In 1902, construction on the New Amsterdam began, making it a contender for the oldest surviving theater in Broadway. The Theatre was designed by Henry Hertz and Hugh Tallant, an architectural firm famous for their designs of theaters, in an Art Nouveau style. Construction on the New Amsterdam lasted until 1903, and on its opening day it put on a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. For decades, the New Amsterdam was immensely popular, showcasing comedies, tragedies, and all other sorts of theatrical performances. It even hosted shows some considered racier in the rooftop theatre of the New Amsterdam. Though the New Amsterdam was immensely popular, its success did not last forever.

As the Great Depression pressured the United States, the New Amsterdam closed in 1936 due to financial difficulties. A revival was attempted in 1937 with limited productions, but it was not enough, and the New Amsterdam was made into a movie theater, and its first film was, ironically, a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The New Amsterdam continued to show films for decades as the building itself deteriorated, and the Theatre switched hands several times in the following decades. However, as Times Square was undergoing redevelopment, Walt Disney CEO Michael Eisner took notice of the New Amsterdam and resolved to have it restored to its former glory. It was re-opened on May 18, 1997, with a concert performance of King David, but it was not until November 13 of the same year that the New Amsterdam received rave reviews for its production of The Lion King. Since then, the New Amsterdam has continued to delight theatre-goers with its Broadway performances.

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The New Amsterdam Theatre is one of several Broadway theaters in Manhattan’s Theater District. Opened in 1903, the New Amsterdam saw major popularity, but it did suffer financial troubles and closed several times following the Great Depression. The New Amsterdam is currently leased by The Walt Disney Company and is the premier location for watching Disney-based Broadway shows. Popular performances at the New Amsterdam Theatre include Lion King, Aladdin, and Mary Poppins. 

New Amsterdam Theatre

This walking tour includes a baker's dozen of the leading Broadway theaters in New York City in less than one mile. The tour ends at the Richard Rogers Theatre, home of the Tony Award-winning Hamilton. As always, users can alter their itinerary to include additional theaters and other historic sites.

History of Broadway-New York Historical Theater Tour

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Orson Welles Orson Welles was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin in 1915. He had early theatrical success after studying theatre in Ireland. By the time he was 19, Welles had made it onto Broadway in a production of Romeo and Juliet. In this Broadway production, he met John Houseman, who he would start the Mercury Theatre with.&nbsp; After his success in New York with the Mercury Theater, later The Campbell Playhouse, he moved to L.A., where he tried his hand at filmmaking. At the age of 25, Welles made the iconic film&nbsp;Citizen Cane (1941). At the time, the film was a bomb in the box office. However, the film would later be recognized for innovations in filmmaking and storytelling. After&nbsp;Citizen Cane, Welles had up and down success in Hollywood, even exiling himself for ten years from the city because of his hatred for producers there. Nevertheless, he is recognized&nbsp;as one of the greatest artists of his time, having helped shape both the radio and film industries.&nbsp; The Theatre Olson Welles, only 21 at the time, and John Houseman started the Mercury Theatre in 1937 after successfully producing the opera,&nbsp;The Cradle Will Rock, and a version of&nbsp;Macbeth which included an all-Black cast. Originally, the Mercury Theatre was a venue for stage productions. One of the most famous productions was&nbsp;Julius Caesar which took a stab at Fascist Italy. After the success of early stage productions, the Theatre moved onto radio broadcasting with a program called Mercury Theatre on the Air.&nbsp; The Mercury Theatre on the Air's&nbsp;dramatic broadcast of H.G. Well's novel&nbsp;War of the Worlds is today the most recognized broadcast to come from the Theatre. At the time, many people listening to the broadcast did not know that it was fake. They thought aliens were actually invading and began trying to get out of town and avoid the extraterrestrials at all cost. Welles was forced to go on the air and tell everyone that it was only a story and the planet wasn't under attack. Luckily for Welles, the broadcast helped launch his career even further as he was given a contract from Hollywood soon after. In 1938, the name of the Theatre was changed to The Campbell Playhouse, and it was moved to Hollywood in 1939. Welles left The Campbell Playhouse in 1940.&nbsp;

The Mercury Theatre was a repertory company formed in 1937 by John Houseman and Orson Welles, who was only 21-years-old at the time. The success of the group's first production, Julius Caesar, helped the company secure the use of the Comedy Theater which was located on this corner from 1909 to 1942. The theater was renamed the Mercury Theatre in 1937 and became the Artef Theatre shortly after Orson Welles moved to California in 1939. The group performed at the theater until 1940, however, it was a radio program called The Mercury Theatre on the Air that led Orson Welles' rise and his most famous performant, the farcical "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast. 

Comedy Theatre (1909-1942) and Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre (1937-1941)

The Nederlander Theatre opened on September 1, 1921 as the
National Theatre. Walter C. Jordan commissioned architect William Neil Smith to
design the building, and the Shubert Organization managed the venue. Seating
1,200, the National was in the early Renaissance style, with burnished Italian
walnut and gold detailing. The opening play, starring Sidney Howard and Clare
Eames, was Swords. Other plays to
appear on the National Theatre's stage in its first decade included Hamlet, Cyrano de Bergerac, The Cat and the
Canary, The Trial of Mary Dugan starring Ann Harding, and Spencer Tracy in Yellow. Houdini also performed at the
National. The Shuberts bought the theater from Jordan in 1927.

