Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
and
movie theater
A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall ( Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...
at 217
West 42nd Street
42nd Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, spanning the entire breadth of Midtown Manhattan, from Turtle Bay at the East River, to Hell's Kitchen at the Hudson River on the West Side. The street h ...
in the
Theater District A theater district (also spelled theatre district) is a common name for a neighborhood containing several of a city's theatres.
Places
*Theater District, Manhattan, New York City
*Boston Theater District
*Buffalo Theater District
*Cleveland Theater ...
of
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, near
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
. Built in 1920, it was designed by
Eugene De Rosa
Eugene De Rosa (1894 – ''c.'' 1945) was an Italian American architect, called at birth Eugenio. He worked in New York City and specialized in the design of theatres.
De Rosa's business flourished from 1918 to 1929 and was at its height during ...
and developed by brothers
Edgar
Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''gar'' "spear").
Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval period; it was, however, rev ...
and
Archibald Selwyn
Archibald Selwyn (also Arch or Archie Selwyn; 3 November 1877 – 21 June 1959) was an American play broker, theater owner and stage producer who had many Broadway successes. He and his brother Edgar Selwyn were partners. They were among the foun ...
. The building, which is no longer an active theater, is owned by the
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
and
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
governments of New York and leased to
New 42nd Street
The New 42nd Street is a not-for-profit organization based in Manhattan, New York City. In 1990, the New 42nd Street was formed to oversee the redevelopment of seven neglected and historic theatres on 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Ave ...
.
The Times Square Theater was designed simultaneously with the now-demolished
Apollo Theatre
The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.
immediately to the north and west. The theaters shared a symmetrical facade on 42nd Street, which is made of
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
and contains a central
colonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...
. The Times Square Theater took up most of the facade, though the western section was occupied by the Apollo Theatre's entrance. Inside, the Times Square Theater had a fan-shaped auditorium that could seat 1,155 people. The auditorium was designed in a silver, green, and black color scheme and had a shallow balcony, box seats, and murals. As part of a renovation proposed in 2018, the theater building will be substantially expanded with a glass annex, the original facade will be raised, and some of the interior elements will be preserved.
The Times Square opened on September 30, 1920, with Edgar Selwyn's play ''
The Mirage
The Mirage is a casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Hard Rock International. The 65-acre property includes a casino and 3,044 rooms.
Mirage R ...
''. The theater mostly hosted legitimate shows in its first decade, but it briefly screened films in 1926 and 1928. Notable shows included ''
The Front Page
''The Front Page'' is a Broadway comedy about newspaper reporters on the police beat. Written by former Chicago reporters Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, it was first produced in 1928 and has been adapted for the cinema several times.
Plot
The ...
Private Lives
''Private Lives'' is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It concerns a divorced couple who, while honeymooning with their new spouses, discover that they are staying in adjacent rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetuall ...
'' (1931). The theater staged its last show in 1933, and the theater became a cinema the next year. The Brandt family operated the Times Square for the next five decades, showing westerns and action films. There were several proposals to redevelop theaters along 42nd Street in the 1980s. New 42nd Street took over the Times Square and several neighboring theaters in 1990, but the theater building was difficult to lease out because of its lack of a rear entrance. Among the unsuccessful bids were those by
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
Livent
The Live Entertainment Corporation of Canada, better known as Livent, was a theatre production company based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1989 by former Cineplex Odeon executives Garth Drabinsky and Myron Gottlieb, the company initially found ...
,
Ecko Unltd.
Yakira, L.L.C. (trade name: Ecko Unltd.) is an American urban fashion company founded by Marc Ecko in 1993. The company makes apparel and accessories under brands including the men's Ecko Unltd. line and the Ecko Red line for girls and women. ...
, and a 4D theater company. Stillman Development International leased the building in 2017 and hired
Beyer Blinder Belle
Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners LLP (BBB) is an international architecture firm. It is based in New York City and has an additional office in Washington, DC. The firm's name is derived from the three founding partners: John H. Beyer, Ri ...
to renovate it.
Site
The Times Square Theater is at 215 West 42nd Street, on the northern sidewalk between Eighth Avenue and Seventh Avenue, at the southern end of
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
in the
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...
neighborhood of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. The building occupies a nearly square
land lot
In real estate, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner(s). A plot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property (meaning practically the same thing) in ...
covering , with a
frontage
Frontage is the boundary between a plot of land or a building and the road onto which the plot or building fronts. Frontage may also refer to the full length of this boundary. This length is considered especially important for certain types of ...
of on 42nd Street and a depth of . The theater is surrounded to the east and north by the Lyric Theatre. It also shares the block with the
Hotel Carter
The Hotel Carter was a hotel at 250 West 43rd Street, near Times Square, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Opened in June 1930 as the Dixie Hotel, the 25-story structure originally extended from 43rd Street to 42nd Street ...
building and the
American Airlines Theatre
The American Airlines Theatre, originally the Selwyn Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 227 West 42nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Built in 1918, it was designed by George Keister and developed by brothe ...
to the west, as well as the
New Victory Theater
The New Victory Theater is a theater at 209 West 42nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, near Times Square. Built in 1900 as the Republic Theatre (also Theatre Republic), it was designed by Albert Westover and ...
Hayes Theater
The Hayes Theater (formerly the Little Theatre, New York Times Hall, Winthrop Ames Theatre, and Helen Hayes Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 240 West 44th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Named for actres ...
1501 Broadway
1501 Broadway, also known as the Paramount Building, is a 33-story office building on Times Square between West 43rd and 44th Streets in the Theater District neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Designed by Rapp and Rapp, it was erect ...
to the north;
5 Times Square
5 Times Square is a 38-story office skyscraper at the southern end of Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Located on the western sidewalk of Seventh Avenue between 41st and 42nd Street, the building measures ...
and the
New Amsterdam Theatre
The New Amsterdam Theatre is a Broadway theater on 214 West 42nd Street, at the southern end of Times Square, in the Theater District of Manhattan in New York City. One of the oldest surviving Broadway venues, the New Amsterdam was built from ...
to the southeast; and the Candler Building to the south.
