124-538: The Astor is a building at 235 West 75th Street, on Broadway between 75th and 76th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. William Waldorf Astor hired architects Clinton and Russell to design the two southern towers of The Astor in 1901. In 1914, William Waldorf Astor hired Peabody, Wilson & Brown to design a third tower for The Astor. The third tower, completed within
248-472: A 7:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. "curtain". The afternoon " matinée " performances are at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays and at 3:00 p.m. on Sundays. This makes for an eight-performance week. On this schedule, most shows do not play on Monday and the shows and theatres are said to be "dark" on that day. The actors and the crew in these shows tend to regard Sunday evening through Monday evening as their weekend. The Tony award presentation ceremony
372-776: A Theater Advisory Council, which included Papp. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City , Broadway theaters closed on March 12, 2020, shuttering 16 shows that were playing or were in the process of opening. The Broadway League shutdown was extended first to April, then to May, then June, then September 2020 and January 2021, and later to June 1, 2021. Then-governor Andrew Cuomo announced that most sectors of New York would have their restrictions lifted on May 19, 2021, but he stated that Broadway theatres would not be able to immediately resume performances on this date due to logistical reasons. In May 2021, Cuomo announced that Broadway theaters would be allowed to reopen on September 14, and
496-449: A booming economy and abundant creative talent kept Broadway hopping. To this day, the shows of the 1950s form the core of the musical theatre repertory." Kenrick notes that "the late 1960s marked a time of cultural upheaval. All those changes would prove painful for many, including those behind the scenes, as well as those in the audience." Of the 1970s, Kenrick writes: "Just when it seemed that traditional book musicals were back in style,
620-663: A cast. There are still, however, performers who are primarily stage actors, spending most of their time "on the boards", and appearing in screen roles only secondarily. As Patrick Healy of The New York Times noted: Broadway once had many homegrown stars who committed to working on a show for a year, as Nathan Lane has for The Addams Family . In 2010, some theater heavyweights like Mr. Lane were not even nominated; instead, several Tony Awards were given for productions that were always intended to be short-timers on Broadway, given that many of their film-star performers had to move on to other commitments. According to Mark Shenton, "One of
744-434: A challenge to the stage. At first, films were silent and presented only limited competition. By the end of the 1920s, films like The Jazz Singer were presented with synchronized sound, and critics wondered if cinema would replace live theatre altogether. While live vaudeville could not compete with these inexpensive films that featured vaudeville stars and major comedians of the day, other theatres survived. The musicals of
868-540: A company of twelve actors from Britain to the colonies with his brother Lewis as their manager. They established a theatre in Williamsburg, Virginia , and opened with The Merchant of Venice and The Anatomist . The company moved to New York in 1753, performing ballad operas and ballad-farces like Damon and Phillida . During the Revolutionary War , theatre was suspended in New York City. But after
992-565: A discount of 20 to 50%. The TKTS booths are located in Times Square , in Lower Manhattan , and at Lincoln Center . This service is run by Theatre Development Fund . Many Broadway theatres also offer special student rates, same-day "rush" or "lottery" tickets, or standing-room tickets to help ensure that their theatres are as full—and their grosses as high—as possible. According to The Broadway League , total Broadway attendance
1116-906: A few exceptions, compared with London runs, until World War I . A few very successful British musicals continued to achieve great success in New York, including Florodora in 1900–01. In the early years of the twentieth century, translations of popular late-nineteenth century continental operettas were joined by the "Princess Theatre" shows of the 1910s, by writers such as P. G. Wodehouse , Guy Bolton , and Harry B. Smith . Victor Herbert , whose work included some intimate musical plays with modern settings as well as his string of famous operettas ( The Fortune Teller (1898), Babes in Toyland (1903), Mlle. Modiste (1905), The Red Mill (1906), and Naughty Marietta (1910)). Beginning with The Red Mill , Broadway shows installed electric signs outside