&nbsp;

Despite the Great Depression, the National continued to
produce hits throughout the 1930s, including Tallulah Bankhead's performance in
Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes, Orson
Welles and his Mercury Theatre players in Julius
Caesar and The Shoemaker's Holiday,
Noël Coward in Tonight at 8:30, and
Herman Shumlin's Grand Hotel starring Eugenie Leontovich, Sam Jaffe
and Henry Hull. In the 1940s, Ethel Barrymore starred in The Corn Is Green at the National, and The Patriots won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. Margaret
Sullavan and Joseph Cotton starred in Sabrina
Fair in 1953, and in 1955 the National's production of Inherit the Wind won Tony Awards for Paul Muni, Ed Begley, and set
designer Peter Larkin.

&nbsp;

During a U.S. anti-trust investigation, the Shuberts sold
the National to Billy Rose in 1959. After refurbishing the building and
renaming it the Billy Rose Theatre, the producer/songwriter re-opened on
October 18, 1959. Under Rose's management, the theater was home to the Tony
Award winning productions of Private
Lives and Who's Afraid of Virginia
Woolf? In 1978, the theater was bought by the Nederlander Organization and was
named the Trafalgar for its first year. Two productions were staged at the
Trafalgar: Whose Life Is It Anyway? and
Betrayal. In 1980, the venue was
renamed after David Tobias Nederlander, the father of James and Joseph
Nederlander, who continue to operate the Organization. Lena Horne's one-woman
show, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music
(1981) won a special Tony Award.

&nbsp;

From 1987-1989, the Nederlander served as a church, but
returned to theatrical use. The theater was in need of renovation, but just as
the work began in 1996, the producers of rock opera Rent approached the Nederlander in the hopes that the run-down
venue might be the perfect place for their show. The facade and interior were
redesigned to look like a downtown nightclub. Jonathan Larson, the author and
songwriter, died shortly before Rent
began its twelve-year run at the Nederlander Theatre, beginning on April 29,
1996 and running until September 7, 2008. After Rent closed, the full renovation began. Since then, the Nederlander
Theatre has been home to dramas and musicals including Guys and Dolls, Newsies! The Musical, Dangerous Games, Wind in the
Willows, Strange Interlude, and Beethoven's
Tenth.

The Nederlander Theatre has been known as the National Theatre (1921-1959), the Billy Rose Theatre (1959-1979), and the Trafalgar (1979) before acquiring its present name in 1980. Before refurbishing the theater in the 1990s, the Nederlander Organization left the run-down look while it staged a 12-year run of the rock opera Rent. In 2008, the original Renaissance-style wood and gold interior was restored, and the theater now seats 1,200 for Broadway musicals and dramas.

Nederlander Theatre

The American Airlines Theatre began its life as the Selwyn Theatre in 1918. Theatrical producers Edgar and Archie Selwyn hired architect George Keister, who designed the Selwyn in Italian Renaissance style. Keister's design included showers and telephones in each dressing room, and--new in theater designs--separate smoking rooms for men and women. By 1934, the venue had become a movie theater. During the 1950s, the Selwyn preceded every movie screening with a one-hour play, producing thirty live shows per week, but double features took over until the 1990s. The New 42nd Street, Inc., an organization dedicated to restoring 42nd Street through renovating its theaters, bought the property, and in 1997 leased the venue, long-term, to the Roundabout Theatre Company. The Roundabout Theatre Company a non-profit, subscription-based company which, in addition to producing plays and musicals, has established educational initiatives and an institutional archive. Beginning with classic revivals, the company expanded its repertoire to incorporate classic musicals in 1993. In 1995, Roundabout started the New Play Initiative, which focuses on producing works of emerging and current playwrights. The company relocated five times before acquiring the vacant Selwyn, which was in need of restoration. After a $24 million capital campaign, financed by the City of New York and American Airlines, among others, the Selwyn's original ceiling dome, murals, and neo-Renaissance style were restored, with Robert Ascione and Frank Eliam as the architects. In 2000, the venue reopened as the American Airlines Theatre, the Roundabout Theatre Company's "flagship".

American Airlines Theatre, considered the "flagship" of the Roundabout Theatre Company, opened in 2000, after an extensive renovation and restoration of the original features of the Selwyn Theatre. The Renaissance-style Selwyn was built in 1918 and designed by George Keister. The Roundabout Theatre Company is a non-profit, subscription-based company. Popular performance debuts at the theatre include The Man Who Came to Dinner (2000) and The Women (2001). 

American Airlines Theatre

Theatre Republic to The Victory (1900-1972)

Oscar Hammerstein built the Venetian facade of the Theatre Republic in 1900. The neighboring Victoria Theatre (also owned by Hammerstein) shared with the Theatre Republic the Paradise Roof Gardens, a miniature Dutch village. The village even included live ducks, chickens, and cows, whose fresh milk was provided to visiting children by a milkmaid. The interior dome of the Republic featured cherubs with lyres. Lionel Barrymore debuted in the Republic's opening performance, Sag Harbor.



