Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Upper West Side, Manhattan

The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is complex of thirty indoor and outdoor facilities in the Lincoln Square neighborhood, Upper West Side of Manhattan, completed in the 1960s. It houses renowned performing arts organizations, including the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera, the New York City Ballet, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Juilliard School.

In April 1955, the Lincoln Square for urban renewal was approved by the New York City Board of Estimate. In November, John D. Rockefeller III was elected as chairman and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts was incorporated in June 1956. The ground-breaking ceremony with U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower took place on May 14, 1959.

The facilities in the Lincoln Center began to open in the 1960s. The New York State Theater opened on April 23, 1964. The Vivian Beaumont Theater and the Forum (now Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater) opened on October 14, 1965. The Library & Museum of the Performing Arts opened on November 30, 1965. The Metropolitan Opera House opened on September 16, 1966. The Damrosch Park and the Guggenheim Band Shell opened on May 22, 1969. The Alice Tully Hall opened on September 11, 1969. The Juilliard School opened on October 26, 1969. The Lincoln Center Institute was officially founded on May 20, 1974. On November 19, 1990, the Samuel B. and David Rose Building opened housing the Walter Reade Theater, the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, the Daniel and Joanna S. Rose Rehearsal Studio, the Clark Studio Theater, the School of American Ballet and the Juilliard School student residences. The Claire Tow Theater opened on June 4, 2012.

New York State Theater in the Lincoln Center in 1964, seen from the top ring. It was designed by Philip Johnson and opened in 1964. Official Lincoln Center post card by Dexter Press.

The Promenade of the New York State Theater in the Lincoln Center in 1964, an area for strolling and refreshment during performance intermissions. Enlargements in white Carrara marble of sculptures by Elie Nadelman (1882-1946) stand at either end of the Promenade. Manhattan Post Card Pub. Co. 1964.

Below, the Vivian Beaumont Theater in the Lincoln Center complex (photo Kevin Mills, 2023).