Broadhurst Theater

History and architecture

The Broadhurst Theater survives today as one of the historic theaters that symbol ize American theater for both New York and the nation. Built shortly after the end of World War I, the Broadhurst was one of a pair with the Plymouth and among the numerous theaters constructed by the Shubert Organization, to the designs of Herbert J. Krapp, that typified the development of the Times Square/Broadway theater district.

Founded by the three brothers Sam S., Lee and J.J. Shubert, the Shubert organization was the dominant shaper of New York's theater district. Beginning as producers, the brothers expanded into the building of theaters as well, and eventually helped cover the blocks east and west of Broadway in Midtown with playhouses.

Herbert J. Krapp, who designed almost all the Shuberts' post-World War I theaters, was the most prolific architect of the Broadway theater district. Having worked in the offices of Betts & Tallant, premier theater designers of the pre-war period, Krapp went on to design theaters for the two major builders of the post-war era, the Shubert and Chanin organizations. The Broadhurst and the Plymouth were his first two independent theater designs.

The Broadhurst Theater represents a typical and important aspect of the nation's theatrical history. The theater opened under the personal direction and management of George Broadhurst, the playwright for whom the theater was named, and was intended to house Broadhurst's own plays or plays under his direction. Beyond its historical importance, the Broadhurst has a handsome neo-classical facade, employing patterned brick and terra-cotta detail, which set the tone for many of Herbert Krapp's later theater facade designs. As one of the theaters in the Shubert Alley .grouping (West 44th and West 45th Streets, between Shubert Alley and Eighth Avenue), it contributes to the visual identity of the Broadway theater district's symbolic core.

For half a century the Broadhurst Theater has served as home to countless numbers of the plays through which the Broadway theater has come to personify American theater. As such, it continues to help define the Broadway theater district, the largest and most famous concentration of legitimate stage theaters in the world.