Lincoln Center Christmas Celebration, 1958 edition

Hoping to learn more about the people displaced by the Lincoln Square project, we searched the papers of John D. Rockefeller, 3rd. Rockefeller served as president of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. Although this collection does not contain the information we hoped to find — Lincoln Center owns and has closed the relevant records to researchers — it does provide a window into the mindset of those who did the displacing. A 1958 Christmas skit is particularly telling.

Cover image from “A Day at Lincoln Square,” a play by Charles D. Atkinson, illustrated by Midgette. The iconic design of Lincoln Center overshadows a family of six, bags packed and dog in tow, presumably on their way out. Braislin, Porter & Wheelock is printed on their bags. Rockefeller Archives.

In February 1958, Lincoln Center and Fordham University hired the real estate firm of Braislin, Porter & Wheelock (BPW) to oversee relocation of 2,805 families and 483 businesses. By December, BPW and the Lincoln Square sponsors were ready to celebrate. They were on track to clear the site of people and buildings by the end of the following year, well ahead of schedule.

Complete with music and original lyrics, “A Day in Lincoln Square” was written and performed by BPW staff as part of a holiday celebration at the Empire Hotel, which still stands on the corner of 63rd and Columbus across from Lincoln Center. It featured an irascible tenant named Esplanado di Santiago, who proclaims willingness to move but keeps presenting obstacles. He sings,

I will move anywhere, anywhere, anywhere

If you’ll be reasonable, I’m not hard to please,

There are a few small requests that I think are fair,

If you’ll be nice to me, I’ll go with ease.

Queens is too aristocratic,

The Bronx is a zoo, you can’t fool me,

Kings are undemocratic,

Jersey is too far under the sea.

Brooklyn’s a place that’s much like Siberia,

Barren and cold since the Dodgers went West….

A home like my old one is just what I need.

Of course, there is some truth to this song. Many site residents were relucant to move and preferred to continue living near Lincoln Square. To them, the move meant both a loss of community and an increase in the cost of living. After relocation, the first group of Lincoln Square tenants to move ended up paying on average roughly 25% more in rent.

The show concluded with another song showcasing benefits of BPW’s work to the sponsors, supporters of arts and education, and even the displacees, who are better off as a result of redevelopment.

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts,

Fordham Un-i-ver-sity,

Will be built here in many parts,

Surmounting all adversity.

Tenants are living much closer to Paradise,

Theatre, symphony, opera, ballet,

Millions of lives will be filled with zest and spice,

A WONDERUL sight for us to display!