Theater District, Manhattan
Theater District | ||
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Area codes 212, 332, 646, and 917 | |
It also contains recording studios, record label offices, theatrical agencies, television studios, restaurants, movie theaters, Duffy Square, Shubert Alley, the Brill Building, and Madame Tussauds New York.[3][4][5]
Boundaries
The City of New York defines the subdistrict for zoning purposes to extend from 40th Street to 57th Street and from Sixth Avenue to Eighth Avenue, with an additional area west of Eighth Avenue from
Other nearby theater areas
The area known as
History
Origins and early history
In 1836, mayor
"The Great White Way" is a nickname for a section of Broadway in
Over the years, the district has been referred to by New Yorkers as "the Rialto", "The Main Stem", and "Broadway". Around the turn of the 20th century, it was simply called "The Street".[13][14]
By the 1970s, 42nd Street was seedy and run-down;
In 1974, the exterior of the Lyceum Theatre became the first Broadway theatre to receive the landmark status designation from the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC).[12][15] This was followed in 1979 by the exterior and interior of the New Amsterdam Theatre.[16]
Preservation
Joe Papp's "Save the Theatres" campaign
In early 1982,
At Papp's behest, in July 1982, U.S. Representative Donald J. Mitchell of New York and 13 co-sponsors[a] introduced a bill titled "A bill to designate the Broadway/Times Square Theatre District in the City of New York as a national historic site" (H.R. 6885).[23] The proposed legislation, which was not enacted, would have required the Federal Government to aid financially and otherwise in preserving the district and its historic theatre houses as an official National Historic Site.[23]
The Save the Theatres campaign then turned their efforts toward supporting the establishment of the Theater District as a New York City
Landmark status for individual theaters
The LPC considered protecting close to 50 "legitimate theaters" as individual city landmarks in 1982, following the destruction of the Helen Hayes and Morosco theatres. A city-landmark status would prevent the theaters from being modified without the LPC's permission, thereby protecting them from development. The landmarks under consideration included both facades and interiors, which were designated separately.[27] Manhattan Community Board 5, under whose jurisdiction the vast majority of the theaters fell, supported many of the proposed landmark protections.[28] An advisory panel under mayor Koch voted to allow the LPC consider theaters not only on their historical significance but also on their architectural merits.[29] In response to objections from some of the major theatrical operators, several dozen scenic and lighting designers offered to work on the LPC for creating guidelines for potential landmarks.[30]
The first theaters to be landmarked under the 1982 plan were the Neil Simon, Ambassador, and Virginia (August Wilson) in August 1985.[31][32] The landmark plan was then deferred temporarily until some landmark guidelines were enacted;[33] the guidelines, implemented in December 1985, allowed operators to modify theaters for productions without having to consult the LPC.[34][35] The three theaters' operators objected to the landmark statuses.[35][36]
Landmark designations of theaters increased significantly in 1987,
In March 1988, the New York City Board of Estimate approved the 28 landmark designations that had been approved in 1987 and 1988.[46][47] Of these, both the interior and exterior of 19 theaters were protected, while only the interiors of seven theaters (including the Lyceum, whose exterior was already protected) and the exteriors of two theaters were approved.[47] Several theater owners argued that the landmark designations impacted them negatively, despite Koch's outreach to theater owners.[48] The Shuberts, the Nederlanders, and Jujamcyn collectively sued the LPC in June 1988 to overturn the landmark designations of 22 theaters on the merit that the designations severely limited the extent to which the theaters could be modified.[49] The New York Supreme Court upheld the LPC's designations of these theaters the next year.[50][51] The dispute went all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States, which upheld the designations in 1992.[52]
Theater Subdistrict zoning
In January 2001, the
Under the 1998 zoning regulation, New York City also created the Theater Subdistrict Council (TSC), a not-for-profit corporation.[54] The TSC administers the Theater Subdistrict Fund and allocates grants.[54]
The New York City Zoning Resolution for special purpose districts, as amended on April 30, 2012, contains special regulations for the Theater Subdistrict, including the transfer of development rights, incentives for the rehabilitation of existing theaters, the creation of a theater council to promote theaters, and zoning and signage for theaters, and contains a list of theaters that qualify for special provisions in the regulations.[55]
Points of interest
- Statue of Francis P. Duffy by Charles Keck (Duffy Square, Times Square)
- Georg John Lober and architect Otto Langman (Duffy Square, Times Square)
See also
- New York City portal
- List of Broadway theaters
- Boston Theater District
- Buffalo Theatre District
- Cleveland Theater District
- Theater in Detroit
- Houston Theater District
- Broadway Theater District (Los Angeles)
- Theatre District, San Francisco
- Yiddish Theatre District
References
Informational notes
- Peter W. Rodino, Jr. (NJ), Rep. Louis Stokes (OH), Rep. Ted Weiss (NY), Rep. George C. Wortley (NY), and Rep. Ron Wyden (OR).[22]
Notes
- ^ "New York Zip Code Boundary Map (NY)". Zipmap.net. Archived from the original on January 27, 2021. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
- ^ a b "New York City Department of City Planning". NYC.gov. Archived from the original on March 14, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
- ISBN 9781846702105. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
- ^ ISBN 9781465407931. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
- ISBN 9781612380872. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
- ^ "Special Purpose Districts: Manhattan: Special Midtown Districts" Archived May 17, 2013, at the Wayback Machine on the official NYC website. Accessed: February 21, 2013
- ^ "Times Square: Times Square/Theater District Dining". Archived from the original on March 8, 2013. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
- ^ a b c "Broadway History". Spotlight on Broadway. Archived from the original on June 7, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
- ISBN 9780756691189. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
- ^ Burrows & Wallace 1999, p. 1063.
