The Bouwerie Lane Theatre is a former bank building which became an

Off-Broadway theatre An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

, located at 330

Bowery The Bowery () is a street and neighbourhood, neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City, New York. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row (Manhattan), Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th ...

at Bond Street in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. It is located in the NoHo Historic District. The

cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

building, which was constructed from 1873-1874, was designed by

Henry Engelbert Henry Engelbert (1826–1901) was a German-American architect. He was best known for buildings in the French Second Empire style, which emphasized elaborate mansard roofs with dormers. New York's Grand Hotel on Broadway is the most noteworthy ext ...

in the

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

style for the Atlantic Savings Bank, which became the Bond Street Saving Bank before the building was completed., p.62 When the bank failed in 1879, the building was sold to the German Exchange Bank, which served the German immigrant community. Prior to the 1960s, the building was used for the storage of fabrics. In 1963, the building was converted into a theater by Honey Waldman, who produced several plays there. From 1974 to 2006, it was the home of the Jean Cocteau Repertory Theatre. Among the many plays and musicals that were produced at the theatre, the first was ''The Immoralist'' (1963) with

Frank Langella Frank A. Langella Jr. (; born January 1, 1938) is an American actor. He eschewed the career of a traditional film star by making the stage the focal point of his career, appearing frequently on Broadway. He has received four Tony Awards (out of ...

, ''

Dames at Sea ''Dames at Sea'' is a 1966 musical with book and lyrics by George Haimsohn and Robin Miller and music by Jim Wise. The musical is a parody of large, flashy 1930s Busby Berkeley-style movie musicals in which a chorus girl, newly arrived off the b ...

'' (1968), '' Night and Day'' (2000) by

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (; born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech-born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

, Brecht's ''

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a 1928 German "play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, '' The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François V ...

'' (2003), and the Cocteau's final production, Jean Genet's '' The Maids X 2'' (2006). The building was purchased by Adam Gordon in 2007 for conversion into a private mansion with a

climbing wall A climbing wall is an artificially constructed wall with manufactured grips (or "holds") for the hands and feet. Most walls are located indoors, and climbing on such walls is often termed indoor climbing. Some walls are brick or wooden constr ...

, and the Bowery frontage used for retail.''Curbed'' article, "The Schrager Effect: Noho Readies the Cranes", September 27, 2007
In 1967, the building was designated a

New York City landmark The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and c ...

, and it was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1980. The ''

AIA Guide to New York City The ''AIA Guide to New York City'' by Norval White, Elliot Willensky, and Fran Leadon is an extensive catalogue with descriptions, critique and photographs of significant and noteworthy architecture throughout the five boroughs of New York City. ...

'' calls it "One of the most sophisticated cast-iron buildings.", p.168

References

Notes

External links

"Bouwerie Lane Theatre"
at the Internet Off-Broadway Database {{Authority control Cast-iron architecture in New York City Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan Off-Broadway theaters New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan Henry Engelbert buildings Italianate architecture in New York City Commercial buildings completed in 1874 Bank buildings in Manhattan Bowery 1963 establishments in New York City

See also

References

External links