Bway history: The Palace stage door used to be in the alley all the way behind the stage house.
However during some show's run (La Cage or Woman of the Year?) some jerk threw stuff out of neighboring windows and seriously injured an actor who was leaving the theatre post-performance.
The door was reconfigured to be where it is now which explains why it opens right onto busy W 47th St.
Anyone else remember this? And for that matter, who was the actor and which show?
The Broadway stage door was on the other side of the theatre down a walkway which ran between the theatre building and the property line. However in the mid-80s the Shuberts sold the air rights, and the adjacent building was built beside the theatre making the old stage door obsolete. The door was moved to the W 53rd Street side. The new skyscraper is actually cantilevered over the Broadway theatre.
The Shuberts still own the land underneath, but not the skyscraper building itself. This produces a hefty annual rental. Part of the deal was that the facade be uniform for the new building and the old theatre.
If there is a new buiding next to or above an old theatre, air rights are involved.
[Why do I remember all of this?]
"If my life weren't funny, it would just be true. And that would be unacceptable."
--Carrie Fisher
