Audubon Ballroom
Revision as of 03:24, 23 November 2007 by Pacman (talk | contribs) (New page: The '''Audubon Ballroom''' in Washington Heights was the site of Malcolm X's assassination and later of a Columbia expansion controversy. Two years after Malcolm X's assassination, th...)
The Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights was the site of Malcolm X's assassination and later of a Columbia expansion controversy.
Two years after Malcolm X's assassination, the ballroom was shut down by the city for failure to pay back taxes and eventually sold to Columbia, which planned to demolish it as part of a planned redevelopment adjacent to the Medical Center. Protests and lawsuits ensued, notably a 1992 student protest that involved the takeover of Hamilton Hall. Eventually, Columbia decided to preserve the building but incorporate it into its expansion plans. It has now been painstakingly restored and features a mural and statue dedicated to Malcolm X. Its official name is the Mary Woodward Lasker Biomedical Research Building.
