Saturday, October 19, 2013

Report: Roseland Ballroom will close in April



The Roseland Ballroom on East West 52nd Street is closing in April 2014, according to a report at Billboard.com.

The venerable venue, owned by developer Larry Ginsberg and booked by Live Nation, opened at its 52nd street location, a converted skating rink, in 1958 and is a sentimental favorite for many bands. The history of the venue in New York dates back to 1919, when it was located at 51st and Broadway, and prior to that in Philadelphia.

Roger Friedman got confirmation of the closing at ShowBiz 411.

“The owner is developing the property,” a source who’s on the inside told me. ... Ironically, across the street last year there was a threat of Gallagher’s Steak House shutting down. It was saved at the last minute. New York’s rare and storied history is disappearing quickly.

The room holds about 3,500... and I've always liked the space for a concert...




Here's a post from 2008 with more history of the space and some archival photos.

16 comments:

shmnyc said...

History isn't buildings. It isn't "great men". It doesn't disappear. It's made every day.

Shawn said...

I saw so many great acts here, including that New Order show you have posted. The downstairs is an Art Deco heaven.

Should have been landmarked ages ago.

Ken from Ken's Kitchen said...

It's a good thing Jackie O didn't say that about Grand Central, shmnyc.

Anonymous said...

ANOTHER appalling cultural loss.

Add it to the list: the desecration of Yankee and Shea Stadiums, the seige of Coney Island, and the infamous decision by Landmarks to preserve a former dog biscuit factory instead of CBGB.

Anonymous said...

Lets face it, the audio was awful and the air conditioning was worthless.

But you could get up close if you felt like it and the mosh pits were great.

One of my favorite places to see a show and I will miss it.





Anonymous said...

The one and only time I saw the Ramones was here in 1992 along with many other great shows, David Bowie and Bob Dylan among them.

I've said this so many times I'm sounding like a broken record but it bears repeating here: New York City as the amazingly great cultural mecca we knew it as is so, SO fucking done. It's so over. Pack your shit and leave people. Seriously. It just ain't worth the price of admission anymore. Not just a disappointment but an absolute betrayal.

IzF said...

I know, 9:14.
But where do we go????

Bayou said...

WEST 52nd Street, Grieve. Your bias is affecting your reporting.

EV Grieve said...

@Bayou

I was thinking Midtown East!

Also, I accidentally deleted your original comment and recreated it from memory ... so in case a word or two are off!

Anonymous said...

I wonder if people will talk about Terminal 5, which I hate, in the same way as Roseland in 25 years.

I liked Roseland, have to agree with 6:42 though....

Anonymous said...

Decrying the loss of Shea? Really?

Is there anything that is old that someone won't complain about being replaced on this blog?

Shea was a total dump. It had some nice memories attached if you happened to grow up in the mid-eighties or late sixties but otherwise it was a horrible place to watch a baseball game. Zero architectural or design merit.

Citi Field is a gigantic upgrade. Put a couple title teams on the field there and that might be more apparent....

Anonymous said...

This is a shame. Whether it's an ideal venue or not, the loss of another live music venue is tragic. We've lost so many over the past decade: CBGBs, Bottom Line, Continental (no more live music).

On the bright side, I am happy for the success of newer venues like LPR. Who would have thought that a downtown venue largely featuring contemporary classical music could thrive in this day and age?

- East Villager

Ken from Ken's Kitchen said...

9:58 AM

I agree that Shea Stadium was a mess but you can't say the same thing about Yankee Stadium. Engineers said it could have lasted another 75 years easily and there was no way the Yanks were gonna decamp to CT or NJ (neither state was stupid enough to pony up the $$$ necessary for that) if we refused to build a new one. So a piece of history is gone so Steinbrenner could have lots of luxury boxes and lose seating/inflate prices.

bayou said...

It is personal

vzabuser said...

I used to love looking at the history of dancing shoes that were stored in windows there - you could see Fred and Ginger's ballet slippers, as I remember - from this we are reduced to places like the Nokia Theatre, that featured a dismal case with their cellphones

Dying On Bar Time said...

Wasn't my favorite venue but it attracted a lot of great bands and I have fond memories of seeing Siouxsie & the Banshees, The Pretenders, Social Distortion, X, Belly, the list goes on and on. Someone please intervene before this becomes the next Palladium fiasco! Bad enough the number of venues to see live music is dwindling to a nub.