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Edison Theatre

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Edison Ballroom 2 (cropped)
Edison Ballroom 2 (cropped)

The Edison Theatre was a Broadway theatre located in the Hotel Edison at 240 West 47th Street in Midtown Manhattan. Originally opening in 1931 as the hotel's ballroom, it became the Arena Theatre on May 31, 1950, with a revival of George Kelly's The Show Off. The following year it was returned to the hotel's ballroom and remained as such until the early 1970s, when it was re-converted to a theatre. Its most notable production was Oh! Calcutta!, which opened on September 24, 1976, and ran for 13 years, with a total of 5,959 performances. Other shows staged here included Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope, Me and Bessie, Sizwe Banzi is Dead, The Island, and Love Letters. The theatre closed on February 24, 1991. Its final production was Those Were the Days, a musical revue celebrating Klezmer, featuring Bruce Adler, who was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Featured Actor in a Musical. In 2008, Maria DiDia, the Edison Theater General Manager, returned the property to the owners of the Edison Hotel, who promptly removed the theater seats and turned it back into its original art deco ballroom configuration.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Edison Theatre (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Edison Theatre
West 47th Street, New York Manhattan

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Latitude Longitude
N 40.7597 ° E -73.986197222222 °
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The Hotel Edison NYC

West 47th Street 228
10036 New York, Manhattan
New York, United States
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edisonhotelnyc.com

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Edison Ballroom 2 (cropped)
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Hotel Edison
Hotel Edison

Hotel Edison is a historic hotel building at 228 West 47th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and is part of the Triumph Hotels collection which is owned by Shimmie Horn and Gerald Barad. It was constructed in 1931. Thomas Edison turned on the lights when it opened. It accommodated 1,000 guests on 26 floors and offered three restaurants. It attempted to mimic the telephone number PEnnsylvania 6-5000 of the Hotel Pennsylvania by using the telephone exchange name CIrcle 6-5000. Herbert J. Krapp was the architect, and Milton J. Kramer was the original owner. The hotel's ballroom was used as the Broadway theatres Arena Theatre in 1950 and as the Edison Theatre from 1972 until 1991, when it was converted back into a ballroom. In the early 1950s, "Glorious" Gloria Parker and her orchestra hosted an evening broadcast on WOR from the Hotel Edison. Parker would open the show with the glass harp (or musical glasses) and feature the popular Latin sound on her marimba with her orchestra. Henry Jerome was a band leader at the hotel when he heard from Bill Randle about a trio. This led the signing of Dorsey Burnette, Johnny Burnette and Paul Burlison to a management contract. Jerome got Johnny a daytime job as an elevator operator at the hotel and moved The Rock and Roll Trio in the hotel from the YMCA. He secured a contract for the trio with GAC (General Artists Corporation) and with the Coral division of Decca Records. The hallway walking scene preceding Luca Brasi's murder in the 1972 film The Godfather was filmed in the hotel. It was the penthouse in Woody Allen's 1994 film Bullets over Broadway. Neil Simon's 2001 play 45 Seconds from Broadway is set in the hotel's cafe. Michael Keaton is seen drinking at the hotel's bar, the Rum House, in the 2014 film Birdman.

Ethel Barrymore Theatre
Ethel Barrymore Theatre

The Ethel Barrymore Theatre is a Broadway theater at 241 West 47th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1928, it was designed by Herbert J. Krapp in the Elizabethan, Mediterranean, and Adam styles for the Shubert family. The theater, named in honor of actress Ethel Barrymore, has 1,058 seats and is operated by the Shubert Organization. Both the facade and the auditorium interior are New York City landmarks. The ground-floor facade is made of rusticated blocks of terracotta. The theater's main entrance consists of two archways and a doorway shielded by a marquee. The upper stories contain an arched screen made of terracotta, inspired by Roman baths, which is surrounded by white brick. The auditorium contains ornamental plasterwork, a sloped orchestra level, a large balcony, and a coved ceiling with a 36 ft-wide (11 m) dome. The balcony level contains box seats topped by decorative arches. The theater was also designed with a basement lounge and a now-demolished stage house. The Shubert brothers developed the Barrymore Theatre after Ethel Barrymore agreed to have the brothers manage her theatrical career. It opened on December 20, 1928, with The Kingdom of God, and was the last pre-Depression house developed by the Shuberts. Ethel Barrymore only worked with the Shuberts until 1932 and last performed in the theater in 1940. The Barrymore has consistently remained in use as a legitimate theater since its opening, hosting plays and musicals; it is one of the few Broadway theaters to have never been sold or renamed. The theater was refurbished in the 1980s and the 2000s.

Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, originally the Globe Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 205 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1910, the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre was designed by Carrère and Hastings in the Beaux-Arts style for Charles Dillingham. The theater is named after theatrical couple Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne; its original name was inspired by that of the Globe Theatre, London's Shakespearean playhouse. The current configuration of the interior, dating to 1958, has about 1,500 seats across two levels and is operated by the Nederlander Organization. The facade is a New York City landmark. The theater's only surviving facade is on 46th Street and was once the carriage entrance. The ground level contains the theater's entrance on the east, as well as exits from the auditorium and stage house. On the upper stories, the facade contains a five-bay-wide central pavilion with arches, flanked by simpler pavilions on either side. Another entrance on Broadway, with an ornate lobby, was demolished in 1958. The auditorium originally contained three levels and box seating prior to its reconfiguration. The tiled roof and the auditorium's ceiling were designed with retractable sections, which are no longer in use. The Globe Theatre opened on January 10, 1910. Most of the Globe's early shows were revues and musicals, including several productions by Dillingham. The Globe was converted into a movie house operated by the Brandt chain in the 1930s. City Playhouses Inc., a partnership between developers Robert W. Dowling and William Zeckendorf, bought it in 1957. After the firm Roche and Roche gut-renovated the venue, it was renamed and reopened on May 5, 1958. City Playhouses sold the theater to producers Cy Feuer and Ernest H. Martin in 1960, and it was then sold to developer Stanley Stahl in 1965. The Nederlanders have operated the theater since 1973.

Longacre Theatre
Longacre Theatre

The Longacre Theatre is a Broadway theater at 220 West 48th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. Opened in 1913, it was designed by Henry B. Herts and was named for Longacre Square, now known as Times Square. The Longacre has 1,077 seats and is operated by The Shubert Organization. Both the facade and the auditorium's interior are New York City designated landmarks. The ground-floor facade is made of rusticated blocks of terracotta. The theater's main entrance is shielded by a marquee. The upper stories are divided vertically into five bays, which cobtain niches on either side of three large windows. The auditorium contains ornamental plasterwork, a sloped orchestra level, two balconies, and a coved ceiling. The balcony level contains box seats topped by flat arches, and the proscenium opening is also a flat arch. In addition, the Longacre contains two lounges, and the top story formerly had offices. Theatrical personality Harry Frazee acquired the site in 1911 and developed the Longacre Theatre to accommodate musicals. The Longacre opened on May 1, 1913, with the play Are You a Crook?, but the theater housed several flops in its early years. Frazee, who co-owned the theater with G. M. Anderson, sold his ownership stake in 1917 to focus on baseball. The Shubert brothers acquired the Longacre in 1924 and operated it for two decades before leasing it as a radio and television studio in 1944. The Shuberts returned the Longacre to legitimate theatrical use in 1953. The theater gained a reputation for hosting few successful productions in the late 20th century and was nearly converted to a court in the early 1990s. The Longacre was renovated in 2008.

