longacre-theatre

The Longacre Theatre is a Broadway theater at 220 West 48th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1913, it was designed by Henry B.

The Longacre Theatre is on 220 West 48th Street, on the south sidewalk between Eighth Avenue and Broadway, near Times Square in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. The square land lot covers 9,990 square feet (928 m2), with a frontage of about 100 feet (30 m) on 48th Street and a depth of 100 feet. The Longacre shares the block with the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre to the west, the Ethel Barrymore Theatre to the south, and the Morgan Stanley Building to the east. Other nearby buildings include the Eugene O'Neill Theatre and Walter Kerr Theatre to the north; Crowne Plaza Times Square Manhattan to the northeast; 20 Times Square to the east; the Hotel Edison and Lunt-Fontanne Theatre to the south; and the Lena Horne Theatre and Paramount Hotel to the southwest. Before the Longacre Theatre was developed, the surrounding area generally had a mixture of low-rise residences and industrial buildings. The site of the Longacre Theatre was previously occupied by a row of four residences, each of which was three stories high. At the time of the theater's construction, the site to the east contained a carriage factory, while the Union Methodist Church was across 48th Street.

The Longacre Theatre was designed by Henry B. Herts and constructed for baseball personality Harry Frazee. Herts had designed several Broadway theaters with his partner Hugh Tallant, including the New Amsterdam Theatre and Lyceum Theatre, but the partnership dissolved in the early 1910s. The Longacre was one of the first Broadway theaters that Herts designed alone.

The main elevation of the facade faces north on 48th Street and is arranged symmetrically with classical French details. Early news articles about the theater described it as having a facade of gray limestone and terracotta, with the terracotta pieces being painted in several colors. A contemporary New-York Tribune article compared the theater to the Whitehall Palace, while a New York Times article said the theater's exterior "gives a cheerful touch of snap and cheer to the old-time structures formerly characteristic of this block". The west and east elevations contain brick walls with window openings and fire escapes. At ground level along 48th Street, there is a water table made of granite, above which are rusticated blocks of terracotta. The ground level contains five doorways, separated by sign boards. The three center openings are each approached by a single step; each opening contains a metal-and-glass double door topped by a transom. On either side of the central doors is a recessed doorway containing metal double doors. A frieze decorated with foliate moldings, as well as a horizontal band with facets, runs above the first floor. Above all of these openings is a metal marquee. The stage door is to the left of the main entrance doors. According to early photographs, the ground-floor facade was originally composed of colored terracotta tiles, the color of which complemented the upper stories. The upper stories are divided into five bays, separated by fluted pilasters. The lower section of each pilaster contains a floral decoration, an urn, and a niche with a female statue personifying Drama; the statues hold masks and scrolls. The pilasters are topped by Corinthian-style capitals. The three inner bays (directly above the marquee) contain double-height openings, each with a window and a transom bar that is divided horizontally into three sections. The bottoms of each window contain sills with brackets and reeded panels, while the spaces above contain curved pediments. A triangular sign is placed over the center window. The outermost two bays contain paneling, as well as corbels that support empty niches. Large billboards were originally hung over the outermost bays.

Near the top of each bay, between the pilasters' capitals, is a frieze panel in each bay. Each panel consists of an oval plaque, which is flanked by circular medallions with scallop and mask motifs. Above this, an entablature wraps across the width of the facade; it contains fluted tiles on either side of an inscription with the words "The Longacre Theatre". The entablature is topped by a cornice with modillions and lions' heads. Above the cornice is an attic story with two recessed sash windows in each bay. The interiors of the recessed window openings are decorated with medallions and foliate motifs. The attic story's bays are separated by projecting pilasters with urns and foliate decoration. There is an architrave and a parapet just below the roof.

Available at this venue:

• Wheelchair-accessible entrance
• Wheelchair-accessible toilet

Not available at this venue:

• Wheelchair-accessible parking

Accessibility information supplied by Google Maps. Please contact the venue directly to confirm details for your visit.