The Vanderbilt Theatre was a
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 ...
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...
, designed by architect
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 durin ...
for producer Lyle Andrews. It opened in 1918,
["Vanderbilt Theatre (Built: 1918 Demolished: 1954 Closed: 1954"]
''Internet Broadway Database'' (Retrieved on February 22, 2008) located at 148 West 48th Street. The theatre was demolished in 1954.
History
The 780-seat theatre hosted the long-running musical ''
Irene
Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace".
Irene, and related names, may refer to:
* Irene (given name)
Places
* Irene, Gauteng, South Africa
* Irene, South Dakota, United States
* Irene, Texas, United Stat ...
'' from 1919 to 1921. In the mid-1920s, several
Rodgers and Hart
Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership between composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and the lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895–1943). They worked together on 28 stage musicals and more than 500 songs from 1919 until Hart ...
musicals played at the theatre. Andrews lost the theatre during 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 ...
, and in 1931 it was briefly renamed the Tobis to show German films. The experiment was a failure, and the theatre returned to legitimate use. No new shows played at the theatre from 1939 until 1953, as it was used as a radio studio, first by
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
, then by
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
, until 1952.
Irving Maidman purchased the theatre and began to produce new shows in 1953, but the theatre was demolished after only a year, being replaced by a 6-story parking garage.
[Information from the World-theatres website]
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Notable productions
*1919: ''Irene
Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace".
Irene, and related names, may refer to:
* Irene (given name)
Places
* Irene, Gauteng, South Africa
* Irene, South Dakota, United States
* Irene, Texas, United Stat ...
''
*1926: ''The Girl Friend
''The Girl Friend'' is a musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Herbert Fields. This was the longest running show for the trio to that date.Secrest, Meryle. ''Somewhere for me:a biography of Richard Rodge ...
''
*1926: ''Peggy-Ann
''Peggy-Ann'' is a musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Herbert Fields, based on the 1910 musical '' Tillie’s Nightmare'' by Edgar Smith.
Production
The musical opened on Broadway at the Vanderbilt Th ...
''
*1927: '' A Connecticut Yankee''
*1935: ''Mulatto
(, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese is ...
'' by Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hug ...
References
External links
Former Broadway theatres
Demolished theatres in New York City
Demolished buildings and structures in Manhattan
1918 establishments in New York City
1954 disestablishments in New York (state)
Theatres completed in 1918
Buildings and structures demolished in 1954
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