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Mark Hellinger Theatre

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160-605: The Mark Hellinger Theatre (formerly the 51st Street Theatre and the Hollywood Theatre ) is a church building at 237 West 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City , which formerly operated as a cinema and Broadway theater . Opened in 1930, the Hellinger Theatre is named after journalist Mark Hellinger and was developed by Warner Bros. as a movie palace . It

320-649: A Lindy's restaurant. For its first two years, the Hollywood only screened films. These included Moby Dick and The Beggar of Bagdad in 1930, as well as Bought and The Mad Genius in 1931. Lou Holtz announced his intention in early 1932 to lease the theater for vaudeville. Holtz's vaudeville revues opened that February, but they stopped two months later because Holtz said his simultaneous acting and producing of these revues were "strenuous". Vaudeville returned in November 1932 when Arthur George Klein took over

480-413: A balustrade with motifs of scallops and cherubs, while the underside of the balcony has moldings. The walls of the balcony also have panels with moldings; there are doorways decorated with cartouches and swags , which lead to lounges. Ribs divide the balcony's ceiling into panels, and there are moldings along the border of both the ribs and the panels. Candelabras and globe chandeliers are suspended from

640-532: A cross-platform interchange between local and express services. Some four-track lines with express service have two tracks each on two levels and use both island and side platforms. Since the majority of the system was built before 1990, the year the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) went into effect, many New York City Subway stations were not designed to be accessible to all. Since then, elevators have been built in newly constructed stations to comply with

800-411: A water table made of black granite. The entrance itself contains five double doors below transom windows, all made of glass with bronze frames. On either side are tall figures holding globe-shaped lanterns, as well as bronze display boxes. A modern marquee is mounted over the building's entrance. The facade is made of gold brick, with three strips of brown-brick rectangles above the marquee, rising to

960-497: A Vignelli-style interactive subway map, "The Weekender", an online map that provides information about any planned work, from late Friday night to early Monday morning. In October 2020, the MTA launched a digital version of the map showing real-time service patterns and service changes, designed by Work & Co . Several privately produced schematics are available online or in printed form, such as those by Hagstrom Map . Out of

1120-459: A black-granite water table. Horizontal brown-brick strips run across the first story. The first floor also contains display boxes with brick headers around them, as well as an office door, a former stage door, and a wide garage door. On the upper stories, the central section (auditorium) contains a large brick panel surrounded by soldier courses . There are rectangular openings to the east (right) of this panel, with grilles above them. The top story of

1280-475: A church along a pilgrimage route, often located at the tomb of a saints , or holding icons or relics to which miraculous properties are ascribed, the site of Marian apparitions , etc. During the Middle Ages, a proprietary church was a church, abbey, or cloister built on the private grounds of a feudal lord, over which he retained proprietary interests. The architecture of evangelical places of worship

1440-820: A church, usually Catholic , Anglican , Oriental Orthodox or Eastern Orthodox , housing the seat of a bishop. The word cathedral takes its name from cathedra , or Bishop's Throne (In Latin : ecclesia cathedralis ). The term is sometimes (improperly) used to refer to any church of great size. A church with a cathedral function is not necessarily a large building. It might be as small as Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford , England, Porvoo Cathedral in Porvoo , Finland, Sacred Heart Cathedral in Raleigh, United States , or Chur Cathedral in Switzerland. However, frequently,

1600-457: A different part of the year. The main portion of the ceiling contains additional molded bands, which contain more murals and surround an oval panel at the center. The oval panel contains a fan design while the surrounding panels are designed in the Adam style . There are small pendant-style chandeliers hanging from the outer panels of the ceiling. A large globe-style chandelier hangs from the center of

1760-628: A few stretches of track run at ground level; 40% of track is above ground. Many lines and stations have both express and local services. These lines have three or four tracks. Normally, the outer two are used by local trains, while the inner one or two are used by express trains. As of 2018 , the New York City Subway's budgetary burden for expenditures was $ 8.7 billion, supported by collection of fares, bridge tolls, and earmarked regional taxes and fees, as well as direct funding from state and local governments. Alfred Ely Beach built

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1920-468: A grand staircase to a balcony at the auditorium's mezzanine level. Additional staircases connect to that level from the lobby's entrance. The balcony overlooks the lobby. The staircases from the lobby contain wall panels with ornamental moldings as well as lighting sconces; there are also mirrors at the landings. Underneath the balcony, next to the columns on the north wall, are segmental arches that are supported by console brackets . The balcony itself has

2080-622: A hit and a classic, premiered at the Hollywood in 1942. Among the films screened at the Hollywood in the mid-1940s were This Is the Army (1943), Old Acquaintance (1943), The Adventures of Mark Twain (1944), The Corn Is Green (1945), and Night and Day (1946). The Hollywood Theatre became the Warner Theatre in August 1947 with the premiere of the film Life with Father . Wealthy producer Anthony Brady Farrell agreed to purchase

2240-769: A letter or a number and "lines" have names. Trains display their route designation. There are 28 train services in the subway system, including three short shuttles . Each route has a color and a local or express designation representing the Manhattan trunk line of the service. New York City residents seldom refer to services by color (e.g., "blue line" or "green line") but out-of-towners and tourists often do. The 1 , C , G , L , M , R , and W trains are fully local and make all stops. The 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , A , B , D , E , F , N , and Q trains have portions of express and local service. J , Z , 6 , and 7 trains vary by direction, day, or time of day. The letter S

2400-416: A place of pilgrimage. The vast majority of parish churches do not however enjoy such privileges. In addition to a parish church, each parish may maintain auxiliary organizations and their facilities such as a rectory , parish hall , parochial school , or convent , frequently located on the same campus or adjacent to the church. A pilgrimage church is a church to which pilgrimages are regularly made, or

2560-542: A public authority presided by New York City, was created in 1953 to take over subway, bus, and streetcar operations from the city, and placed under control of the state-level Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 1968. Organized in 1934 by transit workers of the BRT, IRT, and IND, the Transport Workers Union of America Local 100 remains the largest and most influential local of the labor unions. Since

2720-399: A score by Burton Lane and Alan Jay Lerner . The same year, a 40-foot-wide (12 m) alcoholic bar was installed in the lounge's rotunda. The late 1960s was characterized by several unsuccessful musicals. The musical A Joyful Noise in 1966, with choreography by Michael Bennett , ended after just 12 performances. The Martha Graham Dance Company had a limited engagement at the theater

2880-412: A separate room for baptisms by immersion . Worship services take on impressive proportions in the megachurches (churches where more than 2,000 people gather every Sunday). In some of these megachurches, more than 10,000 people gather every Sunday. The term gigachurch is sometimes used. For example, Lakewood Church (United States) or Yoido Full Gospel Church (South Korea). In some countries of

3040-404: A set of three brown-brick squares. On either side are fluted terracotta panels, topped by stylized urns that contain plant forms. On all stories, the theater's brick courses step outward to the left and right of the tower. The top of the entrance's facade contains a parapet with zigzag patterns. The stage house to the west and the auditorium at the center share a facade, with gold brick above

3200-476: A short run at the Hellinger in 1984. Michael Bennett negotiated to buy a half-interest in the theater's ownership in 1984, the same year that Jerry Weintraub purchased a stake in the operation of the Hellinger. In 1985, the Hellinger hosted Grind for 75 performances and Tango Argentino for about 200 performances. The 1985 film A Chorus Line was also partly shot on location at the theater. Throughout

