Tarrytown Music Hall Named to State Historic Business Preservation Registry

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State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins presents Executive Director Bjorn Olsson with a citation naming the Tarrytown Music Hall to the New York State Historic Business Preservation Registry

April 15, 2022

By Rick Pezzullo—

The Tarrytown Music Hall has been named to the New York State Historic Business Preservation Registry.

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The oldest performing arts theater in Westchester County was nominated for the distinction by State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, who is presenting Music Hall Executive Director Bjorn Olsson with official documents on April 18. The 137-year-old Music Hall is already on the National Register of Historic Places.

“There is something special about seeing a performance in a historical venue like the Music Hall. Whether you are watching a classical pianist or a comedy act, you feel as if you’ve stepped back in time,” Stewart-Cousins stated.

This is the inaugural year for the registry, which was created by the state Legislature to recognize businesses that have been in operation for at least 50 years and have contributed to their communities’ history. Each senator was asked to nominate one business for inclusion.

“This theater has been at the heart of its community for 137 years,” Olsson said. “Senator Stewart-Cousins has always understood the importance of the Music Hall for Westchester, both as a cultural institution and an economic engine. On behalf of the Music Hall team, current and all the generations before us, we want to express our gratitude to be one of the first to be added to this registry.”

“Not only are you the heart of this village,” Stewart-Cousins told Olsson at the presentation ceremony, “but you are worthy of being my nominee and my designee for the New York State Historic Business Registry.”

The State Senator Majority Leader added: “With this doesn’t come a lot of money, but it does come with promotion by the state’s tourism [board] and also the recognition that you are a destination.”

Built in 1885, the Music Hall has hosted vaudeville shows, piano recitals, horse shows, and even Saturday afternoon roller skating. Irving Berlin, Mae West, Dave Brubeck, Louis Armstrong, Pete Seeger, B.B. King and Miles Davis are just some of the legendary performers to grace its stage.

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