Times Square Theatre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Times Square Theatre is a former Broadway theatre, located at 219 West 42nd Street, New York City.
The Times Square was built in 1920 by the Selwyn brothers. It was one of three theatres they built and controlled on 42nd Street, along with the Apollo and the American Airlines Theatre. Notable shows presented at the Times Square included the original New York productions of George and Ira Gershwin's Strike Up the Band in 1930 and Noel Coward's Private Lives in 1931. Battling Butler, the basis for the Buster Keaton film of the same name, transferred from the Selwyn to the Times Square in 1924.
Only three years after Private Lives, the Times Square was converted to a cinema. It would remain in operation as a movie theatre until the early 1990s, when it was closed.
The City and State of New York took possession of the Times Square in 1990. In 1992, it was one of six 42nd Street theatres to fall under the protection of the New 42nd Street organization. Along with the Liberty Theatre, it is the only New 42nd Street property that has not been restored, demolished or converted. Many interior elements of the theatre are landmarked, and must be preserved. However, there is no requirement that the Times Square must be used as a theatrical venue.
One of the challenges to returning the Times Square to use as a Broadway theatre is the fact that all entrances to the property are located directly on 42nd Street. This presents a challenge because of the amount of pedestrian and vehicle traffic that would be created on the busy thoroughfare. All of the other 42nd Street theatres, including the American Airlines, the Hilton and the New Amsterdam, have exits on 41st or 43rd street, facilitating access for both theatre patrons and crews loading sets and costumes into the building.
In 2004, the apparel company Ecko unlimited announced plans to use the Times Square as a retail store. However, to date, the theatre is still closed.
[edit] External links
- Information and photos at the New 42nd Street website
- Information at the Internet Broadway Database
- Interview with New 42nd Street president Cora Cahan
[edit] Sources
- Broadway Theatres: History and Architecture, William Morrison, 1999, Dover Publications, IBSN 0486402444
- Lost Broadway Theatres, Nicholas Van Hoogstraten, Princeton Architectural Press, 1997, ISBN 1-56898-116-3
| Broadway theatres | |
|---|---|
| Shubert | Ambassador Theatre · Ethel Barrymore Theatre · Belasco Theatre · Booth Theatre · Broadhurst Theatre · The Broadway Theatre · Cort Theatre · John Golden Theatre · Imperial Theatre · Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre · Longacre Theatre · Lyceum Theatre · Majestic Theatre · Music Box Theatre joint operation) · Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre · Shubert Theatre · Winter Garden Theatre |
| Nederlander | Brooks Atkinson Theatre · George Gershwin Theatre · Lunt-Fontanne Theatre · Marquis Theatre · Minskoff Theatre · Nederlander Theatre · Neil Simon Theatre · Palace Theatre · Richard Rodgers Theatre |
| Jujamcyn | Al Hirschfeld Theatre · Walter Kerr Theatre · Eugene O'Neill Theatre · St. James Theatre · August Wilson Theatre |
| Roundabout | American Airlines Theatre · Studio 54 |
| Other | Vivian Beaumont Theatre · Biltmore Theatre · Circle in the Square Theatre · Helen Hayes Theatre · Hilton Theatre · New Amsterdam Theatre |
| Active but no longer Broadway houses |
City Center of Music and Drama · Hammerstein's Theatre/Manhattan Theatre · Hudson Theatre · New Victory Theatre · Manhattan Opera House |
| Defunct and/or Demolished |
39th Street Theatre · 44th Street Theatre · 48th Street Theatre · 49th Street Theatre · 52nd Street Theatre · Adelphi Theatre · American Theatre · Apollo Theatre · Astor Theatre · Bandbox Theatre · Belmont Theatre · Berkeley Lyceum Theatre · Bijou Theatre · Broadway Theatre (41st St.) · Casino Theatre · Center Theatre · Central Theatre · Century Theatre (46th St.) · Century Theatre (62nd St.) · Circle Theatre · Cosmopolitan Theatre · Criterion Theatre · Daly's Theatre (30th St.) · Daly's 63rd Street Theatre · Earl Carroll Theatre · Edison Theatre · Eltinge Theatre · Empire Theatre · Fifth Avenue Theatre · Frolic Theatre · Fulton Theatre · Gaiety Theatre · Garrick Theatre · George M. Cohan's Theatre · Hampden's Theatre/Harkness Theatre · Henry Miller's Theatre · Herald Square Theatre · Hippodrome Theatre · Jardin de Paris · John Golden Theatre/Cort's 58th Street Theatre · Klaw Theatre/Avon Theatre · Knickerbocker Theatre · Latin Quarter · Liberty Theatre · Lincoln Square Theatre · Manhattan Theatre (33rd St.) · Mark Hellinger Theatre · Maxine Elliott's Theatre · Mayfair Theatre (44th St.) · Mayfair Theatre (46th St.) · Mercury Theatre · Morosco Theatre · New Century Theatre · New York Theatre (44th St.) · Nora Bayes Theatre · Playhouse Theatre · Playhouse Theatre (6th Ave.) · President Theatre · Princess Theatre (29th St.) · Princess Theatre (39th St.) · Proctor's Theatre · Punch and Judy Theatre/Charles Hopkins Theatre · Rialto Theatre · Sam H. Harris Theatre · Savoy Theatre · Star Theatre · Theatre Republic · Times Square Theatre · Vanderbilt Theatre · Victoria Theatre · Waldorf Theatre · Wallack's Theatre/Harris Theatre · Wallack's Theatre/Palmer's Theatre · Wallack's Lyceum Theatre · Waverley Theatre · Winter Garden Theatre (Jenny Lind Hall) · Ziegfeld Theatre |
