Image courtesy Ziegfeld Ballroom by Hechler Photography
In early 2016, New York City’s historic Ziegfeld Theatre closed its doors after its owners, The Fisher Brothers, sold it to Gotham Events. After closing its doors and ripping out its seats, the famed movie theater has reopened after an extensive, $25 million renovation, creating one of the city’s largest ballrooms. Built in 1969, it was a replacement of the original Ziegfeld Theatre opened next door by Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. (the Broadway showman known for the Ziegfeld Follies). It had 1,131 seats making it the second largest silver screen in the city, after Radio City Music Hall.
We were devastated to hear about it’s closing and disheartened when we saw photos of its red seats getting ripped out. But much like everything in New York, things much change eventually. The new renovations have completely revamped the place into the Ziegfeld Ballroom a massive and newly technologically outfitted Art Deco, multipurpose event space, drawing inspiration from the SS Normandie, a 1930s cruiser liner.
Image courtesy Ziegfeld Ballroom by Hechler Photography
Awash in a color schemes of silver and grey, it was designed by architect Richard Bloch with three floors of event space to host everything from weddings and galas, and movie premiers, a good nod back to the original theater’s use. Overall, the 10,000-sq-ft space can host up to 1,400 people, and since re-opening in mid-October of this year, its already hosted many events officially beginning the third iteration of this grand theater into its new future. But we will miss its distinctly red interior and deep history, that’s for sure. Check out more photos of the new interior below:
Image courtesy Ziegfeld Ballroom by Hechler Photography
Image courtesy Ziegfeld Ballroom by Hechler Photography
Image courtesy Ziegfeld Ballroom by Hechler Photography
Renovated Ziegfeld lobby. Image courtesy Ziegfeld Ballroom by Hechler Photography
Renovated Ziegfeld lobby. Image courtesy Ziegfeld Ballroom by Hechler Photography
Next, read on for The Top 10 Secrets of NYC’s Ziegfeld Theater.
