Our History

1917

Astor sold the building to Thomas J. Healy—subsequently the developer of adjacent Pomander Walk—who converted the market’s Broadway level into the Crystal Palace Skating Rink and the smaller basement area into the Sunken Gardens, a restaurant. The ice skating rink was, in turn, doomed by a 1918, WWI-related shortage of ammonia—a key ingredient in making ice.

June, 1918

According to press articles of the time, the event featured an extravagant patriotic tableau depicting the destruction of a small French village by German bombardment in WWI, accompanied by a live 50-piece orchestra.

1931

The basement space under the Symphony Theatre opened as a movie theatre, called the Thalia after the muse of comedy and idyllic poetry. The Art Deco theatre’s most distinctive architectural feature was its innovative "parabolic reversed floor," developed by the architect Ben Schlanger. Schlanger believed that the traditional live theatre auditorium was not suited for viewing a flat movie screen. In the Thalia, with a floor that dipped in the middle, the view from all seats would be equally good─or so his theory ran.

1946

The Thalia become known to generations of movie buffs— from college students to longtime Upper West Siders—as one of the places to see Hollywood revivals, classics, and foreign films. Today, in addition to showing films, the Thalia serves as a venue for literary events, music concerts, comedy shows, talks, and children’s programs. Peter Bogdanovich and Martin Scorsese were among its regular patrons, as was Woody Allen, who immortalized the theatre in his 1976 film Annie Hall.

1970

During the economic downturn of the 1970s, the Thalia hung on as an iconic Upper West Side institution, but the Symphony went dark. It was occasionally rented, mostly for boxing and wrestling events.

January, 1978

On January 7, 1978, the conductor Allan Miller and his neighbor, playwright and director Isaiah Sheffer rented the decrepit theatre for a one-day extravaganza, Wall to Wall Bach, a free 12-hour music festival featuring audience participation. So successful was the event, that Sheffer and Miller immediately decided to lease the building and transform it into a permanent cultural venue. Programming ensued shortly after.

1981

Named after Leopold Bloom, the main character in James Joyce’s Ulysses, Bloomsday is celebrated around the world on June 16th. Symphony Space’s contribution is an annual literary rite of spring honoring the love, life, and language in James Joyce’s lavish prose.

1981

Global Arts: Cultural Literacy & Heritage Program helps students develop an understanding of the different cultures and the common traditions that hold us together as a global community. The program takes children on a journey of discovery and exploration to celebrate the beauty inherent in the art and history of diverse cultures—Asia, Africa, Latin America, Native America, Early America. On our stages, and in classrooms across New York City, students join artists to play instruments, participate in dances, and learn about the languages and values of each culture through traditional folk tales.

1985

Created by Isaiah Sheffer and Kay Cattarulla, who became Symphony Space’s founding producer of literary programs, the ongoing series’ events take place live in the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre and are broadcast on over 150 public radio stations across the country, as well as via podcasts, reaching 300,000 listeners each week. The program also sponsors live-performance tours nationwide. Sheffer served as both the host and a reader for Selected Shorts until his death in 2012.

1985

Broadwest had sold its rights to reacquire the building, and in 1985, the new holder attempted to evict Symphony Space two years before it was legally entitled to reclaim the property.

1993

Inspired by our beloved Selected Shorts, All Write! uses the power of the spoken word to encourage a love of literature and learning while improving written and verbal communication skills. Symphony Space partners with colleges, libraries, and community-based organizations to open a world of opportunities for thousands of adult learners—completely free of charge.

1996

To keep the theatre alive, and with no alternative, Symphony Space now embarked on eleven years of litigation. The key issue was the application of an old English legal doctrine, the Rule Against Perpetuities. In 1996, the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, unanimously awarded Symphony Space permanent ownership.

2000

Symphony Space sold its air rights above to the Related Companies, which built a twenty-two-story apartment building above the existing theater. Using income from this sale, as well as donations from Peter Norton, the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, Leonard and Susan Bay Nimoy, and many others, the organization financed a $13 million renovation that included the integration of the Thalia, as well as establishing an endowment to provide perpetual stability for the institution.

May, 2006

2012

2015

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts presented SYMPHONY SPACE: A CULTURAL TOWN SQUARE, a special exhibition which explored the early years of our building—as a food market, an ice skating rink, and later as the legendary Symphony and Thalia movie theaters. The exhibition traced the extraordinary success of Symphony Space, from its first Wall to Wall Bach in 1978 to its prominence today.

January, 2018

On January 7^th, 2018, members of the extended Symphony Space family gathered on the Sharp stage to share heartfelt memories—and raise a glass to celebrate 40 extraordinary years of music, literature, film, family, and arts education programs.