Theater District, Manhattan

Coordinates: 40°45′32″N 73°59′06″W / 40.759°N 73.985°W / 40.759; -73.985
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Theatre District, Manhattan
)

Theater District
Area codes
212, 332, 646, and 917

The Great White Way is the name given to the section of Broadway
which runs through the Theater District.

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

Lincoln Center
) is the only Broadway-class theater not located in the Theater District.

Other nearby theater areas

The area known as

Off-Off-Broadway
theaters.

History

Origins and early history

In 1836, mayor

Metropolitan Opera House moved to West 39th Street and Broadway in 1883.[9] Oscar Hammerstein I opened his Victoria Theatre on 42nd Street in 1899.[8] Accessibility to the Theater District improved as electrified trolley lines started in 1899, followed by the opening of the New York City Subway's first line in 1904.[8]

"The Great White Way" is a nickname for a section of Broadway in

Madison Square was illuminated by Brush arc lamps, making it among the first electrically lighted streets in the United States.[10] By the 1890s, 23rd Street to 34th Street was so brightly illuminated by electrical advertising signs people began calling it "The Great White Way".[11] As the theater district shifted uptown just before the turn of the century, the nickname stuck and became synonymous.[12]

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;

grind houses began to locate there. It was considered by some New Yorkers as a somewhat dangerous place to venture. However, in the 1990s the entire area was significantly revitalized by the city. Most of the adult theater businesses closed and an array of new theaters, multiplex movie houses, restaurants, and tourist attractions opened.[4]

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,

Actors Equity union, was to save several theater buildings in the Theatre District neighborhood from their impending demolition by monied Manhattan development interests.[18][19][20][21] Papp provided financial resources, campaign buttons, posters, and newspaper ads for the effort; recruited a publicist and actors to promote the cause; and provided a various stage and street venues for public events in support of the campaign for saving the historic theatres.[19]

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

zoned as the "Theater Subdistrict".[2] Each theater's land lot could be developed with a certain maximum floor area, but many theaters used far less floor area than the maximum. The zoning plan allowed the unused development rights on the theaters' site to be sold to developers of nearby buildings that needed more than the maximum floor area.[26]

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

New York Appellate Division, First Department in Fisher v. Giuliani, partially upheld the 1998 expansion of the Theater Subdistrict zoning regulations, which added receiving sites along Eighth Avenue where development rights from the landmarked Broadway theaters could be sold. Community and civil society organizations opposed the expansion of the district as it would impinge the nearby residential neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen/Clinton. The court objection, filed in 1999, did not challenge the pre-existing Theater Subdistrict itself or the original development rights zoning legislation.[53]

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

See also

References

Informational notes

  1. 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

  1. ^ "New York Zip Code Boundary Map (NY)". Zipmap.net. Archived from the original on January 27, 2021. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  2. ^ a b "New York City Department of City Planning". NYC.gov. Archived from the original on March 14, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
  3. . Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  4. ^ . Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  5. . Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  6. ^ "Special Purpose Districts: Manhattan: Special Midtown Districts" Archived May 17, 2013, at the Wayback Machine on the official NYC website. Accessed: February 21, 2013
  7. ^ "Times Square: Times Square/Theater District Dining". Archived from the original on March 8, 2013. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  8. ^ a b c "Broadway History". Spotlight on Broadway. Archived from the original on June 7, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  9. . Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  10. ^ Burrows & Wallace 1999, p. 1063.
  11. ^ Burrows & Wallace 1999, p. 1066.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. . Retrieved March 3, 2013.
  14. . Retrieved March 3, 2013.
  15. from the original on October 30, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  16. .
  17. ^ 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
  18. ^ "Proposal to Save Morosco and Helen Hayes Theaters" Archived May 20, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, LHP Architects, accessed March 10, 2013
  19. ^ . Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  20. ^ "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.
  21. ^ 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
  22. ^ Bill Summary & Status – 97th Congress (1981–1982) – H.R.6885 - Co-Sponsors[permanent dead link] Thomas.loc.gov. Retrieved December 10, 2015
  23. ^ 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]
  24. from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  25. ^ from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  26. from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  27. from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  28. from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  29. from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  30. from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  31. from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  32. ^ Polsky, Carol (August 7, 1985). "3 Theaters Named Landmarks". Newsday. p. 32. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  33. from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  34. .
  35. ^ 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.
  36. from the original on October 30, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  37. from the original on October 16, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  38. from the original on October 16, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  39. ^ .
  40. from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  41. ^ 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.
  42. from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  43. from the original on September 17, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  44. from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  45. from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  46. ^ 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.
  47. ^ from the original on October 30, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  48. from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  49. from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  50. from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  51. .
  52. from the original on October 30, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  53. ^ Fisher v. Giuliani, 280 A.D.2d 13, 720 (N.Y.S.2d 2001).
  54. ^ 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.
  55. ^ "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

Further reading

External links