The surrounding area is part of
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
's
Theater District A theater district (also spelled theatre district) is a common name for a neighborhood containing several of a city's theatres.
Places
*Theater District, Manhattan, New York City
*Boston Theater District
*Buffalo Theater District
*Cleveland Theater ...
and contains many Broadway theaters. In the first two decades of the 20th century, eleven legitimate theaters were built within one block of West 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. The New Amsterdam,
Harris
Harris may refer to:
Places Canada
* Harris, Ontario
* Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine)
* Harris, Saskatchewan
* Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan
Scotland
* Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle of ...
,
Liberty
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
Lew Fields
Lew Fields (born Moses Schoenfeld, January 1867 – July 20, 1941) was an American actor, comedian, vaudeville star, theatre Management, manager, and Theatrical producer, producer. He was part of a comedy duo with Joe Weber (vaudevillian), Joe We ...
theaters occupied the south side of the street. The original Lyric and
theaters (combined into the current Lyric Theatre), as well as the Times Square, Victory, Selwyn (now American Airlines), and
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
theaters, occupied the north side. These venues were mostly converted to movie theaters by the 1930s, and many of them were showing pornography by the 1970s.
Design
The Times Square Theater, along with the Apollo Theatre immediately to the north and west, was developed by brothers
Edgar
Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''gar'' "spear").
Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval period; it was, however, rev ...
and
Archibald Selwyn
Archibald Selwyn (also Arch or Archie Selwyn; 3 November 1877 – 21 June 1959) was an American play broker, theater owner and stage producer who had many Broadway successes. He and his brother Edgar Selwyn were partners. They were among the foun ...
in 1920. Both theaters were built simultaneously and designed by
Eugene De Rosa
Eugene De Rosa (1894 – ''c.'' 1945) was an Italian American architect, called at birth Eugenio. He worked in New York City and specialized in the design of theatres.
De Rosa's business flourished from 1918 to 1929 and was at its height during ...
. Architectural Plastering Co. performed the theater's exterior
sgraffito
''Sgraffito'' (; plural: ''sgraffiti'') is a technique either of wall decor, produced by applying layers of plaster tinted in contrasting colours to a moistened surface, or in pottery, by applying to an unfired ceramic body two successive laye ...
work, while L. S. Fischl's Sons was the interior decorator.
Facade
The theater's original facade, shared with the former Apollo Theatre, is made of
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
and is symmetrical. The layout is similar to that of the still-extant
Music Box Theatre
The Music Box Theatre is a Broadway theater at 239 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1921, the Music Box Theatre was designed by C. Howard Crane in a Palladian-inspir ...
. The westernmost section served as an entrance to the Apollo Theatre, whose auditorium was originally on 43rd Street. There was a marquee overhanging the entrance to the Apollo. Above that was a vertical sign advertising the two theaters. The Apollo's name was placed on the western face of the sign, while the Times Square's name was placed on the eastern face. In addition, there were entrances to the Times Square Theater to the east, separated by rusticated limestone piers. The two theaters' entrances were otherwise identical in design.
At the second floor is a colonnade of six columns between a pair of outer bays. ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' described the columns as being in the
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of col ...
. There were originally seven wrought-iron screens, one between each set of columns. The auditorium facade is slightly recessed behind the colonnade, creating a
gallery
Gallery or The Gallery may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Art gallery
** Contemporary art gallery
Music
* Gallery (band), an American soft rock band of the 1970s
Albums
* ''Gallery'' (Elaiza album), 2014 album
* ''Gallery'' (Gr ...
. The outermost bays in the second floor contained
sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned window (architecture), paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double gla ...
panes, flanked by pilasters that support a round arch. The
pilaster
In classical architecture
Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...
s in the corners of the arches were carved. A
cornice
In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...
ran above the facade. Unlike the four neighboring theaters, the Times Square Theater did not have any access from 43rd Street. Instead, its auditorium and stage house were both on 42nd Street. This allowed the auditorium to be positioned parallel to the street, facing eastward.
,
Beyer Blinder Belle
Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners LLP (BBB) is an international architecture firm. It is based in New York City and has an additional office in Washington, DC. The firm's name is derived from the three founding partners: John H. Beyer, Ri ...
is planning to substantially reconfigure the Times Square Theater building. The proposed renovation includes increasing the building's height to six stories, with its roof high. Four stories will be built above the existing building. The existing facade will be raised by to accommodate higher ceilings on the ground floor. The second story will have a glass enclosure in front of the colonnade, allowing passersby to view the former theater's interior. The enclosure, measuring tall, will partially cantilever above the sidewalk on 42nd Street. LED signs are also planned to be installed on the building's exterior. An open-air restaurant will also be placed on the roof.
Interior
Original theater
The Times Square Theater had a fan-shaped layout. A contemporary account said the theater could accommodate 1,127 people; meanwhile,
The Broadway League
The Broadway League, formerly the League of American Theatres and Producers and League of New York Theatres and Producers, is the national trade association for the Broadway theatre industry based in New York, New York. Its members include thea ...
and ''
Playbill
''Playbill'' is an American monthly magazine for theatergoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most copies of ''Playbill'' are printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the show's pr ...
'' both cite a capacity of 1,055, and theater historian Mary C. Henderson gives a figure of 1,035. The interior was originally decorated in the Empire style with some
Adam style
The Adam style (or Adamesque and "Style of the Brothers Adam") is an 18th-century neoclassical style of interior design and architecture, as practised by Scottish architect William Adam and his sons, of whom Robert (1728–1792) and James (173 ...
ornamentation. The original color scheme was silver and green against a black background. In later years, the green decorations faded to gray.