David Belasco took over the Republic in 1902, renamed it after himself, and installed an orchestra pit, new lighting, and a modern stage with trap door features. He also installed a glass canopy at the entrance. Some notable performers at the then-Belasco Theatre included Mary Pickford, Lillian Gish, Tyrone Power, and George Arliss. Abie's Irish Rose, beginning its run at the former Republic in 1923, ran for 2,327 performances--the third longest run in the history of Broadway.&nbsp;In the 1930s, Billy Minsky took over the venue, which was renamed Minsky's Republic. Minksy's was Broadway's first burlesque club, featuring Gypsy Rose Lee, among others. The venue was redecorated and the canopy replaced with a marquee. The center aisle was replaced with a double runway. Though the content of the shows was bawdy comedy, the dress code was Black tie. When Mayor LaGuardia banned burlesque in 1942, Minsky's was renamed The Victory, and the venue became a first-run film theater. The Times Square neighborhood declined throughout the ensuing decades, and The Victory became a pornographic movie theater in 1972.&nbsp;The New 42nd Street (1990 - present)



As the neighborhood became more neglected and dangerous, the City and State of New York decided to redevelop the area. In 1990, the nonprofit organization, The New 42nd Street, was formed. Its goal was the revitalize the historic theaters of 42nd Street. The New Victory Theater was the first venue to be restored; architect Hugh Hardy's renovation cost $11.4 million and was completed in December of 1995. The Venetian facade, double staircase, and wrought-iron lamps from the Theatre Republic were restored, and the interior, though modernized for the convenience of families, still contains the original cherubs and one original lyre decorating the dome. Now, the New Victory Theater is a Broadway venue for children and families, offering theater, dance, circus, opera, and world music. The New Victory has won the National Arts and Humanities Program Award and Drama Desk Award for its performances and community outreach through school partnerships and summer workshops. Hands-on arts and crafts, acting, and dance activities are offered before and after shows.

The New Victory Theater is a Broadway venue for children and families, offering theater, dance, circus, opera, and world music. The New Victory has won the National Arts and Humanities Program Award and Drama Desk Award for its performances and community outreach through school partnerships and summer workshops. Hands-on arts and crafts, acting, and dance activities are offered before and after shows. The New Victory opened in 2005. The building was formerly the Theatre Republic, which was opened by Oscar Hammerstein in 1900.

New Victory Theater

Originally opened as the Henry Miller Theater in 1918, the Stephen Sondheim Theatre was rebuilt within the original neo-Georgian facade in 2010. London-born actor, producer, playwright, and director Henry W. Miller commissioned architects Allen, Ingalls, and Hoffman to design the Henry Miller Theater when he moved to New York in 1917. On May 26, 1919, the musical La La Lucille! debuted, the first musical with a score composed entirely by George Gershwin. Henry Miller died in 1926, but his family continued to operate the theater, which went on to host the Broadway debut of Our Town in 1938, and Angela Landsbury's Broadway debut in Hotel Paradiso in 1957.&nbsp;In 1968, Miller's son Gilbert sold the theater to Seymour Durst. The building was converted into a pornographic movie theater and, from 1978-1984, a discotheque called Xenon. The facade was designated a New York City Landmark in 1987, and the building was purchased and renovated by Roundabout Theatre Company in 1998. The theater reopened with a Tony Award-winning production of Cabaret&nbsp;but was forced to close again due to a crane collapse during construction on an adjacent building. The interior of the theater was demolished during construction of the Bank of America Tower, and the architectural firm of Cook+Fox designed a new theater within the original facade (which is now located inside the Band of America Tower). In 2010, the theater was renamed the Stephen Sondheim after the American composer, to mark his 80th birthday. It is the first Broadway theater to receive LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold status.

Originally opened as the Henry Miller Theater in 1918, the Stephen Sondheim Theatre was rebuilt within the original facade in 2010. The Allen, Ingalls, and Hoffman designed facade was declared a New York City Landmark in 1987, and the new interior by Cook+Fox Architects is the first Broadway theater design to receive LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold status. 

