The Herald Square Theatre was a

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), many of the List of ...

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, built in 1883 and closed in 1914. The site is now a highrise designed by H. Craig Severance.

History

The Park Theatre opened in 1883 (also known as the New Park Theatre) on the partly demolished site of the Great New York Aquarium (1876–1881), which is unrelated to the later

New York Aquarium The New York Aquarium is the oldest continually operating Public aquarium, aquarium in the United States, located on the Riegelmann Boardwalk in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. It was founded at Castle Garden in Battery Park, Manhattan, i ...

. Actor Charles E. Evans, retiring from the stage with cash in hand from the long-running success of '' A Parlor Match'', refurbished the prior Harrigan's Park Theatre as the Herald Square Theatre in 1894.Who's who on the stage
p. 90 (1906) It stood at 1331 Broadway, designed by architects Rose & Stone, with about 1150 seats and with its interior furnished by the interior of the nearby

Booth's Theatre Booth's Theatre was a theatre in New York built by actor Edwin Booth. Located on the southeast corner of 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue, Booth's Theatre opened on February 3, 1869. The theatre featured a grand vestibule with Italian marble floor ...

, which was being demolished.

Lee Shubert Lee Shubert (born Levi Schubart; March 25, 1871 – December 25, 1953) was a Lithuanian-born American theatre owner/operator and producer. He was the eldest of three brothers of the notable Shubert family. Biography Born to a Jewish family, th ...

took over the lease of the theatre in 1900, making it the first Broadway theatre owned by

The Shubert Organization The Shubert Organization is a theatrical producing organization and a major owner of theatres based in Manhattan, New York City. It was founded by the three Shubert brothers — Lee, Sam, and Jacob J. Shubert — in the late 19th century. T ...

. Partially destroyed by fire and rebuilt, in 1911 it became "the first New York theatre to be converted into a

silent movie ''Silent Movie'' is a 1976 American satirical silent comedy film co-written, directed by and starring Mel Brooks, released by 20th Century Fox in summer 1976. The ensemble cast includes Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Bernadette Peters, and S ...

house", but it was demolished only three years later, as the Garment District expanded, and the Broadway theater district migrated north of 40th Street.(10 July 1914)
The Real Estate Field
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' ("The property, on which is the Herald Square Theatre, has a Broadway frontage of 211.5 feet, 207 feet on Thirty-fifth Street and eight-one feet on Thirty-sixth Street.") The theatre offered a variety of entertainment, from plays, like Shaw's ''

Arms and the Man ''Arms and the Man'' is a comedy by George Bernard Shaw, whose title comes from the opening words of Virgil's ''Aeneid'', in Latin: ''Arma virumque cano'' ("Of arms and the man I sing"). The play was first produced on 21 April 1894 at the Av ...

'' (1894), to

Edwardian musical comedies Edwardian musical comedy is a genre of British musical theatre that thrived from 1892 into the 1920s, extending beyond the reign of King Edward VII in both directions. It began to dominate the English musical stage, and even the American musical ...

, like '' The Girl from Kay's'' (1903–1904) and ''

The Girl Behind the Counter ''The Girl Behind the Counter'' is an Edwardian musical comedy with a book by Arthur Anderson (dramatist), Arthur Anderson and Leedham Bantock, music by Howard Talbot and lyrics by Arthur Anderson (dramatist), Arthur Anderson (and additional lyr ...

'' (1907–1908), to operetta, like

Reginald De Koven Henry Louis Reginald De Koven (April 3, 1859January 16, 1920) was an American music critic and prolific composer, particularly of comic operas. Biography De Koven was born in Middletown, Connecticut, and moved to Europe in 1870, where he receive ...

and Harry B. Smith's '' Rob Roy''. It saw the first performance of the

George M. Cohan George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878November 5, 1942) was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer. Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudev ...

song " You're a Grand Old Flag" in 1906, and it was also where

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper publisher and politician who developed the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His extravagant methods of yellow jou ...

first saw and met his wife Millicent Willson during her appearance as a "bicycle girl" in 1897.

Selected performances

* ''

'' (September 1894) (with

Richard Mansfield Richard Mansfield (24 May 1857 – 30 August 1907) was a German-born English actor-manager best known for his performances in Shakespeare plays, Gilbert and Sullivan operas, and the play ''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1887 play), Dr. Jekyll and Mr ...

) * ''Napoleon Bonaparte'' (October 1894) * '' Rob Roy'' (October 1894 - March 1895) * ''

Pudd'nhead Wilson ''Pudd'nhead Wilson'' is a novel by American writer Mark Twain published on 28 November 1894. Its central intrigue revolves around two boys—one, born into slavery, with 1/32 Black American, black ancestry; the other, White American, white, bor ...

'' (April 1895) (dramatized by Frank M. Mayo) * '' The Heart of Maryland'' (October 1895 - March 1896) (by

David Belasco David Belasco (July 25, 1853 – May 14, 1931) was an American theatrical producer, impresario, director, and playwright. He was the first writer to adapt the short story ''Madame Butterfly'' for the stage. He launched the theatrical career of ...

) * '' A Parlor Match'' (revival) (September 1896) * '' The Girl from Paris'' (December 1896 - July 1897; August 1897) * ''An Arabian Girl and 40 Thieves'' (April - May 1899) * ''

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

'' (September 1900 - January 1901)Brown, Thomas Allston
A History of the New York Stage, Vol. III"> A History of the New York Stage, Vol. III
(1903) * '' Dolly Varden'' (January 1902 - June 1902) (with Lulu Glaser) *'' The Defender''(July 1902 - August 1902) (with

Blanche Ring Blanche Ring (April 24, 1871 – January 13, 1961) was an American singer and actress in Broadway theatre productions, musicals, and Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood motion pictures. She was best known for her rendition of "In the Good ...

) * '' The Girl from Kays'' (November 1903 – May 1904; August–September 1904) * '' The Rollicking Girl'' (May 1905 - October 1905) *'' Coming Thro' the Rye'' (January 1906 - February 1906) * '' George Washington Jr.'' (February 1906 - April 1906) *'' Widower's Houses'' (March 1907) * '' The Orchid'' (April 1907 - September 1907) * ''

'' (October 1907 - June 1908) * ''Three Twins'' (June 1908 - December 1908, closed due to fire) * '' The Beauty Spot'' (April 1909 - August 1909) * '' Tillie's Nightmare'' (May 1910 - July 1910)

References

External links

Cinema Treasures Listing
{{Authority control Former Broadway theatres Demolished theatres in New York City Buildings and structures demolished in 1915 1911 fires in the United States Demolished buildings and structures in Manhattan