Concert hall in New York, N.Y., U.S. It was endowed by the industrialist Andrew Carnegie at the insistence of the conductor Walter Damrosch (1862–1950).
Designed in a Neo-Italian Renaissance style by William Burnet Tuthill, it opened in 1891, with Pyotr Tchaikovsky as guest of honour. Threatened by destruction in the late 1950s, it was saved by a public outcry and purchased by the city. It was extensively renovated in 1982–86. Admired for its beauty and its superb acoustics, it seats almost 2,800 people and has long been the most famous concert hall in the U.S.