Beyond music, one of the biggest questions we get as an event entertainment company is where we recommend having their party. This makes sense because just about every weekend we are working at a different venue. It is one of our most searched blog topics. With that in mind, we’ll be giving you some ideas on venues over the next few weeks in each of our regional locations. There’s a lot to consider: guest count, indoor/outdoor, functionality, catering, and of course, price. Today we’re going to highlight the Manhattan Penthouse in New York City. This venue and it’s sister venue, The Alger House, are run by Green Mansions Catering.
I’ve actually worked both venues and my experience at both have been great. They share a lot of the same staff at both venues and that cameraderie is on full display. It’s also obvious to see that they genuinely care about the client experience. They all are dressed in tuxedos and present themselves professionally!
As for the venue, it’s located in Greenwich Village off of 5th Avenue on the top floor (hence the penthouse in its name). It’s a very modular space and each time we’ve performed there, clients have also used it for their ceremony as well. You might as well take full advantage of the gorgeous rooftop views!
The building has three elevators which makes for little to no wait time. Upon exiting the elevator on the top floor, you will enter what is commonly used as the “cocktail hour area” or if you’re having your ceremony at the venue, it doubles as the “waiting area” before the ceremony. Lots of windows gives you a view down 5th avenue as well as 13th and 14th street. They have a large bar in that particular room and some seating as well as a few highboy tables to set your drinks on. This particular room is also equipped with a sound system…perfect for the client or the DJ to plug in an iPod solution for cocktail hour. It is a private room which can be closed from the main room so guests won’t get an early peak of the main room.
As you make your way into the main room, they have the asian style zen Shoji room dividers which hide the pre-set reception tables if you’re having your ceremony in there first. The is a very open room…no permanent bar in this room (guests generally go back to the other room when they are looking to get another drink) so it really is an open canvas to do what you want.
The main room can seat at least 150-200 comfortably for a ceremony. The DJ is set-up in their “reception spot” and can play music for both the ceremony and reception. They won’t be in the view of pictures and makes for a stress-free, one-time set-up for them.
Once the ceremony is complete, guests are led back to the other room while the venue staff transforms the main room to a reception-ready space! With tables pre-set, this transition is virtually seamless. One of the other big perks of this venue are the pin-spot lights which can highlight centerpieces on every table as well as the cake table. 120-150 guest count feels comfortable with tables. The events we’ve worked there have had 100-150 in attendance.
The food is excellent! The catering company does a phenomenal job not only with presentation but taste and service as well! The room doesn’t come equipped with any speciality lighting so the DJ would need to either bring dance effect lighting or the client would want to consider hiring a lighting company. The house lights are dimmable, however, which is great for dinner service and dancing. The main room has great acoustics and the sound is great! While there appears to be speakers in the main room, we’ve always brought our own PA system. I’m not sure if their sound system is rentable or not in the main room.
In closing, what separates this venue from a lot of others, is that this is strictly an event space. That means they know how to run an event. This can’t be overstated enough. Additionally, the views are magnificent. I’ll leave you with this picture I took in dining room where you could see the Freedom Tower through the sunset. Stunning!