The theater had two levels of seating: a ground-floor orchestra level, as well as a balcony with a slightly higher seating capacity. The first four rows of the orchestra were designed with armchairs instead of typical theater seats. At balcony level was a crossover aisle with several entrances, reducing the distance that patrons had to climb compared to in older theaters. Near the front of the auditorium, on either side of the balcony level, was a wall section with two
box
A box (plural: boxes) is a container used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides. Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or very large (like a shipping box for furniture), and can ...
seats. Each wall section had black velvet curtains and was topped by a plaster half-dome. The theater contained an "air cushion" facing 42nd Street to the south, which dampened noise from outdoors. On either side of the auditorium were emergency exits leading to passageways; the ''New-York Tribune'' said these were capable of emptying the theater "in a matter of seconds". The ceiling had a dome measuring wide.
A black velvet curtain separated the audience from the stage, which was wide. A grand staircase connected the orchestra and balcony levels. There was also a women's lounge and smoking room on balcony level, as well as a men's lounge in the basement. The men's lounge was decorated in the
Tudor style
Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...
and contained wooden paneling. To the west of the Times Square's auditorium was the Apollo's entrance, which consisted of a corridor with paneled walls and several types of marble. The old Apollo entrance from 42nd Street, with
bas-relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
sculptures and black-and-white marble decorations, was retained when the current Lyric Theatre was built in 1998. To the east of the auditorium is the lobby from the original Lyric Theatre.
Proposed conversion
The building is proposed to be converted into over of mixed-use space. Most of the building, about , will be used as storefronts. The third and fourth stories will each have double-height ceilings and will include many of the historical features relocated from the auditorium. Both stories will have outdoor terraces. A spiral staircase will connect the second through fourth floors, and the dome will be reinstalled above the staircase.
Use as theater
Development
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
became the epicenter for large-scale theater productions between 1900 and
the Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. Manhattan's theater district had begun to shift from
Union Square
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
and
Madison Square
Madison Square is a town square, public square formed by the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway at 23rd Street (Manhattan), 23rd Street in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan. The square ...
during the first decade of the 20th century. From 1901 to 1920, forty-three theaters were built around Broadway in Midtown Manhattan. The Selwyn brothers, developed several Broadway theaters on 42nd Street. Before the Times Square Theater was developed, the brothers operated the
Harris
Harris may refer to:
Places Canada
* Harris, Ontario
* Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine)
* Harris, Saskatchewan
* Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan
Scotland
* Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle of ...
and Selwyn (now American Airlines) theaters. The Selwyn Theatre had opened on an adjacent site in 1918. Even before that theater was completed, the Selwyn brothers had asked their partner Crosby Gaige to search for sites where they could build additional theaters. The brothers bought two sites just east of the Selwyn Theatre: a plot on 42nd Street, which contained George Sturges's unprofitable Bryant Theatre, as well as a plot on 43rd Street, which was vacant.
As construction proceeded on the Selwyn Theatre in September 1917, the Selwyn brothers announced two additional theaters . Originally, the two theaters were to be named after actress
Margaret Illington
Margaret Illington (born Maude Light; July 23, 1879 – March 11, 1934) was an American stage actress popular in the first decade of the 20th century. She later made an attempt at silent film acting by making two films with Adolph Zukor's Famo ...
and producer Margaret Mayo. The following February, the
Shubert family
The Shubert family was responsible for the establishment of the Broadway district, in New York City, as the hub of the theater industry in the United States. They dominated the legitimate theater and vaudeville in the first half of the 20th cen ...
acquired a partial interest in the three theaters that the Selwyns were constructing. By this time, the planned Illington Theatre was to be known as the Times Square Theater. The Selwyn brothers leased the eastern site from Sperry and Hutchinson Co. in July 1918, after the plot had already been excavated. In May 1919, the
New York City Department of Buildings
The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) is the department of the New York City government that enforces the city's building codes and zoning regulations, issues building permits, licenses, registers and disciplines certain construction tra ...
approved the Selwyn brothers' plans for a 1,100-seat theater on 42nd Street and a 1,200-seat theater on 43rd Street. The O'Day Construction Company was hired to erect both theaters. The Selwyn brothers intended to use the two theaters exclusively for their own productions.
Legitimate use
Selwyn years
The Times Square opened on September 30, 1920, with
Florence Reed
Florence Reed (January 10, 1883 – November 21, 1967) was an American stage and film actress. She is remembered for several outstanding stage productions, including ''The Shanghai Gesture'', ''The Lullaby'', ''The Yellow Ticket'' and ''The ...
starring in Edgar Selwyn's play ''
The Mirage
The Mirage is a casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Hard Rock International. The 65-acre property includes a casino and 3,044 rooms.
Mirage R ...
''. The production was a relative hit,; lasting for 192 performances through March 1921. During that play's run,
G.K. Chesterton
Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936) was an English writer, philosopher, Christian apologist, and literary and art critic. He has been referred to as the "prince of paradox". Of his writing style, ''Time'' observed: "Wh ...
spoke on the topic "Shall We Abolish the Inevitable?" at the theater. This was followed by the musical comedy ''The Right Girl'', as well as the mhort-lived usical
revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...
''The Broadway Whirl''. The plays ''
The Demi-Virgin
''The Demi-Virgin'' is a three- act play written by Avery Hopwood. Producer Albert H. Woods staged it on Broadway, where it was a hit during the 1921–22 season. The play is a bedroom farce about former couple Gloria Graham and Wally Deane, b ...
'', ''Honors Are Even'', and ''Love Dreams'' had short runs at the Times Square in late 1921. That November, the
Clemence Dane
Clemence Dane CBE is the pseudonym of Winifred Ashton (21 February 1888 – 28 March 1965), an English novelist and playwright.
Life and career
After completing her education, Dane went to Switzerland to work as a French tutor, but returned h ...
George M. Cohan's Theatre
George M. Cohan's Theatre was a Broadway theatre at Broadway and West 43rd Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It was built in 1911 and demolished in 1938.