3360-482: A station, passengers may use station booths (formerly known as token booths) or vending machines to buy their fare, which is currently stored in a MetroCard or OMNY card. Each station has at least one booth, typically located at the busiest entrance. After swiping the card at a turnstile, customers enter the fare-controlled area of the station and continue to the platforms. Inside fare control are "Off-Hours Waiting Areas", which consist of benches and are identified by

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3520-547: A total of 850 miles (1,370 km) including non-revenue trackage . Of the system's 28 routes or "services" (which usually share track or "lines" with other services), 25 pass through Manhattan, the exceptions being the G train, the Franklin Avenue Shuttle , and the Rockaway Park Shuttle . Large portions of the subway outside Manhattan are elevated, on embankments , or in open cuts , and

3680-708: A transfer from the Alvin Theatre , which ran for a month at the Hollywood. In 1940, the theater was again renamed the 51st Street Theatre, presenting a revival of Romeo and Juliet with Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier that May. Though the play had been highly promoted, it ran for only 36 performances. This was followed in October 1940 by a three-week performance by the Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo , then in November by performances from Colonel Wassily de Basil 's Original Ballet Russe . The theater reverted to

3840-409: A vertical axis. A projection room was placed at the rear of the balcony, measuring 30 feet (9.1 m) long and 12 feet (3.7 m) tall. On either side of the proscenium is an archway with a single box that is curved outward. The balcony's front railing extends onto the box's front railing, supporting two fluted Corinthian columns on either side of each box. Underneath the front railing of each box

4000-497: A yellow sign. A typical subway station has waiting platforms ranging from 480 to 600 feet (150 to 180 m) long. Some are longer. Platforms of former commuter rail stations—such as those on the IND Rockaway Line , are even longer. With the many different lines in the system, one platform often serves more than one service. Passengers need to look at the overhead signs to see which trains stop there and when, and at

4160-484: Is a house church founded between 233 and 256. Sometimes, the word church is used by analogy and for simplicity to refer to the buildings of other religions , such as mosques and synagogues . Church is also used to describe a body or an assembly of Christian believers , while "the Church" may be used to refer to the worldwide Christian religious community as a whole. In traditional Christian architecture ,

4320-524: Is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons , which may be presided over by a dean or provost . Collegiate churches were often supported by extensive lands held by the church, or by tithe income from appropriated benefices . They commonly provide distinct spaces for congregational worship and for the choir offices of their clerical community. A conventual church (in Eastern Orthodoxy katholikon )

4480-484: Is an arch at orchestra level, which contains a pair of console brackets with a cartouche at the center. There are also cartouches beside the arches, under each pair of columns; these in turn are flanked by brackets with cherubs and swags. Above each box is another arch, which rises from volutes atop the Corinthian-column pairs. Small pendant chandeliers are placed in front of the boxes' column pairs. Next to

4640-489: Is approximately 8 feet 9 inches (2.67 m) wide and 51 feet 4 inches (15.65 m) long, whereas B Division equipment is about 10 feet (3.05 m) wide and either 60 feet 6 inches (18.44 m) or 75 feet (22.86 m) long. The different lengths for the B Division fleet are necessary because 75-foot cars can not be used over the BMT Eastern Division . Cars purchased by

4800-431: Is at 237 West 51st Street , on the north sidewalk between Eighth Avenue and Broadway , in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City . The irregular land lot covers 23,650 square feet (2,197 m), with a frontage of 225 feet (69 m) on 51st Street and a depth of 200 feet (61 m). The bulk of the theater exists on 51st Street, with a wing extending north to 52nd Street . The Mark Hellinger shares

4960-814: Is home to eight churches , with two additional churches located south of the Antarctic Convergence . Many churches worldwide are of considerable historical, national, cultural , and architectural significance, with several recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites . According to the Catholic Encyclopedia the Cenacle (the site of the Last Supper ) in Jerusalem was the "first Christian church". The Dura-Europos church in Syria

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5120-426: Is mainly characterized by its sobriety. The Latin cross is a well known Christian symbol that can usually be seen on the building of an evangelical church and that identifies the place's belonging. Some services take place in theaters, schools or multipurpose rooms, rented for Sunday only. There is usually a baptistery at the front of the church (in what is known as the chancel in historic traditions) or in

5280-406: Is no nightly system shutdown for maintenance, tracks and stations must be maintained while the system is operating. This work sometimes necessitates service changes during midday, overnight hours, and weekends. When parts of lines are temporarily shut down for construction purposes, the transit authority can substitute free shuttle buses (using MTA Regional Bus Operations bus fleet ) to replace

5440-421: Is on 51st Street and consists of two modern-style sections, both made of brick and designed with vertical motifs. The eastern section is a narrow tower containing the building's entrance. The other section, which contains the stage house and auditorium, is shorter but wider. Although the 51st Street facade serves as the building's current front entrance, this was originally a side entrance. The entrance section has

5600-427: Is smaller than the peak of the system. In addition to the demolition of former elevated lines, which collectively have resulted in the demolition of over a hundred stations, other closed stations and unused portions of existing stations remain in parts of the system. Many stations in the subway system have mezzanines . Mezzanines allow for passengers to enter from multiple locations at an intersection and proceed to

5760-434: Is the main church in a Christian monastery , known variously as an abbey, a priory, a convent, a friary, or a preceptory. A parish church is a church built to meet the needs of people localised in a geographical area called a parish. The vast majority of Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran church buildings fall into this category. A parish church may also be a basilica, a cathedral, a conventual or collegiate church, or

5920-561: Is the oldest surviving church building in the world. Several authors have cited the Etchmiadzin Cathedral ( Armenia 's mother church) as the oldest cathedral in the world. New York City Subway July 3, 1868 ; 156 years ago  ( 1868-07-03 ) (first elevated, rapid transit operation) [REDACTED] The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving

6080-554: Is used for three shuttle services: Franklin Avenue Shuttle , Rockaway Park Shuttle , and 42nd Street Shuttle . Though the subway system operates on a 24-hour basis , during late night hours some of the designated routes do not run, run as a shorter route (often referred to as the "shuttle train" version of its full-length counterpart) or run with a different stopping pattern. These are usually indicated by smaller, secondary route signage on station platforms. Because there

6240-577: The 142nd Street and Myrtle Avenue junctions, whose tracks intersect at the same level, as well as the same-direction pairs of tracks on the IRT Eastern Parkway Line at Rogers Junction . The 7,700 workers who built the original subway lines were mostly immigrants living in Manhattan. More recent projects use tunnel boring machines , which increase the cost. However, they minimize disruption at street level and avoid already existing utilities. Examples of such projects include

6400-477: The 1970 Tony Awards . The Hellinger next staged the flop Ari and the final performances of the long-running off-Broadway production Man of La Mancha in 1971. This was followed the same year by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice 's Jesus Christ Superstar , another classic, which ran for 720 performances over the next two years. A mixture of successes and failures followed. The Martha Graham Dance Company returned in 1974 and 1975 to critical acclaim. Conversely,

6560-600: The 472 stations , 470 are served 24 hours a day. Underground stations in the New York City Subway are typically accessed by staircases going down from street level. Many of these staircases are painted in a common shade of green, with slight or significant variations in design. Other stations have unique entrances reflective of their location or date of construction. Several station entrance stairs, for example, are built into adjacent buildings. Nearly all station entrances feature color-coded globe or square lamps signifying their status as an entrance. The current number of stations

