NEW AMSTERDAM THEATER FACADE New York, New York, USA
Herts & Tallant (est. 1900), Architects New York, New York, USA
THE HIPPODROME BUILDING FACADE New York, New York, USA
Thomas Lamb (1871–1942), J. H. Morgan (dates unknown), Architects
Dundee, Scotland; birthplace unknown
HOLLYWOOD REVUE MARQUEE New York, New York, USA
Mortimer Norden (1873–1962), Designer New York, New York, USA
1903
1905
1929
During the late nineteenth century, New York City’s Theater District, originally located in lower Manhattan, moved steadily north due to the expansion of the city’s transit system (see page 52), which brought a growing population to theaters in Union Square, Madison Square, Herald Square, and finally, in the late 1890s, to Longacre Square or what is now known as Times Square.
In 1880, a section of Broadway between Union Square and Madison Square was illumi-
nated by Edison’s new invention—the incandes- cent lightbulb (1879; see page 41), making it among the first electrically illuminated streets in the United States. By the late 1890s, Broad- way from 23rd Street to 34th Street was so brightly illuminated by marquees and billboard advertising signs, people began calling the area “the Great White Way.” When the Theater Dis- trict relocated uptown, between 42nd and 53rd Streets, and encompassed Times Square, the name was transferred to this relocated area.
The New Amsterdam Theater was, for many years, the most prestigious theater along the Great White Way and home to legend- ary Broadway impresario Florenz Ziegfeld’s (1867–1932) world-renowned follies. Designed by theatrical architects Herts & Tallant (est. 1900) and completed in 1903, the theater’s interior is one of the few remaining examples of art nouveau architecture in New York City. The original theater’s entrance spanned three stories and was the most lavish feature of the
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building’s ornamental exterior with a triumphal arch portal flanked by rusticated piers that supported paired marble columns at the second floor. Elaborate stone carvings, floral scrolls, and five figurative sculptures—a knight, a maiden, and three statues representing comedy, drama, and music, designed by American sculp- tor George Grey Barnard (1863–1938)—promi- nently rested on the facade’s cornice with art nouveau–styled bronze flower motifs framing the windows located directly above.
The restored interior is a seamless visual extension of the theater’s facade and among the most richly detailed and ornamented buildings from the turn of the century. It is distinguished by art nouveau–styled botanical motifs framing bas-relief frieze paneling depicting scenes from Shakespeare, Wagner, and Faust.
In 1982, the theater was designated a New York City Landmark and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Hippodrome was known as the largest theatrical structure in the world at the time of its completion in 1905. Located on Sixth Avenue (now known as Avenue of the Americas) be-
tween 43rd and 44th Streets in New York City, it was designed by American architects Thomas Lamb (1871–1942) and J. H. Morgan (dates unknown) and built by show promoters Frederic Thompson (1872–1919) and Elmer S. Dundy (1862–1907), who also created Luna Park (see page 51) on Coney Island the same year.
This eclectic Beaux-Arts– and Moorish- styled building included a 5,300-seat audito- rium with 5,000 incandescent lightbulbs that formed a glowing sunburst pattern in its ceiling. The Hippodrome’s vast projecting stage was large enough to hold 600 performers, two circus rings, and a large elliptical water tank and was well known at the time for its theatri- cal extravaganzas, performances by dancing elephants, boxing matches, and operas.
The building’s block-long exterior was con- ceived as one of the first electrically illuminated billboards and was said to “throw a fire and glare of electric illumination for miles.” Framed by its two corner towers, each supporting a sparkling illuminated sphere outlined in white incandescent lightbulbs, the entrance facade
was composed of varied-scaled illuminated continued on page 50
typographic statements identifying the audito- rium, as well as advertising current attractions and performances.
Mortimer Norden (1873–1962) was one of the earliest commercial sign designers respon- sible for conceiving many of the illuminated sign displays in Times Square during the 1920s and 1930s. He was born in New York City in 1873, studied at City College and Cooper Union, and worked as an electrician for years before becoming a sign maker.
In 1929, then general manager of the commercial sales division of General Outdoor Advertising Company (est. 1925), Norden de- signed the one-of-a-kind and never-seen-before “living” Hollywood Revue sign. The sign, or faux facade, was located at the corner of Broadway and West 45th Street in New York City and posi- tioned directly above the marquee of the Astor Theater (George Keister, 1906), where the revue was performing.
The sign was notorious because at timed intervals throughout the evening, live chorus
girls would step out onto a series of catwalks and perform for the passing crowds in Times Square. No other advertisement or promotional gimmick has ever surpassed Norden’s concept. It was memorable, eye-catching, and provided the most immediate means, visual and experi- ential, for promoting a live revue in the theater.
The Trans-Lux Theater, deemed as “the modern theater” in 1931, was on the corner of 58th Street and Madison Avenue in New York City. It was the first movie theater to use a rear- projection system and featured modern ameni- ties such as larger seats, larger screen, more legroom, and wider aisles than the average theater of its day. Its rear-projection technol- ogy allowed the house lights to remain low so patrons could read their programs and easily locate their seats, eliminating the need for ushers, and also eliminated the distraction of a
beam of light slicing down through the crowd from an overhead projection booth.
The building interior, as well as its distinc- tive art deco–style Moderne facade, was de- signed by renowned theater architect Thomas Lamb (1871–1942).
Minsky’s Burlesque was one of the most popular entertainment venues in New York City’s Times Square during the 1930s. It also refers to a brand of American burlesque pre- sented by the infamous Minsky Brothers during the early 1900s, which was declared obscene, immoral, and outlawed in most cities through- out the country.
Following the Great Depression (1929– 1940), legitimate theaters were finding it more and more difficult to draw the American public to their productions and still stay profitable. During this same time period, Michael Wil-
TRANS-LUX THEATER MARQUEE New York, New York, USA
Thomas Lamb (1871–1942), Architect Dundee, Scotland
BILL MINSKY’S BURLESQUE BUILDING FACADE
New York, New York, USA
designer unknown
1931
1933
liam “Billy” Minsky (1887–1932) realized that burlesque could be presented in a refined and sophisticated manner and proposed bringing the Minsky brand of tawdry entertainment to Broad- way in the midst of the district’s respectable theatrical shows. In 1931, the Republic Theater (Albert Westover, 1900) just west of Broadway on 42nd Street was acquired by the owners of the burlesque circuit, the Minsky Brothers.
The Republic became Minsky’s flagship theater and, soon after, the burlesque capital of the United States. The theater’s facade became well known for its bold, whimsical typography and checkerboard photographic pattern, jux- taposed with large-scale reproductions of the faces of his leading ladies, including the famous stripper Gypsy Rose Lee (1914–1970).
The Republic theater is now known as the New Victory Theater.
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