Hammerstein Ballroom

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The Venue
A midtown office-building exterior hides the Hammerstein Ballroom, a 3,000-capacity opera house complete with a two-tiered balcony, loge sections and beaux-art angels cavorting high overhead on ceiling frescos. Hammerstein originally opened in 1906 as a classical opera house before converting to a vaudeville hall in 1910 and later a movie palace. It became a Freemason's temple during the Depression, then a union hall in the '40s before being abandoned in the early '70s.

The Experience
Hammerstein has a powerful sound system and a full-time engineering staff. Plus, good acoustics are what you'd expect from a fine turn-of-the-century opera house. The floor and orchestra seats have been removed to allow general admission mobs. The stage is the deepest outside Lincoln Center, able to accommodate even the largest classical ballet production. No ballet here, though: Hammerstein hosts modern alternative rock and big names from the worlds of pop to techno.