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6720-548: The 63rd Street Lines , opened in 1989. The new South Ferry station was built and connected to the existing Whitehall Street–South Ferry station in 2009. The one-stop 7 Subway Extension to the west side of Manhattan, consisting of the 34th Street–Hudson Yards station, was opened in 2015, and three stations on the Second Avenue Subway in the Upper East Side were opened as part of Phase 1 of

6880-706: The Chicago "L" plans all stations to be accessible in the 2030s, the Toronto subway will be fully accessible by 2025, and Montreal Metro plans all stations to be accessible by 2038. Both the Boston and Chicago systems are as old or older than the New York City Subway, though all of these systems have fewer stations than the New York City Subway. Newer systems like the Washington Metro and Bay Area Rapid Transit have been fully accessible from their opening in

7040-549: The IND Sixth Avenue Line was completed in 1940, the city went into great debt , and only 33 new stations have been added to the system since, nineteen of which were part of defunct railways that already existed. Five stations were on the abandoned New York, Westchester and Boston Railway , which was incorporated into the system in 1941 as the IRT Dyre Avenue Line . Fourteen more stations were on

7200-719: The IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line , which ran directly underneath the World Trade Center . Sections of the tunnel, as well as the Cortlandt Street station, which was directly underneath the Twin Towers, were severely damaged. Rebuilding required the suspension of service on that line south of Chambers Street. Ten other nearby stations were closed for cleanup. By March 2002, seven of those stations had reopened. Except for Cortlandt Street,

7360-720: The IRT subway debuted in 1904, the typical tunnel construction method was cut-and-cover . The street was torn up to dig the tunnel below before being rebuilt from above. Traffic on the street above would be interrupted due to the digging up of the street. Temporary steel and wooden bridges carried surface traffic above the construction. Contractors in this type of construction faced many obstacles, both natural and human made. They had to deal with rock formations and groundwater, which required pumps. Twelve miles of sewers, as well as water and gas mains, electric conduits, and steam pipes had to be rerouted. Street railways had to be torn up to allow

7520-790: The Mogadishu Cathedral , along with the Saint Anthony of Padua Church in Somaliland . Other countries with a limited number of churches include Bhutan and Western Sahara . In contrast, some estimates suggest that the United States has the highest number of churches in the world, with around 380,000, followed by Brazil and Italy . According to the Future for Religious Heritage, there are over 500,000 churches across Europe . Several cities are commonly known as

7680-464: The Nativity play Bethlehem on Broadway . Productions are listed by the year of their first performance. This list only includes Broadway shows; it does not include films screened there. Church (building) A church , church building , or church house is a building used for Christian worship services and other Christian religious activities. The earliest identified Christian church

7840-626: The Nederlander Organization in 1976. The Hellinger hosted some hits from the 1950s to the 1970s, including My Fair Lady and Timbuktu! , but its later productions were mostly flops . By 1989, a lack of Broadway productions prompted the Nederlanders to lease the theater to the Times Square Church, which bought the building two years later and continues to operate it as of 2024. The Mark Hellinger Theatre

8000-710: The Proto-Germanic kirika word . This was probably borrowed via the Gothic from the Greek kyriake (oikia) , kyriakon doma , 'the Lord's (house)', from kyrios , 'ruler, lord'. Kyrios in turn comes from the Proto-Indo-European language root *keue meaning 'to swell'. The Greek kyriakon , 'of the Lord', was used of houses of Christian worship since c.  AD 300 , especially in

8160-612: The R142 , R142A , R143 , R160 , R179 and R188 were placed into service. These cars are collectively known as New Technology Trains (NTTs) due to modern innovations such as LED and LCD route signs and information screens, as well as recorded train announcements and the ability to facilitate Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) . As part of the 2017–2020 MTA Financial Plan, 600 subway cars will have electronic display signs installed to improve customer experience. Riders pay

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8320-563: The Rambusch Decorating Company . The original decorative scheme was gold with highlights of red and blue. The original lobby from Broadway (since demolished) was designed in a modern French style. It was Art Deco in design and led to the present main lobby. According to a contemporary account, the Broadway lobby had mirrored walls with bronze and marble decorations, in addition to a plaster ceiling. The Broadway lobby

8480-534: The Renaissance was extremely exaggerated. Domes and capitals were decorated with moulding, and the former stucco sculptures were replaced by fresco paintings on the ceilings. For the first time, churches were seen as one connected work of art, and consistent artistic concepts were developed. Instead of long buildings, more central-plan buildings were created. The sprawling decoration with floral ornamentation and mythological motives lasted until about 1720 in

8640-484: The Rococo era. The Protestant parishes preferred lateral churches, in which all the visitors could be as close as possible to the pulpit and the altar . A common trait of the architecture of many churches is the shape of a cross (a long central rectangle, with side rectangles and a rectangle in front for the altar space or sanctuary). These churches also often have a dome or other large vaulted space in

8800-776: The San Francesco d’Assisi in Palermo , the Salisbury Cathedral and Wool Church in England, and Santhome Church in Chennai , India , show the elaborate stylings characteristic of Gothic cathedrals. Some of the most well-known gothic churches remained unfinished for centuries after the style fell out of popularity. One such example is the construction of the Cologne Cathedral , which began in 1248,

8960-540: The boroughs of Manhattan , Brooklyn , Queens , and the Bronx . It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority , an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 27, 1904, the New York City Subway is one of the world's oldest public transit systems, one of the most-used, and the one with

9120-423: The eleventh-busiest rapid transit rail system in the world. The subway carried 2,027,286,000 unlinked, non-unique riders in 2023. Daily ridership has been calculated since 1985; the record, over 6.2 million, was set on October 29, 2015. The system is also one of the world's longest. Overall, the system contains 248 miles (399 km) of routes, translating into 665 miles (1,070 km) of revenue track and

9280-644: The extension of the IRT Flushing Line and the IND Second Avenue Line . Since the opening of the original New York City Subway line in 1904, multiple official and planning agencies have proposed numerous extensions to the subway system. One of the more expansive proposals was the " IND Second System", part of a plan to construct new subway lines in addition to taking over existing subway lines and railroad rights-of-way. The most grandiose IND Second Subway plan, conceived in 1929,

9440-454: The plan view of a church often forms a Christian cross with the centre aisle and seating representing the vertical beam and the bema and altar forming the horizontal. Towers or domes may inspire contemplation of the heavens . Modern churches have a variety of architectural styles and layouts. Some buildings designed for other purposes have been converted to churches, while many original church buildings have been put to other uses. From

9600-507: The " City of Churches " due to their abundance of churches. These cities include Adelaide , Ani , Ayacucho , Kraków , Moscow , Montreal , Naples , Ohrid , Prague , Puebla , Querétaro , Rome , Salzburg , and Vilnius . Notably, Rome and New York City are home to the highest number of churches of any city in the world. Although building churches is prohibited in Saudi Arabia, which has around 1.5 million Christians,

9760-410: The 1970s. In November 2016, the New York City Subway had 6712 cars on the roster. A typical New York City Subway train consists of 8 to 11 cars, although shuttles can have as few as two, and the train can range from 150 to 600 feet (46 to 183 m) in length. The system maintains two separate fleets of cars, one for the A Division routes and another for the B Division routes. A Division equipment

