Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A Brief History of New York Theater
Thefirstofcountlesstheaters builtinNewYorkisthought
tohavebeentheNewTheater,erectedinlowerManhattan
in1732.Thecity'stheatricalcentersteadilymoveduptown
totheBowery,thenAstorPlace,UnionSquare,andHerald
Square, until it settled for good around Longacre Square
(now Times Square), following the opening of Oscar Ham-
merstein's Olympia Theater on Broadway in 1895. Some
85 theaters were built over the next three decades, many
with grand Beaux Arts interiors by architects such as Her-
bertJ.Krapp,andHertsandTallant,thelatterresponsible
for designing cantilevered balconies that eliminated the
need for columns. Impresarios like the Shuberts and the
Chanins made theater-going more democratic by blurring
the class distinction between orchestra and balconies, us-
ing a single entrance for all. As modern theaters replaced
them, more than 40 of these beauties have been demol-
ished. Fortunately, the rest have now been designated
landmarks.
Oscar Hammerstein
