Paley Center For Media
(212) 621-6600
25 W. 52nd St.
New York,
NY
10019
40.7603
-73.9772
Neighborhoods: Midtown Center, Midtown
What People Are Saying About Paley Center For Media
The Editor
Contributor
Citysearch
Overview
The problem of archiving and presenting a collection that exists only in the ether and on tape has been solved with a combination of technology and ingenuity. The museum exercises curatorial guidance by offering pre-selected series with various themes, including retrospectives, radio variety shows or the entire run of a TV series.
The Experience
Materials are delivered to the visitor in a variety of formats: theaters, screening and listening rooms, personal consoles and galleries. The centerpiece is a hi-tech cataloging and delivery system. The visitor selects a TV or radio program, which is then whisked up from an automated storage center and into a personal viewing or listening console. The collection includes pretty much anything that has ever been on TV or radio. But it's up to you whether to spend an afternoon watching "Jetsons" cartoons or the Nixon-Kennedy debates.
User Reviews
Spelvini
September 02, 2008
When you are in New York City, and have a hankering to see an old TV show from your youth, go to this place- it looks like a bank on the outside but the inside is full of TV treasures. There's a Mac computer for you to search the database for the television or radio program you want to see. There is always a Visitor Services staff person available to assist you. When you find a program you want, you reserve it and then go to a console room, where you watch or listen to the program at a monitor with headphones. The Ralph Guild Radio Listening Room is on the fifth floor. The museum has 5 preprogrammed listening series, and this is a unique way for visitors to experience the radio collection. The Museum also offers live and taped radio broadcasts throughout the year, where stations from across the country come to the Ralph Guild Radio Studio to broadcast their shows. These events are usually open to the public. The museum has a series that plays concurrently at the New York and Los Angeles Museums. If you miss the date when something is showing, the programs are always available at an individual console. The Museum has more than 100,000 hours of television and radio programming in the permanent collection. However, there are many significant broadcasts for which no copies are known to exist. In the spring of 1996, the Museum joined forces with Nick at Nite to launch a campaign to heighten awareness of the need to preserve television programming.
read full review
Anonymous
September 28, 2006
Out of all the museums in New York, this one does things a little differently. I have been to the MTR multiple times, and each time, I get to experience something new. The museum is an ode to every decade of television and radio. MTR houses several theaters, each one running a different program. One screening room will be playing a special about the best comedians of all time, while another screening room will be showing a special on how journalists cover war. I guarantee that if you like TV, you will LOVE this museum. The best part of the MTR is the library. When you buy your ticket ($10 for adults; $8 for students and senior citizens; $5 for children under 14), you will be told when you have library time. During your time, you can pick up to 3 hours of shows and specials from MTR's vast library to watch in your own private screening cubicle. The library includes just about anything that ever aired on TV or radio. For example, on my last visit to MTR, I watched an 'I Love Lucy' episode, a HBO comedy special, and the final episode of 'The Wonder Years'. A pretty eclectic mix for an eclectic city. PROS: Great museum to relax and enjoy one of America's favorite pastimes. CONS:
read full reviewAnonymous
August 05, 2006
Okay, so you think you know your television trivia? You can randomly answer ANY question regarding your favorite sitcoms, dramas, cartoons and assorted documentaries and news of the past century or so...that is until you experience the Museum of TV & Radio. This place is for the tv geek/buff in you. Anything you can imagine or remember or wanted to know about TV, personalities, commercials, radio shows (remember Orson Welle's controversial radio dramatization of War of The Worlds that scared America into believing we were being invaded in the late 1930's?? It's here). Now, they don't have actual memorabilia mind you, that stuff's in the Smithsonian Museum, but trivia, ENTIRE tv & radio shows, documentaries, news...EVERYTHING. PERKS: They have movie screenings and often host some of the Tribeca Film Festival movies that debut during the festival's run here in NY. In addition, they often have art, advertising and film panels/symposiums with actual stars, directors and writers of tv shows, movies and documentaries that come here to screen their movies and/or have discussions before the live audience of YOU the viewer. (Past panels included the stars of tv's 24, Smallville, Battlestar Galactica, Desperate Housewives and Lost). Admission is NOT free, $10 adults, $8 Students & Seniors & $5 for kids but the small fee you pay is worth having access to all this knowledge. If you become a Museum member it's free year round. PROS: Historical History of TV, Radio & Movies. Access to impressive library CONS: None
read full reviewThe Details on Paley Center For Media
The Extras:
Don't forget the American Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria.
Category:
Museums, First Run Movie Theaters, Marketing Consultants, Non-Profit Organizations, Movie Theaters
