| LW! e-Newsletter | March 10, 2011 |
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PLACE YOUR BID!!
Dine at 'Cesca!
Rock out with The Allman Brothers
at the Beacon Theater! | |
Your tickets to a sold-out landmark event could be just a click away ...
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Photo: MyUpperWest blog
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They're back! The legendary Allman Brothers Band has returned to their equally-legendary Upper West Side home of more than 20 years, the Beacon Theatre.
To mark the occasion, LANDMARK WEST! is taking to the auctioneer's podium, readying it's gavel and giving you a chance to witness a landmark event in a landmark performance hall (the venue preserved in 1984 thanks to the efforts of the Save the Beacon Theatre group and revitalized in 2008 thanks to Madison Square Garden Entertainment; more info below). And to sweeten the pot, dinner for two just around the corner at 'Cesca Restaurant (as if the tickets weren't enough!). Get your digital auction paddles ready (in this case, your eBay account!) and prepare to bid for a good cause!
What's on the LANDMARK WEST! auction block?
The night begins with dinner for two at 'Cesca Restaurant, just a stone's throw away from the Beacon Theatre, at West 75th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. A "very fine, ... yet unrelentingly rustic" meal, to quote New York Magazine's Adam Platt. Paired with a selection from 'Cesca's incomparable wine menu--just the right thing to satisfy your appetite ... and fuel you for the performance ahead! LANDMARK WEST! thanks the generous folks at 'Cesca Restaurant for their support of neighborhood groups like us ('Cesca was a participant and donor to our 2009 annual awards ceremony's restaurant raffle!).
Dinner valued at $150.
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Be part of the "welcome wagon", as The Allman Brothers Band returns to the Beacon Theatre! This is your chance to snag two tickets (orchestra section, 15th row, dead center!) for this otherwise-sold out show! Performance is at 8PM on Tuesday, March 15th. The Beacon Theatre is located at 2124 Broadway, between West 74th and 75th Streets.
Tickets valued at $300.
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How do you bid?
The online auction will be "live" on eBay as of ... NOW! Head to eBay to place your bid and join the auction excitement! Bid strategically and bid often!
The winner will be announced the morning of Tuesday, March 15th. The monies raised from the Beacon Theatre/'Cesca Restaurant online auction will fuel LANDMARK WEST's continuing advocacy efforts, as we work to preserve and protect the Upper West Side's architectural resources and utterly unique sense of place.
Why the Beacon Theatre?
When it comes to describing the experience of attending a show at the Beacon Theatre, blogger CityGirlWrites says it best:
Audience and artists greeted each other with zeal but also with the warmth of old friends who just happened to find themselves together in the living room of a bohemian acquaintance
Few things compare to a show at an intimate and historic performance space like the Beacon Theatre. In her blog article "A Belated Valentine for a Venue", CityGirlWrites compares two performances by the same musicians: first, at the Foxwoods Casino in Conneticuit; second, at the West Side's own Beacon Theatre. CityGirlWrites muses on the masses at Foxwoods and their "seemingly oblivious" regard for the performers. On the other hand, she writes, the performers at the Beacon Theatre seemed "right at home", compared to "small and lost" at the larger venue. Read the full article here.
Happy bidding, and good luck!
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Looking back at
Save the Beacon Theatre!
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In 1984, the legendary Beacon Theatre--a New York City Interior Landmark--was saved not by chance, but by the sustained efforts of the citizen-advocates of Save the Beacon Theatre.  | |
A look inside the restored Beacon Theatre.
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More recently, in 2006, Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSGE) acquired the legendary venue and made a commitment to the city that it would restore the Beacon to its original grandeur. In 2008, MSGE embarked on a $17 million restoration, allowing audiences to experience its original majestic design. Working with architecture firm Beyer Blinder Belle, the restoration has been more than just a rehearsal, but a true tour de force performance!
On October 8, 2009, to mark this preservation achievement, LANDMARK WEST! honored the Save the Beacon Theatre group with one of our 2009 "Unsung Heroes of the Upper West Side" Awards. Additionally in 2009, MSGE was awarded the Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award for outstanding preservation efforts by the New York Landmarks Conservancy. The award honors preservation leaders, public officials, organizations, owners, builders, architects, and craftspeople who restore the beauty and utility of New York's great architecture.
Though it is truly a wonder to behold, the majestically restored Beacon Theatre is no "Miracle on 74th Street." Planned as the Roxy Midway Theatre and opened in 1929, the future Beacon was the brainchild of theatrical impresario Samuel "Roxy" Rothfel (who later helped create Radio City Music Hall) and planned as a part of the Roxy Circuit of "movie palaces." Chicago architect Walter Ahlschlager designed The Beacon in an opulent pastiche of historical styles.
The interior was renowned for its flawless acoustics and became a coveted venue for musical superstars. It was designated as an official NYC Interior Landmark in 1979. Still, its future was not secure. In 1986, Save the Beacon Theatre formed in swift response to a developer's proposal to carve out the space for a discotheque-a plan that, incredibly, was approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Years of grassroots advocacy and legal action kept destruction at bay until, finally, the tide turned. Today, under MSGE's stewardship, more than 100 concerts and events take place annually at The Beacon Theatre, and it has once again recaptured is prominence as one of the most vibrant theaters in New York City.
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