Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library Gift of Seymour B. Durst Old York Library I — 4 1 I ^» New York's Town Meeting Hall PEN discussions are conducive to mutual good will and fair play. They result in fewer misunderstandings of public opinion because it has always been true that "discussion rationalizes everything it touches." Since the days when Socrates held forth to the inquiring youth of Athens, men have always appealed to and relied upon public opinion for the good of the commonwealth. The Pilgrim Fathers believed in the inherent princi- ple of democracy founded on democratic discussion. Down through the early beginnings of our nation, each community had its meeting house — its town hall — where citizens met to talk things over. For years New York has needed such a "town meeting" hall. At last, in answer to the demand, a civic enterprise is near completion which will establish an open forum in the heart of the city, where law-abiding citizens may get together and really have a chance to discuss their common interests. OPEN DISCUSSION— A CURE FOR BOLSHEVISM Silence and brooding give birth to unrest and menace the welfare of the community. Prejudice, class hatred, strikes and pernicious legislation flour- ish when men are given no chance to tell the ''other fellow" about their grievances and in turn listen to the other man's point of view. The hazards of peace and war are reduced when people face issues squarely on an open public platform. Protests against existing laws, the fitness of prospective office-holders, the desirability of pending legislation, — all these things should be talked over until both sides of the questions are thoroughly understood. This is the part New York's new Civic Auditorium will endeavor to take in the life of the body politic. "He who moulds public sentiment goes deeper than he who enacts statutes or pronounces decisions." New York is just about ready to put Abraham Lincoln's famous remark to the test. With the opening of the Civic Auditorium, this city will m take its proper place in a national movement for better "government by discussion." The building now being erected at 113-123 West 43rd Street aims to provide the best equipped town meeting hall in any community. It is within a half-mile of the two great railway terminals, many of the finest hotels and the retail shopping district. Within the radius of a mile are the Waldorf- Astoria and the McAlpin hotels to the south, the Plaza and Central Park to the north, Ninth Avenue to the west and Third Avenue to the east. Times Square, the center of the city's entire transportation system, is within a stone's throw of the Civic Auditorium. New York has wanted, and now will have for its discussions of contro- versial questions, a hall designed primarily for public speaking and not for entertainments and concerts. Perfect acoustics will be one of the features of this new forum. The late Professor Sabine of Harvard, foremost expert in America on acoustics, was the authority whose counsels were sought and followed on this most important point. The result will be, it is believed, one of the finest speaking auditoriums in the country. 131 A MEMORIAL TO CIVIC SERVICE It is fitting that the foyer of the Auditorium should be a memorial to public-spirited citizens not now living who were the leaders of their day in public usefulness. This memorial foyer will stand in the center of the city's life as New York's tribute to these far-sighted men and women to whom it owes so much. Coming generations will thus be reminded of those who have gone before, and inspired, it is hoped, to follow the way illuminated by these torch-bearers of civilization. C43 Every feature which will make for comfort has received careful consid- eration. Disturbing noises have been eliminated by the use of swinging doors at the beginning of each aisle. When a meeting opens, these doors will be closed, shutting out confusion from late-comers finding their proper seats. A welcome feature of the Auditorium will be the fact that it will be entered from the street without ascending even one step. us: THE DESIGN OF THE AUDITORIUM The interior of the hall is semi- classic in design. The direct emphasis of space is added to quiet dignity of treatment, and the aim is always at character. One is conscious of nothing but symmetry in the simple lines of the proscenium which overarches the wide platform. Soft colors have been chosen to harmonize with the fine design. These colors will tend to create an atmosphere of quiet and repose and will help the attention of the audience. - [6] No pillars or supports will interfere with the audience's view of the speaker. Every seat on the floor and in the