- ^ Burrows & Wallace 1999, p. 1066.
- ^ a b Jaramillo, Carina (August 8, 2016). "History of Theater on Broadway". Octane Seating. Archived from the original on March 7, 2017. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ISBN 9780195357769. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
- ISBN 9780801853371. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
- from the original on October 30, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- OL 22741487M.
- ^ The name of the organization was "Save the Theatres, Inc., as noted in court papers. See Shubert Organization, Inc. v. Landmarks Preservation Commission of the City of New York and Save the Theatres, Inc. Archived May 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, First Department, May 16, 1991, accessed March 10, 2013
- ^ "Proposal to Save Morosco and Helen Hayes Theaters" Archived May 20, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, LHP Architects, accessed March 10, 2013
- ^ ISBN 9780316246040. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
- ^ "City Panel Near Vote On Save-The-Theaters Proposals". The New York Times. New York City. April 15, 1984. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
- ^ Corwin, Betty "Theatre on film and tape archive" Archived September 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, International Association of Libraries and Museums of the Performing Arts, accessed May 10, 2013
- ^ Bill Summary & Status – 97th Congress (1981–1982) – H.R.6885 - Co-Sponsors[permanent dead link] Thomas.loc.gov. Retrieved December 10, 2015
- ^ a b "H.R.6885 - A bill to designate the Broadway/Times Square Theatre District in the City of New York as a national historic site, and for other purposes.". Bill of July 27, 1982. Retrieved December 10, 2015.[permanent dead link]
- ISBN 9780262692953. Archivedfrom the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
- ^ ISBN 9780520918269. Archivedfrom the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
- from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- ^ Polsky, Carol (August 7, 1985). "3 Theaters Named Landmarks". Newsday. p. 32. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- ProQuest 1438433105.
- ^ a b Shepard, Joan (December 19, 1985). "Limit on B'way landmarks urged". Daily News. p. 165. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- from the original on October 30, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- from the original on October 16, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
- from the original on October 16, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- ^ ProQuest 1286133538.
- from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- ^ Shepard, Joan; Lippman, Barbara (November 11, 1987). "3 theaters get landmark status". Daily News. p. 79. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- from the original on September 17, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- ^ Harney, James (March 12, 1988). "Frozen in stage they're now in". Daily News. p. 94. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- ^ from the original on October 30, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- ProQuest 962873540.
- from the original on October 30, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
- ^ Fisher v. Giuliani, 280 A.D.2d 13, 720 (N.Y.S.2d 2001).
- ^ a b "Theater Subdistrict Council – New York City Department of City Planning". Nyc.gov. Archived from the original on March 14, 2013. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
- ^ "The City of New York Zoning Resolution; Article VIII; Chapter 1;" (PDF). Mayor Bloomberg; New York City Planning Commission; Department of City Planning. May 25, 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
Bibliography
- ISBN 0-195-11634-8.
Further reading
- Bianco, Anthony (2004). Ghosts of 42nd Street: A History of America's Most Infamous Block. New York: HarperCollins Books, ISBN 0-688-17089-7. A detailed history that focuses primarily of the Times SquareTheater District from the beginning of the 20th century through its successful revival/restoration in the late 20th century.
External links
- NYC.com Visitor Guide: Theater District (official site of New York City)
- Theater District Dining (official site of Times Square)