Stephen Sondheim Theater

The League for Political Education began as an equal suffrage organization.&nbsp;The organization established&nbsp;Town Hall in the 1920s&nbsp;and used this venue to host debates and&nbsp;discussions about contemporary issues of the 1920s. The 19th Amendment&nbsp;recognizing women's right to vote was passed while the building was being constructed. On January 12, 1921, The Town Hall opened. The architects' design, which offers no box seats,&nbsp;was based on the democratic attitudes of the League. On November 13 of its opening year, The Town Hall held a public meeting on birth control. Margaret Sanger, founder of the American Birth Control League (now Planned Parenthood), was arrested onstage during the event. In addition to public meetings and educational programs, the Town Hall also held musical and dance performances. During the 1920s, the venue hosted performances by German composer Richard Strauss, Spanish cellist Pablo Casals, dancer and founder of the Society of Spiritual Arts Ruth St. Denis, Spanish guitarist Andres Segovia, and actor and singer Paul Robeson, the son of a former slave who went on to tour Europe and America, acting in both Broadway productions and films. The Town Hall also held a memorial on August 23, 1929, for Sacco and Vanzetti, who belonged to a group of Boston political radicals and who were wrongfully executed in 1927. During the 1930s, The Town Hall began a series of live radio broadcasts called America's Town Meeting of the Air. These broadcasts promoted the free exchange of ideas through live dialogues among four speakers on a given topic, with the live audience participating in the conversation. The first of the series was broadcast on Memorial Day, 1935, on a single station with 500,000 listeners. Only three years later, 78 stations with a total of &nbsp;2.5 million listeners carried the series, which ran for over twenty years. Some Town Meetings of note include the Young America Looks Forward broadcast on February 27, 1936, chaired by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The conversation promoted education and outreach to high schools and colleges. On May 8, 1938, Nobel Prize winning novelist Pearl S. Buck, Carl Sandburg, Forest Ray Moulton, and Frank Kingdon discussed "What is Humanity's Greatest Need Today?" On February 17, 1944, Langston Hughes was one of the speakers in a Town Meeting broadcast entitled, "Let's Face the Race Question". The prevention of world famine was the topic for a broadcast on May 2, 1946, at which former Mayor of New York Fiorello LaGuardia was one of the speakers. Senator Joseph McCarthy, Elias Arnall, Edward Arthur Hayes, and Leo Cherne discussed "Should the Communist Party be Outlawed in the United States" on April 3, 1947. In October of the same year, the improvement of race and religious relationships in America was the topic for a Town Meeting broadcast. Among the speakers was playwright, congresswoman, and ambassador Clare Boothe Luce. Luce was the second woman to serve as a United States Ambassador, worked as the managing editor of Vanity Fair and a war correspondent for Life magazine, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. A Town Meeting on November 1, 1949, discussed whether America depended too much on the government for general welfare; Senator Hubert Humphrey (later Vice President to Lyndon B. Johnson) and Owen Brewster were the speakers. Notable performances of the 1930s include Austrian tenor, composer, and conductor Richard Tauber; Russian composer, pianist, and conductor Sergei Rachmaninov; singer, actor, painter, and sculptor Fyodor Chaliapan; child prodigy pianist Ruth Slenczynski; contralto Marian Anderson, who later became the first African-American to perform at the New York Metropolitan Opera and won The Congressional Gold Medal and American Freedom Medal; violinist Isaac Stern; singer and philanthropist Alice Tully, who won the Handel Medallion and the National Medal of the Arts; and French-American soprano Lily Pons. In the 1940s, The Town Hall hosted performances by jazz musicians Billie Holiday, Eddie Condon, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, Sarah Vaughan and Lester Young, and Burl Ives. Notable performances of the 1950s included actress and singer Lotte Lenya, the Billy Taylor Trio, jazz legend Duke Ellington, flamenco guitarist Carlos Montoya, African-American opera singer Betty Allen, the debut of soprano Leontyne Price with the American Opera Society, the Thelonius Monk Orchestra, singer and pianist Nina Simone, and Russian composer and Soviet exile Igor Stravinsky. Bob Dylan's first major concert was held at The Town Hall on April 12, 1963. Other folk singers who performed at the Hall during the '60s include Judy Collins and Pete Seeger. Cabaret singers Mabel Mercer and Bobby Short performed together on May 18, 1969.The Town Hall began the Legendary Ladies series on February 11, 1973, with Bette Davis. The series later featured Joan Crawford, Sylvia Sydney, Myrna Loy, Rosalind Russell, and Lana Turner. During the 1980s, the Blue Note jazz label was revitalized, and the Hall hosted live recordings featuring Ron Carter, Tony Williams, Herbie Hancock, tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, flutist James Newton, and vibraphonist Bobbie Hutercherson. Other performances during the decade included the Philip Glass Ensemble, opera soprano Harolyn Blackwell, classical guitarist Sharon Isbin, Gene Harris and the Philip Morris Superband, and the Not Just Jazz series featuring composer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer Meredith Monk. A musical of Archy &amp; Mehitable was performed at the Town Hall in 1989.

Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, the venue has continued to host jazz, opera, and classical performances, as well as rock concerts and comedy shows, including Eddie Izzard and Robin Williams. The Town Hall also features educational outreach programs focusing on arts in education for New York City public schools. In addition to performances, the Town Hall offers free guided tours including information about the history and architecture of the venue and its role in the history and culture of New York, as well as in the history of human rights.

Early suffragists established The Town Hall as the headquarters of the League for Political Education and built this as a space for women and progressive men to meet and discuss topics related to education and various contemporary issues during the 1920s. Today, the building is a National Historical Landmark-a designation stemming from its historical significance as this venue provided a forum for influential American figures from Margaret Sanger to Langston Hughes to reach a public audience. The venue also hosted national radio broadcasts of a program called America's Town Meeting of the Air starting in 1935. Additionally, the Town Hall hosted many important meetings related to the rights of women, as well as the Black Freedom Movement. It has also hosted various classical, jazz, and folk musicians over the years. 