History
The theatre was designed by George Keister, and ope ...
to the Times Square; it was one of the first hits that featured actress
Katharine Cornell
Katharine Cornell (February 16, 1893June 9, 1974) was an American stage actress, writer, theater owner and producer. She was born in Berlin to American parents and raised in Buffalo, New York.
Dubbed "The First Lady of the Theatre" by critic A ...
. The theater also hosted recitals by actress
Ruth Draper
Ruth Draper (December 2, 1884December 30, 1956) was an American actress, dramatist and noted diseuse who specialized in character-driven monologues and monodrama. Her best-known pieces include ''The Italian Lesson'', ''Three Women and Mr. Cliff ...
, who continued her performances there for several years. In 1922, the Times Square hosted plays such as ''The Charlatan'', as well as ''The Exciters'' with
Tallulah Bankhead
Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968) was an American actress. Primarily an actress of the stage, Bankhead also appeared in several prominent films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's ''Lif ...
.
''The Fool'', by Channing Pollock, opened in October 1922 and ran for over 200 performances through the next year. As an experiment, the Selwyn brothers brought over several visiting companies in mid-1923 to perform ''The Fool'' in place of the usual actors. Each company performed for three days before being performing the production at other theaters. The play ''Helen of Troy, New York'', transferred from the Selwyn Theatre in October 1923; this was followed in December by ''
Pelléas and Mélisande
''Pelléas and Mélisande'' (french: Pelléas et Mélisande) is a Symbolist play by Maurice Maeterlinck about the forbidden, doomed love of the title characters. It was first performed in 1893.
The work never achieved great success on the stage, ...
'' with
Jane Cowl
Jane Cowl (December 14, 1883 – June 22, 1950) was an American film and stage actress and playwright "notorious for playing lachrymose parts". Actress Jane Russell was named in Cowl's honor.
Biography
Cowl was born Jane Bailey in Boston, Mas ...
, which flopped after 13 performances. During early 1924,
André Charlot
André Eugène Maurice Charlot (26 July 1882 – 20 May 1956) was a French impresario known primarily for the successful musical revues he staged in London between 1912 and 1937. He also worked as a character actor in numerous films.
Early li ...
presented his eponymous musical
revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...
, featuring
Gertrude Lawrence
Gertrude Lawrence (4 July 1898 – 6 September 1952) was an English actress, singer, dancer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End of London and on Broadway in New York.
Early life
Lawrence was born Gertr ...
Jack Buchanan
Walter John Buchanan (2 April 1891 – 20 October 1957) was a Scottish theatre and film actor, singer, dancer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George G ...
. Charlot's revue transferred to the Selwyn Theatre in April 1924, swapping houses with the musical '' Battling Buttler''. The theater also hosted a dance recital by
Albertina Rasch
Albertina Rasch (January 19, 1891 – October 2, 1967) was a naturalized American dancer, company director, and choreographer.
Early life
Rasch was born in 1891 (although she would later shave five years off her age), in Vienna (in what was th ...
in May 1924, though the Sabbath Committee ruled that the recital could not be staged on Sundays. That September, the theater hosted
Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...
and
Howard Dietz
Howard Dietz (September 8, 1896 – July 30, 1983) was an American publicist, lyricist, and librettist, best remembered for his songwriting collaboration with Arthur Schwartz.
Biography
Dietz was born in New York City. He attended Columbia Colle ...
's musical ''Dear Sir'', featuring
Oscar Shaw
Oscar Shaw (born Oscar Schwartz, October 11, 1887, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – died March 6, 1967, in Little Neck, New York), was a stage and screen actor and singer, remembered primarily today for his role as Bob Adams in the first f ...
and
Walter Catlett
Walter Leland Catlett (February 4, 1889 – November 14, 1960) was an American actor and comedian. He made a career of playing excitable, meddlesome, temperamental, and officious blowhards.
Career
Catlett was born on February 4, 1889, in S ...
Clare Kummer
Clare Kummer (January 9, 1873 — April 21, 1958) was an American composer, lyricist, and playwright.
Early life
Kummer was born Clare Rodman Beecher in Brooklyn, New York, the granddaughter of Rev. Edward Beecher and great-granddaughter of Lym ...
, and
Sigmund Romberg
Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his musicals and operettas, particularly '' The Student Prince'' (1924), '' The Desert Song'' (1926) and '' The New Moon'' (1928).
E ...
's musical ''Annie Dear,'' which featured
Billie Burke
Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke (August 7, 1884 – May 14, 1970) was an American actress who was famous on Broadway and radio, and in silent and sound films. She is best known to modern audiences as Glinda the Good Witch of the North ...
.
Decline
The Selwyn brothers dissolved their firm in 1925. The same year, the theater hosted the play ''Mismates'', the namesake of the film ''
Mismates
''Mismates'' is a 1926 silent film starring Doris Kenyon and Warner Baxter. The movie was written by Sada Cowan from a play by Myron C. Fagan and directed by Charles Brabin. This film is now lost. The musical '' Kosher Kitty Kelly'' also ran for 166 total performances at the Times Square Theater and
Daly's 63rd Street Theatre
Daly's 63rd Street Theatre was a Broadway theatre, which was active from 1921 to 1941. It was built in 1914 as the 63rd Street Music Hall and had several other names between 1921 and 1938. The building was demolished in 1957.
History
The buildi ...
, in spite of negative critical reception. Pollock's play ''The Enemy'' opened in late 1925 and ran for 202 performances. The Times Square Theater then showed a variety of films in early 1926, including '' The Volga Boatman'' and a double feature of ''
Silence
Silence is the absence of ambient audible sound, the emission of sounds of such low intensity that they do not draw attention to themselves, or the state of having ceased to produce sounds; this latter sense can be extended to apply to the ce ...
'' and '' The Prince of Pilsen''. The theater's next legitimate show was ''Love 'Em and Leave 'Em'', which relocated from the Apollo in May 1926.
