Hudson Theater

History and architecture

The Hudson Theater survives today as one of the historic playhouses that symbolize American theater for both New York and the nation. Built in 1902-04, the Hudson was part of a burst in theater construction that shaped the character of Times Square as the new heart of New York's theater district. It survives today as one of the very few turn-of-the-century theaters in the Broadway/Times Square area.

The Hudson was built for Henry B. Harris, one of the era's top Broadway producers. Harris, who grew up in Boston, worked in theaters in Boston and on the road, managing such stars as Lilly Langtry. His many production successes enable him to come to New York in 1900, where he built the Hudson to showcase his stars and productions. Harris's theatrical career, which led to the construction of another of Broadway's handsomest theaters, the Folies Bergere (later the Helen Hayes, demolished), was cut short by his untimely death on the Titanic. The Hudson survives as the chief monument to his theatrical career.

Begun by theater specialists J.B. McElfatrick & Son, the Hudson's design was completed by Israels & Harder, an active New York architectural firm. Its major facade on West 44th Street is a restrained but handsome design reflecting the Beaux-Arts classicism current in New York architecture at the turn of the century.

For three-quarters of a century, beginning with Henry B. Harris's productions, the Hudson 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.