A Letter from the Presidents

A Letter From The Presidents

“It does not matter who you are, what you are or from where you come, you are welcome.”

With this motto, The League of Political Education opened the Town Hall in 1921. The Hall was built to be New York’s community house to host the League’s already famous “Town Meetings,” where all sides of important issues were illuminated and discussed. It took a community to make Town Hall and it takes a community to run this legendary venue. Our gratitude goes out to our sponsors, members, friends and everyone who purchased tickets to this benefit. The proceeds from this evening will allow us to continue to refurbish the Hall, a National Historic Landmark.

We are often asked, what do we imagine the Hall will look like one hundred years from now? While we can report that the trustees and staff are engaged in a strategic planning initiative to help shape our future, we can only be certain that with our National Historic Landmark status, the Hall will look much the same but continue to evolve and grow with the demands of the times.

To that point, shortly after the Hall opened, the League received a knock on the door from a musician who wanted to perform on the Town Hall stage. This was great, as the League had spent all of the funds they had building the auditorium and the future would only be secured by the income from other organizations and individuals.

Only one problem remained: this glorious Hall, built for conversation, did not have a doorway big enough to bring a piano onto the stage. Fortunately, a crew was hired, a new door was fashioned and the Hall went on to become one of New York’s finest performance venues. Most notably, as the “Hall of debuts” for several generations, The Town Hall is the place where great talents got that all-important exposure to a wider audience.

It is one particular debut we are honoring tonight. On April 12, 1963, Bob Dylan had his breakout concert at The Town Hall, a headlining solo performance in front of about eight hundred people. The concert introduced to the world a young genius forecasting a new era of folk music and a legacy to come.

So, as we think about Town Hall’s next one hundred years, we dedicate ourselves to making as many great nights possible, like tonight and that one in the spring of 1963, by ensuring that Town Hall thrives.

Tom Wirtshafter, President

Marvin Leffler, President Emeritus