Flushing Town Hall - Flushing Queens

Flushing / January 31, 2009. Flushing Queens / January 31, 2009. I visited the Flushing Town Hall after the Chinese New Year Parade. I was interested in seing the Chinese puppet exhibit before it left, as well as to acquaint myself with this venerable location and important cultural destination for the borough.

Flushing Town Hall - Concert Hall, Art Gallery & Theater

I had the good fortune to meet Ellen Kodadek, Executive & Artistic Director, who was kind enough to give me access to roam around and shoot photos. I shot the main gallery in which the Chinese puppet currently resides, but the exhibit will leave before Spring. Occasionally they have musicians play here, and during the warmer months they open the gallery to enable musical performances which may be seen and heard from the outside courtyard. Upstairs there’s a full theater that seats over one hundred people and I checked to see that every seat has a pretty fair view unless you're sitting behind someone very tall. At the time I was there an Asian group was rehearsing a play which you can see in the photo.

Jazz Legends 'Hang Out' At Flushing Town Hall In Queens

'Hanging out' along the wall along the main floor hallway is a collection of large photographs of many of the great jazz legends of times past. In the hallway you can view greats like Louis Armstrong and many of his predecessors, contemporaries and successors. I had the opportunity to meet an employee at the Flushing Town Hall who was a singer who had performed with Louis and other musicians of that time. He provided me with a bit of perspective about those times, when America was still grappling with its promise of equality to all, while many great musicians were still barred from entering music halls through the front doors.

Flushing Town Hall Facilities - In Flushing NY

The Flushing Town Hall is known for its commitment to live music, from jazz to classical to contemporary, as well as from all around the world. Generally musical shows are performed in the theater on the second level of the building, but as mentioned above, during the summer months they are sometimes held in the courtyard. When great music isn't being performed in the theater; theatrical, dance and dramatic performances are given which reflect the community's ethnic and cultural diversity. Down on the first level of the building is the art gallery which almost always has some sort of artistic or cultural exhibit on display.

Flushing Town Hall Cultural Center - Embracing Jazz & Diversity

Queens natives should be proud of the borough as it has a legacy and long tradition of attracting some of the great African American musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Ella FitzGerald and John Coltrane, to name a few. They chose to live in Queens because of its ethnically mixed neighborhoods which allowed them to live in a ethnically mixed community at a time when African-Americans had not yet secured their human and constitutional rights in this country. The Flushing Town Hall performances frequently pay tribute to Flushing, Corona and Queens' jazz past; while also embracing music from other cultures from all around the world. Click here to view a map showing the location of the Flushing Town Hall in Queens.

Flushing Remonstrance - Predecessor Document To The U.S. Constitution

It's worth noting that one of the predecent documents of the U.S. Constitution originated in Flushing Queens NY. The document is the Flushing Remonstrance which demanded that then mayor, Peter Stuyvesant, back off from discriminating against the Quakers in Flushing. Apparently the 'new religious immigrants' had set off a wave of fear that existing residents would soon be overrun by the waves of immigrants and lose their way of life. Sound familiar? Click here to view a brief story on the Flushing Remonstrance.

Live Jazz At
Flushing Town Hall

Flushing Queens / November 20, 2008. This Friday, November 21 at the Flushing Town Hall at 13735 Northern Blvd starting at 8 pm there's the NEA Jazz Masters Concert including Jimmy Heath, Barry Harris, Joe Wilder, Benny Powell, Tootie Heath and David Wong. These award winning jazz musicians 'play homage' to recently deceased bassist Earl May.

Flushing Town Hall In Flushing Queens NY - Related Links
Click here for a map showing the location of the Flushing Town Hall in Flushing NY. Click this link to obtain the contact info and website url for the Flushing Town Hall in Flushing Queens NY.

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