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9920-450: The 1980s, make the current fleet of subway cars graffiti-free, as well as order 1,775 new subway cars. By the early 1990s, conditions had improved significantly, although maintenance backlogs accumulated during those 20 years are still being fixed today. Entering the 21st century, progress continued despite several disasters. The September 11 attacks resulted in service disruptions on lines running through Lower Manhattan, particularly

10080-415: The 2020–2024 Capital Program. This would allow one of every two to four stations on every line to be accessible, so that all non-accessible stops would be a maximum of two stops from an accessible station. In 2022, the MTA agreed in a settlement to make 95 percent of subway and Staten Island Railway stations accessible by 2055. By comparison, all but one of Boston's MBTA subway stations are accessible,

10240-524: The ADA. (Most grade-level stations required little modification to meet ADA standards.) Many accessible stations have AutoGate access. In addition, the MTA identified "key stations", high-traffic and/or geographically important stations, which must conform to the ADA when they are extensively renovated. Under plans from the MTA in 2016, the number of ADA accessible stations would go up to 144 by 2020. As of May 2024 , there were 145 ADA-accessible stations. Over

10400-500: The Bennett estate, offers were reportedly made by former Canadian impresario Garth Drabinsky , theatrical operator Shubert Organization , and corporate producers Disney and Clear Channel . The Times Square Church maintains the theater's historic interior decor and opens the theater to the public for regular services. The church also hosts tours of the theater, as during Christmas 2016, when it gave tours along with live performances of

10560-529: The Broadway entrance had been "discontinued". The Broadway lobby was then leased out to a clothier in late 1953. The Girl in Pink Tights , the final show of the late composer Sigmund Romberg , premiered in 1954 and closed after 115 performances. The Ballets Espagnols also performed at the Hellinger that November for a four-week run. The Amish-themed musical Plain and Fancy opened in January 1955 and

10720-593: The City of New York since the inception of the IND and the other divisions beginning in 1948 are identified by the letter "R" followed by a number; e.g.: R32 . This number is the contract number under which the cars were purchased. Cars with nearby contract numbers (e.g.: R1 through R9 , or R26 through R29 , or R143 through R179 ) may be relatively identical, despite being purchased under different contracts and possibly built by different manufacturers. From 1999 to 2019,

10880-550: The East, although it was less common in this sense than ekklesia or basilike . The earliest archeologically identified Christian church is a house church ( domus ecclesiae ), the Dura-Europos church , founded between 233 and 256. In the second half of the third century AD, the first purpose-built halls for Christian worship ( aula ecclesiae ) began to be constructed. Although many of these were destroyed early in

11040-589: The Hellinger for his production Miss Saigon in 1990, but he ultimately leased the nearby Broadway Theatre . Rocco Landesman of rival chain Jujamcyn Theaters had also offered to buy the theater, but he said high maintenance costs precluded him or any other producer from offering more than $ 7 million. Ultimately, in December 1991, the Nederlanders sold the Hellinger to the church for a reported $ 17 million. Wilkerson then spent several years renovating

11200-493: The Hellinger from the Lunt-Fontanne for the last seven months of the musical's run. The Italian-language Rugantino was staged in 1964 with live supertitles on the proscenium, though it flopped in spite of critical acclaim. Styne, Betty Comden , and Adolph Green 's musical Fade Out – Fade In also opened in 1964, featuring Jack Cassidy and Carol Burnett . On a Clear Day You Can See Forever opened in 1965 with

11360-454: The Hellinger in 1980 and 1981 . After the closure of Sugar Babies in 1982, Comden and Green produced A Doll's Life , which closed after five performances. Magician Doug Henning costarred with Chita Rivera in the 1983 musical Merlin , which ran for 199 performances. Merlin ended to make way for Chaplin , a musical that never opened. Afterward, the British musical Oliver! had

11520-592: The Hellinger in March 1989. That August, the LPC held a hearing on whether the westernmost 26-foot-wide (7.9 m) section of the theater could be demolished to make way for a hotel developed by Silverstein Properties . The planned hotel would have used air rights from above the theater, which would have necessitated restoring the Hellinger for legitimate use. The producer Cameron Mackintosh expressed interest in leasing

11680-609: The Hollywood Theatre for himself and stage musicals there. The theater was leased to George Abbott and renamed the 51st Street Theatre in late 1936. The theater's main entrance was relocated from Broadway to 51st Street, as Warner Bros. wished to use the Broadway entrance for films and the 51st Street entrance for legitimate productions. Abbott's play Sweet River opened that October and closed after just five performances. The 51st Street Theatre reverted to film in 1937; Warner Bros. planned to either host its own films or rent

11840-436: The Hollywood Theatre name and again began showing films. A renovation of the Hollywood Theatre was announced in mid-1941, when Eddie Cantor 's musical Banjo Eyes was booked. Banjo Eyes opened in December 1941 and ran for 129 performances, ultimately closing after Cantor became ill. Following Banjo Eyes , the Hollywood returned to showing films exclusively for several years. The film Casablanca , which subsequently became

12000-598: The Maldives, which has approximately 1,400 Christians, building churches is prohibited. However, only foreign Christian workers are allowed to practice their religion privately. Despite the prohibition on church construction, both countries have secret home churches . Christianity is the world's largest and most widespread religion, with over 2.3 billion followers. Churches are found across all seven continents , which are Asia , Africa , North America , South America , Antarctica , Europe , and Oceania . Antarctica

12160-522: The Romanesque church include circular arches , round or octagonal towers, and cushion capitals on pillars. In the early Romanesque era, coffering on the ceiling was fashionable, while later in the same era, groined vaults gained popularity. Interiors widened, and the motifs of sculptures took on more epic traits and themes. The Gothic style emerged around 1140 in Île-de-France and subsequently spread throughout Europe. Gothic churches lost

12320-579: The UK include a former tram power station, a former bus garage , a former cinema and bingo hall, a former Territorial Army drill hall, and a former synagogue . HMS  Tees served as a floating church for mariners at Liverpool from 1827 until she sank in 1872. A windmill has also been converted into a church at Reigate Heath . There have been increased partnerships between church management and private real estate companies to redevelop church properties into mixed uses. While it has garnered criticism,

12480-452: The Warner Theatre in June 1948 for about $ 1.5 million; the sale was finalized the next month. Farrell planned to rename the theater for Mark Hellinger , a Broadway journalist and critic who had died the year before, and he proposed renovating the theater for legitimate plays and musicals. The theater was dedicated under its new name on January 16, 1949, and Farrell's musical All for Love opened

12640-615: The abandoned LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch (now the IND Rockaway Line ), which opened in 1955. Two stations ( 57th Street and Grand Street ) were part of the Chrystie Street Connection , and opened in 1968; the Harlem–148th Street terminal opened that same year in an unrelated project. Six were built as part of a 1968 plan : three on the Archer Avenue Lines , opened in 1988, and three on

12800-524: The all-male revival of As You Like It (1974), The Skin of Our Teeth (1975), and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (1976) were all flops that managed less than ten performances each. Meanwhile, the Stahls had unofficially put the Hellinger on the market by 1975, and the Nederlander Organization bought the theater the next year. The Hellinger was not successful in its 1978 productions of Timbuktu! with Eartha Kitt or Platinum with Alexis Smith . This