The Town Hall

When David Belasco envisioned his theatre, he pictured a living room. He wanted to be part of the “Little Theater” movement. The idea was that the closer the audience was to the show, the better their experience would be. George Keister, architect of the Apollo Theater in Harlem, designed the theater.&nbsp; His design required the playhouse to be built in a residential building, fulfilling Belasco’s desire for an intimate space for his audience. The theatre seats 1,016 guests. &nbsp;Everett Shinn was responsible for&nbsp;the interior décor, including 18 murals he painted himself. The theatre was equipped with state-of-the-art technology for the time like extensive lighting rigs and hydraulics system. The theater opened in October 1907 as the Stuyvesant.&nbsp;&nbsp;David Balasco was known as the “Bishop of Broadway.” He was a playwright, set designer, producer, and director. He owned two theatres: one on 42nd&nbsp;Street and the Stuyvesant on 44th&nbsp;Street. He had named the 42nd&nbsp;Street Theatre the Belasco for himself when he leased it from Oscar Hammerstein. However, in 1910 the 42nd&nbsp;Street Theatre took the name Republic (although it is now the New Victory Theatre) and the Stuyvesant on 44th&nbsp;Street permanently became the Belasco.&nbsp;David Balasco passed away on May 14, 1931 at the age of 71. His theatre continued to be associated with numerous theatre production groups—some were successful, others were not. The Belasco’s longest running show was&nbsp;Dead End, under the direction of Sidney Kingsley. The show opened in October of 1935 and ran for 684 performances. Other popular shows were the&nbsp;Your Arms Too Short to Box With God&nbsp;&nbsp;in 1980 and&nbsp;Ain’t Misbehavin.&nbsp;&nbsp;Both were moved to the Belasco from other theatres (the Ambassador and the Plymouth).&nbsp;Oh! Calcutta!&nbsp;was another notable show to reign at the Belasco. It moved to the Belasco in 1971 from the Eden Theatre. It is known for its racy all-nude cast and explicit sexual scenes. The theatre was also housed the original (but still popular)&nbsp;Rocky Horror Show&nbsp;from Britain in 1975.In 2009, President Obama visited the theatre with his wife, First Lady Michelle Obama. The Belasco was one of the few theatres left that had been built with a separate entrance for the balcony designed for African American patrons to enter through to create a segregated audience. The President and his First Lady—the first Black president and his wife—entered through the front door. Later that year, the theatre closed for renovation and reopened in the fall of 2010.&nbsp; The Belasco&nbsp;continues to be a home for the arts hosting productions that come to New York and is still run by the Shubert Organization.

The Belasco Theater has stood in the heart of Broadway for over one- hundred years. When it opened in October of 1907, it was one of the most technologically advanced theaters on Broadway for its time. Its owner, David Belasco, changed the playhouse's name to the Belasco Theater in 1910 after himself. He lived in a duplex built above the theatre until his death in 1930. The Belasco came under the ownership of the Shubert Organization in 1948 and continues to be run by the organization today.  



Belasco Theatre 

One of the oldest Broadway theaters, the Hudson Theatre opened in 1903.
The theater was the work of producer Henry Harris, who would later die on the Titanic. His wife, Renee, was one of the
last people rescued from the ship, and continued to operate the theater
following her husband’s death. The theater was completed by the firm of Israels
and Harder, and was praised for its unique architectural features, including its
100-foot long lobby, the largest on Broadway at that time. Though its façade is
relatively simple, its interior was stunning—a mixture of Beaux-Arts,
Neo-Classical, and Neo-Renaissance styles. It had a triple-domed ceiling and
was richly adorned with Roman-themed pieces and Tiffany glass.&nbsp;

The theater debuted with the play Cousin
Kate, starring Ethel Barrymore. That play only ran a few weeks, but the
theater would go on to premier a number of acclaimed performances. Some of the
biggest stars on Broadway performed at the Hudson, including Helen Hayes,
Douglas Fairbanks, and William Holden. Barbara Stanwyck made her debut at the
theater.&nbsp;

During the Depression, Renee Harris was forced to sell the theater. In
the mid-twentieth century, the theater was used by NBC as a television studio,
and it was there that the first nationwide broadcast of “The Tonight Show”
starring Steve Allen premiered in 1956. For a time in the 1960s, it once again
functioned as a Broadway theater before being used as an adult theater and a
rock club in the 1970s and 1980s, respectively. Until being named a New York
City Landmark in 1987, the building was more than once threatened with
demolition.&nbsp;

By the end of the twentieth century, the property was being used as an
event center for the adjacent Macklowe and Millennium Hotels. It reopened as a
Broadway theater in February of 2017 with a run of Sunday in the Park with George, starring Jake Gyllenhaal.&nbsp;

At once one of the oldest and newest theaters on Broadway, the Hudson
is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Hudson Theatre is one of the oldest surviving theaters in the city. It opened in 1903, and immediately became one of the city’s premier theatrical venues. Over the years, the theater has gone through a number of incarnations, functioning as a live theater venue, a television studio, a night club, and an event space. The theater reopened as a Broadway theater in 2017. It is a New York City Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Hudson Theatre

