Tour of Old Times Square

And on to 46th Street, where on the south side of the street, you had the Gaiety Theatre (no, not THAT one) on the corner of 46th and Broadway, which spent most of its life as a movie theatre (the Victoria), but had a very graceful facade, and the real Helen Hayes Theatre (210 West 46th Street), which was before you got to the Richard Rodgers/46th Street (226 West 46th Street).

Updated On: 7/28/05 at 06:33 AM

Going further back to the 40s, here's looking down Broadway and Seventh Avenues, from the vantage of around 43rd Street. The building on the immediate left is 1501 Broadway/the Paramount building, which is still there, with the Astor Hotel next to it, where the Minskoff building is now located. The famed Bond Clothing Store on the right hand side is where Toys 'r Us is now located.

And yes, the Belasco was lovely, and deserves better than the way it has been treated.

The distinctive ceiling still remains the same, and they still have the upper boxes, but the lower boxes were removed, the beautiful woodwork running up the sides of the house was slathered with white paint, the Tiffany shades over the light fixtures on the mezzanine and balcony rails were removed, leaving just naked filament bulbs, and those murals that you can see in the mezzanine were painted over. But since that theatre sits around sometimes for months or years at a time, it just doesn't receive the treatment it should. Even in its current wounded state, it probably still has the most unique interior of any Broadway theatre.

Updated On: 7/28/05 at 10:05 AM