The Edison Ballroom can host conferences, award dinners, holiday parties, product launches, weddings and Bar or Bat Mitzvahs, from about 150 guests to a full buyout of 2,298. The venue has three spaces: the Edison Ballroom itself, the South Ballroom and the Rooftop. It sits at 240 West 47th Street in Manhattan, steps from Times Square and the Broadway theaters.
Seminars and company events
The corporate offer covers conferences and meetings, galas and award ceremonies, holiday parties, product launches and fashion shows, fundraisers and Broadway opening parties. The production kit is built in and included in the contract: LED video walls and projection in all three spaces, a stage in every space, a JBL sound system with 10 adjustable zones, intelligent lighting, iMag camera and presentation playback, and a technical director for the run of show.
For a plenary session, the main ballroom seats 650 theater style or 275 classroom style. The South Ballroom takes 350 theater style and 175 classroom style, and can work as a breakout room or a dinner room next to the main session. A dedicated director of corporate events handles business bookings.
Weddings and receptions
The venue sells ceremonies, cocktails, dinner and dancing under one roof, including ceremonies on the Rooftop. The 850-square-foot stage in the main ballroom is equipped for live bands. The team states it has hosted hundreds of Bar and Bat Mitzvahs since 2008, with separate cocktail areas for children and adults. Birthdays, anniversaries and engagement parties are also sold.
Rooms and capacities
The Edison Ballroom covers 12,000 square feet over a main floor, a mezzanine and the Chandelier Room, a private lounge on the upper level that comes with every booking. It holds 1,200 guests overall, 1,000 for a buffet or cabaret layout and 350 for a seated banquet, or 550 seated across both floors. It has a 24 by 14 foot LED wall and three fixed bars plus three mobile bars.
The South Ballroom covers 5,100 square feet, with 399 guests overall, 300 buffet and 280 seated. It has a 16 by 9 foot projection screen and a stage of 200 square feet that extends to 400.
The Rooftop covers 5,700 square feet under a fully retractable glass roof, climate-controlled when closed. It holds 699 guests overall, 500 buffet and 330 seated, with a 17 by 11 foot LED wall.
Taken together, the three spaces cover 22,800 square feet: 1,160 seated, 1,800 buffet, 1,400 theater and 675 classroom.
Catering
All catering is in-house, from an on-site kitchen led by chef Mina Newman, a winner of the Food Network show Chopped. Every booked event includes a private tasting. Menus are built to order and dietary needs are handled. Outside caterers can be arranged only to meet religious dietary rules, for example kosher service.
History and setting
The main ballroom has been restored to its 1930s look, with leather wall panels, gold and silver tones, lit glass tiles and crystal chandeliers. The South Ballroom keeps Art Deco detailing. The South Ballroom and the Rooftop share a private entrance through the lobby of the Hotel Edison, and a long hallway links them to the main ballroom, so all three can run as one event.
Getting there
The address is 240 West 47th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue. Several subway lines stop within a few blocks around Times Square, and the venue is a short walk from the theaters, which explains its use for opening night parties.
