{"id":24815,"date":"2014-09-06T07:06:28","date_gmt":"2014-09-06T11:06:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eyesofageneration.com\/?p=24815"},"modified":"2021-03-19T11:19:30","modified_gmt":"2021-03-19T15:19:30","slug":"the-first-photo-of-an-nbc-studio-quite-possibly-this-is-the-green-brothers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.eyesofageneration.com\/?p=24815","title":{"rendered":"The First Photo Of An NBC Studio?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The First Photo Of An NBC Studio? Quite Possibly&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>This is the Green Brothers Novelty Band inside NBC&#8217;s Studio B at 711 Fifth Avenue. The date is 1928, and although there are other photos of the network&#8217;s first radio studios, they are all dated 1929, so this could be the first inside look.<\/p>\n<p>Included here is a New York Times article about NBC&#8217;s first home and some interesting history from the late 1920s till now. In the drawing below, we see the studios that occupied the top few floors of the building.<\/p>\n<header class=\"css-1vwzign e12qa4dv0\">\n<div class=\"css-1vkm6nb ehdk2mb0\">\n<h1 id=\"link-6a486f1c\" class=\"css-1fyocly e1h9rw200\" data-test-id=\"headline\">Where the Orchestras Played and the Mice Presided<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-79elbk\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"css-giql8f ehw59r12\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children\">\n<div class=\"css-tux0zj ehw59r13\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-overlay\">\n<div class=\"css-4frx52 ehw59r14\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-8h527k\">\n<div data-testid=\"lazyimage-container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1a48zt4 ehw59r15\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children\">\n<figure class=\"sizeSmall layoutHorizontal css-1ox9jel\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"media\">\n<div class=\"css-bsn42l\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-11cwn6f\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2010\/02\/21\/realestate\/21streets_CA0\/21streets_CA0-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"50vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2010\/02\/21\/realestate\/21streets_CA0\/21streets_CA0-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2010\/02\/21\/realestate\/21streets_CA0\/21streets_CA0-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w\" alt=\"The headquarters of the National Broadcasting Company at 711 Fifth Avenue in 1927 and now.\" \/><\/div><figcaption class=\"css-17ai7jg e18f7pbr0\"><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-xt80pu eakwutd0\" data-testid=\"byline-timestamp\">\n<div class=\"css-18e8msd\">\n<div class=\"css-vp77d3 epjyd6m0\">\n<div class=\"css-1baulvz\">\n<p class=\"css-4z5zii e1jsehar1\"><span class=\"byline-prefix\">By\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"css-1baulvz last-byline\"><a class=\"css-hogf08 e1jsehar0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/christopher-gray\">Christopher Gray<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<ul class=\"css-1u1psjv epjyd6m3\">\n<li class=\"css-ccw2r3 epjyd6m1\"><time class=\"css-129k401 e16638kd0\" datetime=\"2010-02-18T15:19:55-05:00\">Feb. 18, 2010<\/time><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<section class=\"meteredContent css-1r7ky0e\">\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">MICKEY MOUSE has left the building. That is, left the marquee over the World of Disney Store on Fifth Avenue at 55th Street, where he, Minnie and Pluto guarded the entrance for well over a decade. They were removed earlier this year, after Disney moved out.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">What\u2019s left is a big, conservative limestone office block built in 1927, home until 1933 to the radically modern headquarters of NBC.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">The developer Floyd Brown began work on the 15-story office building, at first called 711 Fifth Avenue, in mid-1926. At the end of the year Mr. Brown announced that the new National Broadcasting Company would be leasing the upper floors for its offices and broadcast studios. By that time the exterior design must have been set, and so it must reflect Mr. Brown\u2019s tastes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">An architect, he founded the Bethlehem Engineering Company in 1918 to develop and design structures; only Bethlehem\u2019s name appears on the NBC drawings.<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-79elbk\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"css-1a48zt4 ehw59r15\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children\">\n<figure class=\"css-65opuh e1g7ppur0\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"media\">\n<div class=\"css-zgakxe erfvjey0\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-1m50asq\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2010\/02\/19\/realestate\/21scapes5\/21scapes5-popup.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"50vw\" srcset=\"\" alt=\"The marquee that used to adorn the World of Disney Store on Fifth Avenue at 55th Street, where Mickey, Minnie and Pluto stood guard for well over a decade. They were removed earlier this year, after Disney moved out.\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"css-1e7005o ewdxa0s0\"><span class=\"css-16f3y1r e13ogyst0\" aria-hidden=\"true\">The marquee that used to adorn the World of Disney Store on Fifth Avenue at 55th Street, where Mickey, Minnie and Pluto stood guard for well over a decade. They were removed earlier this year, after Disney moved out.