The
Anita Loos
Corinne Anita Loos (April 26, 1888 – August 18, 1981) was an American actress, novelist, playwright and screenwriter. In 1912, she became the first female staff screenwriter in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood, when D. W. Griffith put h ...
play ''Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' opened in September 1926 and ran for 199 total performances across two theaters. During the play's run, the theater also hosted a speech by explorer
Richard E. Byrd
Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer and explorer. He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the highest honor for valor given by the United States, and was a pioneering American aviator, p ...
, a documentary presented by aviator
Alan Cobham
Sir Alan John Cobham, KBE, AFC (6 May 1894 – 21 October 1973) was an English aviation pioneer.
Early life and family
As a child he attended Wilson's School, then in Camberwell, London. The school relocated to the former site of Croydo ...
, and a ballet show. After ''Blondes'' relocated from the Times Square in March 1927, A. H. Woods planned to move his production of the play ''Crime'' into the theater. Instead, the Times Square screened
silent films
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, whe ...
for the 1927–1928 season. The silent film ''
Sunrise
Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects.
Terminology
Al ...
'' opened at the Times Square in September 1927, and the theater screened the film ''
Dawn
Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's horizo ...
'' in May 1928. Although other theaters on 42nd Street were already struggling to book long-running shows by the late 1920s, the Times Square was still able to secure some hits.
Jed Harris
Jed Harris (born Jacob Hirsch Horowitz; February 25, 1900 – November 15, 1979) was an Austrian-born American theatrical producer and director. His many successful Broadway productions in the 1920s and 1930s include ''Broadway (play), Broadway' ...
leased the theater in mid-1928 and presented the original Broadway production of
Ben Hecht
Ben Hecht (; February 28, 1894 – April 18, 1964) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist, and novelist. A successful journalist in his youth, he went on to write 35 books and some of the most enjoyed screenplay ...
and
Charles MacArthur
Charles Gordon MacArthur (November 5, 1895 – April 21, 1956) was an American playwright, screenwriter and 1935 winner of the Academy Award for Best Story.
Life and career
MacArthur was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the sixth of seven chil ...
's comedy ''
The Front Page
''The Front Page'' is a Broadway comedy about newspaper reporters on the police beat. Written by former Chicago reporters Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, it was first produced in 1928 and has been adapted for the cinema several times.
Plot
The ...
'', which opened in August 1928. ''The Front Page'' ran for 276 performances through April 1929.
Several shows had short runs in 1929, including '' The Middle Watch'' and ''Other Men's Wives''. The next hit was
George
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...
and
Ira Gershwin
Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the 2 ...
's musical '' Strike Up the Band'', which opened at the theater in January 1930 and ran for 191 performances over the next five months. At the onset of the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, many Broadway theaters were impacted by declining attendance, leading to many
flops
In computing, floating point operations per second (FLOPS, flops or flop/s) is a measure of computer performance, useful in fields of scientific computations that require floating-point calculations. For such cases, it is a more accurate meas ...
. The 1930–1931 season alone had six shows, including a revival of ''
The Merchant of Venice
''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock.
Although classified as ...
''. The season ended with
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...
's ''
Private Lives
''Private Lives'' is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It concerns a divorced couple who, while honeymooning with their new spouses, discover that they are staying in adjacent rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetuall ...
'', starring Coward and
Gertrude Lawrence
Gertrude Lawrence (4 July 1898 – 6 September 1952) was an English actress, singer, dancer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End of London and on Broadway in New York.
Early life
Lawrence was born Gertr ...
, which lasted 256 performances. In the 1931–1932 season, four successive plays closed within one month. The 1932–1933 season, with three shows, was the Times Square's final season as a live venue. The season's shows included ''Clear All Wires!'', ''Foolscap'', and ''Forsaking All Others''. The play ''Angel'', with
Lenore Ulric
Lenore Ulric (born Lenore Ulrich; July 21, 1892 – December 30, 1970) was a star of the Broadway theatre as well as Hollywood films of the silent-film and early sound era.
Discovered in 1913 by theater director David Belasco, who would go on t ...
, was supposed to have opened at the Times Square in June 1933 but never did so.
Movies
The theater remained dark for the 1933–1934 season, even though the play ''Ragged Army'' had been planned to open there in February 1934. The theater's owner Burgwyn Realty Corp. leased the theater to the Brandt family for use as a cinema in May 1934. The Brandts planned to operate the theater under a
grindhouse
A grindhouse or action house is an American term for a theatre that mainly shows low-budget horror, splatter and exploitation films for adults. According to historian David Church, this theater type was named after the "grind policy", a fil ...
format, with films running continuously. This was part of a decline in the Broadway theater industry in the mid-20th century; from 1931 to 1950, the number of legitimate theaters decreased from 68 to 30. The lease originally ran for five years. The following year, Burgwyn lost the theater in a
foreclosure
Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the collateral for the loan.
Formally, a mortg ...
proceeding. The Times Square and Apollo theaters were auctioned off, and Timap Inc. acquired them in June 1935 for $110,000, subject to the existing $800,000 mortgage. The proscenium arch was infilled in 1939 when the former stage house was converted to a
haberdasher
In British English, a haberdasher is a business or person who sells small articles for sewing, dressmaking and knitting, such as buttons, ribbons, and zippers; in the United States, the term refers instead to a retailer who sells men's clothing, ...
y, since the theater no longer needed these facilities after its conversion into a cinema.
By the mid-1940s, the ten theaters along 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues were all showing movies; this led ''Variety'' to call the block the "biggest movie center of the world". The Brandts owned seven of these theaters, while the Cinema circuit operated the other three. The Brandt theaters included the Selwyn, Apollo, Times Square, Lyric, and Victory theaters on the north side of 42nd Street, as well as the Eltinge and
Liberty
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
theaters on the south side. The Times Square Theater showed
action film
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
s and
Westerns
The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...
