Victoria Theatre (Hammerstein's)
Hammerstein's | |
Address | 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue New York City United States |
---|---|
Owner | Oscar Hammerstein I |
Operator | Oscar and William Hammerstein |
Type | Broadway, Vaudeville |
Construction | |
Opened | 1899 |
Demolished | 1915 |
Architect | John B. McElfatrick[1][2] |
The Victoria Theatre was a prominent American
Construction
Undaunted by the failure of his father's massive Olympia Theatre, which Willie Hammerstein managed, he quickly secured the necessary funds to build the Victoria, purportedly named so in honor of his victory over his enemies. Due to budgetary constraints, the building crew was forced to take several cost-saving measures: the walls were filled with debris from the site’s demolished structure, Gilley Moore’s Market Stables; once erected, the plastered walls remained largely unadorned; and second-hand theatre seats lined the rows of the house.[5] Despite the shortcuts, the press warmly greeted the grand opening; The New York Times deemed the décor “warm and comfortable,” free of anything “grotesque.”[3]
Legitimate theatre and vaudeville
A three-act burletta titled The Reign of Error, featuring the comedy duo of the Rogers Brothers, christened the new stage[3] and ran for at least fifty performances.[6] In the four years that followed, Hammerstein presented ten other productions, one of which, a flop titled Sweet Music, was rumored to be of his own authorship.[5] Not one of these productions, however, was successful enough to solidify a formidable reputation for the fledgling theatre.
In 1904, Hammerstein's son
Demise
In 1915, Hammerstein sold the theatre to Samuel Roxy Rothafel; however, the transfer of ownership was not a seamless one. A colorful anecdote had Hammerstein wielding a hammer to drive away the wrecking crew.[4] The Times documented, “In Three Reels,” Hammerstein's sordid legal struggle to gain access to his former office.[8]
Roxy wasted no time in gutting the building and demolishing the Seventh Avenue facade. The Rialto Theatre, a movie palace, opened soon thereafter. Nineteen years later, the entire structure was razed and replaced with offices, shops, and a smaller theater.[4]
References
- ^ "Hammerstein's New Venture," New York Times, 18 September 1898
- ^ "Building News," Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide. Vol. 62, No. 1593, 24 September 1898, 418, col. 2
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
- ^ a b c d “Rialto Theatre to Close Tonight,” New York Times, 15 May 1935, 23.
- ^ a b c Hoogstraten, Nicholas. Lost Broadway Theatres. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1997, 41-43.
- ^ “Notes of the Week,” New York Times, 16 April 1899.
- ^ Sobel, Bernard. A Pictorial History of Vaudeville. New York: Bonanza Books, 1961, 69.
- ^ “Oscar in Three Reels,” New York Times, 5 April 1916.
External links
- Media related to Victoria Theatre (Hammerstein's) at Wikimedia Commons