balcony will have an unobstructed view of the platform. Wide and convenient aisles, roomy, comfortable seats and an indirect lighting system are all a part of the appointments. The seating capacity will be 1700, with room, on occasion, for 200 "standees." The Auditorium will have hut one balcony, with a row of loges in front. There will be no boxes. A REAL TOWN MEETING HALL A public service which New York's Town Hall will render to the city will be in providing a meeting-place for organizations, institutions and groups of persons, who may obtain the use of the hall rent free if no admission fee is charged. The Auditorium will be available for any public purpose if satis- factory references are given when necessary, always with the proviso that the gatherings be of an orderly, law-abiding character. For such meetings the only charge will be the actual cost of attendants and ushers, if any are required. Meetings of a public character for which admission is charged, or which are limited to members of any particular organi- zation, will be expected to pay a nominal rental of fifty dollars plus the actual cost of attendants. Any question regarding the use of the Auditorium will be submitted to a representative and carefully chosen non-partisan committee, which will decide each case on its merits. This municipal meeting hall, free from political con- trol, will be held in trust for the people by The League for Political Education, an institution identified for over twenty-five years with the higher life of this city, and the originator of this undertaking. [8] The Auditorium will occupy the space of the first four floors of the build- ing. The floor above it, corresponding to the fifth floor, will be used for the offices of The League for Political Education and its allied organizations, The Civic Forum and The Economic Club. During the active season the lectures of the League will be given in the Auditorium every week-day morning. Meetings of The Economic Club and The Civic Forum will be held occasionally in the afternoon and evening, but the Auditorium will be open for public uses at least five afternoons and five evenings a week on the average, it is expected. The object of these three organizations, although differently stated in each case, is really identical — to promote by educational methods a finer citizenship and a better social order. POLITICAL SCIENCE LIBRARY A FEATURE On the fifth floor a reading-room will be maintained with special emphasis on political science. Ultimately a political science reference library of about 10,000 volumes will be installed. Here expert advice as to the books avail- able in other libraries of the city will be obtainable. This service will not C93 duplicate that of any public or university library. It will rather correlate and interpret these collections. As a part of the civic service offered New York by this new Town Hall, there will be on this floor a Bureau of Information and Friendly Service. Facts concerning the various kinds of educational, religious, charitable and social organizations may be gathered from this Bureau. The tendency of a great city to scatter as it increases in size necessitates such a central source of information. A UNIQUE CLUB FOR MEN AND WOMEN A club for men and women established to promote "a finer public spirit and a better social order" will be an interesting part of this community institution. New York's Town Hall will thus be the nucleus of a new civic center created in the heart of the city. The sixth floor and the roof of the building will be occupied by this Club, which will be quite different in several respects from any now existing in the city. The membership will be composed of men and women on equal terms and in substantially equal numbers. Full club service will be rendered at annual dues so moderate as to be unparalleled thus far in New York. Ad- mission to the Club will be by reference to a membership committee. There will be large and small dining-rooms, with assembly rooms for committee meetings and smaller gatherings than would use the Auditorium. Space will be provided for art exhibitions and those of a sociological character. The equipment will be that of a well appointed club with spacious rest- rooms and lounge. A representative board of governors will manage the Club's affairs. Men and women will be able to meet together at luncheon or dinner for conferences on subjects of common interest. This Club, of which a man and his wife may both be members on the same basis, will en- deavor to maintain an atmosphere of natural friendliness amid the artificiali- ties and conventions of modern city life. When the Civic Auditorium opens its doors next summer, the goal of a quarter of a century of hope and effort will be reached. 