Lincoln Center Scraps a $500 Million Geffen Hall Renovation
One of the biggest cultural building projects in the country was sent back to the drawing board on Tuesday, when the new leaders of Lincoln Center and the New York Philharmonic announced they were scuttling a half-billion-dollar plan for a gut renovation of David Geffen Hall and seeking simpler ways to improve the lackluster theater.
It was a major setback for a project that has consumed the center and the Philharmonic for nearly 20 years. The latest plan, which was jump-started in 2015 with a $100 million gift from the entertainment mogul David Geffen, called for preserving the shell of the 1962 Max Abramovitz-designed building and creating a new concert hall within it.
The retrenchment is the latest reversal for a series of major New York cultural projects that have been delayed, rethought or scrapped. Earlier this year, the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced it was pushing back plans for a new $600 million modern and contemporary wing, and last month the billionaire Barry Diller abandoned his idea to build a $250 million performance center on a man-made island in the Hudson River. . .