DESIGN
Upgraded acoustic wall and ceiling treatments
were incorporated and an intrusive, oversized
lighting rig – a remnant of the venue’s dance
party days – was replaced with a custom
mirrorball. Here the craft of the design team
and the execution of the directive to preserve
the grit and grandeur of the hall is apparent:
torn wall coverings, imperfect painting, scalloped
balconies and art deco details are now seamlessly
juxtaposed against new sound and lighting
systems that are true to the original venue’s spirit,
yet dialed up to exceed the standards of modern
audiences. Furthermore, the bars within the
ballroom were reconfigured to improve sightlines
and prevent bottlenecks.
Repurposed space
The Ritz Lounge – an intimate venue within
a venue that has had many names over the years
– has found a new purpose as well. The former
performance space has been reimagined as an
urbane common area, complete with an
oversized bar. The design balances 21st century
aesthetics and historical precedent with features
including gold wall stenciling and fluted glass
reclaimed from the hall’s former windows.
Lastly, square footage reclaimed from this
space allowed for the creation of two new green
rooms, with private restrooms and a hospitalityinspired
lounge intended to enhance the
performer experience and accommodate even
the most extravagant artist requests.
“The remarkable, iconoclastic history and
character of Webster Hall is now on full display
in an optimized incarnation that celebrates
enduring grit and promises to ensure the venue’s
place amongst the world’s most celebrated
stages,” says Gary Martinez, partner and studio
director at OTJ Architects. n
www.otj.com
OTJ Architects Nicole Pereira
Webster
Hall
reopened
in April 2019
with a concert
headlined by
Jay-Z
When, after 19 months of anticipation,
fans returned to the hall for a grand opening
headlined by Jay-Z, the experience was that of a
homecoming immediately upon entry from three
newly added doors into the refurbished lobby,
through to the new Ritz Lounge. The doors,
installed on the building’s East 11th Street side
with special permission from the New York City
Landmarks Preservation Commission, expedite
crowd movement into and out of the venue.
For the people
An unobtrusive alteration to the historic facade,
however, required the relocation of terracotta
panels and the modification of the stucco-clad
band course. Inside, an elevator that serves both
passengers and freight was installed to make each
floor accessible to patrons with reduced mobility
and, when combined with the new grade-level
entrance, facilitate show load-ins. Further
discreet efforts to modernize include the addition
of restrooms on the first and third floors as well
as the remodeling of existing facilities.
Still, the most discernable improvements to
Webster Hall remain those made to the upstairs
ballroom. Through the deployment of additional
interwoven ‘scissor’ stairwells designed to
accelerate egress, venue capacity was increased
to more than 1,400.
AUDITORIA 2019 VOLUME ONE 83
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