Flushing’s ‘Great Hall’ Unveiled As New Cultural Mecca

Queens is in the midst of a cultural renaissance that is seeing the art scene in Flushing rise up, literally, from the ground up.
Below ground, the newly renovated Main St. subway station has opened with a permanent art installation that will greet thousands of users of the Number 7 line each day (see adjoining article).
And this week, the final phase of the $8 million renovation of historic Flushing Town Hall was revealed with the unveiling of the almost completed top floor — the "Great Hall" theater that will become a major new center for music and the arts.
Jo Ann Jones, the creative and executive director of the Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts opened the second floor theater to a group of elected officials and civic and cultural leaders this week and announced that the hall will be officially dedicated with a gala cultural event on Oct. 16. The 4,000 square foot theater will have state-of-the-art sound and lighting as well as new rehearsal and storage space. But the grand architectural floor of the 1860’s-era structure will be evident. The hall was erected by the citizens of Flushing during the Civil War as an all around town meeting place. It served as home for the Flushing Civil War regiment, later it was operated as a theater and opera house. P.T. Barnum operated the hall and General Tom Thumb and singer Jenny Lind were featured performers. Ulysses Grant, Mark Twain and Theodore Roosevelt all spoke in the hall, which later served as a court house until the late 1960s.
Town Hall fell into a state of disrepair until the Flushing Arts Council took on the project to restore the structure to its former glory and operate it as both a visual and performing arts center. The first floor restoration was completed a few years ago and it has been used to present various art exhibits as well as jazz and opera performances. The opening of the "Great Hall" will permit the Council to greatly expand its programming and is expected to revitalize the Northern Blvd. area known as the "Flushing Freedom Mile."