CBS 30th Street Studio, also known as Columbia 30th Street Studio, and nicknamed "The Church", was an American recording studio operated byColumbia Records from 1948 to 1981 located at 207 East 30th Street, between Second and Third Avenues in Manhattan, New York City. The property has been owned by Matvey Troitsky since 2009. Actually containing two Columbia sound rooms — “Studio C” and “Studio D” — the facility was considered by some in the music industry to offer the best-sounding recording venue of its time, while others considered it to have been the greatest recording studio in history. Numerous recordings were made there in all genres, including Ray Conniff's 'S Wonderful, Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story, Percy Faith's Theme from A Summer Place, and Pink Floyd's The Wall.
Having been a church for many years, it had been abandoned and empty for some time, and in 1948 it was transformed into a recording studio by Columbia Records. "There was one big room, and no other place in which to record", wrote John Marks in an article in Stereophile magazine in 2002. The recording studio was approximately 97 feet long by 55 feet wide, with a 50 foot high ceiling. The original control room was on the second floor being only 8 by 14 feet. Later, the control room was moved down to the ground floor. "It was huge and the room sound was incredible," recalls Jim Reeves, a sound technician who had worked in it. "I was inspired," he continues "by the fact that, aside from the artistry, how clean the audio system was."
Musical artists
Many celebrated musical artists from all genres of music used the 30th Street Studio for some of their most famous recordings. Bach: The Goldberg Variations, the 1955 debut album of the Canadian classical pianist Glenn Gould, was recorded in the 30th Street Studio. It was an interpretation of Johann Sebastian Bach'sGoldberg Variations, the work launched Gould's career as an international pianist, and became one of the best known piano recordings. On May 29, 1981, a second version of the Goldberg Variations by Glenn Gould was recorded in this studio, a year before Gould's death. It was also the last recording session in the studio. Among Rudolf Serkin's legendary recordings, Beethoven's piano sonatas, nos. 1, 6, 12, 13, 16, 21, 30, 31 and 32 were recorded there between 1967 and 1980. Vladimir Horowitz recorded his entire Masterworks discography at the studio. Other noteworthy classical musicians having recorded in this place: Igor Stravinsky, Leonard Bernstein, Bruno Walter. Jazz trumpeterMiles Davis recorded almost exclusively at the 30th Street Studio during his years under contract to Columbia, including his album Kind of Blue. Other noteworthy jazz musicians having recorded in this place include Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Dave Brubeck, Charles Mingus, and Billie Holiday. Gospel singerMahalia Jackson recorded many of her albums at "The Church," including her Christmas album Sweet Little Jesus Boy. In 1964, Bob Dylan and record producer Tom Wilson were experimenting with their own fusion of rock and folk music. The first unsuccessful test involved overdubbing a "Fats Domino early rock & roll thing" over Dylan's earlier, recording of "House of the Rising Sun", using non-electric instruments, according to Wilson. This took place in the Columbia 30th Street Studio in December 1964. While it was quickly discarded, Wilson would later use the same technique of overdubbing an electric backing track to an existing acoustic recording with Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence".
Demise
Columbia failed to buy the building when they abandoned their contracts with the studio in 1982. Columbia felt constrained by restrictions imposed by the owner, including a closing time of 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. The owner then sold it for $1.2 million, and it was quickly reacquired for $4.5 million. The building was later demolished. A 10-story residential apartment building called "The Wilshire", completed in 1985, was built on the site.