<\/span><span class=\"css-cnj6d5 e1z0qqy90\"><span class=\"css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0\">Credit&#8230;<\/span>Daniel Acker\/Bloomberg<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">Even on Fifth Avenue, a full limestone facade is sumptuous for a commercial structure, and Mr. Brown gave it a double-height second floor designed for a bank tenant, with a giant colonnade on both street elevations. Above that his building is not much to look at, just window punch-outs and a few setback floors with some detailing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">The pseudonymous critic T-Square, writing about the building in 1927 in The New Yorker, commented that \u201cNo matter what the modernists say \u2014 or do \u2014 there is no getting away from the fact that a Corinthian column is a swell thing.\u201d However, he did note that the essence of the new structure was \u201ceconomy and simplicity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">For the design of its offices, NBC, established only in 1926, retained the provocative urban theorist Raymond Hood. He told The New York Times in April 1927 that he was unhappy with the drabness of typical recording studios, and certain that such surroundings affected performers negatively.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">Thus, The Times reported, he was designing the various studios as a Gothic church, the Roman forum, a Louis XIV room and, in a space devoted to jazz, something \u201cwildly futuristic, with plenty of color in bizarre designs.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\">\n<div id=\"c-col-editors-picks\" class=\"css-j64t31\"><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<div class=\"css-79elbk\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"css-1a48zt4 ehw59r15\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children\">\n<figure class=\"css-65opuh e1g7ppur0\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"media\">\n<div class=\"css-zgakxe erfvjey0\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-1m50asq\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2010\/02\/21\/realestate\/21scapes3\/21scapes3-popup.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"50vw\" srcset=\"\" alt=\"The main studio at NBC\u2019s headquarters. The lighting was designed to be dramatic and copious.\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"css-1e7005o ewdxa0s0\"><span class=\"css-16f3y1r e13ogyst0\" aria-hidden=\"true\">The main studio at NBC\u2019s headquarters. The lighting was designed to be dramatic and copious.<\/span><span class=\"css-cnj6d5 e1z0qqy90\"><span class=\"css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0\">Credit&#8230;<\/span>Office for Metropolitan History<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">However, photos of the finished interiors show uniformly modernist designs, although tempered by traditional motifs. For instance, a sinuous strip of Art Deco wall painting is based on the Vitruvian wave, a pattern dating back to the classical period. Some peculiar bundled light fixtures are topped by anthemion leaves, another classical allusion.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">The lighting was dramatic and copious; in 1928 The Architectural Record quoted Mr. Hood as explaining that it did the work of an audience, helping to keep a performer alone in a studio \u201ckeyed up to a high pitch.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">The broadcast studio was a new problem in architectural design, and rooms had to be soundproofed in ways hitherto not considered. There were separate air ducts for each studio, with interior baffles and special flooring. The broadcast facilities in NBC\u2019s building were the most advanced in the country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">The broadcast network, too, was a new idea. The established pattern was for local stations to generate their own programming, all live. Thus, New York-area show listings in The Times on Armistice Day 1927 included the dedication of the Canadian monument at Arlington National Cemetery on WEAF (one of two NBC stations), French lessons by V. Harrison-Berlitz on WNYC, farm market reports on WJZ (the other NBC station), \u201cThe Smiling Baritone\u201d on WOR, and the Beaux-Arts Orchestra on WABC. Somehow the radio industry was able to function without vulgar language and incendiary political insult.<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-79elbk\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"css-1a48zt4 ehw59r15\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children\">\n<figure class=\"css-65opuh e1g7ppur0\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"media\">\n<div class=\"css-zgakxe erfvjey0\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-1m50asq\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2010\/02\/19\/realestate\/21streets-orch\/21streets-orch-popup.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"50vw\" srcset=\"\" alt=\"An orchestra plays in 1929 in an ornate studio at the headquarters of the National Broadcasting Company.\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"css-1e7005o ewdxa0s0\"><span class=\"css-16f3y1r e13ogyst0\" aria-hidden=\"true\">An orchestra plays in 1929 in an ornate studio at the headquarters of the National Broadcasting Company.<\/span><span class=\"css-cnj6d5 e1z0qqy90\"><span class=\"css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0\">Credit&#8230;<\/span>Office for Metropolitan History<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">The development of NBC and other networks promised economies of scale. There was no reason that WGY in Schenectady had to pay the local Van Curler Orchestra if it could just take an NBC feed. In such a calculation, Van Curler became just another fungible content provider.