The Brill Building
1619 Broadway at 49th Street
Opened: 1931
The Brill Building was the the center of American music publishing in the mid 20th century. Shortly after the building was built for the Brill Brothers clothing store, the depression forced the owners to rent office space to music publishers. By 1962 it was a one-stop music factory with 165 music businesses that could have songs written, arranged, copied, recorded into demos, published and promoted.
Although the Brill Building was active through many changes in popular music style, it's name is associated with the catchy 1960s pop tunes created by songwriting teams Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Carole King and Gerry Goffen, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weill, and Mort Schuman and Doc Pomus, among others. Brill Building pop reached its zenith with the productions of Phil Spector and its roster of hits is familiar to anyone who listened to the radio in the 1960s or listens to oldies stations today. (reference) (reference)
The Brill Building
The Brill Building