The Exhibitor (1966)

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Carpeting Adds Dranva To New Met NEW YORK — -“All-wool and thousands of yards wide” could be one way of looking at Lincoln Center, this city’s cultural complex of modern buildings devoted to the perform¬ ing arts. A record of pure wool carpet for all Lincoln Center buildings was kept intact with the completely new Metropolitan Opera House. The thousands of celebrities — including the The staircase greeting opera patrons as they enter the new Metropolitan winds up through all six levels of the building. Each one of the 122 multi-shaped curving steps was custom cut by template to avoid seams. nation’s Lirst Lady, Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson • — who attended the grand opening of the new $45 -million structure were greeted by a mas¬ sive expanse of wool mark carpet in a rich “Metropolitan Opera Red.” All told, more than 13,000 square yards of the thick, elegant wool carpet have been in¬ stalled in the public areas of the new “Met,” the brightest gem in this city’s unique cultural setting. Starting with the opening of Philharmonic Hall in 1962, all of the buildings in Lincoln Center have featured only pure wool carpet¬ ing. The New York State Theatre — home of the New York City Ballet, the Vivian Beau¬ mont Theatre — playhouse for the Lincoln Center Repertory drama group and the Li¬ brary for the Performing Arts, all boast wool carpeting in lobbies, foyers, auditoriums, lounges, offices — and in some areas, even on the walls. Installation was handled by the New York firm of William Gold, Inc. Creation of the carpeting was supervised by Mrs. Edith Queller, interior designer for Harrison and Abramovitz, architects for the new opera house. Lrom the beginning, wool was decided as the carpet of choice based on its record of proven performance. Mrs. Queller noted that Harrison and Abramovitz had chosen wool carpet for the Philharmonic building and that, after its use by over a million concertgoers since its 1962 opening, “it’s still fine.” Specifications of the carpet for the main staircase, lobby and private club rooms called for a two-frame plush Wilton with a face weight of 72.4 ounces of 4-ply pure wool pile yarns, chosen for richness of texture and longwearing qualities. Selection of the color was very involved, however. The color had to be red in keeping with the tradition of red carpeting at the old Metropolitan. But Mrs. Queller felt that a sweep of solid color would not create the depth possible with a combination of reds. She also had to keep in mind that the color had to harmonize with two huge murals, located in the Met foyer, painted by the famous Lrench artist, Marc Chagall. Working with four Mohawk carpet de¬ signers, the search narrowed down to a bright “opera red” for the curving staircase and lower floors. One of the final two shades chosen by architect Wallace Harrison was approved in Paris by Chagall — who had the The carpet in this Metropolitan corridor features a geometric "op art" design. Its specifications are the same as that of the red carpet used throughout the building — a two frame Wilton with 72.4 ounces of pure wool pile. veto power. Lor the upper foyers, restaurants and house boxes, the same carpet was selected, but in a deeper “garnet red.” Inside the auditorium, however, the de¬ signer faced a different problem — acoustics. Because of wool carpet’s ability to soak up and muffle sound, a wool mark quality Axminster carpet in a lower pile height was selected — also a two-color garnet, but more winecolored, to harmonize with the auditorium’s upholstered seats. Once the carpeting was installed, acoustical tests were made with a “full-house” of 3800 persons. The acoustical experts seemed very pleased with the results, Mrs. Queller noted. A singer remarked, “The sound seems to dart out of you, right at the audience.” The auditorium carpet covers both aisles of the orchestra seating area, and was installed in curved, continuous seamless lengths of over 90 feet. Also, each of the 67 traditional opera boxes and anterooms which open out to the 29 Parterre boxes were also carpeted in this garnet-colored carpet. William Gold, who has been responsible for the carpet installations of many of the na¬ tion’s prominent buildings, related that every problem he had ever met was focused in the Metropolitan. Every conceivable type of step had to be covered in the curving multi-level stairway. Each of the 122 steps was cut by a separate template for the concave, convex, and serpen¬ tine shapes to avoid seams. The staircase is 27 feet wide, so the carpet was woven to fit the single pieces as much as possible. The carpet also had to be kept soft and inert so that each separate piece could be warped over the steps like upholstery. Other designers handled the decoration for some of the private rooms, but except for the Green Room — where stars meet the public — the wool carpet specifications remained the same as that for the stairway. The office ofRudolph Bing, general manager of the Metro¬ politan, was carpeted in chocolate brown; the Belmont Room in green. One corridor utilized an op art design by Mario Buatta. The Green Room features a wool mark quality tufted carpet. “The wool carpet installation was a triumph of technique,” said Gold, “tempered by a warm feeling for the job.” The twisting stairways of the new Metropolitan Opera House in the Lincoln Center gives one the impression of modern sculpture. The marble stair¬ ways are covered in an "opera red" wool carpet. The selection of wool is said to have been based on its record of "past performance." The architects noted that the wool carpet chosen for the Center's Philharmonic Hall is "still fine" after constant use since 1962. PE-6 PHYSICAL THEATRE • EXTRA PROFITS DEPARTMENT of MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR November 16, 1966