The Lyceum Theatre, built in 1903, is the oldest continually operating theater on Broadway, one of the two oldest theaters on Broadway (the other is the New Amsterdam), and the first Broadway theater to achieve landmark status (1974).The Beaux-Arts theater was designed by architects Herts &amp; Tallant, New York City's premier theater architects. By designing cantilevered balconies, the architects avoided the necessity of using columnns which would interfere with views of the stage. Instead of a traditional chandelier, the lighting features bare bulbs installed throughout the decorative plasterwork, producing a soft, golden glow in the interior. The lobby features marble paneling and murals by James Wall Finn, depicting British eighteenth-century stage stars Sarah Siddons and David Garrick.&nbsp;Daniel Frohman, the first owner of the Lyceum, was one of the first theater impresarios to construct a theater in the Times Square area. He and his family lived in an apartment above the Lyceum, from which the stage could be viewed through a small door in the dining room. Daniel and his brother, Charles Frohman, partnered on many of the early productions&nbsp;until Charles drowned in 1915. Some notable performers who have appeared at the Lyceum include William Gillette, Ethel Barrymore, Billie Burke, Walter Huston, Bette Davis, Judy Holliday, Joseph Cotton, John Garfield, Montgomery Clift, Ruth Gordon, Melvyn Douglas, Alan Bates, Lauren Bacall, Angela Lansbury, Billy Dee Williams, Helen Hayes, Rosemary Harris, and Jefferson Mays. Whoopi Goldberg's Broadway debut in 1984 was also on the Lyceum's stage. Some of the Lyceum's notable shows include the 1950 debut of The Country Girl, the 1955 debut of A Hatful of Rain, and the 2003 debut of I am My Own Wife.



The Lyceum was designated a New York City Landmark in 1974. It is now owned by the Schubert Organization, and the apartment above the Lyceum houses the Schubert Archives, with over 100 years of records including costume and set designs, scripts, music, publicity materials, photographs, correspondence, business records, and architectural plans, available to researchers since 1986.

The Lyceum Theatre, built in 1903, is the oldest continually operating theater on Broadway, one of the two oldest theaters on Broadway (the other is the New Amsterdam), and the first Broadway theater to achieve landmark status (1974). The Theatre is famous for productions such as "The Country Girl" (1950), "Hatful of Rain" (1955), and "I Am My Own Wife" (2003). The architects, Herts & Tallant, were known for their work on theatres, and the Lyceum Theatre was one of their best works. The Theatre includes a grey limestone facade, Corinthian columnns, two grand staircases, and marble finish. 

Lyceum Theatre

The story of Sardi's began in 1921 in the basement of a brownstone located at 246 West 44th St. when Vincent Sardi opened a small restaurant appropriately called "Little Restaurant." Over time, actors and theater goers began to simply call it "Sardi's." In 1927, 246 was demolished to make room for the new St. James Theater, so Sardi's moved to 234 West 44th, where it still remains.In the early years during the Great Depression, Sardi's struggled to turn profit. Vincent Sardi thought of the idea to bring the famous faces of Broadway to life through caricatures. The first artist Sardi hired was Russian-born Alex Gard. Gard was not paid with money but instead was offered two meals a day at Sardi's in exchange for his artistic talents. In total, Gard produced more than 700 of the famous caricatures gracing the walls of Sardi's.  Sardi's became the favorite New York watering hole for well-known names such as columnist Walter Winchell, Liza Minnelli, Lauren Bacall, James Cagney, Fred Astaire, and musical composer Stephen Sondheim. In addition, Sardi's was the birthplace of the Tony Award. When the actress and American Theater Wing founder Antoinette Perry died in 1946, her partner was eating at Sardi's when he came up with the idea to name an award in her honor. For years thereafter, the Tony Award winners were announced from Sardi's.In 1947, Vincent retired from the restaurant business and handed it over to his son Vincent, Jr. For over 60 years, Vincent Sardi, Jr. was the face of Sardi's and was dubbed the "unofficial mayor of Broadway." In 1958, with the restaurant grossing over a million dollars a year, Sardi opened "Sardi's East" on East 54th St.; the restaurant was not as successful as the original and he sold it 10 years later. As the 1970s and 80s progressed, the Theatre District of New York began to decline and Sardi sold the restaurant for more than $6 million in 1985, only to resume ownership six years later. Vincent Sardi, Jr. continued to own the restaurant bearing his family's name until his death in 2007.The Theatre District of New York has drastically changed since Sardi's first opened at 234 West 44th St. in 1927. However, both Vincent and Vincent Sardi, Jr. were creative, dedicated, and inventive enough to ensure that Sardi's would withstand any undeniable change. After all of these years there is no sign that Sardi's is slowing down, due to its historic atmosphere in one of New York's most notable areas.

