The Audubon Ballroom was built in 1912 by film producer
William Fox, who later founded the
Fox Film Corporation. Fox hired
Thomas W. Lamb, one of the foremost American theater architects, to design the building. The building contained a theatre with 2500 seats, and a second-floor ballroom that could accommodate 200 seated guests. During its history, the Audubon Ballroom was used as a
vaudeville house, a movie theater, and a meeting hall where political activists often met. At around the same time, several trade unions, including the Municipal Transit Workers, the IRT Brotherhood Union, and the
Transport Workers' Union, utilized the meeting rooms. Among the many events held at the Ballroom was the annual New York Mardi Gras Festival. They were also unable to persuade the
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission to hold a hearing on giving the building landmark status. a
public-private partnership between
Columbia University Medical Center and the New York
state and
city governments. In return, two-thirds of the Audubon Ballroom's original facade – the part along Broadway and West 165th Street – would be preserved and restored. In addition, a portion of the interior ballroom where Malcolm X was killed was restored and protected, to be made into a museum honoring him. on a ship above the entrance In 2005, the
Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center opened in the lobby to commemorate the contributions Malcolm X made to the civil rights movement. ==Architecture==