists today. Even Central Park is newer.
I got sidetracked with this story because the experience of going to the Park Avenue Armory can do that to you.
Robin Pogrebin wrote a piece about its restoration by the architects and their restoration plan in yesterday’s New York Times. Read it if you can. It’s a wonderful story about how New York continues to adapt to the changing world and still protect the roots of the community. The facts fascinate: one of the rooms that was restored required 280,000 Q-tips, so delicate and complicated was the job. |
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| A meeting room in the Park Avenue Armory, which is being restored by the Swiss architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron. Fred R. Conrad for the New York Times. |
Pierre de Meuron, Ascan Mergenthaler and Jacques Herzog are leading the restoration of the Park Avenue Armory. Fred R. Conrad for the New York Times. |
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The original 7th Regiment was built it as a drill hall but also a grand clubhouse, and for most of its history, that’s what it was. In time, Louis Comfort Tiffany created some of the meeting rooms and club room. So did Stanford White. And several others of the top designer/architects of the day.
For years I’d been to the Park Avenue Armory for the different exhibitions and shows. I’d seen some of these rooms, run-down but still in place. Everything was encrusted with dust and looked frail and antique. I never “got” the style of the late Victorian era so it didn’t matter to me.
Well, today it’s spit-shined and glistening. Things have been polished to their highest sheen, and all of it…is beautiful. And all of it gives you an intimate look into the sensibility of those who came before us – our great-grandfathers and great-great-grandfathers. And all of it will be at your disposal at one time and in one way or another when you visit the Park Avenue Armory.
Okay, I’ll stop there. Last night. Last year they held this benefit dinner in the Wade Thompson Drill Hall (which covers almost an entire Manhattan block). At the time, the room had been set up for the Carnival space that was being featured. Last night you walked into an enormous, cavernous four stories high in its center, and dark, with columns of small spots lighting the way. |
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The Armory's Credo. Park Avenue Armory is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to revitalize one of America's historic treasures as a dynamic alternative arts space unlike any other. Part palace, part industrial shed, the Armory fills a critical void in the cultural ecology of New York by enabling artists to create, and the public to experience, unconventional work that cannot be mounted in traditional performance halls and museums.
Above: The Wade Thompson Drill Hall with tables set for the dinner guests, lit by the spots that looked like spaceships shining down.
Left: A table set for 20.
Below: Guests beginning to take their seats for dinner. |
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| The restored entrance of the Armory. |
| On screen close up of restored woodworking in one of the rooms. |
| The entire hall from the main entrance. |
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There was enough dusty light (in pale colors) to see everyone (but only close up) because of these columns. But it was still dark. Except in the distance, across the vast room there were rows of small candles on long tables fanning out from a large stage/platform set up with a grand piano and a podium.
Creative imagination is your host. There was that quality last year, but setting was elaborate (carnival). This year it was minimum with a touch of mystery (dark), a vibe. So it had a special charm.
The guests looked like people from the Upper East Side. Men in suits and ties, women dressed nicely but conservatively for a comfortable dinner in a nice home. The conventional, more than the artistic (in terms of the way the crowd looks).
There were a lot of artists there too among the several hundred guests. David Byrne, as well as Philip Glass who was being honored and who performed. There were lots of faces you’ve seen on the NYSD many times. And many you haven’t. Many who socialize publicly only for special occasions, when they are supporting something important to the community. |
Right: Adam R. Flatto, Vice Chair of the Board of Directors.
Below: Rebecca Robinson, President and CEO of the Park Avenue Armory. |
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On the screen above the stage were beautiful photographs of the rooms that have been restored as well as pictures of rooms in restoration.
Once guests were seated there were brief speeches. Ellie Rose introduced two of the honorees, Herzog and Meuron, the architects (including Ascan Mergenthaler) who were presented with a framed design from one of the rooms.
We were then serenaded by The Brooklyn Youth Chorus (Dianne Berkun, Artistic Director). They sang acapella Ad Amore (Lee Kesselman, composer). Really excellent. Then they moved to the stage and sang Short Prayers In Respect of a Storm (Nico Muhly, composer). |
| Jacques Herzog, Pierre de Meuron, and Ascan Mergenthaler, honorees at last night's gala. |
| Elihu Rose talking about the work of the architects in their brilliant restoration of the interiors. |
| Presenting the honorees with their award/gift. |
| The Brooklyn Youth Chorus performing on stage with director Dianne Berkun. |
Then a man named Hal Willner took the podium. Mr. Willner is a music producer – rock, jazz, Tin Pan Alley. He was once the music supervisor for Saturday Night Live. He kinda looks SNL. He’s funny too. Wry, ironic. He tells us about Philip Glass whom he first saw and heard unexpectedly when he was in his teens. And “now he’s so famous” that people even refer to certain music composition as “Philip Glass-like.”
Philip Glass, Willner told us, just loves to compose. He’s always happy when he has to write something. And then he introduced the man.
I’d heard his music but had never seen him in person, or heard his voice. It’s a soft, mellow voice. Gentle. It’s unobtrusive and unassuming but like the man’s music, you like the sound of it. He’s a very appealing person when he speaks. That intangible artist’s state of mind that musicians often possess.
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| Droll, wry, witting music producer Hal Willner talking about the man, Philip Glass. |
| Philip Glass at the podium. |
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He then sat down to play Metamorphoses (Nos. 2 & 4). Wonderful, and a privilege to hear played by the composer.
The vision that Rose and Thompson and their friends and supporters had for the Armory, was to take this relic of a monument and turn it into a space for art, performance, theater, as a cultural center in a restored building from early New York. The idea was hatched years ago. They finally got a 99 year lease from the State of New York. The restoration is ongoing, but the dream been granted: the Park Avenue Armory is becoming a force, a destination for the arts in New York. And a unique one.
Last night, we also learned that the Drill Hall was also originally used for marching bands to practice and perform. John Philip Sousa, the greatest marching band conductor of them all, performed there. He even wrote a march in the 7th Regiment’s honor. Last night after Philip Glass performed and got a standing ovation, Ellie Rose presented him with an original copy of Sousa’s composition. |
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| The composer plays his work. |
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The menu. First Course: Red and Gold Beet Napoleon toasted walnut, mission fig, goat cheese, Sherry Vinegar and Walnut oil dressing. Entrée: Navarin of Lamb. Black truffle, Parsnip, Mushrooms, Haricots Verts, Potato Gnocchi. Dessert: Rustic Apple Crostada, cranberry caramel, cinnamon ice cream.
The wines. Le Jaia de Jau Sauvignon Blanc 2010, France. Vineyard 7 and 8 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007, California.
They raised more than $2 million for the ongoing resurrection of a New York landmark. There was something very special about the event. It was celebratory. The atmosphere was intriguing and charming from the outset. Every moment after that was enhancing – the room, the light, the table and then the beautiful music and performances, Mr. Willner, the artist’s emcee, then Philip Glass.
There was a kind of Zen feel to the huge dinner party. I think the Park Avenue Armory has taken on the Zeitgeist of the 21st century. If that sounds a little dreamy, well, so was last night. A good one. |
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