1585 Broadway
1585 Broadway

1585 Broadway, also the Morgan Stanley Building, is a 42-story office building on Times Square in the Theater District neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The building was designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects and Emery Roth & Sons and was developed by David and Jean Solomon. 1540 Broadway occupies a site on the west side of Broadway between 47th and 48th Streets. The building has served as the headquarters of financial-services company Morgan Stanley since 1995. 1585 Broadway consists of a low base, with setbacks that recede into a tower section measuring 685 ft (209 m) tall. The facade is designed with large signs at the base. The upper stories contain a facade of glass with aluminum spandrels, as well as a glass gable roof. At the ground level, the entire Broadway side contains stores, and the main entrances are placed on 47th and 48th Streets. The office entrances are connected by a wide lobby, which also connects to a basement cafeteria. Morgan Stanley's offices occupy the upper floors, with an executive suite at the 40th and 41st stories. The interior was designed by Gwathmey Siegel and Gensler. Solomon Equities had developed 1585 Broadway as a speculative development in 1989, on the site of the Strand Theatre and another building. Morgan Stanley had expressed interest in the space during construction but ultimately decided against it. When 1585 Broadway was completed in 1990, law firm Proskauer Rose was the only tenant, occupying eleven floors. The Solomons unsuccessfully attempted to attract more tenants and fell into debt, forcing the building into foreclosure in December 1991. The building was taken over by a consortium of banks who sold it to Morgan Stanley in 1993. Morgan Stanley moved into the building after several renovations. Proskauer Rose renovated its own space in 2000 and continued to occupy part of the building until 2010. Afterward, Morgan Stanley expanded into the former Proskauer Rose space and renovated each floor in the mid-2010s.

Brooks Atkinson Theatre
Brooks Atkinson Theatre

The Brooks Atkinson Theatre, originally the Mansfield Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 256 West 47th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1926, it was designed by Herbert J. Krapp in a Spanish style and was constructed for Irwin Chanin. It has 1,069 seats across two levels and is operated by the Nederlander Organization. Both the facade and the auditorium interior are New York City landmarks. The facade is divided into two sections: the four-story stage house to the west, covered in buff-colored brick, and the three-story auditorium to the east, designed with yellow-beige brick and terracotta. The ground floor, which contains the theater's entrance, is shielded by a marquee. Above is a set of Palladian windows on the second story, as well as rectangular sash windows with lunettes on the third story. The facade is topped by an entablature and a sloping tiled roof. The auditorium contains ornamental plasterwork, a sloped orchestra level, a large balcony, and a coved ceiling. The balcony level contains box seats near the front of the auditorium, above which are murals. The Mansfield Theatre was developed with the Biltmore (now Friedman) Theatre across the street, opening on February 15, 1926. The Mansfield struggled to attract hits from its opening until 1945, when Michael Myerberg bought it. In 1950, the Mansfield was leased to CBS for television productions under the name Studio 59. The theater was renamed after the former New York Times theater critic Brooks Atkinson when Myerberg returned it to legitimate use in 1960. The Nederlander Organization purchased part-ownership of the Atkinson in 1967 and acquired full ownership in 1974. Following a renovation in 2000, the theater has hosted several shows in the 21st century, such as the musical Waitress.

Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, formerly the Biltmore Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 261 West 47th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1925, it was designed by Herbert J. Krapp in the neo-Renaissance style and was constructed for Irwin Chanin. It has 650 seats across two levels and is operated by the Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC). The auditorium interior is a New York City landmark, and the theater is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Since 2008, the theater has been named for Broadway publicist Samuel J. Friedman, whose family was a major donor to MTC. The facade is largely designed in terracotta and buff-colored brick. The ground floor, which contains the theater's entrance, is shielded by a marquee. The upper stories are divided into bays separated by fluted pilasters, and the facade is topped by an entablature and balustrade. The auditorium contains neo-Renaissance detailing, a raked orchestra level, a large balcony, and a shallow domed ceiling. The basement contains MTC's gift shop and the Susan and Peter J. Solomon Family Lounge, while a mezzanine level contains another lounge. There are also false box seats near the front of the auditorium, flanking the proscenium arch. The modern configuration of the theater dates to a 2000s renovation, when the auditorium was redesigned to a smaller size, allowing the addition of MTC's lounges and offices behind it. The Biltmore Theatre was Chanin's second Broadway theater, opening on December 7, 1925, with the play Easy Come Easy Go. The Biltmore largely hosted flops during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It was used by Federal Theatre's Living Newspaper project in 1936 before being acquired by Warner Bros. The Biltmore was a CBS radio and television studio from 1952 to 1961, when producer David Cogan turned the Biltmore back into a legitimate theater. Cogan sold the Biltmore in 1986, and it fell into disrepair after a fire in late 1987. Though the theater was sold several times afterward, including to the Nederlander Organization and Stewart F. Lane in 1993, it was not restored until MTC agreed to operate the theater in 2001. The theater reopened in 2003, and MTC took ownership of the Friedman after it was renamed in 2008.

