Majestic Theatre (Columbus Circle)

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This article is about the former theatre with the address 5 Columbus Circle. For the office building at 1790 Broadway, known as 5 Columbus Circle, see Majestic Theatre (Columbus Circle). For the present day New York theatre of the same name, see Majestic Theatre (Broadway).
Majestic Theatre
Colin Campbell Cooper - Columbus Circle.JPG
The Majestic Theatre is the large grey building on the left. 'Columbus Circle' (1909), by Colin Campbell Cooper.
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General information
LocationManhattan, New York City
Opened1903
Demolished1954
Design and construction
ArchitectJohn H. Duncan

The Majestic Theatre was a theatre located at 5 Columbus Circle, the present site of the Time Warner Center in Manhattan, New York City.

History[]

Designed in 1903 by John H. Duncan, the architect of Grant's Tomb, it was built at a time that Columbus Circle was expected to become a theatre district. Initially, the theatre, which seated about 1,355 and hosted original musicals and operettas, including The Wizard of Oz and Babes in Toyland, and some plays. It was renamed Park Theatre in 1911, opening with The Quaker Girl, and it again presented plays, musicals, and operettas. The Shuberts, Florenz Ziegfeld, and Billy Minsky, in succession, owned the house but did not find success there. In 1925, it was purchased by William Randolph Hearst, renamed Cosmopolitan Theatre, and played movies as well as live theatre. During the period it was used as a playhouse, its last name was amended to include International Theatre.[1]

In 1949, NBC leased the theatre, and made it into a television studio rechristened as NBC International Theatre, with the Admiral Broadway Revue being one of the first TV shows aired from this location. In 1953, the venue hosted a portion of the 25th Academy Awards, which was the first Academy Awards to be broadcast, as well as the first to be aired from both New York City and Los Angeles.

The theater was demolished in 1954 to allow for wider sidewalks in front of the New York Coliseum,[1] which in turn was torn down to make way for the Time Warner Center in 2000.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "International Theatre", Internet Broadway Database, accessed June 8, 2013

Coordinates: 40°46′00″N 73°58′54″W / 40.76674°N 73.98155°W / 40.76674; -73.98155


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