Ragtime was big when Roseland opened and the swing era played-out within its walls. Sinatra found a home here and much later so did Kanye West.
"When you get a chance to see a big artist like a Kanye West or a Radiohead in a place like Roseland, It's really exciting. You feel like you're right there, you're really interacting with the artist. They're right in front of you," Simon Vah-zick Levinson from "Rolling Stone" magazine says.
He says the chance to be a witness to rock history one last time convinced him to join Lady Gaga's fans at the last show in this storied hall.
"Roseland is closing now I think because the rents are high because that is an incredibly coveted piece of real estate. I've heard plans that they plan to replace it with a skyscraper," said Levinson.
Like C.B.G.B's on the Lower East Side, the big hall in Midtown fell victim to the high price of Manhattan real estate.
"That's what it comes down to and we've seen this with so many landmarks in New York. It happens all the time and it's really too bad for the people who treasure a venue like Roseland," said Levinson.
Lady Gaga grew-up north of Roseland and first found her voice not far from there so it sure makes sense she be the final artist to play where so many legendary entertainers have performed over so many years.
