The capacity of the ballroom is dependent on the configuration of the room; it seats 2,000 people for theatrical productions and musical performances, and several thousand for events held within a central ring.

[3] The two main balconies – which are unusually close to the ground and gently sloped – seat a total of 1,200.

This led to the elaborately decorated theater being used for a variety of events, including vaudeville.

[1] The ownership of the center changed hands multiple times over the next few decades, with the theater being converted into a large ballroom and being used as a Freemason's temple in the 1930s and a trade union headquarters in the 1940s before falling into disuse in the 1970s, before being bought by Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church, the ballroom's current owner.

[1] The Hammerstein Ballroom has seen performances from a wide variety of musical acts and its popularity has varied over the years due mainly to competition within the neighborhood.