In just six short weeks, thousands of the technology industry’s elite will descend on New York City for Disrupt NY 2015. For the third year in a row, the show will be held at the Manhattan Center, one of New York City’s most renowned performance venues.
Originally constructed in 1906, the Manhattan Center was built by Oscar Hammerstein as a competitor to the Metropolitan Opera, offering superior productions at cheaper prices. This ultimately drove the Met to pay Hammerstein $1.2 million to cease production for a period of 10 years. The Grand Ballroom was built in 1922, and was used four years later by Warner Bros. to record the New York Philharmonic for the soundtrack to the 1926 film Don Juan, the first film with a synchronized, pre-recorded musical soundtrack.
In the early 1990s the Manhattan Center started investing in video equipment and studio facilities, and during that decade they built out a video post-production studio called Studio 9, and two fully equipped television studios, Studio 1 and Studio 6 in addition to all their other recording spaces. Those studios have been used for several high-profile events and shows like the first ever episode of the WWE’s Monday Night Raw and several seasons of America’s Got Talent.
The Manhattan Center is connected to the historic New Yorker Hotel where Nikola Tesla himself spent the last ten years of his life. There are plaques and memorabilia honoring the famed scientist scattered around the hotel. His room–3327–is now a regular hotel room that is open to guests.
The Manhattan Center is a pretty rad musical venue too. The likes of Harry Belafonte, David Bowie, Judy Garland, Bob Marley and the Grateful Dead were among the talented artists that recorded or performed at the Manhattan Center’s exquisite Hammerstein and Grand Ballrooms over the years. The Center hosted the Howard Stern Birthday Bash in January 2014, and is currently home to Al Jazeera America’s 24/7 TV News production in the company’s Studio 1.
But more importantly, from May 4-6, the Manhattan Center will play host to TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2015, featuring speakers like Box CEO Aaron Levie, HotelTonight CEO Sam Shank, DataGravity CEO Paula Long, as well as many, many yet-to-be-named makers, innovators, and investors.
This is one party you don’t want to miss, so be sure to score your tickets to Disrupt NY 2015 today. Early Bird pricing is available now through April 11, so act fast to save big on your tickets.
And if you or your company would like to sponsor Disrupt NY, be sure to reach out to our sponsorship team for more information.