12960-412: The architecture and location often provide for attractive homes or city centre entertainment venues. On the other hand, many newer churches have decided to host meetings in public buildings such as schools, universities, cinemas or theatres. There is another trend to convert old buildings for worship rather than face the construction costs and planning difficulties of a new build. Unusual venues in

13120-526: The arriving train to identify it. There are several common platform configurations. On a double track line, a station may have one center island platform used for trains in both directions, or two side platforms , one for each direction. For lines with three or four tracks with express service, local stops will have side platforms and the middle one or two tracks will not stop at the station. On these lines, express stations typically have two island platforms, one for each direction. Each island platform provides

13280-455: The auditorium contains stylized brick brackets , which support a decorative copper cornice ; there are octagonal panels between the brackets. The stage house contains window openings between shallow brick piers . The stage house has a setback on the upper stories, with plain brick behind it. The Hellinger's rococo interior was similar to that of other 1920s movie palaces. The interior spaces were designed by Leif Neandross, chief designer of

13440-494: The balcony ceiling. There was originally furniture along the balcony. The auditorium has an orchestra level, one balcony, boxes , and a stage behind the proscenium arch. The auditorium is slightly wider than its depth, and the space is designed with plaster decorations in low relief . The auditorium's seating capacity is 1,603, though historically it could fit 1,506 people. The orchestra alone could fit 900 people. The seats are upholstered in red velvet and finished in wood. From

13600-874: The block with the Neil Simon Theatre to the west and Gallagher's Steakhouse to the north. Other nearby buildings include the August Wilson Theatre to the north; the Broadway Theatre and 810 Seventh Avenue to the northeast; Axa Equitable Center to the east; the Winter Garden Theatre to the southeast; and Paramount Plaza (including the Circle in the Square Theatre and the Gershwin Theatre ) to

13760-409: The boxes is an inverted proscenium arch. The proscenium arch contains Corinthian-style fluted piers and columns on either side, topped by console brackets. The top of the arch is designed as an ornate entablature. The center of the proscenium contains a large plaster-of-Paris crown, supported by a broken pediment with winged figures. The stage has a depth of 45 feet (14 m). Although the Hellinger

13920-439: The cathedral, along with some of the abbey churches, was the largest building in any region. Cathedrals tend to display a higher level of contemporary architectural style and the work of accomplished craftsmen, and occupy a status both ecclesiastical and social that an ordinary parish church rarely has. Such churches are generally among the finest buildings locally and a source of national and regional pride, and many are among

14080-439: The ceiling; the mural was intended to symbolize arts and learning. A large multi-tiered candelabra hangs from the middle of the dome. The lobby's walls contain marble bases, above which are panels surrounded by ornamental moldings. Lighting sconces are mounted onto the walls, and there are openings to the auditorium's orchestra level on the west wall. Doors on the south wall lead back to the ticket lobby. The north wall contains

14240-420: The church occupied the 1,150-seat Nederlander Theatre , which was at standing-room only capacity five days a week. In addition, the Broadway theatrical industry was struggling to stage works, and James M. Nederlander said: "It's a short-term lease—five years is short term for me. It'll pass before you know it." Had the Nederlanders retained the Hellinger as a legitimate venue, the organization could have rented

14400-506: The compact qualities of the Romanesque era, and decorations often contained symbolic and allegorical features. The first pointed arches , rib vaults , and buttresses began to appear, all possessing geometric properties that reduced the need for large, rigid walls to ensure structural stability. This also permitted the size of windows to increase, producing brighter and lighter interiors. Nave ceilings rose, and pillars and steeples heightened. Many architects used these developments to push

14560-410: The complexity of the system (Manhattan being the smallest borough, but having the most services), but they do show major city streets as an aid to navigation. The newest edition took effect on June 27, 2010, and makes Manhattan bigger and Staten Island smaller, with minor tweaks happening to the map when more permanent changes occur. Earlier diagrams of the subway, the first being produced in 1958, had

14720-425: The correct platform without having to cross the street before entering. Inside mezzanines are fare control areas, where passengers physically pay their fare to enter the subway system. In many older stations, the fare control area is at platform level with no mezzanine crossovers. Many elevated stations also have platform-level fare control with no common station house between directions of service. Upon entering

14880-606: The country contains the remnants of a historic church known as the Jubail Church , which dates back to the fourth century and was affiliated with the Church of the East . Discovered in 1986, the site was excavated by the Saudi Antiquities Department in 1987. As of 2008, the findings from this excavation had not been published, reflecting sensitivities regarding artifacts from non-Islamic religions. In

15040-471: The eleventh through the fourteenth centuries, there was a wave of church construction in Western Europe . Many churches worldwide are of considerable historical , national, cultural , and architectural significance, with several recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites . The word church is derived from Old English cirice word, 'place of assemblage set aside for Christian worship', from

15200-413: The end of the year, the theater premiered its last-ever legitimate production, Legs Diamond . The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) had started to consider protecting the Hellinger as a landmark in 1982, with discussions continuing over the next several years. The LPC designated the Hellinger's interior as a landmark on November 17, 1987, followed by the facade in January 1988. This

15360-801: The extent to which the theaters could be modified. The lawsuit was escalated to the New York Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of the United States , but these designations were ultimately upheld in 1992. In February 1989, the Nederlander Organization leased the Hellinger to the Times Square Church , headed by the Rev. David Wilkerson , for $ 1 million per year on a five-year lease. At the time,

15520-427: The exterior, the theater has a Baroque interior. Its rotunda lobby contains eight fluted columns , a balcony, and a domed ceiling with several murals; a basement lounge exists under the lobby. The auditorium has a coved ceiling with murals, as well as boxes and a deep stage. For the first two decades of the Hellinger Theatre's existence, it largely served as a cinema under the Hollywood Theatre name. Vaudeville

15680-595: The first Broadway theater built specifically for films. Warner Bros. had chosen this site specifically because it was close to the established Theater District around Times Square. That area, by the 1920s, was starting to see the development of movie theaters alongside legitimate venues. The Warner Bros. Hollywood Theatre opened on April 22, 1930, with the Warner Technicolor musical film Hold Everything , starring Winnie Lightner and Joe E. Brown . The storefronts on Broadway were leased out for uses such as

15840-621: The first demonstration for an underground transit system in New York City in 1869 and opened it in February 1870. His Beach Pneumatic Transit only extended 312 feet (95 m) under Broadway in Lower Manhattan operating from Warren Street to Murray Street and exhibited his idea for an atmospheric railway as a subway. The tunnel was never extended for political and financial reasons. Today, no part of this line remains as

16000-482: The five-cent fare of the time, or 10¢ ($ 3 in 2023 dollars ). In 1940, the city bought the two private systems. Some elevated lines ceased service immediately while others closed soon after. Integration was slow, but several connections were built between the IND and BMT. These now operate as one division, called the B Division . Since the former IRT tunnels are narrower, have sharper curves, and shorter station platforms, they cannot accommodate B Division cars, and

16160-400: The former IRT remains its own division, the A Division . Many passenger transfers between stations of all three former companies have been created, allowing the entire network to be treated as a single unit. During the late 1940s, the system recorded high ridership, and on December 23, 1946, the system-wide record of 8,872,249 fares was set. The New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA),