This landmark New York restaurant was opened in 1927 by the Italian-born Vincent Sardi and his wife Jenny. To attract customers and to make his restaurant stand-out among other New York restaurants, Sardi decided to decorate the walls with caricatures of movie and Broadway stars. He first hired Russian artist Alex Gard to draw the stars, and Gard continued to draw hundreds of caricatures until his death. The next long-term artist to take over the role was Don Bevan. Over the decades, Sardi's rose in popularity, even inspiring the opening of a Hollywood Sardi's. Only the West 44th St. Sardi's has stood the test of time, however. When locals and tourists step off of Broadway into Sardi's, it is trip back in time, reflected by the original wall color and the red coats worn by waiters. Sardi's remains the restaurant to frequent before or after catching a show in the historic Theatre District of New York. 

Sardi's Restaurant

History of the Little Theatre / Helen Hayes Theatre Originally opened as Little Theatre on March 12, 1912, the
Helen Hayes Theatre was designed by archtiects Ingalls and Hoffman for Winthrop
Ames. When it opened, the theater seated 299 (one more seat would have required
a ten-foot walkway on either side of the auditorium, per fire regulations).
Ames had studied architecture at Harvard, and worked with Paris-educated Harry
Creighton Ingalls and F. Burrall Hoffman (neither of whom had prior theater
experience) on the design. His vision was an intimate venue, with a colonial
New England look for the exterior and a neo-Colonial/Federal interior--an
understated, informal look for a Broadway venue.

The Little Theatre expanded its seating in the 1920s, with
Herbert J. Krapp as the architect. The new design improved acoustics and added
a balcony to increase seating to 500. In 1931, Ames retired and sold the
theater to the New York Times Company. It was renamed for producer, director,
and writer Anne Nichols in 1936. Nichols wrote Jewish-Irish plays and had been
married to Henry Duffy from 1915-1924. In 1941, the theater was renamed New
York Times Hall, and functioned as a lecture/conference hall until 1959.
Reverting to its original name in 1959, it was leased to CBS Radio and ABC TV
(1959-1963) and sold to Westinghouse Corporation (1965-1974). For the year of
1964, the venue was named the Winthrop Ames in honor of its original manager.
The Westinghouse Broadcasting Corporation sold the venue to Marty Markinson and
Donald Tick in 1978, and had its first hit play in Henry Feirstein's Torch Song Trilogy. Though the original
building was renovated in 1979, it was demolished for the construction of the
New York Marriott Marquis. In its place, Markinson and Tick constructed the
Helen Hayes Theatre in 1983, named for the First Lady of the American
Theatre--the only independently owned Broadway theater, and the smallest
Broadway theater at only 599 seats.

About Helen Hayes: Helen Hayes (1900-1993) was an actress on stage and screen, with an 85-year
career and Tony, Oscar, Emmy, and Grammy Awards to her name. She began her
professional career on Broadway with Lew Fields (of Weber and Fields comedy
team) at the age of eight. She married journalist and playwright Charlie
MacArthur, with whom she had a daughter, Mary, and an adopted son, James. In
1931, Helen and Charlie both worked on Helen's first movie, The Sin of Madelon Claudet--Charlie
rewrote the original script after a bad preview, and Helen won the first Academy
Award for Best Actress to be given to a stage performer. Beginning in 1933,
Helen starred in Broadway roles including the parts of Mary Stuart and Queen
Victoria. She retired from the stage in 1971 due to resiratory problems, but
continued to work in film and television, wrote books, and worked with former
First Lady Bird Johnson to create teh Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center for
the preservation of natural resources and landscapes. Helen died of congestive
heart failure on March 17, 1993.

Originally opened as Little Theatre on March 12, 1912, the venue was used as a lecture hall and as a radio and television broadcasting center during the 1940s-1960s. It was purchased in the 1970s by Marty Markinson and Donald Tick and reopened as a theater. It was named the Helen Hayes Theatre in 1983, in honor of the First Lady of the American Theatre. The Helen Hayes is the only independently owned Broadway theater, and the smallest Broadway theater at only 599 seats.


Helen Hayes Theatre

The St. James Theatre opened in 1927 as the Erlanger Theatre. Abraham L. Erlanger, formerly a Theatrical Syndicate owner, built it as his own venue after the Shubert Brothers helped break the Syndicate monopoly on Broadway. The Erlanger Theatre was designed by Warren and Wetmore, the same architects who designed New York's Grand Central Station. The two architects, Whitney Warren and Charles Wetmore, started the firm in 1898. They were well-known for hotel designs such as the Biltmore, the Vanderbilt, and the Ritz.&nbsp;The exterior of the Theatre was simple as it used a brick facade and iron loggia. Still, the Erlanger was one of the largest on Broadway when it opened, and the interior was ornately detailed in Beaux-Arts style, with French ornamentation, murals, plasterwork, and two balconies. With this design, the Theatre was an ideal fit for musicals looking for a venue.&nbsp;In 1930, Erlanger died, and the Astor family purchased the venue, renaming it the St. James. Eleven years later, the Shubert Organization purchased the St. James, then sold it in 1957 to William L. McKnight. Jujamcyn Theaters acquired the St. James through McKnight's daughter, and the theater was renovated and reopened in December of 1958. Some of the most well-known productions of the St. James Theatre over the years include the musicals Oklahoma!, The King and I, Hello Dolly!, and The Producers.