17 West Forty-fourth Street, New York, January 2, 1920. [11] FOUNDED BY ELEANOR BUTLER SANDERS IN THE YEAR 1894 THE LEAGUE FOR POLITICAL EDUCATION ROBERT ERSKINE ELY, Director MARY B. CLEVELAND, Executive Secretary CHRISTINE L. MUNGER, Secretary to the Director EVELYN L. SHULTERS, Membership Secretary Daily morning lectures, singly and in courses, from November to April. Five thousand members, mainly women, pay annual dues of from $3 (public school teachers) to $25. Entirely supported by membership dues. Board of Trustees HENRY W. TAFT, Chairman LAURA V. DAY, Secretary ROBERT G. MEAD, Treasurer MARY B. CLEVELAND, Assistant Secretary and Assistant Treasurer MRS. ROBERT ABBE ROBERT ERSKINE ELY JOHN MARTIN MRS. HENRY A. ALEXANDER MRS. BEN ALI HAGGIN HENRY M. SANDERS JOHN BATES CLARK A. BARTON HEPBURN JACOB H. SCHIFF CLARA B. SPENCE MRS. SCHUYLER N. WARREN CHARLES S. LECKY CHARLES V. J. BELLARD Office Staff HORTENSE A. L. NORMANDEAU IRENE C. HEUNECKE ORGANIZED IN THE YEAR 1907 THE ECONOMIC CLUB OF NEW YORK HENRY MORGENTHAU, President GEORGE W. WICKERSHAM, First Vice-President WILLIAM CHURCH OSBORN, Second Vice-President ROBERT ERSKINE ELY, Secretary JOSEPH FRENCH JOHNSON, Treasurer GEORGE GORDON BATTLE THEODORE E. BURTON WILLIAM HAMLIN CHILDS CHARLES A. COFFIN JULIUS HENRY COHEN Executive Committee The Officers and HERBERT S. HOUSTON CLARENCE H. KELSEY ROBERT S. LOVETT SAMUEL McROBERTS GERRISH H. MILLIKEN E. H. OUTERBRIDGE WILLIAM H. PORTER ROBERT J. F. SCHWARZENBACH GUY E. TRIPP FRANK A. VANDERLIP Four regular dinner-meetings a year, and others occasionally, for the non-partisan discussion of public questions from different points of view. Membership, twelve hundred men, the limit fixed by the Club's Constitution. Entirely supported by the annual dues of members. Membership Committee THOMAS W. LAMONT HENRY W. TAFT ALTON B. PARKER MARY B. CLEVELAND, Executive Secretary CHARLES S. LECKY, Membership Secretary A. BARTON HEPBURN FRANCIS LYNDE STETSON Former Presidents JOHN G. MILBURN JAMES SPEYER WILLIAM R. WILLCOX FRANK A. VANDERLIP ORGANIZED IN THE. YEAR 1907 THE CIVIC FORUM Board of Trustees HENRY CLEWS, Chairman TROWBRIDGE HALL, Treasurer CHARLES L. BERNHEIMER DANIEL GUGGENHEIM ALTON B. PARKER IRVING T. BUSH AUGUST HECKSCHER HENRY S. PRITCHETT ROBERT J. CALDWELL HERBERT S. HOUSTON JAMES B. REYNOLDS THOMAS L. CHADBOURNE GEORGE F. KUNZ R. A. C. SMITH ROBERT ERSKINE ELY SAM A. LEWISOHN OSCAR S. STRAUS HUGH FRANEY HENRY MORGENTHAU GEORGE W. WICKERSHAM MORGAN J. O'BRIEN TALCOTT WILLIAMS Public meetings and dinners for men and women to promote higher citizenship, appreciation of public usefulness, and friendly international relationships. Membership and constituency over two thousand. Supported by membership dues, receipts from admissions to the meetings, and subscriptions. Guaranteed annually against a deficit by a committee of underwriters. ROBERT ERSKINE ELY, Director MARY B. CLEVELAND, Executive Secretary CHARLES S. LECKY, Membership Secretary Recipients of the Medal of Honor for Distinguished Public Service GEORGE W. GOETHALS, 1914 THOMAS A. EDISON, 1915 ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL, 1917 INCORPORATED IN THE YEAR 1914 THE SOCIETIES REALTY COMPANY Officers FRANK A. VANDERLIP, President ROBERT ERSKINE ELY, First Vice-President MRS. A. A. ANDERSON, Second Vice-President E. H. OUTERBRIDGE, Secretary WILLIAM R. WILLCOX, Treasurer MARY B. CLEVELAND, Assistant Secretary and Assistant Treasurer Executive Committee HENRY W. TAFT, Chairman and Counsel TROWBRIDGE HALL MRS. HENRY A. ALEXANDER ROBERT E. SIMON CHARLOTTE S. BAKER WALTER STABLER MRS. FREDERICK LEE ACKERMAN Organized to purchase the land and erect the building for the Civic Auditorium. Acts as a holding and operating company for The League for Political Education. MRS. WILLIAM H. BLISS MRS. ELGIN R. L. GOULD OTTO H. KAHN SAMUEL McCUNE LINDSAY MRS. WILLIAM M. MARTIN Directors The above-named Officers and WILLIAM R. MEAD CHARLES W. MIX CHRISTINE L. MUNGER MRS. CHARLES J. OPPENHEIM MRS. THEODORE PETERS HENRY M. SANDERS MRS. RALPH L. SHAINWALD EVELYN L. SHULTERS MRS. P. A. VALENTINE Building Committee WALTER STABLER, Chairman ROBERT E. SIMON, Vice-Chairman TROWBRIDGE HALL ROBERT ERSKINE ELY MARY B. CLEVELAND Architects: McKIM, MEAD & WHITE Construction in charge of RUSSELL B. SMITH ENGINEERS THEY THAT BE WISE SHALL SHINE AS THE BRIGHTNESS OF THE FIRMAMENT; AND THEY THAT TURN MANY TO RIGHTEOUSNESS AS THE STARS FOR EVER AND EVER Inscription in Memorial Hall, Harvard University Designed and Printed by THE DEV1NNE PRESS New York Drawings by John Vincent -4 1 WE5T 4r4-™ 5TREE.T WEST 4>?L H * -S»t*,e:e.t SECTION AT CENTER LINE