16320-748: The front altar. Often, the altar will not be oriented due east but toward the sunrise. This tradition originated in Byzantium in the fourth century and became prevalent in the West in the eighth and ninth centuries. The old Roman custom of having the altar at the west end and the entrance at the east was sometimes followed as late as the eleventh century, even in areas of northern Europe under Frankish rule, as seen in Petershausen (Constance) , Bamberg Cathedral , Augsburg Cathedral , Regensburg Cathedral , and Hildesheim Cathedral . The Latin word basilica

16480-559: The hurricane included the restoration of the new South Ferry station from 2012 to 2017; the full closure of the Montague Street Tunnel from 2013 to 2014; and the partial 14th Street Tunnel shutdown from 2019 to 2020. Annual ridership on the New York City Subway system, which totaled nearly 1.7 billion in 2019, declined dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic and did not surpass one billion again until 2022. When

16640-422: The interior to represent or draw attention to the heavens. Other common shapes for churches include a circle, to represent eternity, or an octagon or similar star shape, to represent the church's bringing light to the world. Another common feature is the spire , a tall tower at the "west" end of the church or over the crossing . Another common feature of many Christian churches is the eastwards orientation of

16800-437: The late 1990s. The roof of the Hollywood Theatre's Broadway wing originally contained a V-shaped steel sign measuring 80 feet (24 m) tall and 210 feet (64 m) wide. Described in 1929 as "the largest electrical display in the world", the sign weighed 115 tons. A dedicated generator illuminated the sign's 20,000 bulbs, which were arranged so that 8-foot-tall (2.4 m) letters could be flashed. The only surviving facade

16960-706: The limits of structural possibility, an inclination that resulted in the collapse of several towers whose designs that had unwittingly exceeded the boundaries of soundness. In Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain, it became popular to build hall churches , a style in which every vault would be built to the same height. Gothic cathedrals were lavishly designed, as in the Romanesque era, and many share Romanesque traits. However, several also exhibit unprecedented degrees of detail and complexity in decoration. The Notre-Dame de Paris and Notre-Dame de Reims in France, as well as

17120-463: The line at the beginning of 2017. Many rapid transit systems run relatively static routings, so that a train "line" is more or less synonymous with a train "route". In New York City, routings change often, for various reasons. Within the nomenclature of the subway , the "line" describes the physical railroad track or series of tracks that a train "route" uses on its way from one terminal to another. "Routes" (also called "services") are distinguished by

17280-403: The lines and leased them to the companies. The first line of the city-owned and operated Independent Subway System (IND) opened in 1932. This system was intended to compete with the private systems and allow some of the elevated railways to be torn down but stayed within the core of the city due to its small startup capital. This required it to be run 'at cost', necessitating fares up to double

17440-625: The lobby and contains paneled walls with molded borders, as well as a paneled ceiling with suspended globe-style chandeliers. Movie palaces became common in the 1920s between the end of World War I and the beginning of the Great Depression. In the New York City area, only a small number of operators were involved in the construction of movie palaces. Relatively few architects were responsible for these theaters' designs, including legitimate theater architects Thomas Lamb, C. Howard Crane , and John Eberson . In April 1929, Warner Bros. leased

17600-402: The lobby to sell religious products such as books and CDs. The main lobby's columns are placed on marble pedestals, and they are topped by Ionic -style capitals . Above the columns is a marble entablature with cherubs . The ceiling has paneled arches and coves , which converge at a rope molding that surrounds the oval dome at the ceiling's center. A classical mural is painted in the middle of

17760-420: The lots at 217 to 233 West 51st Street and 234 West 52nd Street at an annual rate of $ 40,000. The lease was to run for 17 years, with options for two 21-year extensions. Warner Bros. immediately started planning a movie palace on the site. The company planned to build an entrance from Broadway , on the eastern end of the block. The theater was to have 1,600 seats on an orchestra and a balcony level, and it would be

17920-774: The modern-day New York City Subway system were already in service by then. The oldest structure still in use opened in 1885 as part of the BMT Lexington Avenue Line in Brooklyn and is now part of the BMT Jamaica Line . The oldest right-of-way, which is part of the BMT West End Line near Coney Island Creek , was in use in 1864 as a steam railroad called the Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Rail Road . The first underground line of

18080-531: The most stations, with 472 stations in operation (423, if stations connected by transfers are counted as single stations). The system has operated 24/7 service every day of the year throughout most of its history, barring emergencies and disasters. By annual ridership, the New York City Subway is the busiest rapid transit system in both the Western Hemisphere and the Western world , as well as

18240-532: The next century during the Diocletianic Persecution . Even larger and more elaborate churches began to appear during the reign of Emperor Constantine the Great . From the eleventh through the fourteenth centuries, a wave of cathedral building and the construction of smaller parish churches occurred across Western Europe . Besides serving as a place of worship , the cathedral or parish church

18400-403: The next week on January 22, with Paul Hartman , Grace Hartman , and Bert Wheeler . All for Love lost money but ran 121 performances. This was followed by S. M. Chartock 's three-week-long showcase of Gilbert and Sullivan productions in late 1949. Despite a string of early losses, as well as a weekly expenditure of $ 4,500 to $ 5,000 for the Hellinger's maintenance, Farrell was optimistic about

18560-783: The next year. Also staged in 1967 was Illya Darling with Melina Mercouri , which ran 319 performances without turning a profit. A third flop followed in 1968, the Biblical musical I'm Solomon with Dick Shawn and Karen Morrow . The same year, the Hellinger hosted ballet performances from Les Ballets Africains ; a premiere of the documentary New York City—The Most ; and a limited concert engagement by Marlene Dietrich . Two productions followed in 1969: Jerry Herman 's Dear World , featuring Angela Lansbury , and Alan Jay Lerner and André Previn 's Coco , starring Katharine Hepburn in her only Broadway musical. The Hellinger hosted its first Tony Awards ceremony in 1969 ; it also hosted

18720-467: The orchestra and the promenade contain flat pilasters on the walls, between which are panels with moldings on their borders. The orchestra is slightly raked , sloping down toward an orchestra pit near the stage. The underside of the balcony, above the orchestra, contains globe-shaped light fixtures and three coves with scallops and foliation. Though the balcony is also raked, its underside is convex, preventing sound-deadening air pockets from accumulating at

18880-535: The orchestra's rear wall. The balcony also has a promenade at its rear, separated from the main balcony by decorated vertical piers. The balcony and promenade walls contain flat pilasters and panels with molded borders. The side walls contain arched doorways with molded frames. The rear wall has a standing rail and lighting sconces. The balcony level is divided into front and rear sections by a crossover aisle, which runs between metal railings on either side. The balcony's front railing has foliate motifs, which are aligned on

19040-438: The outset, three hundred seats were equipped with "Warner Theatre-phones" to both amplify and clarify sound for hard-of-hearing users. Damask curtains were placed on the walls to increase insulation. The auditorium curves inward near the proscenium. The rear (east) end of the orchestra contains a shallow, curving promenade. The walls of the orchestra promenade have doors, above which are exit signs with flanking volutes . Both

19200-410: The oval panel. Directly below the lobby is an oval basement lounge. There are eight pairs of imitation-marble columns, topped by Tuscan-style capitals. The walls contain panels with molded borders, and there are molded doorway openings with entablatures. One wall contains a fireplace, the mantelpiece of which consists of a shelf supported on console brackets. The immediate opposite wall has doorways to