The St. James Theatre opened in 1927 as the Erlanger Theatre. Abraham L. Erlanger, formerly a Theatrical Syndicate owner, built it as his own venue after the Shubert Brothers helped break the syndicate monopoly on Broadway. The Erlanger Theatre was designed by Warren and Wetmore, the same architects who designed New York's Grand Central Station. The exterior was simple, but the Erlanger was one of the largest on Broadway when it opened, and the interior was ornately detailed in Beaux-Arts style, with French ornamentation, murals, plasterwork, and two balconies. In 1930, Erlanger died, and the Astor family purchased the venue, renaming it the St. James. Eleven years later, the Shubert Organization purchased the St. James, then sold it in 1957 to William L. McKnight. Jujamcyn Theaters acquired the St. James through McKnight's daughter, and the theater was renovated and reopened in December of 1958. Some of the most well-known productions of the St. James Theatre over the years include the musicals Oklahoma!, The King and I, Hello Dolly!, and The Producers.

St. James Theatre

Henry Herts, a graduate of Columbia University, designed the Booth Theatre. The original project was completed in 1913. The building for the Theatre runs&nbsp;into the Shubert Theatre, which sits beside it in Shubert Alley. It was designed in a "restrained classicism" and contains only 600 seats, which makes it a smaller theatre than many in the area, particularly in 1913 when grand theatres were the norm. Lee Shubert and Winthrop Ames, who commissioned the building, wanted a smaller Theatre to provide a more intimate experience for viewers, and that's what the Booth Theatre has proven to be, especially compared to the more extravagant Shubert Theatre that sits beside it.&nbsp;The Theatre received its name from Edwin Booth, considered one of the greatest Shakespearean actors of his time, who surprisingly has another Theatre named after him as well. Booth is the brother of John Wilkes Booth - the man who shot President Abraham Lincoln. Edwin Booth, however, is better known for his roles in productions such as Hamlet and for his many theatrical tours across the United States and Europe than for his association with his brother, John.&nbsp;Famous productions at the Booth Theatre throughout the years include "Next to Normal" (2009), "Sunday in the Park With George" (1984), and "You Can't Take It With You" (1936).&nbsp;

The Booth Theatre was built in 1913 by Lee Shubert and Winthrop Ames and named for Shakespearean actor Edwin Booth (1833-1893), the brother of Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth. It was the second theater in New York by the same name - the first being built by Edwin Booth himself in 1869 at 23rd Street and 6th Avenue. The 1913 Booth Theatre, like the Ames-owned Little Theatre, was part of the movement toward small, intimate venues, and opened with only 600 seats. Architect Henry B. Herts designed the building, with an English Tudor style interior and a sgraffito-decorated exterior.

Booth Theatre

Originally opened as the Royale Theatre on January 11, 1927, the Bernard B.
Jacobs Theatre was designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp. The interior was
designed by Roman Melzer, Czar Nicholas II of Russia's architect. The real
estate magnate Chanin Brothers opened a three-theatre complex including the
Royale, the Majestic, and the Theatre Masque (now the John Golden). The Royale
was designed in what the Canins and Krapp dubbed "Spanish modern"
style, with two murals by Hungarian artist Willy Pogany in the mezzanine
entitled "Spanish lovers". In 1930, the Chanin brothers transferred the
management of the Royale to the Shuberts. Operettas, musicals, and dramas,
including Diamond Lil, written by and
starring Mae West, were shown in the early years of the Royale. John Golden
leased and renamed it the John Golden Theatre in 1934. The Shuberts reverted to
the original name in 1936, and subsequently leased the venue to CBS Radio until
1940. The theater was renamed for longtime Shubert Organization president
Bernard B. Jacobs in 2005.

Originally opened as the Royale Theatre on January 11, 1927, the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre was designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp. The interior was designed by Roman Melzer, Czar Nicholas II of Russia's architect. The real estate magnate Chanin Brothers opened a three-theatre complex including the Royale, the Majestic, and the Theatre Masque (now the John Golden). The Royale was designed in what the Canins and Krapp dubbed "Spanish modern" style, with two murals by Hungarian artist Willy Pogany in the mezzanine entitled "Spanish lovers". In 1930, the Chanin brothers transferred the management of the Royale to the Shuberts. Operettas, musicals, and dramas, including Diamond Lil, written by and starring Mae West, were shown in the early years of the Royale. John Golden leased and renamed it the John Golden Theatre in 1934. The Shuberts reverted to the original name in 1936, and subsequently leased the venue to CBS Radio until 1940. The theater was renamed for longtime Shubert Organization president Bernard B. Jacobs in 2005.

Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre

Opening in 1925 as Chanin's 46th Street Theatre, this historic Broadway theater has been home to more winners of the Tony Award for best play or musical than any other theater on Broadway. The theater was named in honor of composer Richard Rodgers in 1990. The Richard Rodgers Theatre has hosted Tony Award-winning productions, such as Guys and Dolls, and is best-known in modern America as the home of Hamilton. 

History of Broadway-New York Historical Theater Tour

New Amsterdam Theatre

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Backstory and Context

Sources

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