1240-676: A hotel, live seals were kept in indoor fountains inside its lobby. Later, it was home to the infamous Plato's Retreat nightclub. Immediately north of Verdi Square is the Apple Bank Building , formerly the Central Savings Bank, which was built in 1926 and designed to resemble the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Broadway is also home to the Beacon Theatre at West 74th Street , designated
1364-532: A larger theatre. Other productions are first developed through workshops and then out-of-town tryouts before transferring to Broadway. Merrily We Roll Along famously skipped an out-of-town tryout and attempted to do an in-town tryout—actually preview performances —on Broadway before its official opening, with disastrous results. After, or even during, successful runs in Broadway theatres, producers often remount their productions with new casts and crew for
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#17327933508301488-526: A more experimental, challenging, and intimate performance than is possible in the larger Broadway theatres. Some Broadway shows, however, such as the musicals Hair , Little Shop of Horrors , Spring Awakening , Next to Normal , Rent , Avenue Q , In the Heights , Fun Home , A Chorus Line , Dear Evan Hansen , and Hamilton , began their runs Off-Broadway and later transferred to Broadway, seeking to replicate their intimate experience in
1612-481: A national landmark in 1979 and still in operation as a concert venue after its establishment in 1929 as a vaudeville and music hall, and "sister" venue to Radio City Music Hall . At its intersection with West 78th Street, Broadway shifts direction and continues directly uptown and aligned approximately with the Commissioners' grid. Past the bend are the historic Apthorp apartment building, built in 1908, and
1736-539: A negative COVID-19 test (PCR within 72 hours or antigen within six hours of the performance start time). Beginning November 8, those ages 5–11 also had the option to provide proof of at least one vaccination shot. Effective December 14, in accordance with NYC's vaccination mandate, guests ages 5–11 were required to have at least one vaccination shot until January 29, 2022, where they had to be fully vaccinated. The vaccine mandate lasted until April 30, and attendees were also required to wear face masks until July 1. During
1860-1152: A new age of American playwright with the emergence of Eugene O'Neill , whose plays Beyond the Horizon , Anna Christie , The Hairy Ape , Strange Interlude , and Mourning Becomes Electra proved that there was an audience for serious drama on Broadway, and O'Neill's success paved the way for major dramatists like Elmer Rice , Maxwell Anderson , Robert E. Sherwood , Clifford Odets , Tennessee Williams , and Arthur Miller , as well as writers of comedy like George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart . Classical revivals also proved popular with Broadway theatre-goers, notably John Barrymore in Hamlet and Richard III , John Gielgud in Hamlet , The Importance of Being Earnest and Much Ado About Nothing , Walter Hampden and José Ferrer in Cyrano de Bergerac , Paul Robeson and Ferrer in Othello , Maurice Evans in Richard II and
1984-476: A one-block stretch between 24th and 25th Streets. At Greeley Square (West 32nd Street), Broadway crosses Sixth Avenue (Avenue of the Americas), and is discontinuous to vehicles until West 35th Street. Macy's Herald Square department store, one block north of the vehicular discontinuity, is located on the northwest corner of Broadway and West 34th Street and southwest corner of Broadway and West 35th Street; it
2108-599: A pilot program; the right-of-way is intact and reserved for cyclists and pedestrians. From the northern shore of Manhattan, Broadway crosses Spuyten Duyvil Creek via the Broadway Bridge and continues through Marble Hill (a discontiguous portion of the borough of Manhattan) and the Bronx into Westchester County . U.S. 9 continues to be known as Broadway until its junction with NY 117 . The section of lower Broadway from its origin at Bowling Green to City Hall Park
2232-500: A rate acceptable to the producers, they may continue to run in the expectation that, eventually, they will pay back their initial costs and become profitable. In some borderline situations, producers may ask that royalties be temporarily reduced or waived, or even that performers—with the permission of their unions—take reduced salaries, to prevent a show from closing. Theatre owners, who are not generally profit participants in most productions, may waive or reduce rents, or even lend money to