, and the Brandt changed the bill three times a week. Several producers offered to stage legitimate productions in the Brandt theaters, but none of the offers were successful. William Brandt indicated in 1946 that he might replace the theaters on the north side of 42nd Street with a skyscraper. By then, there was a shortage of new films in the theaters along 42nd Street, which led to decreased attendance.
William Brandt said in 1953 that any of his 42nd Street theaters could be converted to a legitimate house within 24 hours' notice, but producers did not take his offer. By the late 1950s, the Times Square was classified as a "western and action outlet", displaying films that related to that genre. Tickets cost 25 to 65 cents apiece, the cheapest admission scale for any theater on 42nd Street. The Times Square and the other 42nd Street theaters operated from 8 a.m. to 3 a.m., with three shifts of workers. The ten theaters on the block attracted about five million visitors a year between them.
The 42nd Street Company was established in 1961 to operate the Brandts' seven theaters on 42nd Street. By the early 1960s, the surrounding block had decayed, but many of the old theater buildings from the block's heyday remained, including the Times Square. Martin Levine and Richard Brandt took over the 42nd Street Company in 1972. The Times Square still operated as an action house. The other six theaters showed a variety of genres, though Levine said none of the company's 42nd Street theaters showed
hardcore porn
Hardcore pornography, or hardcore porn, is pornography that features detailed depictions of sexual organs or sexual acts such as vaginal, anal or oral intercourse, fingering, anilingus, ejaculation, and fetish play. The term is in contras ...
. The Brandts' theaters had a combined annual gross of about $2 million and operated nearly the entire day. However, the area was in decline; the Brandts' theaters only had three million visitors by 1977, about half of the number in 1963. The area had also become dangerous and rundown as well. Patrons were fatally shot in separate incidents in 1977 and 1980. The Brandts' movie theaters on 42nd Street continued to operate through the mid-1980s, at which point the Times Square was showing "obscure horror/action triple-bills".
Redevelopment
The 42nd Street Development Corporation had been formed in 1976 to discuss plans for redeveloping Times Square. The same year, the
City University of New York
The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...
's
Graduate Center
The Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York (CUNY Graduate Center) is a public research institution and post-graduate university in New York City. Serving as the principal doctorate-granting institution of the C ...
hosted an exhibition with photographs of the Times Square and other theaters to advocate for the area's restoration. Another plan, in 1978, called for restoring the Selwyn, Apollo, and Harris for opera and dance, rather than for theatrical purposes. Other nearby buildings, including possibly the Times Square Theater, would have been razed to create a park.
Preservation attempts
The City at 42nd Street plan was announced in December 1979 as part of a proposal to restore West 42nd Street around Times Square. Under the plan, the Times Square Theatre would have been preserved, and some of the other theaters would have been modified. Mayor
Ed Koch
Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, film critic, and television personality. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was may ...
wavered in his support of the plan, referring to it as a "Disneyland on 42nd Street". Subsequently,
Hugh Hardy
Hugh Hardy (July 26, 1932 – March 17, 2017) was an American architect, known for designing and revitalizing theaters, performing arts venues, public spaces, and cultural facilities across the United States.
''The New Yorker'' writer Brendan ...
conducted a report on 42nd Street's theaters in 1980. His report helped motivate the
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
(LPC) to survey fifty of Midtown Manhattan's extant theaters in the early 1980s.
The LPC had started to consider protecting theaters as landmarks in 1982, including the Times Square Theater, with discussions continuing over the next several years. While the LPC granted landmark status to many Broadway theaters starting in 1987, it deferred decisions on the exterior and interior of the Times Square Theater. Further discussion of the landmark designations was delayed for several decades. In late 2015, the LPC hosted public hearings on whether to designate the Times Square and six other theaters as landmarks. The LPC rejected the designations in February 2016, as the theaters were already subject to historic-preservation regulations set by the state government.
Early redevelopment proposals
The
Urban Development Corporation
Empire State Development (ESD) is the umbrella organization for New York's two principal economic development public-benefit corporations, the New York State Urban Development Corporation (UDC) and the New York Job Development Authority (JDA). T ...
(UDC), an agency of the New York state government, then proposed redeveloping the area around a portion of West 42nd Street in 1981. The plan centered around four towers that were to be built at 42nd Street's intersections with
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
and Seventh Avenue, developed by
Park Tower Realty
A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. ...
and the
Prudential Insurance Company of America
Prudential Financial, Inc. is an American Fortune Global 500 and Fortune 500 company whose subsidiaries provide insurance, retirement planning, investment management, and other products and services to both retail and institutional customers t ...
. The Brandt Organization planned to submit a bid to redevelop some of the theaters they owned on 42nd Street. In June 1982, the Brandts' five theaters on the north side of 42nd Street, including the Times Square, were added to the redevelopment plan. In August 1984, the UDC granted
Jujamcyn Theaters
Jujamcyn Theaters LLC , formerly the Jujamcyn Amusement Corporation, is a theatrical producing and theatre-ownership company in New York City. For many years Jujamcyn was owned by James H. Binger, former Chairman of Honeywell, and his wife, Virgi ...
the right to operate the Selwyn, Apollo, and Lyric theaters; as part of the same project, the Times Square Theater would have become retail space. In response, Brandt and Cine Theater Corp. sued the UDC, claiming that the moves shut out independent theatrical operators. Michael J. Lazar would have renovated the four theaters for Jujamcyn, but the city and state removed him from the project in 1986 following a parking scandal. The Brandts also leased all their movie theaters on 42nd Street, including the Times Square, to the Cine 42nd Street Corporation in 1986.
