2. The First American Verse Play Written for Radio Was Broadcast Live from the Park Avenue Armory

The Drill Hall was used for broadcasting the radio play The Fall of the City by Archibald MacLeish because of its acoustic properties. The thirty-minute radio play first broadcast in 1937, featured a cast of Orson Welles and Burgess Meredith. The music was composed and directed by Bernard Hermann. This was the first American verse play written for radio and was broadcast live. To simulate a crowd, they often used extras from NYU (students), New Jersey High School students, and the boys clubs.