19360-578: The partnership allows congregations to increase revenue while preserving the property. With the exception of Saudi Arabia and the Maldives , all sovereign states and dependent territories worldwide have church buildings. Afghanistan has the fewest churches globally, featuring only one official church: the Our Lady of Divine Providence Chapel in Kabul . Somalia follows closely, having once housed

19520-404: The perception of being more geographically inaccurate than the diagrams today. The design of the subway map by Massimo Vignelli , published by the MTA between 1972 and 1979, has become a modern classic but the MTA deemed the map flawed due to its placement of geographical elements. A late night-only version of the map was introduced on January 30, 2012. On September 16, 2011, the MTA introduced

19680-589: The proclamation of God's Word is of particular importance, the visitor's line of sight is directed towards the pulpit . The Baroque style was first used in Italy around 1575. From there, it spread to the rest of Europe and the European colonies. The building industry increased heavily during the Baroque era. Buildings, even churches, were used to indicate wealth, authority, and influence. The use of forms known from

19840-615: The remainder of the 1980s, the Hellinger showed short runs, solo shows, and industry bookings. The musical Rags ran for just four performances in 1986, and dance production Flamenco Puro appeared later the same year. The Hellinger then hosted the 1987 Tony Awards , as well as personal appearances from Smokey Robinson / Jean Carne , Virsky Company , Rodney Dangerfield , and the Georgian State Dance Company . The Hellinger hosted Shakespeare's Macbeth with Glenda Jackson and Christopher Plummer in early 1988. At

20000-504: The rest reopened in September 2002, along with service south of Chambers Street. Cortlandt Street reopened in September 2018. In October 2012, Hurricane Sandy flooded several underwater tunnels and other facilities near New York Harbor , as well as trackage over Jamaica Bay . The immediate damage was fixed within six months, but long-term resiliency and rehabilitation projects continued for several years. The recovery projects after

20160-477: The routes proposed over the decades have never seen construction, discussion remains strong to develop some of these lines, to alleviate existing subway capacity constraints and overcrowding, the most notable being the proposals for the Second Avenue Subway . Plans for new lines date back to the early 1910s, and expansion plans have been proposed during many years of the system's existence. After

20320-403: The routes that would normally run on these lines. The Transit Authority announces planned service changes through its website, via placards that are posted on station and interior subway-car walls, and through its Twitter page. Current official transit maps of the New York City Subway are based on a 1979 design by Michael Hertz Associates . The maps are not geographically accurate due to

20480-509: The south. An entrance to the New York City Subway 's 50th Street station , serving the 1 train, is just south of the theater. The Mark Hellinger Theatre, originally the Hollywood Theatre, was designed by Thomas W. Lamb and was constructed in 1930 as a movie palace for Warner Bros. While the interior was designed in a Baroque style, the exterior was treated in a modern style. The Hollywood Theatre's main entrance

20640-537: The stage for theatrical use and add 32 dressing rooms. These changes were to accommodate Hollywood's first theatrical production: Calling All Stars , a musical revue with Martha Raye , which opened in December 1934 and ran 35 performances. In October 1935, the Hollywood hosted the premiere of the Warner Bros. film A Midsummer Night's Dream , starring James Cagney and Olivia de Havilland . The following March, Earl Carroll negotiated with Warner Bros. to rename

20800-744: The subway opened on October 27, 1904, almost 36 years after the opening of the first elevated line in New York City (which became the IRT Ninth Avenue Line ). The 9.1-mile (14.6 km) subway line, then called the "Manhattan Main Line", ran from City Hall station northward under Lafayette Street (then named Elm Street) and Park Avenue (then named Fourth Avenue) before turning westward at 42nd Street . It then curved northward again at Times Square , continuing under Broadway before terminating at 145th Street station in Harlem . Its operation

20960-508: The subway system runs on surface or elevated tracks, including steel or cast-iron elevated structures , concrete viaducts , embankments , open cuts and surface routes. As of 2019 , there are 168 miles (270 km) of elevated tracks. All of these construction methods are completely grade-separated from road and pedestrian crossings, and most crossings of two subway tracks are grade-separated with flying junctions . The sole exceptions of at-grade junctions of two lines in regular service are

21120-402: The theater for his congregation. In the years after the Times Square Church's purchase, the church became so popular that the Hellinger could not accommodate all congregants, despite the theater's 1,600-seat capacity. The congregation at the theater numbered 4,000 in 1997 and doubled within the next year. As a result, in the late 1990s, an 800-person overflow room and eight secondary meeting rooms

21280-462: The theater for twice-a-day revue. By February 1933, the Hollywood was again dark, and the theater returned to hosting films afterward. During 1933, Warner Bros. acquired additional land at 235 to 239 West 51st Street from the Shubert brothers . Generally, the Hollywood's films were not successful, and the venue stood empty for long periods. Warner Bros. announced in October 1934 that it would renovate

21440-470: The theater out for screenings. The Hollywood Theatre name was restored in August 1937 with the screening of The Life of Emile Zola , the first premiere at the theater since A Midsummer Night's Dream . Further films followed until October 1938, when another live production opened, the Gilbert and Sullivan -themed musical Knights of Song . This was followed by the 1939 edition of George White's Scandals ,

21600-518: The theater to a large musical for $ 1.04 million a year, but it would be far from a consistent income stream. Legs Diamond closed later the same month. According to The New York Times : "To many theater people, the leasing of the Hellinger, [...] which has long been considered one of the best and most beautiful theaters for musicals, was a sad symbol of both the state of Broadway and of the Nederlander organization." The Times Square Church moved to

21760-532: The theater's potential to make money. Farrell's musical Texas Li'l Darlin ' , featuring Kenny Delmar , opened at the end of 1949. Texas Li'l Darlin ' was the first hit in the Hellinger's history, running for 293 performances. Tickets, Please! transferred from the Coronet Theatre in late 1950, followed by the Harold Rome revue Bless You All at the end that year. Premiering in 1951

21920-810: The time. Prior to the success of My Fair Lady , there was a rumor in the theatrical community that the Hellinger was destined to never host a hit. A year after My Fair Lady opened, Farrell sold the Hellinger to Max and Stanley Stahl , who had already purchased the neighboring building on Broadway. The new owners chartered a company called Mark Hellinger Theatre Inc. In the 1960s, the Hellinger continued to host several popular musicals. Richard Rodgers and Samuel Taylor tried to stage their musical No Strings , but My Fair Lady 's producer refused to move. The New York Supreme Court ruled in February 1962 that My Fair Lady had to relocate, but Rodgers and Taylor had booked another theater by then. The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music then transferred to

22080-407: The tunnel was completely within the limits of the present-day City Hall station under Broadway. The Great Blizzard of 1888 helped demonstrate the benefits of an underground transportation system. A plan for the construction of the subway was approved in 1894, and construction began in 1900. Even though the underground portions of the subway had yet to be built, several above-ground segments of

22240-542: The union's founding, there have been three union strikes over contract disputes with the MTA: 12 days in 1966 , 11 days in 1980 , and three days in 2005 . By the 1970s and 1980s, the New York City Subway was at an all-time low. Ridership had dropped to 1910s levels, and graffiti and crime were rampant. Maintenance was poor, and delays and track problems were common. Still, the NYCTA managed to open six new subway stations in

22400-399: The west and the auditorium at the center are designed as one unit, with a cornice above the auditorium. The eastern section, containing the building's current main entrance, includes statues flanking the doors, as well as an overhanging marquee . The 51st Street facade was originally a side entrance; the main entrance was originally at 1655 Broadway but was closed in the 1950s. In contrast to

