The Manhattan Center

Originally called the Manhattan Opera House, the building was constructed in 1906 by Oscar Hammerstein. Hammerstein wanted this venue to be an alternative to the Metropolitan Opera. The Metropolitan Opera later paid him $1.2 million to stop operating the facility as an opera house. This prompted the theater to become a public and private event center that housed a variety of meetings, concerts, and other performances. The venue expanded in the mid-1980s to bring in music and other cultural events with the addition of an audio recording studio. Though the building itself is over 110 years old, millions of dollars have been invested in renovations to ensure it stays around for generations to come.

One of New York City's hidden gems is the Grand Ballroom located on the 7th floor of the building. Once a rooftop garden, it has since become an "event planner's dream," possessing a 10,000 square foot acoustically enhanced space with elegance and beauty abound. With up to 1,200 seats, the Grand Ballroom can turn into anything that a planner desires, whether it be a meeting room, fashion show, television shoot, or concert. The possibilities are endless.

The Hammerstein Ballroom is one of the most elegant destinations for any special event. With 12,000 square feet to spare, you can sit virtually anywhere and have an unobstructed and breathtaking view of the stage in any of the nearly 4,000 seats that are in this space. The Hammerstein Ballroom is so large that it was once used as a sports venue for Extreme Championship Wrestling for its One Night Only pay-per-view events held in promotion with World Wrestling Entertainment.