The Shriners needed more space in 1921, so they built a massive, Moorish Revival palace on 55th Street. They called it the Mecca Temple. It had an ornate sandstone facade, a terracotta entryway, and a 32-meter wide dome. It was a meeting house for a fraternal organization.
The Great Depression happened in the 1930s, and the Shriners relocated out of the building entirely by 1940. Mayor Fiorello La Guardia and Council President Newbold Morris established the City Center of Music and Drama Inc. to operate the building as a municipal performing-arts venue, which reopened on December 11, 1943.
The southern section houses a main auditorium that originally had a capacity of over four thousand people, but it has been downsized over the years. The northern section contains a largely windowless brick facade, four rehearsal studios, and a 12-story office tower.
Today, the New York City government owns the place. It hosts the Encores! musical series and the Fall for Dance Festival. The Manhattan Theatre Club moved in during 1984 and still operates out of the smaller theaters, which occupy what was originally a banquet hall beneath the main auditorium. The venue maintains its temple-like appearance while serving as a home for dance and drama.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Kyle McLonely
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