The 39th Street Theatre was a playhouse in New York City located at the corner of 39th Street and

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 Stre ...

. Originally called Nazimova's 39th Street Theatre after the actress

Alla Nazimova Alla Aleksandrovna Nazimova (, born Marem-Ides Leventon; June 3 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. May 22 1879 – July 13, 1945) was a Russian-American actress, director, producer and scre ...

, it was in operation from 1910 to 1925 when it was demolished to make way for an office building. Throughout its existence, it was owned by the

Shubert family The Shubert family was responsible for the establishment of Broadway theatre, Broadway theaters in New York City's Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District, as the hub of the theatre industry in the United States. Through the The Shubert Org ...

. Its architect was William Albert Swasey, who had designed or remodelled several other Broadway theatres for the family.

History

In 1906 the theatrical entrepreneur

Lee Shubert Lee Shubert (born Levi Schubart; March 25, 1871 – December 25, 1953) was a Lithuanian-born American theatre owner/operator and producer. He was the eldest of three brothers of the notable Shubert family. Biography Born to a Jewish family, th ...

had presented

in matinee performances of three

Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

plays and was reportedly "bewitched" by the beautiful Russian actress. Hoping to become a major producer of serious drama in New York and to continue promoting Nazimova, he built a new theatre on 39th Street and Broadway which he named Nazimova's 39th Street Theatre. After a two-week delay from the announced date of April 4, 1910, the theatre finally opened on April 18 with Nazimova starring as Rita Allmers in Ibsen's ''

Little Eyolf ''Little Eyolf'' (''Lille Eyolf'' in the original Norwegian title) is an 1894 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The play was first performed in Norwegian on December 3, 1894, at a 9 a.m. matinee performance in the Haymarket Theatre in Lo ...

''. While her acting was praised by the critics, the play was not. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', pronounced it "peculiar" and '' The Evening Post'' termed it "dreary, unprofitable, and obnoxious." Nazimova's business relationship with the theatre and Shubert was short-lived. By February 1911, she had signed with

Charles Frohman Charles Frohman (July 15, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American theater manager and producer, who discovered and promoted many stars of the American stage. Frohman produced over 700 shows, and among his biggest hits was '' Peter Pan'', both ...

instead. According to ''

The Morning Telegraph ''The Morning Telegraph'' (1839 – April 10, 1972) (sometimes referred to as the ''New York Morning Telegraph'') was a New York City broadsheet newspaper owned by Moe Annenberg's Cecelia Corporation. It was first published as the ''Sunday Me ...

'', Shubert had offered her a guaranteed weekly salary of $1,500 and a 50% share of the profits as an inducement to remain with his organization, but to no avail. When Nazimova signed with Frohman, Shubert immediately removed her name from the theatre, and it was known as simply the 39th Street Theatre for the remainder of its existence. Despite its parting of the ways with Nazimova, the 39th Street Theatre became a popular theatrical landmark. According to ''The New York Times'', it was

Diamond Jim Brady James Buchanan Brady (August 12, 1856 – April 13, 1917), also known as Diamond Jim Brady, was an American businessman, financier and philanthropist of the Gilded Age. Early life and family Brady was born in New York City to an Irish immig ...

's favorite playhouse. Among the plays presented there were ''

The Second Mrs. Tanqueray ''The Second Mrs. Tanqueray'' is a problem play by Arthur Wing Pinero. It utilises the "Woman with a past" plot, popular in nineteenth century melodrama. The play was first produced in 1893 by the actor-manager George Alexander (actor), George ...

'' starring Mrs. Leslie Carter; A. E. W. Mason's ''Green Stockings.'' starring

Margaret Anglin Mary Margaret Warren Anglin (April 3, 1876 – January 7, 1958) was a Canadian-born Broadway theatre, Broadway actress, theatre director, director and theatre producer, producer. Encyclopædia Britannica calls her "one of the most brilliant act ...

; and ''

Believe Me, Xantippe ''Believe Me, Xantippe'' is a lost 1918 American silent romantic comedy film produced by Jesse Lasky for release through Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by actor/director Donald Crisp and stars Wallace Reid and Ann Little. The film ...

'' starring

John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen, and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly a ...

, Mary Young, and

Douglas Fairbanks Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor and filmmaker best known for being the first actor to play the masked Vigilante Zorro and other swashbuckler film, swashbu ...

. One of its longest-running plays was

Cosmo Hamilton Cosmo Hamilton (29 April 1870 – 14 October 1942), born Henry Charles Hamilton Gibbs, was an English playwright and novelist. He was the brother of writers Arthur Hamilton Gibbs, Francis William Hamilton Gibbs, Helen Katherine Hamilton Gibbs an ...

's ''Scandal'' which ran for thirty-nine weeks. The shortest was '' A Little Bit of Fluff''. According to ''The New York Times'', it opened and closed on the same night in August 1916. In May 1925 the Shubert Organization sold the theatre to A. E. Lefcourt, a real estate developer who was to erect a 20-story building with offices and showrooms on the site. The 39th Street Theatre was demolished in December of that year. During its existence, it had seen over 21,600 performances.

Architecture

The architect of the 39th Street Theatre was William Albert Swasey, who had designed or remodelled several other Broadway theatres for the Shubert family. The construction work carried out by John McKeefry who had also built

Maxine Elliott's Theatre Maxine Elliott's Theatre was originally a Broadway theatre at 109 West 39th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Built in 1908, it was designed by architect Benjamin Marshall of the Chicago-based firm Marshall and Fox, ...

. The theatre's exterior was designed in Italian Renaissance style while the interior decorations and fittings were described as being in

Louis XVI style Louis XVI style, also called ''Louis Seize'', is a style of architecture, furniture, decoration and art which developed in France during the 19-year reign of Louis XVI (1774–1792), just before the French Revolution. It saw the final phase of t ...

. The interior's color scheme was in

old rose 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, Mai ...

and antique gold. The ceiling of the auditorium was illuminated by four gold sunbursts, each containing fifty lights, while the floor and walls of the vestibule were finished in imported marble. The theatre was small by Broadway standards, seating approximately 675 people on three levels. The plan was to present plays "in an intimate setting." The stage was 26 feet deep with a

proscenium A proscenium (, ) is the virtual 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 itself, which serves as the frame ...

opening 80 feet wide by 30 feet tall. There was an elevator to bring playgoers to the balcony and gallery floors. The theatre was also equipped with a sprinkler system and fourteen exits in addition to the main entrance which meant that it could be evacuated in under a minute in case of a fire. Both Lee Shubert and his brother

J.J. Shubert Jacob J. Shubert (August 29, 1879 – December 26, 1963) was an American theatre owner/operator and producer, the youngest brother of the notable Shubert family. Biography Born in 1879 in Vladislavov, in the Suwałki Governorate of Congress Pola ...

had private offices in the building which were finished in antique oak

wainscotting Panelling (or paneling in the United States) is a Millwork (building material), millwork wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials. Panelling ...

References

External links

Internet Broadway Database The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It was conceived and created by Karen Hauser in 1996 and is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade asso ...

"39th Street Theatre"
(has photographs of both the interior and exterior of the theatre) {{DEFAULTSORT:39th Street Theatre Former Broadway theatres Shubert Organization Buildings and structures completed in 1910 Theatres completed in 1910 Broadway (Manhattan) 1910 establishments in New York City 1925 disestablishments in New York (state) Buildings and structures demolished in 1925 Demolished buildings and structures in Manhattan