The Ziegfeld Theatre was a

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 ...

located at 1341 Sixth Avenue, corner of

54th Street 54th Street is a two-mile-long (3.2 km), one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan. Notable places, west to east Twelfth Avenue *The route begins at Twelfth Avenue ( New York Route 9A). Opposite the intersection is the N ...

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 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. It was built in 1927 and, despite public protests, was razed in 1966.

History

With a seating capacity of 1,638, the Ziegfeld Theatre was named for the famed Broadway impresario Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., who built it with financial backing from

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...

. Designed by

Joseph Urban Joseph Urban (May 26, 1872 – July 10, 1933) was an Austrian-American architect, illustrator, and scenic designer. Life and career Joseph Urban was born on May 26, 1872, in Vienna. He received his first architectural commission at age 19 wh ...

and Thomas W. Lamb, it opened February 2, 1927, with the musical '' Rio Rita''. The theater's second show was also its most famous—

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 ove ...

's landmark musical ''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock worke ...

'', which opened December 27, 1927, and ran for 572 performances. Due to the decline in new Broadway shows during the Great Depression, the theater became the

Loew's Loews Cineplex Entertainment, also known as Loews Incorporated, is an American theater chain operating in North America. From 1924 until 1959, it was also the parent company of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM). The company was originally cal ...

Ziegfeld in 1933 and operated as a movie theater until showman Billy Rose bought it in 1944.

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

leased the Ziegfeld Theatre for use as a

television studio A television studio, also called a television production studio, is an installation room in which video productions take place, either for the production of live television and its recording onto video tape or other media such as SSDs, or for ...

from 1955 to 1963. The '' Perry Como Show'' was broadcast from the theater beginning in 1956. It was also used to present the televised Emmy Awards program in 1959 and 1961. In 1963 the Ziegfeld Theatre reopened as a legitimate Broadway theater. This was short-lived, however, as Rose began to assemble abutting properties for a new real estate project. The musical '' Anya'', which opened November 29, 1965, for 16 performances, was the last musical to play at the theater, which was torn down in 1966 to make way for a skyscraper, the Fisher Bros. Burlington House. Ziegfeld-Theatre-Fragment-2

"The Ziegfeld was one of those buildings that went just a few years too soon," wrote architectural critic

Paul Goldberger Paul Goldberger (born in 1950) is an American author, architecture critic and lecturer. He is known for his "Sky Line" column in ''The New Yorker''. Biography Shortly after starting as a reporter at ''The New York Times'' in 1972, he was assign ...

. "Had it been able to hold on just a bit longer, a later age would surely have seen its value and refused to sanction its destruction." A fragment of the Joseph Urban facade, a female head, can be seen in front of the private home at 52 East 80th Street. The box from the cornerstone and its contents are held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division of the

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...

Notable Broadway premieres

*'' Rio Rita'' (1927) *''

'' (1927–29) *''

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Ai ...

of 1931'' (1931) *''

Brigadoon ''Brigadoon'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, and music by Frederick Loewe. The song " Almost Like Being in Love", from the musical, has become a standard. It features two American tourists who stumble upon Brigadoon, ...

'' (1947–48) *'' Kismet'' (1953–55) * Foxy (1964)

Notable Broadway revivals

*''

The Red Mill ''The Red Mill'' is an operetta written by Victor Herbert, with a libretto by Henry Blossom. The farcical story concerns two American vaudevillians who wreak havoc at an inn in Holland, interfering with two marriages; but all ends well. The musica ...

'' (revised version) (1945) *''Show Boat'' (revised version) (1946–47) *''

Of Thee I Sing ''Of Thee I Sing'' is a musical with a score by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and a book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind. The musical lampoons American politics; the story concerns John P. Wintergreen, who runs for President o ...

'' (1951) *''

Music in the Air ''Music in the Air'' is a musical written by Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics and book) and Jerome Kern (music). It introduced songs such as "The Song Is You", "In Egern on the Tegern See" and " I've Told Ev'ry Little Star". The musical premiered on ...

'' (1951) *'' Antony and Cleopatra'' and '' Caesar and Cleopatra'' on alternate nights (1951–52). ( Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh with the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

company, imported from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

.) *''

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', it ...

'' (1952) (The famous world tour production featuring

Leontyne Price Mary Violet Leontyne Price (born February 10, 1927) is an American soprano who was the first African American soprano to receive international acclaim. From 1961 she began a long association with the Metropolitan Opera, where she was the first Af ...

, Cab Calloway, and

William Warfield William Caesar Warfield (January 22, 1920 – August 25, 2002) was an American concert bass-baritone singer and actor, known for his appearances in stage productions, Hollywood films, and television programs. A prominent African American artist ...

References

External links

*
Ziegfeld history

Cinema Treasures

Demolition of Ziegfeld Theatre

WNYC WNYC is the trademark and a set of call letters shared by WNYC (AM) and WNYC-FM, a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations located in New York City. WNYC is owned by New York Public Radio (NYPR), a nonprofit organization that ...

{{Broadway theatres Buildings and structures demolished in 1966 Former Broadway theatres Demolished theatres in New York City Demolished buildings and structures in Manhattan Former theatres in Manhattan Loew's Theatres buildings and structures Theatres completed in 1927 Thomas W. Lamb buildings