Beacon Theatre

On our lists of the best live music venues and activities in New York.

Walter W. Ahlschlager, the architect behind the old Roxy near Times Square, designed the Beacon as a movie palace when it opened on Broadway at 74th Street in 1929, building acoustics for live orchestras accompanying silent films. Two 30-foot Greek goddess statues still flank the proscenium arch, and the marble lobby keeps its original bronze doors. The city landmarked the interior in 1979, a decade after the theater had already shifted from movies to touring rock and pop acts. It now runs concerts, comedy shows and podcast tapings under an immersive surround-sound system.