2356-431: A run of 253 performances. The first theatre piece that conforms to the modern conception of a musical, adding dance and original music that helped to tell the story, is considered to be The Black Crook , which premiered in New York on September 12, 1866. The production was five-and-a-half hours long, but despite its length, it ran for a record-breaking 474 performances. The same year, The Black Domino/Between You, Me and
2480-586: A shared street. Broadway runs the length of Manhattan Island, roughly parallel to the North River (the portion of the Hudson River bordering Manhattan), from Bowling Green at the south to Inwood at the northern tip of the island. South of Columbus Circle , it is a one-way southbound street. Since 2009, vehicular traffic has been banned at Times Square between 47th and 42nd Streets , and at Herald Square between 35th and 33rd Streets as part of
2604-481: A show to keep it running. Some Broadway shows are produced by non-commercial organizations as part of a regular subscription season— Lincoln Center Theatre , Roundabout Theatre Company , Manhattan Theatre Club , and Second Stage Theater are the four non-profit theatre companies that currently have permanent Broadway venues. Some other productions are produced on Broadway with "limited engagement runs" for several reasons, including financial issues, prior engagements of
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#17327933508302728-580: A venue for plays under the name Burton's Theatre. The Astor Opera House opened in 1847. A riot broke out in 1849 when the lower-class patrons of the Bowery Theatre objected to what they perceived as snobbery by the upper-class audiences at Astor Place: "After the Astor Place Riot of 1849, entertainment in New York City was divided along class lines: opera was chiefly for the upper-middle and upper classes, minstrel shows and melodramas for
2852-498: A year, is structurally and aesthetically similar to both original towers. All three wings are connected at the base and have gray brick facades above a limestone base. The buildings are also distinguished by limestone quoins . The “newer tower” is four stories taller as it accommodates larger penthouse-style apartments for the wealthy residents who were becoming increasingly attracted to the Upper West Side. This attraction
2976-475: Is an internationally prominent tourist attraction in New York City . According to The Broadway League , shows on Broadway sold approximately US$ 1.54 billion worth of tickets in both the 2022-2023 and the 2023–2024 seasons. Both seasons featured theater attendance of approximately 12.3 million each. Most Broadway shows are musicals . Historian Martin Shefter argues that "Broadway musicals, culminating in
3100-849: Is now Lower Manhattan was initially known as Great George Street . Traffic continued up the East Side of the island via Eastern Post Road and the West Side via Bloomingdale Road, which opened in 1703, continued up to 117th Street and contributed to the development of the modern Upper West Side into an upscale area with mansions. In her 1832 book Domestic Manners of the Americans , Fanny Trollope wrote of her impressions of New York City in general and of Broadway in particular: This noble street may vie with any I ever saw, for its length and breadth, its handsome shops, neat awnings, excellent trottoir , and well-dressed pedestrians. It has not
3224-439: Is now known as South Broadway. It trends ever westward, closer to the Hudson River , remaining a busy urban commercial street. In downtown Yonkers, it drops close to the river, becomes North Broadway and 9A leaves via Ashburton Avenue. Broadway climbs to the nearby ridgetop runs parallel to the river and the railroad, a few blocks east of both as it passes St. John's Riverside Hospital . The neighborhoods become more residential and
3348-535: Is one of the largest department stores in the world. One famous stretch near Times Square , where Broadway crosses Seventh Avenue in midtown Manhattan , is the home of many Broadway theatres , housing an ever-changing array of commercial, large-scale plays, particularly musicals . This area of Manhattan is often called the Theater District or the Great White Way, a nickname originating in
3472-403: Is the historical location for the city's ticker-tape parades , and is sometimes called the " Canyon of Heroes " during such events. West of Broadway, as far as Canal Street , was the city's fashionable residential area until c. 1825 ; landfill has more than tripled the area, and the Hudson River shore now lies far to the west, beyond Tribeca and Battery Park City . Broadway marks