From 1987 to 1989, Park Tower and Prudential hired
Robert A. M. Stern
Robert Arthur Morton Stern, usually credited as Robert A. M. Stern (born May 23, 1939), is a New York City–based architect, educator, and author. He is the founding partner of the architecture firm, Robert A.M. Stern Architects, also known a ...
to conduct a study on the Apollo, Lyric, Selwyn, Times Square, and Victory theaters on the north side of 42nd Street. Stern devised three alternatives for the five theaters. City and state officials announced plans for the five theaters, along with the
Liberty Theatre
The Liberty Theatre is a former Broadway theater at 234 West 42nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1904, the theater was designed by Herts & Tallant and built for Klaw and Erlanger, the partnership ...
on the south side of 42nd Street, in September 1988. Stern presented a model of his plan the next month. The plan called for reducing the size of the Selwyn Theatre to accommodate "intimate drama", as well as replacing the Selwyn Building with a structure containing rehearsal studios. The UDC opened a request for proposals for six of the theaters that October. The Liberty and Victory were to be converted into performing-arts venues for nonprofit organizations, while the Selwyn, Apollo, Lyric, and Times Square were to be converted to commercial use. By the end of the year, the plans were in danger due to a lack of money.
In early 1989, several dozen nonprofit theater companies submitted plans to the UDC for the takeover of six theaters. Most of the bids were for the Liberty and Victory, but the Selwyn, Apollo, Lyric, and Times Square theaters received 13 bids between them. That year, the
Durst Organization
The Durst Organization is one of the oldest family-run commercial and residential real estate companies in New York City. Established in 1915, the company is owned and operated by the third generation of the Durst family. As of 2014, it owns and ...
acquired the leases to eight theaters in Times Square, including the Selwyn. It subsequently announced plans to renovate the eight theaters in February 1990. The theaters closed when the New York state government acquired the theater sites that April via
eminent domain
Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...
. The city had planned to buy out the theaters' leases but withdrew after the 42nd Street Company indicated it would lease the theaters to another developer. Although Durst protested the move, a
New York Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...
judge ruled that the condemnation could occur.
New 42nd Street control
1990s proposals
A nonprofit organization,
New 42nd Street
The New 42nd Street is a not-for-profit organization based in Manhattan, New York City. In 1990, the New 42nd Street was formed to oversee the redevelopment of seven neglected and historic theatres on 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Ave ...
, was formed in September 1990 to restore six of the theaters and find uses for them. Government officials hoped that development of the theaters would finally allow the construction of the four towers around 42nd Street, Broadway, and Seventh Avenue. In 1992, New 42nd Street received a $18.2 million grant for restoring the six theaters as part of an agreement with Prudential and Park Tower.Donna Dennis used the vacant theater's facade in 1993 for an art exhibition that included old playbills. That year, officials proposed opening the New York Information Center, which would occupy the Times Square Theater and either the Apollo or Lyric theaters. After
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
committed to restoring the New Amsterdam Theatre in 1994, most of the other theaters around 42nd Street were quickly leased.
Garth Drabinsky
Garth Drabinsky (born 1949)Charlebois, Gaetan, and Anne NothofDrabinsky, Garth Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia. Athabasca University. Anne Nothof, ed. "Ontario-based entrepreneur, born in Toronto in 1949." is a Canadian film and theatrical producer a ...
, president of Canadian company
Livent
The Live Entertainment Corporation of Canada, better known as Livent, was a theatre production company based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1989 by former Cineplex Odeon executives Garth Drabinsky and Myron Gottlieb, the company initially found ...
, signed a long-term lease for the Apollo and Lyric theaters in July 1995, and the present Lyric Theatre (then known as the Ford Center for the Performing Arts) opened in 1998.
In September 1994,
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
took an option on the Apollo, Lyric, and Times Square theaters, which it planned to convert into a production studio. However, the negotiations with MTV fell through.
Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC (formerly Marvel Enterprises) is an American show business, entertainment company (law), company founded in June 1998 and based in New York City, New York (state), New York, formed by the merger of #Marvel Entertainment ...
signed a letter of intent to build a Marvel Mania restaurant inside in May 1996. These plans were placed on hold after
Marvel Entertainment Group
Marvel Entertainment, LLC (formerly Marvel Enterprises) is an American entertainment company founded in June 1998 and based in New York City, New York, formed by the merger of Marvel Entertainment Group and Toy Biz. The company is a wholly own ...
filed for bankruptcy protection at the end of the year. In mid-1997, Billboard Live International was negotiating to renovate the Times Square into a live-concert venue. Had this plan been successful, the theater building would have been expanded to to accommodate live concerts, and much of the theater's architectural details would have been preserved. After Billboard Live reneged,
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
considered leasing the theater as a broadcast studio by late 1997. Ultimately, CBS never signed a lease. Yet another themed restaurant, operated by
WrestleMania
WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event held annually between mid-March and mid-April by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Since premiering in 1985, 37 editions followed, mos ...
, was proposed for the theater in early 1998, though WrestleMania also did not sign a lease.
New 42nd Street leased the theater in August 1998 to Livent, which proposed an entertainment complex with a 500-seat auditorium and a themed restaurant. Livent encountered major accounting issues within a week of the lease. By November 1998, Livent had filed for
Chapter 11
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...
bankruptcy protection, and the company canceled its plans to redevelop the Times Square Theater. New 42nd Street Inc. president Cora Cahan said she had received several proposals for potential uses of the theater, though most bidders said they did not want to build a performance space there. Producer Stewart F. Lane had proposed converting the theater for live use, but Cahan rejected the plan in January 1999. In the meantime, advertising firm TDI installed seven advertisement panels between the theater's columns. Cahan said that, in three months, the ads could raise $100,000 for New 42nd Street's adjacent rehearsal studios. By then, the popularity of theme restaurants was decreasing, and most sites in the neighborhood had already been redeveloped.
2000s and early 2010s
The Times Square Theater remained empty in 2000, after every other theater on the block had been renovated. Part of the issue was that it was not viable as a theater, as its only entrance was on 42nd Street, making it more difficult to load scenery and props. In addition, the Times Square was old, had a small lobby, and suffered from noise issues. The 42nd Street Development Project had its offices on the former stage until 2004. Construction workers removed seat cushions and dismantled the project's offices before the theater was marketed for commercial use. That year, New 42nd Street agreed to lease to
Eckō Unltd.