22560-418: The women's and men's restrooms. The lounge formerly also had a bar, which was installed in the 1960s. The ceiling dome is shallow and contains a central medallion with overlapping circles, from which hangs a large chandelier. The rest of the ceiling contains moldings and beams, which divide the ceiling into sections, each with a central medallion and a smaller globe-style chandelier. A staircase curves upward to

22720-721: The work. The foundations of tall buildings often ran near the subway construction, and in some cases needed underpinning to ensure stability. This method worked well for digging soft dirt and gravel near the street surface. Tunnelling shields were required for deeper sections, such as the Harlem and East River tunnels, which used cast-iron tubes. Rock or concrete-lined tunnels were used on segments from 33rd to 42nd streets under Park Avenue ; 116th to 120th Streets under Broadway ; 145th to Dyckman Streets (Fort George) under Broadway and St. Nicholas Avenue ; and 96th Street and Broadway to Central Park North and Lenox Avenue . About 40% of

22880-567: The world which apply sharia or communism , government authorizations for worship are complex for Christians. Because of persecution of Christians , Evangelical house churches have thus developed. For example, there is the Evangelical house churches in China movement. The meetings thus take place in private houses, in secret and in "illegality". Old and disused church buildings can be seen as an interesting proposition for developers as

23040-476: The world's most renowned works of architecture. Either, a discrete space with an altar inside a larger cathedral, conventual, parish, or other church; or, a free standing small church building or room not connected to a larger church, to serve a particular hospital , school , university , prison, private household, palace , castle , or other institution. Often proprietary churches and small conventual churches are referred to by this term. A collegiate church

23200-538: The years, the MTA has been involved in a number of lawsuits over the lack of accessibility in its stations. The Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association filed what may have been the first of these suits in 1979, based on state law. The lawsuits have relied on a number of different legal bases, but most have centered around the MTA's failure to include accessibility as a part of its plans for remodeling various stations. As of January 2022 , ADA-accessibility projects are expected to be started or completed at 51 stations as part of

23360-594: Was Two on the Aisle with Bert Lahr and Dolores Gray , which had 279 performances. Three Wishes for Jamie opened the next year and lasted for 91 performances. Chartock returned in late 1952 with a four-week engagement of Gilbert and Sullivan productions, followed by Guthrie McClintic and the Greek National Theater with two plays by Sophocles . The musical Hazel Flagg by Jule Styne opened in 1953; The New York Times had reported by then that

23520-409: Was a hit with 461 total performances (some at the Winter Garden Theatre ). The same year, the Hellinger hosted Ankles Aweigh for 176 performances. The Hellinger had its greatest success with the musical My Fair Lady , with a score by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe . My Fair Lady opened in March 1956 and, with 2,717 total performances, was the longest-running Broadway production ever at

23680-515: Was built as a cinema , the theater's large stage could also be used to present large musical shows. Below the ceiling, wrapping around the whole auditorium, is an entablature with a leaf molding. The edges of the ceiling are split into numerous coves, separated by console brackets with cartouches at their centers. Each of the coves contains a painted mural with a round frame and a cartouche above. There are twelve frames in total, which depict 18th-century French aristocratic scenes; each mural signifies

23840-403: Was designed by Thomas W. Lamb with a modern facade and a Baroque interior. It has 1,605 seats across two levels and has been a house of worship for the Times Square Church since 1989. Both the exterior and interior of the theater are New York City landmarks . The facade on 51st Street is designed in a modern 1930s style and is constructed with golden and brown bricks. The stage house to

24000-663: Was designed to potentially support a taller building that was canceled during the Great Depression. The main lobby is a double-height oval rotunda with eight fluted columns holding up a domed ceiling. According to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), the lobby's design is similar to the interior of the 18th-century Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers in Germany. The Times Square Church uses

24160-492: Was followed in 1979 by Sarava , a musical with a score by Mitch Leigh ; the Joffrey Ballet , with featured artist Rudolf Nureyev ; and The Utter Glory of Morrissey Hall , which closed on its opening night. The Hellinger finally saw a success in late 1979 when Ann Miller and Mickey Rooney costarred in the burlesque Sugar Babies , which ran 1,208 performances over the next three years. The Tony Awards returned to

24320-588: Was frequently employed as a general gathering place by the communities in which they were located, hosting such events as guild meetings, banquets , mystery plays , and fairs . Church grounds and buildings were also used for the threshing and storage of grain. Between 1000 and 1200, the Romanesque style became popular across Europe . The Romanesque style is defined by large and bulky edifices typically composed of simple, compact, sparsely decorated geometric structures. Frequent features of

24480-590: Was halted in 1473, and was not resumed until 1842. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the changes in ethics and society due to the Renaissance and the Reformation also influenced the building of churches. The common style was much like the Gothic style but simplified. The basilica was not the most popular type of church anymore, but instead, hall churches were built. Typical features are columns and classical capitals . In Protestant churches , where

24640-509: Was initially used to describe a Roman public building usually located in the forum of a Roman town. After the Roman Empire became officially Christian , the term came by extension to refer to a large and influential church that has been given special ceremonial rights by the Pope . The word thus retains two senses today, one architectural and the other ecclesiastical. A cathedral is

24800-449: Was leased in the neighboring Novotel hotel. By 2001, screens were installed both in the lobby and in a neighboring annex to allow additional congregants to view services. Theatrical producers have made several unsuccessful attempts to buy the theater from the Times Square Church. As early as 1993, Lloyd Webber had proposed buying the theater from the Times Square Church for his production of Sunset Boulevard . In addition to Mackintosh and

24960-635: Was leased to the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), and over 150,000 passengers paid the 5-cent fare ($ 2 in 2023 dollars ) to ride it on the first day of operation. By the late 1900s and early 1910s, the lines had been consolidated into two privately owned systems, the IRT and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT, later Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation , BMT). The city built most of

25120-543: Was originally at 1655 Broadway, with a narrow lobby leading to a grand foyer on 51st Street. At the time of the theater's construction in 1930, cinemas that premiered films in the Times Square area typically had entrances on Broadway, regardless of the width. While the Broadway entrance was narrow, it contained a bright marquee and a huge lighted vertical sign. The Broadway entrance was closed in 1934 and converted to retail space before being demolished completely prior to

25280-456: Was part of the commission's wide-ranging effort in 1987 to grant landmark status to Broadway theaters. The New York City Board of Estimate ratified the designations in March 1988. The Nederlanders, the Shuberts , and Jujamcyn collectively sued the LPC in June 1988 to overturn the landmark designations of 22 theaters, including the Hellinger, on the merit that the designations severely limited

25440-461: Was presented in 1932, and some legitimate productions were shown intermittently from 1934 to 1942. The theater was briefly known as the 51st Street Theatre in 1936 and 1941 and as the Warner Theatre from 1947 to 1948. Anthony Brady Farrell bought the theater and renamed it after Hellinger, reopening it as a legitimate theater in 1949. The theater was subsequently acquired by the Stahl family in 1957 and

25600-410: Was to be part of the city-operated IND, and was to comprise almost 1 ⁄ 3 of the current subway system. By 1939, with unification planned, all three systems were included within the plan, which was ultimately never carried out. Many different plans were proposed over the years of the subway's existence, but expansion of the subway system mostly stopped during World War II . Though most of

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