3596-571: Is usually held on a Sunday evening in June to fit this schedule. In recent years, some shows have moved their Tuesday show time an hour earlier to 7:00 pm. The rationale for this move was that since fewer tourists take in shows midweek, Tuesday attendance depends more on local patrons. The earlier curtain makes it possible for suburban patrons to get home by a reasonable hour after the show. Some shows, especially those produced by Disney , change their performance schedules fairly frequently depending on
3720-470: The 72nd Street subway station, one of the first 28 subway stations in Manhattan, remains located on one of the wide islands in the center of Broadway, on the south side of West 72nd Street. For many years, all traffic on Broadway flowed on either side of this median and its subway entrance, and its uptown lanes went past it along the western edge of triangular Verdi Square. In 2001 and 2002, renovation of
3844-475: The 72nd Street station was built in the exact location of these lanes. Northbound traffic on Broadway is now channeled onto Amsterdam Avenue to 73rd Street, makes a left turn on the three-lane 73rd Street, and then a right turn on Broadway shortly afterward. In August 2008, two traffic lanes from 42nd to 35th Streets were taken out of service and converted to public plazas. Bike lanes were added on Broadway from 42nd Street to Union Square . Since May 2009,
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3968-610: The American Theatre Wing , a service organization. While the League and the theatrical unions are sometimes at loggerheads during those periods when new contracts are being negotiated, they also cooperate on many projects and events designed to promote professional theatre in New York. Of the four non-profit theatre companies with Broadway theatres, all four ( Lincoln Center Theater , Manhattan Theatre Club , Roundabout Theatre Company , and Second Stage Theatre ) belong to
4092-753: The First Baptist Church in the City of New York , incorporated in New York in 1762, its current building on Broadway erected in 1891. The road heads north and passes historically important apartment houses such as the Belnord , the Astor Court Building , and the Art Nouveau Cornwall . At Broadway and 95th Street is Symphony Space , established in 1978 as home to avant-garde and classical music and dance performances in
4216-610: The Harlem River on the Broadway Bridge to Marble Hill . Afterward, it then enters the Bronx , where it is the eastern border of Riverdale and the western border of Van Cortlandt Park . At 253rd Street, NY 9A joins with US 9 and Broadway. (NY 9A splits off Broadway at Ashburton Avenue in Yonkers.) The northwestern corner of the park marks the New York City limit and Broadway enters Westchester County in Yonkers , where it
4340-675: The John William Draper House , was the site of the first astrophotograph of the Moon . In the next village, Dobbs Ferry , Broadway has various views of the Hudson River while passing through the residential section. Broadway passes by the Old Croton Aqueduct and nearby the shopping district of the village. After intersecting with Ashford Avenue, Broadway passes Mercy College , then turns left again at
4464-580: The League of Resident Theatres and have contracts with the theatrical unions which are negotiated separately from the other Broadway theatre and producers. ( Disney also negotiates apart from the League, as did Livent before it closed down its operations.) The majority of Broadway theatres are owned or managed by three organizations: the Shubert Organization , a for-profit arm of the non-profit Shubert Foundation, which owns seventeen theatres;
4588-503: The Nederlander Organization , which controls nine theatres; and ATG Entertainment , which owns seven Broadway houses. Both musicals and straight plays on Broadway often rely on casting well-known performers in leading roles to draw larger audiences or bring in new audience members to the theatre. Actors from film and television are frequently cast for the revivals of Broadway shows or are used to replace actors leaving
4712-551: The New York City Department of Sanitation . Broadway theatre Broadway theatre , or Broadway , is a theatre genre that consists of the theatrical performances presented in 41 professional theaters , each with 500 or more seats, in the Theater District and Lincoln Center along Broadway , in Midtown Manhattan , New York City . Broadway and London 's West End together represent
4836-476: The Roaring Twenties , borrowing from vaudeville, music hall , and other light entertainment, tended to ignore plot in favor of emphasizing star actors and actresses, big dance routines, and popular songs. Florenz Ziegfeld produced annual spectacular song-and-dance revues on Broadway featuring extravagant sets and elaborate costumes, but there was little to tie the various numbers together. Typical of
