Astor Theatre
1531 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
1531 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
12 people
favorited this theater
The Astor Theatre, opened in 1906 by producers Wagenhais and Kemper, at the corner of Broadway and W. 45th Street, seated over 1,500 patrons and was considered one of Broadway’s premier venues for decades among the top actors of the era who aspired to play its stage.
Located just next to the Hotel Astor (and later surrounded by theaters like the Morosco, Bijou and the first Helen Hayes, opened as the Folies-Bergere), the Astor Theatre was designed by George Keister, who decorated its interior in simple-yet-elegant Greek Revival style.
Red, gold and ivory were the original predominant colors. Outside, the five-floor building, which also contained shops and offices, was a blend of Neo-Classical and Second Empire styles, including a bronze-domed tower at the entrance at Broadway and W. 45th Street.
In 1912, Sam Harris and George M. Cohan took over the Astor Theatre, continuing legitimate fare (except for a 1913 presentation of the hit motion picture “Quo Vadis”) until 1916, when the theater was acquired by the Shuberts, who would run the Astor Theatre until the Depression.
During the times when there were no legitimate bookings, motion pictures were also screened. Starting in 1925, movies replaced live entertainment on a permanent basis at the Astor Theatre, and remained so for the remainder of its existence.
By the 1940’s, the Astor Theatre was the theatre that MGM premiered its big-screen Technicolor musicals on Broadway, and remained so for over a decade.
In 1959, a radical modernization of the Astor Theatre resulted in a dramatically stark-looking interior, with all of its original decor torn out in favor of
expanded orchestra seating. Modernistic murals on its side walls and the
removal of the boxes and its set of balconies, replaced by a smaller, single balcony.
The gilded proscenium arch was removed to make way for a huge curving wall-to-wall screen. The exterior was also greatly simplified and its original facade covered by a wall of marble, and given a rather plain, boxy marquee.
In 1972, the Astor Theatre was closed due to maintenance problems, and not long
afterwards, both it and its neighbors, the Helen Hayes, the Bijou and Morosco
Theatres, were all earmarked for demolition to be replaced with an office tower. Plans were delayed, however, and as preservationists fought for nearly a decade to keep the theaters standing, the Astor’s old lobby was used for retail space.
In 1982, however, despite the valiant efforts of preservation organizations,
the Astor Theatre and its three neighbors were razed to construct the Marriott Marquis New York Hotel, which contains its own legitimate theater venue.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 320 comments)
Seventy-five years ago tonight, MGM’s “The Great Ziegfeld,” a spectacular B&W musical biography with William Powell in the title role, opened its world premiere engagement at the Astor Theatre as a reserved-seat roadshow. Screenings were twice daily, with an extra midnight performance on Saturdays. Tickets were scaled from 50 cents to a top of $2. Here’s a link to a photo of the Astor’s exterior signage for the engagement, which ran for months and was followed by a conventional popular-priced booking at the Capitol Theatre: View link
Thanks, Tinseltoes. The image also teaches me that the Gaiety was once under the purview of Minsky’s Burlesque! I knew the Gaiety was the preeminent burlesque house in NYC during the late 1930’s, but I didn’t know it was part of the Minsky’s stable. I suppose that only makes sense. You should post this image on the Gaiety/Victoria page as well. There is a reverse angle photo (take from the 46th Street corner with the Astor in the background) that you posted March 15, 2010, on that page which is dated 1934 and shows the Gaiety still in operation as a cinema (albeit with a pair of older titles, including the seeming exploitation documentary “Wild Women of Borneo”).
Seventy-nine years ago tonight, MGM’s “Grand Hotel,” which broke tradition by casting five of the studio’s biggest stars in one film, opened its world premiere engagement at the Astor Theatre on a reserved-seat roadshow policy. Starring Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Joan Crawford, Wallace Beery, and Lionel Barrymore, and with the esteemed Lewis Stone and Jean Hersholt heading the supporting cast, the B&W adaptation of Vicki Baum’s best-selling novel went on to win the “Best Picture” Academy Award for 1931-32. Tickets at the Astor were scaled from 50 cents to a top of $2, and bookable eight weeks in advance.
When I first visited NYC in 1968, the frontage of the Astor was plastered with gigantic graphics of Julie Andrews in Robert Wise’s STAR (20th-Fox). It was the largest billboard I’d ever seen! I was of course blown away, thinking the picture was probably the greatest story ever filmed, but it flopped and I didn’t actually see it until two years ago (actually not that bad!)
At any rate, aside from the RC Music Hall, the Astor seemed the biggest of NYC’s big time picture houses – if only because of that memorable facade!
Just was in NYC a couple weeks ago, and now it’s virtually impossible to distinguish what’s really behind all the digital advertising in Times Square. I did manage to locate the Palace though, the onetime Mount Olympus of vaudeville (vertical sign).
Fifty years ago today, John Wayne’s Technicolor epic “The Alamo” opened at the Astor and adjacent Victoria for its first NYC engagement with popular prices and continuous performances. The United Artists release had premiered the previous October at the Rivoli Theatre as a reserved-seat roadshow with a runnng time of three hours and 12 minutes. The version shown at the Astor and Victoria was 26 minutes shorter, but no mention was made in advertising. Nor was the original Todd-AO presentation at the Rivoli. Presumably, the Astor and Victoria gave “The Alamo” wide-screen treatment, but without crediting any process. The dual booking used a “staggered” screening schedule throughout the day and night, with the Astor starting first and the Victoria following half-an-hour later.
Rarly “twin” theatres.
Sixty-three years ago today, Walt Disney’s Technicolor cartoon feature, “Melody Time,” opened its world premiere engagement at the Astor Theatre. The RKO release had a “live” prologue featuring Roy Rogers and child actors Luana Patten and Bobby Driscoll, followed by animated episodes introducing such new Disney characters as “Pecos Bill,” “Johnny Appleseed,” “Little Toot,” and “Slue Foot Sue.” Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers also performed on the soundtrack, along with the Andrews Sisters, Dennis Day, Buddy Clark, Frances Langford, the Dinning Sisters, Jack Fina, organist Ethel Smith, the orchestras of Fred Waring and Freddy Martin, and many others. The Astor advertised “Special Children’s Prices At All Performances,” but did not specify amounts.
to Tinseltoes- you have been most hopeful with previous questions so here goes with a new one. as you stated above THE ALAMO moved from its Todd-AO roadshow run of many months at the Rivoli to a continuous performance run at popular prices at the Astor in May of 1961. but the ads for this engagement made no note of the fact the print was 25 mins. shorter than the roadshow Todd-AO print. therein lies mu question. after a Cinerama roadshow engagement of many months at the Warner Theater THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD moved to a popular price continuous performance run at the Astor. what was the running time of the continuous performance print as opposed to the roadshow print? also it obviously wasn’t in Cinerama so what was the Astor run advertised as being in? many thanks in advance.
Sorry, Big Joe, but I don’t know the answers to those questions. I suggest that you check the newspapers and trade journals of the time…I find the “new look” baffling. As I write this, I can’t see your query before me as I would have in the past. And what happened to the “preview” option?
“The Alamo” did not “move-over” from the Rivoli. It opened at the Astor and Victoria at popular prices a couple of months after it left the Rivoli, where the run had been disappointing.