Broadway Theater Graveyard

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 7/2/03 at 7:01pm

Below is a list of Broadway theaters that are no more:

1. Bijou - Demolished for Mariott Marquis
2. Abbott (a/k/a Adelphi & 54 th St ) - Demolished 1960's
3. Casino - SE Corner Bway & 39 th - Demolished 1930
4. Century - CPW & 62 nd St - Demolished 1930
5. Century - 932 7 th Ave - Demolished 19602
6. Earl Carroll - Demolished 1990's
7. Eltinge - 42 nd St - - Shell is now a multi plex
8. Empire - 1430 Bway - Demolished 1953
9. 48 th St - Demolished 1955
10.44 th St - Demolished 1945
11.Gaiety - 1545 Bway - Demolished for Marriott Marquis
12.George M Cohan - W 42 nd St - Demolished 1938
13.Sam H Harris - W 42 nd St - Demolished 1990's
14.Hippodrome 6 th Ave & 44/45 th St - Demolished 1952
15.International - 5 Columbus Circle - Demolished 1954
16.Knickerbocker - 1396 Bway - Demolished 1930
17.Liberty - W 42 nd St Demolished 1990's
18.Lyric - W 42 nd St - Abandoned
19.Maxine Elliott's - W 39 - Demolished 1959
20.Playhouse - Demolished 1980's - Producers Exteriors
21.Princess - W 39 th St - Demolished 1955
22.Selwyn - W 42 nd St - Demolished 1990's
23.Vanderbilt - W 48 th - Demolished 1953
24.Wallacks - W 42 nd - Demolished 1990's
25.Ziegfeld - Demolished 1967

Rest In Peace - So much for progress

Updated On: 7/2/03 at 07:01 PM

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 7/2/03 at 7:02pm

among other ones, you forgot the original Majestic Theatre.

Posted: 7/2/03 at 7:03pm

my goodness Mr. roxy, you never seem to fail by impressing us! thanks for the valuable info as always.

Posted: 7/2/03 at 8:18pm

Mr. Roxy. I have that book too.

Yours for a better Broadway!

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 7/2/03 at 9:03pm

For whatever it is worth, I did not get my information from a book, which I probably have also. I have been studying theater & theater architecture since 1974 & have criss crossed the country visiting & photgraphing theaters. Having lived in NYC all my life, I think I know enough about NY theater to not have to refer to a book.

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 7/2/03 at 9:59pm

Not that there's anything wrong with getting your information out of a book... I guess the Gaiety that was demolished is not the same one that today entertains with it's endless parade of male dancers (and was featured in Madonna's Sex book).

[magruder]

Posted: 7/3/03 at 12:18am

Couple of others that are no more: Morosco, Helen Hayes, Victoria, Avon, Central, Astor, 44th Street.

The Selwyn's office building collapsed, but the Selwyn auditorium itself does survive. It's now the American Airlines.

The Playhouse on West 48th Street was actually torn down shortly after the filming of The Producers in 1968.

Was there a 48th Street Theatre? I know there was a 49th Street Theatre, which was torn down.

Parts of the Lyric were reconstituted for the Ford Center, and the Lyric's 42nd and 43rd Street facades do survive. Although the Candler/Harris was torn down, I think parts of the Liberty do still survive.

[John4763]

Posted: 7/3/03 at 6:39am

How about the Mark Hellinger?

I believe it was converted into a church shortly after Legs Diamond failed.

[magruder]

Posted: 7/3/03 at 8:04am

Yes, but at least it's still standing. And the church has kept it in very good condition. (I suggest sneaking in at a service and taking a look around...it's gorgeous.) One has to hope that someone with gazillions of dollars will come along someday and buy it back and return it to theatrical use.

[kec]

Posted: 7/3/03 at 4:19pm

I remember while watching a biography of Irving Berlin in the last couple of years that mention was made of a theatre he opened -- or maybe owned -- in which his musicals were playing. My memory is uncertain, but I think the theatre was the Music Box? Does anyone remember a theatre of that name? If my memory is correct, is that theatre still standing?

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 7/3/03 at 4:24pm

The Musica Box is still in use. The Miracle Worker was supposed to open there. The one with Hilary Swank. It is also the only theatre on Broadway not to do time a movie house house or other such venue.

I would like to see some folks team up and construct a 'theatre complex' that has several theatres clustered together. They need more theatres opening on broadway. The number of houses has slowly but surely been shrinking.

[BrdwyThtr]

Posted: 7/3/03 at 4:29pm

It would be very nice to see a new theatre open on Broadway.

Posted: 7/3/03 at 4:46pm

This week I fondly remember seeing Katherine Hepburn in "Coco" at the Hellinger and yep it is gorgeous inside.

[magruder]

Posted: 7/3/03 at 4:54pm

Actually, after an all-time low in the 1980s when we lost the Morosco, Helen Hayes, Bijou, Mark Hellinger, Biltmore, New Apollo and such freakazoid interim Broadway houses as the 22 Steps/Princess/Latin Quarter (which is where the Hotel Renaissance is now located), the Rialto (which stood on 43rd and Broadway and housed an incredible string of bombs), the Edison (once the home of Oh, Calcutta! and now The Supper Club), and the Century (formerly Billy Rose Diamond Horseshoe, and still sitting vacant in the basement of the Hotel Paramount on West 46th Street), the number of Broadway theatres has actually been rising
lately.