4960-704: The U.S. Rubber Company Building at 58th Street , the B.F. Goodrich showroom at 1780 Broadway (between 58th and 57th Streets ), the Fisk Building at 250 West 57th Street, and the Demarest and Peerless Buildings at 224 West 57th Street. Broadway once was a two-way street for its entire length. The present status, in which it runs one-way southbound south of Columbus Circle ( 59th Street ), came about in several stages. On June 6, 1954, Seventh Avenue became southbound and Eighth Avenue became northbound south of Broadway. None of Broadway became one-way, but
5084-409: The 1920s were lighthearted productions such as Sally ; Lady Be Good ; Sunny ; No, No, Nanette ; Harlem ; Oh, Kay! ; and Funny Face . Their books may have been forgettable, but they produced enduring standards from George Gershwin , Cole Porter , Jerome Kern , Vincent Youmans , and Rodgers and Hart , among others, and Noël Coward , Sigmund Romberg , and Rudolf Friml continued in
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5208-536: The Broadway national tour, which travels to theatres in major cities across the country. Sometimes when a show closes on Broadway, the entire production, with most if not all of the original cast intact, is relaunched as a touring company, hence the name "Broadway national tour". Some shows may even have several touring companies out at a time, whether the show is still running in New York or not, with many companies "sitting down" in other major cities for their own extended runs. For Broadway national tours of top-tier cities,
5332-619: The Broadway orchestra is governed by an agreement with the musicians' union (Local 802, American Federation of Musicians) and The Broadway League. For example, the agreement specifies the minimum size of the orchestra at the Minskoff Theatre to be eighteen, while at the Music Box Theatre it is nine. Most Broadway shows are commercial productions intended to make a profit for the producers and investors ("backers" or "angels"), and therefore have open-ended runs (duration that
5456-738: The COVID-19 shutdown, the Shubert Organization, the Nederlander Organization, and Jujamcyn had pledged to increase racial and cultural diversity in their theaters, including naming at least one theater for a Black theatrical personality. The August Wilson Theatre , owned by Jujamcyn, had been renamed after Black playwright August Wilson in 2005. The Shuberts announced in March 2022 that the Cort Theatre , which
5580-574: The Cakewalk (1898), and the highly successful In Dahomey (1902). Hundreds of musical comedies were staged on Broadway in the 1890s and early 1900s made up of songs written in New York's Tin Pan Alley involving composers such as Gus Edwards , John Walter Bratton , and George M. Cohan ( Little Johnny Jones (1904), 45 Minutes From Broadway (1906), and George Washington Jr. (1906)). Still, New York runs continued to be relatively short, with
5704-456: The Erlanger syndicate. During this time, the play Lightnin' by Winchell Smith and Frank Bacon became the first Broadway show to reach 700 performances. From then, it would go on to become the first show to reach 1,000 performances. Lightnin' was the longest-running Broadway show until being overtaken in performance totals by Abie's Irish Rose in 1925. The motion picture mounted
5828-673: The Herald Square area. Additionally, portions of Broadway in Madison Square and Union Square have been dramatically narrowed, allowing ample pedestrian plazas to exist along the side of the road. A terrorist attempted to set off a bomb on Broadway in Times Square on May 1, 2010. The attempted bomber was sentenced to life in prison. In May 2013, the NYCDOT decided to redesign Broadway between 35th and 42nd Streets for
5952-457: The League confirmed that performances would begin to resume in the fall season. Springsteen on Broadway became the first full-length show to resume performances, opening on June 26, 2021, to 1,721 vaccinated patrons at the St. James Theatre . Pass Over then had its first preview on August 4, and opened on August 22, 2021, becoming the first new play to open. Hadestown and Waitress were
6076-604: The Opera at the Majestic Theatre became the longest-running Broadway musical, with 7,486 performances, overtaking Cats . The Phantom of the Opera closed on Broadway on April 16, 2023, soon after celebrating its 35th anniversary, after a total of 13,981 performances. Attending a Broadway show is a common tourist activity in New York. The TKTS booths sell same-day tickets (and in certain cases, next-day matinee tickets) for many Broadway and Off-Broadway shows at
