What Times Square Area Buildings Use To Be Theaters?- Page 8

[snowskittle]

Posted: 3/1/09 at 1:48pm

Neverandy, you are SOOO right. I just can't believe this hasn't happened before. You take a still existing, empty historically interesting and important theater and turn it into a museum. And your ideas of rotating exhibits and retaining space for an occasional (fund-raising) performance are great. And who knows better than theater people know how to put on a good show...especially one for a good cause like this.

Broadway has certainly raised a ton of money for lots of causes. I'd imagine they could/would be willing to do this to save their own history if there's any interst in doing so. I'm not sure about BC/EFA since they have a different purpose and this might cut into their revenue, but they're already raised a lot of money for that.

If other NY landmarks have been saved/restored through fund-raising and group effort why NOT use an unused but once beautiful theater for this purpose, and use the wonderful skills and talents of its people to raise the $$$ for it.

I'm sure there are a million negative reasons and obstacles to this, but maybe someone just needs to start the ball rolling.

Or maybe just a new thread.

[Tom's Cat]

Posted: 4/16/09 at 2:40pm

I wanted to revive this thread to tell you about this terrific book I just received. It's "Historic Photos of Broadway - New York Theater, 1850-1970". The text and captions are by Leonard Jacobs and it's filled with images from the Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Not only are photos shown from productions but so are lots of photos of the actual theatres - so many of which are only a memory. And I swear I haven't yet run across a pic that I've seen before. Every one of them is new (to me at least). Of course I'm only at the beginning!

I shouldn't even try this (the scanner here at work makes horrible images out of really good ones) but this is one of the more recent photos in the book. It's the stage door at the Imperial - so familiar to all of us but not looking like this! The book is so new that the caption under this photo reads "The Imperial has earned its name by housing musical smashes" (includes list of long running hits)"....., Les Miserables (1987), which premiered at the Broadway, ran here for 13 years. Billy Elliot (2008 ), based on the hit film, promises to be the next long-term tenant."

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/16/09 at 6:05pm

Sadly, NY has lost almost all of its picture palaces.

Roxy
Paramount
Capitol
State
Mark Strand
Rivoli

Well over 22,000 seats. Somehow, this does not bring the word progress to mind.

[smodel11]

Posted: 7/12/09 at 1:07pm

Bump! I love this thread :)

[Mamie]

Posted: 7/13/09 at 1:58am

I found another pic of The Liberty from 1922. When the theatre was dark, they would use it to run silent films. That was the case when this pic was taken:

[Smaxie]

Posted: 7/13/09 at 2:43am

I think that's a different Liberty Theatre. The 42nd Street Liberty had a much narrower facade with just one set of doors. (This facade still exists, for the most part, and is presently hidden under signage).

Updated On: 7/13/09 at 02:43 AM

[Smaxie]

Posted: 7/13/09 at 3:34am

Here's the Liberty, circa 1983.

[Mamie]

Posted: 7/13/09 at 4:13am

I thought so too but the photo I posted is identified exactly as I described it and is on file in the Billy Rose Theatre Division of the NY Public Library. It also states that this theatre opened in 1904 and that agrees with the IBDB history of the theatre. (Which simply means that THEY got it wrong too!)

This one shows it much more recently. The columns on the left and right side of the Internet Cafe are all that's recognizable.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 7/13/09 at 4:35am

Yes, it doesn't look like the same theatre. More than that, the Liberty was in pretty constant use as a legit theatre for the 1920s and didn't turn over to films until around 1933.

[Mamie]

Posted: 7/13/09 at 4:44am

Because of all the junk now covering that end of 42nd Street, I was never able to tell exactly where the old entrance to the Liberty was actually located. Now I can spot it when I compare the pic below with the one above. If you look at that row of lights running above the internet cafe you can see that those two columns span the length covered by the last three lights. Also note the location of the pole with the street light. You can easily spot the same location on the photo below by looking for those same three lights and the pole (now a street light). I could be completely wrong here, but it sure looks right.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 7/13/09 at 4:44am

Keep adding to this thread i LOVE it

[Mamie]

Posted: 7/13/09 at 4:52am

Smaxie - according to this history the theatre ran silent films when the legit stage was dark. It didn't go completely over to films until much later. (Of course, they got the photo wrong!)

