Victoria Theatre
1547 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
1547 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
3 people
favorited this theater
The Gaiety Theatre was opened by Klaw and Erlanger in 1908 at Broadway and 46th Street, designed in Louis XV style, containing two balconies, boxes, and a large proscenium arch. Seating a little over 800, the Gaiety Theatre was designed by the firm of Herts & Tallant, the duo also behind the New Amsterdam, Liberty and Follies-Bergere Theatres (better known as the first Helen Hayes Theatre, and before that, the Fulton).
Home to numerous successful legitimate shows in its first nearly two decades of operation, such stars as Helen Hayes, John Barrymore and Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. all appeared onstage during this time. The Gaiety eventually switched, like so many other Broadway houses, to movies in 1926 (except for a short-lived foray into musical stage shows in 1931-2). In the mid-30s, in addition to movies, the Gaiety began to present burlesque acts, and soon the Gaiety was the city’s premier burlesque house, even hosting the occasional big-name Hollywood act onstage, like Abbott and Costello.
In 1942, an attempt at reviving vaudeville at the Gaiety Theatre failed, and later the same year, the theater was renamed the Victoria Theatre, and returned to movies.
In the 1970’s, the Guild Theatres chain acquired the Victoria Theatre and renamed it the Embassy 5, being their fifth house in the Times Square area.
By the late-1970’s, however, it had closed. Despite the efforts of preservationists, the theater met the wrecking ball in 1982. During the demolition, however, a section of the 46th Street facade collapsed into the street, forcing its closure for more than two days.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 117 comments)
This previously linked 1954 image is now part of a New York Times slide show of photographs by Frank Oscar Larson: View link
On this traditional Columbus Day (10/12) in 1949, J. Arthur Rank’s Technicolor epic, “Christopher Columbus,” with Fredric March in the title role, opened its NYC premiere engagement at the Victoria Theatre. Universal-International handled the American distribution, which proved a critical and boxoffice disaster.
Minor-league Tiffany Productions made it to Broadway at the Gaiety Theatre with this “daringly different” melodrama: boxofficemagazine
Love those crowds in the picture :)
Sinking into the muck by 1970: Boxoffice
Here’s a trade article on the introduction of Fox’s wide-screen Grandeur process at the Gaiety Theatre in 1929: archive
Half-nudist virgins ran rampant at the Gaiety in 1938: Boxoffice
Boxoffice “deplored” the type of ballyhoo used to sell this doc. Ha! If they could only see what lay down the road…
The “Wajan” booking was mentioned in this editorial, which is mainly directed at the Criterion for indecent lobby displays: Boxoffice
FYI. Just uploaded a 1929 theatre program for John Ford’s “the Black Watch” to the Photos section. It includes a small floor plan diagram. Photo courtesy of Decaying Hollywood Mansions FB page.