Carnegie Hall

Andrew Carnegie paid for the hall, and William Burnet Tuthill, a little-known architect who was also an amateur cellist, designed it. It opened in May 1891 with Tchaikovsky on the podium, making his American debut. The main auditorium, now named after the violinist Isaac Stern, rises through five levels, and there are two smaller halls in the same building. When the New York Philharmonic prepared to move to Lincoln Center, a demolition date was set; in 1960, after a campaign in which Stern played a leading part, the city bought the building and saved it. It has had no resident orchestra since 1962, so it is above all a stage for visitors, and the Berliner Philharmoniker play there on their American tours.