6200-535: The Post was the first show to call itself a "musical comedy". Tony Pastor opened the first vaudeville theatre one block east of Union Square in 1881, where Lillian Russell performed. Comedians Edward Harrigan and Tony Hart produced and starred in musicals on Broadway between 1878 ( The Mulligan Guard Picnic ) and 1890, with book and lyrics by Harrigan and music by his father-in-law David Braham . These musical comedies featured characters and situations taken from
6324-531: The Square's northwest corner; Union Square is the only location wherein the physical section of Broadway is discontinuous in Manhattan (other portions of Broadway in Manhattan are pedestrian-only plazas). At Madison Square , the location of the Flatiron Building, Broadway crosses Fifth Avenue at 23rd Street , thereby moving from the east side of Manhattan to the west, and is discontinuous to vehicles for
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#17327933508306448-764: The address of Alexander Hamilton 's house, The Grange , which has been moved. Broadway achieves a verdant, park-like effect, particularly in the spring, when it runs between the uptown Trinity Church Cemetery and the former Trinity Chapel, now the Church of the Intercession near 155th Street. NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital lies on Broadway near 166th, 167th, and 168th Streets in Washington Heights . The intersection with St. Nicholas Avenue at 167th Street forms Mitchell Square Park . At 178th Street, US 9 becomes concurrent with Broadway. Broadway crosses
6572-492: The authors and also in numerous unlicensed productions). They were imitated in New York by American productions such as Reginald Dekoven 's Robin Hood (1891) and John Philip Sousa 's El Capitan (1896), along with operas, ballets, and other British and European hits. Charles H. Hoyt 's A Trip to Chinatown (1891) became Broadway's long-run champion when it surpassed Adonis and its 603 total performances in 1893, holding
6696-435: The beginning of the nineteenth century, the area that now comprises the Theater District was owned by a handful of families and comprised a few farms. In 1836, Mayor Cornelius Lawrence opened 42nd Street and invited Manhattanites to "enjoy the pure clean air." Close to 60 years later, theatrical entrepreneur Oscar Hammerstein I built the iconic Victoria Theater on West 42nd Street. Broadway's first "long-run" musical
6820-476: The biggest changes to the commercial theatrical landscape—on both sides of the Atlantic—over the past decade or so is that sightings of big star names turning out to do plays has [sic] gone up; but the runs they are prepared to commit to has gone down. Time was that a producer would require a minimum commitment from his star of six months, and perhaps a year; now, the 13-week run is the norm." The minimum size of
6944-550: The bill was not passed. The Save the Theatres campaign then turned their efforts to supporting the establishment of the Theater District as a registered historic district . In December 1983, Save the Theatres prepared "The Broadway Theater District, a Preservation Development and Management Plan", and demanded that each theater in the district receive landmark designation. Mayor Ed Koch ultimately reacted by creating
7068-490: The boundary between Greenwich Village to the west and the East Village to the east, passing Astor Place . It is a short walk from there to New York University near Washington Square Park , which is at the foot of Fifth Avenue . A bend in front of Grace Church allegedly avoids an earlier tavern; from 10th Street it begins its long diagonal course across Manhattan, headed almost due north. Because Broadway preceded
7192-429: The center of town just past South Presbyterian Church , headed for equally comfortable Ardsley-on-Hudson and Irvington . Villa Lewaro , the home of Madam C. J. Walker , the first African-American millionaire, is along the highway here. At the north end of the village of Irvington, a memorial to writer Washington Irving , after whom the village was renamed, marks the turnoff to his home at Sunnyside . Entering into
7316-476: The crowded glitter of Bond Street equipages, nor the gorgeous fronted palaces of Regent Street ; but it is magnificent in its extent, and ornamented by several handsome buildings, some of them surrounded by grass and trees. In 1868, Bloomingdale Road between 59th Street (at the Grand Circle, now Columbus Circle ) and 155th Streets would be paved and widened, becoming an avenue with landscaped medians. It
7440-422: The decade ended with critics and audiences giving mixed signals." Ken Bloom observed that "The 1960s and 1970s saw a worsening of the area [Times Square] and a drop in the number of legitimate shows produced on Broadway." By way of comparison, in the 1950 to 1951 season (May to May) 94 productions opened on Broadway; in the 1969 to 1970 season (June to May) there were 59 productions (fifteen were revivals). In