[Smaxie]

Posted: 7/13/09 at 4:57am

Actually, Mamie, the second photo you posted is further west. The Ripley's Museum is occupying space that would have been part of the Liberty's lobby (though not the Liberty's auditorium, which as previously noted is mostly on 41st Street. You can see a bit of the distinctive diamond-shaped pattern from the Liberty's facade in this photo, and those oval shaped columns above it.

Updated On: 7/13/09 at 04:57 AM

[Mamie]

Posted: 7/13/09 at 5:16am

Oh - Fabulous!

[Smaxie]

Posted: 7/13/09 at 5:17am

Can't remember if I posted this before, but if I have, oh well.

This is a shot of the Empire (aka Eltinge, now the AMC Theatre lobby) being moved down the street. The Liberty is the wrapped figure on the left and the building behind it is the Liberty's auditorium.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 7/13/09 at 5:22am

Here's what they looked like before they were separated.

[After Eight]

Posted: 7/13/09 at 6:14am

Thank you to all those who have provided this fascinating information and beautiful pictures.

Three years ago, Charles Busch presented a benefit performance of "Die Mommie Die!" at the Hudson/Millenium Hotel. I had a seat in the mezzanine, and it was a great thrill to experience the beauty of this theatre.

[After Eight]

Posted: 7/13/09 at 6:39am

There was an off-Broadway Mayfair Theatre at 235 W. 46th St., now the address of the Paramount Hotel. It housed productions during the 60's and 70's, including one I'm really sorry to have missed, "A Curious Evening With Gypsy Rose Lee."

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 7/13/09 at 11:32am

I love this thread

I really wish someone would do something like this for the West End Board *looks at Mamma*

[Smaxie]

Posted: 7/13/09 at 11:56am

The small Broadway theatre in the basement of the Paramount Hotel also was known as the Century (also briefly the Stairway). It did have a few decent tenants, like a return engagement of On Golden Pond, and a revival of A Taste of Honey with Amanda Plummer, but it mostly housed flops. It originally had opened as Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe nightclub. I'm not aware of what the Paramount has done with the space, but it last housed a Broadway show in 1982 (Melvin Van Peebles' Waltz of the Stork).

Here's a photo of the space as Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe:

Updated On: 7/13/09 at 11:56 AM

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 7/13/09 at 12:34pm

http://ibdb.com/venueimages.php?id=1220

Both pictures of the New Century Theatre, where Kiss Me Kate opened in 1948. I went onto Google Maps, and I looked at the street view as to what is in the place of this theatre, and it just a bunch of buildings that don't like like ever held a theatre. Here is the theatre's address from IBDB:

932 Seventh Ave. at W. 58th St., New York, NY

Updated On: 7/13/09 at 12:34 PM

[Smaxie]

Posted: 7/13/09 at 12:42pm

The New Century was knocked down in the 1950s. There's an apartment building that stands on the spot.

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 7/13/09 at 12:54pm

Well, that sucks! lol

[Mamie]

Posted: 7/13/09 at 2:03pm

In 1921 the Klaw Theatre opened at 251 W. 45th Street. In 1929 the name was changed to the Avon Theatre. It was leased and then sold to CBS in 1934 when it became the CBS Radio Playhouse No. 2. Today it?s the beautiful parking lot you see next to the Imperial Theatre. The first pic here shows it after it went to CBS. All other photos were marked Klaw Theatre.





(Klaw, Imperial, Music Box)

[Smaxie]

Posted: 7/13/09 at 2:51pm

Here's a fun shot of the little sandwich and hot dog shop that used to exist in the old Selwyn Theatre building.



And here's the Selwyn Building, which "fell down" in the middle of the night one night when the 42nd Street rehabilitation began. The Selwyn auditorium, located on 43rd Street, survived the collapse. The New 42nd Street Studios replaced the Selwyn building and the theatre got a new lobby as the American Airlines.