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">At first, major artists resisted appearing on the radio, believing that their concert fees would be reduced or that their voices would be presented in an unflattering way. In 1928 after an initial radio appearance, the pianist Ignace Paderewski announced that he would never play for broadcast, according to The Times.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">But in the same year the soprano Amelita Galli-Curci changed her mind and performed on NBC. In 1929 the band leader John Philip Sousa also reversed his position and broadcast from the NBC building. His decision was perhaps influenced by his fee, in excess of $50,000; NBC said it spent over $5 million on talent in 1928.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">In 1933, having outgrown 711 Fifth Avenue, NBC moved to Rockefeller Center, sometimes called Radio City at the time. After that, its old home was repeatedly altered. Patricia Maes, a vice president of Jones Lang LaSalle, the managing agent, says only scraps are left of Mr. Hood\u2019s remarkable design.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">Disney opened on the ground floor in 1996 and installed the bronze-toned sculptures over the Fifth Avenue entrance. But now they are gone and the space is for rent. Zoraya Suarez, a spokeswoman for Walt Disney World, says mice and dog are bound for Florida \u2014 snowbirds like so many New Yorkers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"bottom-of-article\">\n<div class=\"css-1ubp8k9\">\n<div class=\"css-acwcvw\"><strong class=\"css-1vg6q84\">Correction:<\/strong>\u00a0<time class=\"css-7j4oxu e16638kd0\" datetime=\"2010-02-28T00:00:00-05:00\">Feb. 28, 2010<\/time><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-bwdy7f evys1bk0\">A headline last Sunday with the Streetscapes column about 711 Fifth Avenue, a building that over time has housed NBC and the World of Disney store, erroneously included a reference to NBC\u2019s peacock logo. The logo was created in 1956, 23 years after NBC left the building, in 1933; therefore the Fifth Avenue building was not \u201cwhere the peacock nested.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>After only a few years here, RCA and NBC began the process of designing the space they would move into at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in 1933. Enjoy and share! &#8211; Bobby Ellerbee<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/189359747768249\/photos\/a.197108410326716.39183.189359747768249\/724968724207346\/?type=3\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp_automatic_fb_img\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/staging.eyesofageneration.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/The-First-Photo-Of-An-NBC-Studio-Quite-Possibly...-This-is-the-Green-Brothers\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/189359747768249\/photos\/a.197108410326716.39183.189359747768249\/724968724207346\/?type=3\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp_automatic_fb_img\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/staging.eyesofageneration.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/1477216305_562_The-First-Photo-Of-An-NBC-Studio-Quite-Possibly...-This-is-the-Green-Brothers\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/189359747768249\/posts\/724971200873765\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The First Photo Of An NBC Studio? Quite Possibly&#8230; This is the Green Brothers Novelty Band inside NBC&#8217;s Studio B at 711 Fifth Avenue. The date is 1928, and although there are other photos of the network&#8217;s first radio studios, they are all dated 1929, so this could be the first inside look. Included here [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":24816,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pgc_sgb_lightbox_settings":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_vp_custom_popup_image":0,"_vp_format_audio_url":"","_vp_album_images":[],"_vp_custom_thumbnail":0,"_vp_custom_thumbnail_focal_point":[],"_vp_custom_thumbnail_cover":0,"_vp_hover_thumbnail":0,"_vp_hover_thumbnail_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[784,724,709,782,723],"class_list":["post-24815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-abc","tag-cast","tag-engineer","tag-nbc","tag-performers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.eyesofageneration.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.eyesofageneration.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.eyesofageneration.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.eyesofageneration.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.eyesofageneration.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24815"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/staging.eyesofageneration.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24815\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59784,"href":"https:\/\/staging.eyesofageneration.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24815\/revisions\/59784"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.eyesofageneration.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.eyesofageneration.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.eyesofageneration.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.eyesofageneration.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}