Customer Reviews

Lost Broadway Theatres

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Anyone interested in the history of American Theatre or the history of New York City, itself, will want to dip into this exhaustive survey of the "lost" theatres of Broadway.

It is also, unfortunately, a history of commerce overtaking art; of pleasure palaces giving way to parking lots because only thirteen of the fifty four theatres in the book still exist.

Here are original, fascinating black and white photographs of theatres many of us have never even heard of, never mind seen:

For example, built expressly for intimate, short plays The Princess on West 39th Street, became the home of the Jerome Kern musicals. Imagine, before vocal amplification, seeing a musical in a theatre with only 299 seats! And Henry Miller's Theatre which does still stand on West 43 Street. It housed musicals, plays and then to keep the doors open, it showed movies, then adult movies and was, most recently, reinvented as a nightclub. Or, Hammerstein's Theatre on Broadway and 53rd Street which was a home to plays, musicals and the Federal Theatre Project WPA, long before it became the studio for Dave Letterman's television show. The pictures show us, also, how the streets looked in those days--what was playing at the theatres and how people dressed, how the cars looked that they drove.

Those are just a few of the facts one can find in this fascinating, informative, entertaining book.

Most students of theatre learn about actors, plays and producers. However, we very rarely learn about the theatres that played such an integral part of the development of Broadway.

"Lost Broadway Theatres" really fills that gap in early 20th-century Theatre History. It includes photos and historical data on the construction, productions and demise of some of the earliest theatres on the Great White Way. Although major theatres such as the Roxy and the Hippodrome are mentioned, the author also pays attention to interesting smaller venues, such as the Punch and Judy Theatre. A few of the theatres mentioned in the book have been restored; others have been altered; however, most no longer exist.

One of the nicest features of this book is the street map on the first two pages, which clearly shows the locations of both the "lost" and current Broadway houses. This definitely gives one a new perspective of the Times Square area: how sad to think that cars are now parked where grand theatres once stood!

Most of the theatres in this book were torn down years before I was born, and have left few monuments behind. It has been wonderful, then, to have the chance to read about them and learn more about the history of Broadway.

When I made my first trip to New York in the late '70s, I ignored the advice of friends and made my way to Times Square and 42nd Street. A number of the theatres listed in this book were still standing, mostly playing porno films, sad reminders of bygone days. It was a sad moment, and I wished I could have seen these houses in their full glory.

Looking through this book allowed me to experience just a little of what some of those theatres looked like when they were among "the" entertainment houses in the country. It also allowed me to take a nostalgic trip back to theatres I had visited during that trip which have now disappeared -- the Helen Hayes, the Morosco and several others -- gone due to neglect, mismanagement, or political deals. There are also some surprises, such as discovering Earl Carroll's theatre ended life as a Woolworth's, with dressing rooms and decorations still intact behind drop ceilings and sealed elevator shafts.

No single volume has the room to deal fully with the scope of this subject, but this volume is an excellent appetizer if the subject interests you. My main quibble? Not enough color photos of the theatres themselves, though I know it is likely none exist for some of the earliest theatres.

Most students of theatre learn about actors, plays and producers. However, we very rarely learn about the theatres that played such an integral part of the development of Broadway.

"Lost Broadway Theatres" really fills that gap in early 20th-century Theatre History. It includes photos and historical data on the construction, productions and demise of some of the earliest theatres on the Great White Way. Although major theatres such as the Roxy and the Hippodrome are mentioned, the author also pays attention to interesting smaller venues, such as the Punch and Judy Theatre. A few of the theatres mentioned in the book have been restored; others have been altered; however, most no longer exist.

One of the nicest features of this book is the street map on the first two pages, which clearly shows the locations of both the "lost" and current Broadway houses. This definitely gives one a new perspective of the Times Square area: how sad to think that cars are now parked where grand theatres once stood!

Most of the theatres in this book were torn down years before I was born, and have left few monuments behind. It has been wonderful, then, to have the chance to read about them and learn more about the history of Broadway.

A beautiful pictorial of all those opulent palaces that were the central of yesterdays entertainment. So few of these fabulous theatres still exist and they still are being torn down to make way for a brand new parking lot.

The book is full of drawing, details, and pictures of so many elegant & fantasy places for the mind to enjoy...to explode at the wonder of those old movie palaces....

If you remember going to one, you'll love the return trip...if your young, enjoy a look into those days before TV stifled the imagination. It's a must enjoyment for all ages...the paperback version currently available in no way deminishes the excitement...and the price is very reasonable....I commend the authors for this work of love.....

This book is near my bedstand and a favorite. I love to dip into it before going to sleep and revel in the theater glories of the past. Wonderful picture choices and the text reveals an author in love with theater, as am I. I never tire of this book.

This great houses, palaces of art...almost everyone gone forever...4 stars because more theatres were not included. What a sad day where they destroyed these beautiful buildings...but the greedy don't care...$$$$ all they want with no love of anything else.

I had seen this book several years ago, and because of recent New York associations wanted to buy it. The listing on Amazon and the condition of the ordered book were exactly as I had anticipated. The book was in excellent/like new condition. It arrived in just a few days. I was really pleased with the order and the purchase. It is an engaging and well rendered summary of New York legitimate theatres from the late 19th Century to the present day. 91 Theatres are featured in this volume. It is a fun and wistful overview of the buildings that housed some of the most creative entertainment in the U.S. in the 20th Century. Thank you.

When I was in sixth grade we moved to a 'burb in New York, thirty minutes up the Harlem Line from Grand Central. For the then ridiculously cheap fare of a buck and quarter, all of New York City was mine to explore, and explore it I did. The ferries to Staten and Liberty Islands were still a nickel, great theatre tickets could be had for $25, and the Big Apple offered every other diversion a boy coming of age could imagine, and several that defied imagination.

Nick van Hoogstraten, the author, was a classmate of mine. Even then Nick was a theatre junkie, and his infectious passion for lost Broadway comes through on every page of this gem. Loaded with rare photos and judiciously sprinkled with anecdotes, Nick's tribute strikes just the right balance for most theatre or history buffs.

One reviewer--and only one--complains that the book "lacks comprehensive detail." The detail Mr. Park craves ("fly systems, layouts, dressing rooms, stage sound and lighting, marquee setups, rehersal [sic] spaces") might have its place in a master thesis, but not a book intended to be accessible to the average theatre-goer. (I note, too, that Mr. Park's complaint that the book lacks a map is patently erroneous, which makes me question whether he was reviewed an early edition, or simply didn't spend much time between the covers.)

For those of us who arrived too late to see, but have heard, of the Hippodrome, the original Helen Hayes theatre, or the Punch and Judy, Nick's loving tribute to the Great White Way is a perfectly-sized portal to Broadway's past.

Great pictures, but like all books of this type, it could have used more, particularly some updated shots of what the sites look like today. I would have been more interested in building details like fly systems, layouts, dressing rooms, stage sound and lighting, marquee setups, rehersal spaces. The stories of the people involved were just teasers, forcing the reader to look to outside sources for details. The book includes the addresses of the theaters, but did not include a map, which would have enhanced our visualization of the theater district. All in all, unsatisfying to read... it felt incomplete.