Musicians all over the world have dreamed of playing in Carnegie Hall ever since 1891, when none other than Tchaikovsky - direct from Russia - came to conduct his own work on opening night. Designed by William Barnet Tuthill, who was also an amateur cellist, this renowned concert hall was paid for almost entirely by Andrew Carnegie. Outside, the stout, square brown building has a few Moorish-style arches added, almost as an afterthought, to the facade. Inside, however, the simply decorated 2,804-seat white auditorium is one of the world's finest. The hall has attracted the world's leading orchestras and solo and group performers, from Arturo Toscanini and Leonard Bernstein to Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, the Beatles and thousands of others.

Carnegie Hall was extensively restored in the 1980s; a subsequent mid 1990s renovated removed concrete from beneath the stage's wooden floor, vastly improving the acoustics. The work also increased the size of the lobby and added the small Rose Museum. Located just east of the main auditorium, it displays mementos from the hall's illustrious history, such as a Benny Goodman clarinet and Arturo Toscanini's baton.