st-james-theatre-studio

The St. James Theatre, originally Erlanger's Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 246 West 44th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S.

The St. James Theatre is on 246 West 44th Street, on the south sidewalk between Eighth Avenue and Seventh Avenue, near Times Square in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. The land lot is nearly rectangular, with a protrusion on the eastern end. The lot covers 12,858 square feet (1,194.5 m2), with a frontage of 124.5 feet (37.9 m) on 44th Street and a depth of 100.42 feet (31 m). The St. James Theatre shares the city block with the Hayes Theater, Sardi's restaurant, and 1501 Broadway to the east, as well as 255 West 43rd Street and 229 West 43rd Street to the south. Across 44th Street are the Row NYC Hotel to the northwest, the Majestic and Broadhurst theaters to the north, and the Shubert Theatre and One Astor Plaza to the northeast. Other nearby structures include the John Golden, Bernard B. Jacobs, Gerald Schoenfeld, and Booth theaters to the north, as well as the former Hotel Carter, Todd Haimes Theatre, and Lyric Theatre to the south. The St. James was developed on the site of several old three-story row houses. There were six residences, each with a brownstone front. The original Sardi's restaurant was one of the buildings that was razed to make way for the St. James.

The St. James Theatre was designed by Warren and Wetmore in the Georgian Revival style, with Beaux-Arts inspirations. It was built for producer Abraham L. Erlanger and opened in 1927 as Erlanger's Theatre. The theater was erected by the Thompson–Starrett Co. The St. James is operated by Jujamcyn Theaters.

The facade is symmetrically arranged and is shorter than its width. In general, the facade is plain in design. The facade is made largely of stucco. The ground story is clad in cast stone above a granite water table. Part of the eastern wall is also visible from the street and is clad in stucco over brick. The St. James has a relatively simple facade, in contrast to nearby theaters like the Hayes or Shubert, but similar to the Majestic and Broadhurst. This led The New York Times to call it "probably the least ornate of all the theatres recently added to the Times Square district". The ground story has numerous recessed doorways. The doorway at the far west (on the right, as viewed from the front) is a metal stage door. The entrance to the box office lobby is immediately adjacent to the stage door. The lobby entrance consists of three aluminum and glass double doors, above which is a transom panel with signs. East of the lobby entrance is a sign board, as well as a service door accessed by two granite steps. The center of the ground-story facade has four metal doors from the auditorium. The eastern section has a glass-and-metal double door to Jujamcyn's upper-story offices, as well as additional service doors. A pair of marquees, with signs facing west and east, is suspended above the western and central sections of the facade. A stone band course runs above the base. The 44th Street facade has quoins at the extreme west and east ends on the upper stories. The center of the facade has a projecting double-height loggia of wrought iron, which conceals the fire escape. The bottom of the loggia contains stone panels, beneath which is a metal base that curves onto the marquee below it. The loggia has three arches are separated by Ionic-style columns. The arches contain wrought-iron grilles, above which are cartouches flanked by foliate decoration. The spandrels above the arches' corners contain wrought-iron foliate decoration and winged animals. A wrought-iron frieze runs above the loggia, and finials are placed on the loggia's roof. On either side of the loggia are two vertical signs with the letters "St. James", which face west and east. These signs have corbels at their bottoms and lanterns on top. At the time of the theater's construction, one observer said that the blank facade was "most appropriate" for the backdrop of an electric sign. The attic has five rectangular windows between two circular windows. Three of the rectangular windows have decorative surrounds that are scrolled at the bottom and eared at the top; they alternate with the other two windows, which have no surrounds. The two circular windows contain surrounds with foliate ornament. The attic is topped by a frieze with circular bellflower decorations, vertical niches, and masks depicting comedy and tragedy. Above that is the cornice, which is simple in design. The cornice, frieze, and quoins are also visible on the eastern wall (facing the Hayes Theater).

The auditorium has an orchestra level, two balconies, boxes, and a stage behind the proscenium arch. The space is designed with plaster decorations in relief, as well as paintings designed to resemble reliefs. Playbill cites the theater as having 1,684 seats, while The Broadway League cites 1,709 seats. Originally, Erlanger's Theatre had 1,600 seats, a comparatively large capacity as the theater was primarily meant to host musicals. The presence of two balconies ran counter to most other theatrical designs of the time, which only had one balcony. Unlike similar Broadway theaters, the St. James's interior was designed in a simple style without much plasterwork. One contemporary publication described the auditorium as having a "residential rather than theatrical" character. The lack of plasterwork contrasts with the ornate plaster decorations in theaters developed by the Shubert family, as well as those designed by Herbert J. Krapp. Instead, Warren and Wetmore placed emphasis on the interior layout and color scheme. As designed, the theater had coral-colored surfaces with antique gold highlights. The interior design scheme was overseen by John B. Smeraldi. One source described the walls as being "marble and plaster finished in coral lacquer and gold", while the chairs had coral tapestries with gold and blue highlights. After a 1958 renovation, the interior was decorated in charcoal and gold.

Available at this venue:

• Wheelchair-accessible entrance

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