Richard Rodgers Theatre
Richard Rodgers Theatre

The Richard Rodgers Theatre (formerly Chanin's 46th Street Theatre and the 46th Street Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 226 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1925, it was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and was constructed for Irwin Chanin. It has 1,319 seats across two levels and is operated by the Nederlander Organization. Both the facade and the auditorium interior are New York City landmarks. The facade is divided into two sections. The eastern section, containing the auditorium, is designed in the neo-Renaissance style with white brick and terracotta. The auditorium's ground floor has an entrance under a marquee, above which is a loggia of three double-height arches, as well as a entablature and balustrade at the top. The facade's western section, comprising the stage house, is seven stories high and is faced in buff-colored brick. The auditorium contains neo-Renaissance detailing, steep stadium seating in the orchestra level, a large balcony, and a shallow domed ceiling. Due to the slope of the seats, the rear of the orchestra is one story above ground. There are also box seats near the front of the auditorium on two tiers. Chanin's 46th Street Theatre was the first Broadway theater developed by Irwin S. Chanin, and it was immediately leased to the Shubert brothers when it opened. The Shuberts bought the building outright in 1931 and renamed it the 46th Street Theatre. In 1945, the theater was taken over by Robert W. Dowling of the City Investing Company. In 1960, it was purchased by the producer Lester Osterman, who sold it to producers Stephen R. Friedman and Irwin Meyer in 1978. The Nederlander Organization purchased the venue in 1981 and renamed it to honor the composer Richard Rodgers in 1990. Over the years, the Richard Rodgers has hosted eleven Tony Award-winning productions: Guys and Dolls, Redhead, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, 1776, Raisin, Nine, Fences, Lost in Yonkers, In the Heights, and Hamilton. Other long-running shows at the theater have included Panama Hattie and One Touch of Venus.

Paramount Hotel
Paramount Hotel

The Paramount Hotel (formerly the Century-Paramount Hotel) is a hotel in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. Designed by architect Thomas W. Lamb, the hotel is at 235 West 46th Street, between Eighth Avenue and Broadway. The Paramount Hotel is owned by RFR Realty and contains 597 rooms. The hotel building, designed in a Renaissance style, is a New York City designated landmark. The hotel is 19 stories tall and is "H"-shaped in arrangement, with light courts to the west and east. The north and south faces of the hotel contain numerous setbacks. The facade is generally made of brick, stone, and terracotta; most of the decorative detail is concentrated on the south facade, along 46th Street. The hotel building contains a double-height colonnade at street level, as well as several terraces above each of the setbacks. The building has a double-height hip roof flanked by mansard roofs. The basement contains an event venue named Sony Hall, which has historically been used as a nightclub and theater. The double-height lobby's design dates to a 1990 renovation by Philippe Starck. Isidore Zimmer, Samuel Resnick, and Frank Locker developed the hotel from 1927 to 1928. The property went into foreclosure shortly after its completion, and Chase National Bank took over in the 1930s. The Paramount became popular after Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe (now Sony Hall) opened in the basement in 1938. When the Diamond Horseshoe closed in 1951, the hotel began to decline, and the property was sold multiple times over the next few decades. Philip Pilevsky and Arthur G. Cohen acquired the hotel in 1986, and Ian Schrager operated it for the next two decades. Starck renovated the hotel from 1988 to 1990, and several renovations have taken place since then. The hotel was sold in 2004 to Sol Melia Hotels and Resorts and Hard Rock Cafe, then in 2007 to Walton Street Capital. In 2011, the hotel was sold to Aby Rosen's RFR Holding.