Music & Live Entertainment: Attractions

The Brill Building…("Tin Pan Alley")

1619 Broadway, in the heart of New York’s music district, is a building that changed the course of popular music history.

The Brill Building (named after the Brill Brothers, whose clothing store was originally located in the street level corner and who would later purchase the entire building), was completed in 1931 and intended to house the offices of brokers and bankers. The owners were obliged by a deepening Depression to rent space to music publishers, since there were few other takers. By 1962, the Brill Building contained 165 music businesses.

Here you could write a song, hire the musicians, cut a demo, and take it around the building to record companies, publishers, managers, artists and promoters. To this day, some refer to the building and its environs as “Tin Pan Alley”, though others insist the famed district was only West 28th Street between 6th Avenue and Broadway.

Famous Brill Building musicians and songwriters include Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Carole King, Hal David, Burt Bacharach, Neil Sedaka, Paul Anka, Eric Clapton, Jim Croce, Bobby Darin, John Denver, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Howard Greenfield, Billy Joel, Johnny Mercer, Kris Kristofferson, John Lennon, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon, Paul Simon, and James Taylor.

To appreciate the tremendous effect these and other Brill Building denizens had on American popular culture, one has only to scan the play list of the popular radio and television program, Your Hit Parade. Of the 1,278 songs performed by the show’s cast throughout its run from 1935 to 1958, 404 songs, approximately one third, originated with Brill Building publishers.

A lively and detailed history of this music industry landmark can be found on the Brill Building’s official website.

MTV

As the entertainment capitol of the world, it’s no surprise that Times Square is host to one of today’s hottest cutting-edge TV networks.

The Music Television Network moved its headquarters to 1515 Broadway in 1997, and has since played host to numerous events, including live performances on the Times Square streets featuring the likes of Prince, U2, Alicia Keys, and Dr. Dre.  MTV also airs Total Request Live, or TRL, from its second floor studio.  Every afternoon, fans gather outside MTV’s Times Square Studios to catch a glimpse of the latest pop culture megastars on TRL.

The Paramount Theater Marquee

In 1936, nothing Said "New York" like the famed marquee on the historic Paramount Building in Times Square. During its heyday from the 1930s-50s, the Paramount introduced the likes of Gary Cooper, William Powell, Mae West, Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby and Claudette Colbert to New York City, and showcased the talents of Benny Goodman, Jack Benny, Tommy Dorsey, Frank Sinatra, Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin, to name a few.

In the summer of 2001, this classic New York landmark returned to Times Square, thanks to the efforts of Tobin+Parnes Design Enterprises and the World Wrestling Federation.