We lost the Apollo and the Lyric, but gained the Ford Center. The New Amsterdam returned to theatrical use. The Selwyn also returned as the American Airlines. This fall, the Biltmore reopens as Manhattan Theatre Club's Broadway home. The Henry Miller, though a mess, has now housed two successful shows (Cabaret and Urinetown) and when Urinetown closes, will be moved down the street and reconstituted as a 1,000 seat theatre. Studio 54 will also be used to house Roundabout productions following the run of Cabaret. And perhaps, the Times Square Theatre on 42nd Street, still awaiting its future, will return to the fold as wel.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 7/3/03 at 4:58pm

I would love to have the Times Square brought back.


You do have to admit though, the number is WAY down from what it once was.

[BrdwyThtr]

Posted: 7/3/03 at 5:00pm

How will they move the Henry Miller?

[magruder]

Posted: 7/3/03 at 5:17pm

The facade of the Henry Miller is landmarked. That will be moved down the street (similar to what was done with the frame of the Eltinge/Empire Theatre on 42nd Street, the theatre that is now the entrance to the AMC movie theatre complex). A new, larger theatre is supposed to be built behind the facade of the old theatre.

As far as fewer theatres, yes, there were some 80 or so Broadway theatres operating in the 1920s, to house some 200 or so new Broadway shows every year. A Broadway season now sees 25-35 new shows a year and there isn't a need for as many houses. Still, now we have some 40-something Broadway theatres, when that number had slipped into the 30s, during the low ebb of the 1980s. Still, I agree that Broadway could really use one or two new 1,500-1,800 seat theatres to relieve the fall and spring booking glut since shows run longer these days, and musical houses in particular are at a premium.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 7/3/03 at 5:20pm

That's what I mean. There are very few 'large theatres' and many musicals need a larger theatre.

[magruder]

Posted: 7/3/03 at 5:26pm

But just think...before 1998 (when the New Amsterdam returned and the Ford Center opened) there were two fewer big musical houses! A return for the Mark Hellinger would REALLY solve a lot of problems. These days, that theatre would be booked constantly.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 7/3/03 at 5:38pm

That is soo true.

i personally love looking at photos of the old houses on Broadway.

I enjoy the lager theatres that have a mezzanine and balcony. It allows for a larger number of seats, but without sitting miles back.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 7/3/03 at 5:40pm

I did not include the Astor & Victoria & others as they were considered movie theaters. The Mark Hellinger was actually a coverted movie palace called the Warners Hollywood. An interesting note is that what is now the entrance was originally a side entrance/exit. The main entrance ( done in totally different style of the theater which was French Barique) was actually on Broadway. It is now an entrance to the building above it . The owners long ago thought it was too expensive a luxury . The sold the rights to the lobby & converted the original side entrance to be the theaters main entrance. The architect was Thomas Lamb who also designed the little theater which is now the NYC Visitors & Convention Center

The Gaiety previously referred to by another poster is now the theater where "Perfect Crime " is. It was the old Gaity Burlesk sitting atop Howard Johnsons. Both are living on borrowed time.

I only listed legit theaters in my list not movie theaters which, except radio City , are all gone

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 7/3/03 at 5:41pm

The Broadway also started out as a movie house. Just for the record. LOL.


I enjoy the Palace. That theatre has such a history.

[magruder]

Posted: 7/3/03 at 6:07pm

Both the Astor and the Gaiety started their lives as Broadway theatres.

The Astor opened in 1906 as a theatrical house, for plays and musicals. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" opened the house. Interestingly, the first play to win the Pulitzer Prize, "Why Marry?", played the Astor. Musicals included George Gershwin's "Sweet Little Devil" and Jerome Kern's "Rock-A-Bye Baby". The Astor turned to movies in 1925.

The Gaiety/Victoria, designed by Herts & Tallant, opened in 1908 as a theatrical house, with George M. Cohen's "The Yankee Prince". The first play to run over 1,000 performances, John Golden's "Lightnin'" played the Gaiety. George Gershwin's "Tell Me More" (which received a lovely recording last year) also played the Gaiety. It became a movie theatre in 1926.

And both the Gaiety and the Astor Theatres were torn down in 1982 along with the Morosco, Helen Hayes and Bijou Theatres to make way for the Marriott Marquis.

Updated On: 7/3/03 at 06:07 PM

[TheatreNut]

Posted: 7/3/03 at 8:28pm

I just have a question. What is the largest Broadway theater that is still standing whether it is being used or it is empty? Just curious. (Besides Radio City Music Hall which is emormous)

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 7/3/03 at 8:30pm

Radio City TECHNICALLY isn't a Broadway house. The largest house is the Gershwin, at over 1,900 seats. The largest STAGE is found down on 42nd Street under the tapping feet at the Ford Center.