Yakira, L.L.C. (trade name: Ecko Unltd.) is an American urban fashion company founded by Marc Ecko in 1993. The company makes apparel and accessories under brands including the men's Ecko Unltd. line and the Ecko Red line for girls and women. ...
, which planned to convert it into a hip-hop store.v Ecko planned to build a or store across four floors. The firm of Janson-Goldstein was hired to renovate the space; at the time, the store would have been completed in 2006. The project stalled after the planning process, even though Ecko had continued to pay rent, and the theater was covered in plywood. In 2009, the company abandoned its lease, and Cahan considered filing a lawsuit against Ecko.
A mural by Sofia Maldonado was placed on the empty theater in 2010. The ''
Observer
An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment.
Observer may also refer to:
Computer science and information theory
* In information theory, any system which receives information from an object
* State observer in co ...
'' reported in early 2011 that a 4D theater was being planned for . The next year, a group called Broadway 4D Theaters, LLC signed a long-term lease for the theater. The Times Square would have been renovated to accommodate a 4D film presentation dedicated to the history of Broadway, ''Broadway Sensation'', to be produced by lawyer Robert Kory and producer/director
Gary Goddard
Gary Goddard (born July 18, 1954) is an American producer and director who co-founded the Landmark Entertainment Group. In 2002, he left it to form Gary Goddard Entertainment (GGE), later known as the Goddard Group, an entertainment design firm ...
. The attraction was expected to open in early 2015. The Times Square had proven so hard to lease that the Real Estate Board of New York granted an award to the brokers who had arranged the deal. The media reported in 2014 that the project had been canceled due to financial troubles. In August 2015,
Elie Samaha
Elie Samaha (Arabic: إيلي سماحة) is a film producer in Los Angeles, with production credits beginning with '' The Immortals'' in 1995. He has produced over 83 works, primarily films along with some video games. He produced '' The Boondo ...
and
Donald Kushner
Donald Kushner (born March 2, 1945) is an American producer who has worked with animation, live-action, and theater productions.
Biography
Kushner was born March 2, 1945, to Ann Gardner. He has two sisters.
Kushner attended high school in Pr ...
announced they purchased the assets of Broadway 4D Theaters and would continue the project. Singaporean company Oracle Projects International reportedly leased the theater in March 2016 for use as an event space.
Renovation
Stillman Development International LLC signed a 73-year lease for the Times Square Theater in 2017. The following year, Stillman and its partner announced a $100 million renovation of the building. Colliers International was also hired to market the building. At the time of the announcement, the project was supposed to take two years. Stillman hired Beyer Blinder Belle to design the renovation, add several stories, and raise the facade by five feet. The facade would be separated from the interior structure and raised using hydraulic jacks. In addition, Stillman would remove the
proscenium arch
A proscenium ( grc-gre, προσκήνιον, ) is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor ...
, dome, and boxes for restoration. Even though the LPC had not designated the Times Square Theater as a landmark, parts of the building were still subject to preservation guidelines. The
New York City Economic Development Corporation
New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) is a nonprofit corporation whose stated mission is to "leverage the city’s assets to create beneficial jobs that drive growth. This ensures equitable and sustainable development across al ...
and the 42nd Street Development Project's Historic Preservation Committee both supported the plans.
In early 2019, Stillman's executive vice president Armen Boyajian expressed hope that the theater's restoration would be completed by early 2021. John Tiedemann had removed an iron gate on the facade for restoration, while contractor Shawmut had removed some of the interior decorative elements. The developers filed partial demolition plans for the Times Square Theater with the
New York City Department of Buildings
The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) is the department of the New York City government that enforces the city's building codes and zoning regulations, issues building permits, licenses, registers and disciplines certain construction tra ...
in July 2019. The developers then submitted construction plans in February 2020. Though the renovation had been slated for completion in 2020, the renovation was still incomplete at the beginning of 2021, and the developers did not give an updated timeline.
Notable productions
*1920: ''
The Mirage
The Mirage is a casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Hard Rock International. The 65-acre property includes a casino and 3,044 rooms.
Mirage R ...
''
*1921: ''
The Demi-Virgin
''The Demi-Virgin'' is a three- act play written by Avery Hopwood. Producer Albert H. Woods staged it on Broadway, where it was a hit during the 1921–22 season. The play is a bedroom farce about former couple Gloria Graham and Wally Deane, b ...
Pelleas and Melisande
Pelleas , or Pellias, is an Arthurian Knight of the Round Table whose story first appears in the Post-Vulgate Cycle. He becomes the husband of Nimue, the Lady of the Lake in ''Le Morte d'Arthur''. His character might have been connected to the ...
Mismates
''Mismates'' is a 1926 silent film starring Doris Kenyon and Warner Baxter. The movie was written by Sada Cowan from a play by Myron C. Fagan and directed by Charles Brabin. This film is now lost.
*1925: '' Kosher Kitty Kelly''
*1926: '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes''
*1928: ''
The Front Page
''The Front Page'' is a Broadway comedy about newspaper reporters on the police beat. Written by former Chicago reporters Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, it was first produced in 1928 and has been adapted for the cinema several times.
Plot
The ...
The Merchant of Venice
''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock.
Although classified as ...
''
*1931: ''
Private Lives
''Private Lives'' is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It concerns a divorced couple who, while honeymooning with their new spouses, discover that they are staying in adjacent rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetuall ...
Forsaking All Others
''Forsaking All Others'' is a 1934 American romance film, romantic comedy-drama, comedy-drama film directed by W.S. Van Dyke, and starring Robert Montgomery (actor), Robert Montgomery, Joan Crawford and Clark Gable. The screenplay was written b ...