7564-463: The designation. In the 1960s and 1970s, the area surrounding both Verdi Square and Sherman Square was known by local drug users and dealers as "Needle Park", and was featured prominently in the gritty 1971 dramatic film The Panic in Needle Park , directed by Jerry Schatzberg and starring Al Pacino in his second onscreen role. The original brick and stone shelter leading to the entrance of
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#17327933508307688-563: The east, Broadway becomes the busy main street of Tarrytown . Christ Episcopal Church , where Irving worshiped, is along the street. Many high-quality restaurants and shops are along this main road. This downtown ends at the eastern terminus of NY 448 , where Broadway slopes off to the left, downhill, and four signs indicate that Broadway turns left, passing the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow , another NHL. The road then enters Sleepy Hollow (formerly North Tarrytown), passing
7812-628: The effort. At Papp's behest, in July 1982, a bill was introduced in the 97th Congress , entitled "H.R.6885, A bill to designate the Broadway/Times Square Theatre District in the City of New York as a national historic site". The legislation would have provided certain U.S. government resources and assistance to help the city preserve the district. Faced with strong opposition and lobbying by Mayor Ed Koch's Administration and corporate Manhattan development interests,
7936-456: The everyday life of New York's lower classes and represented a significant step forward from vaudeville and burlesque, towards a more literate form. They starred high-quality professional singers ( Lillian Russell , Vivienne Segal , and Fay Templeton ), instead of the amateurs, often sex workers, who had starred in earlier musical forms. As transportation improved, poverty in New York diminished, and street lighting made for safer travel at night,
8060-426: The first decade of the 20th century, the area was occupied mostly by equestrian industries and was "thoroughly lifeless", but by 1907, The New York Times characterized this section of Broadway as having "almost a solid line of motor vehicle signs all the way from Times Square to Sherman Square". In the late 1900s and early 1910s, several large automobile showrooms, stores, and garages were built on Broadway, including
8184-467: The first musicals to resume performances on September 2, 2021. The 74th Tony Awards were also postponed; the Tony nominations were announced on October 15, 2020, and took place on September 26, 2021. On July 30, 2021, it was announced that all Broadway theaters required attendees to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination . The rule applied to guests ages 12+. Those under age 12 were required to provide
8308-608: The former Symphony Theatre, which was originally built in 1918 as a premier "music and motion-picture house". At 99th Street, Broadway passes between the controversial skyscrapers of the Ariel East and West. At 107th Street, Broadway merges with West End Avenue , with the intersection forming Straus Park with its Titanic Memorial by Augustus Lukeman . Broadway then passes the campus of Columbia University at 116th Street in Morningside Heights , in part on
8432-632: The grid that the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 imposed on the island, Broadway crosses midtown Manhattan diagonally, intersecting with both the east–west streets and north–south avenues. Broadway's intersections with avenues, marked by " squares " (some merely triangular slivers of open space), have induced some interesting architecture, such as the Flatiron Building . At Union Square , Broadway crosses 14th Street , merges with Fourth Avenue , and continues its diagonal uptown course from
8556-547: The headline "Found on the Great White Way" in the February 3, 1902, edition of the New York Evening Telegram . The journalistic nickname was inspired by the millions of lights on theater marquees and billboard advertisements that illuminate the area. After becoming the city's de facto red-light district in the 1960s and 1970s (as can be seen in the films Taxi Driver and Midnight Cowboy ), since
8680-798: The highest commercial level of live theater in the English-speaking world . While the Broadway thoroughfare is eponymous with the district, it is closely identified with Times Square . Only three theaters are located on Broadway itself: Broadway Theatre , Palace Theatre , and Winter Garden Theatre . The rest are located on the numbered cross streets, extending from the Nederlander Theatre one block south of Times Square on West 41st Street, north along either side of Broadway to 53rd Street , and Vivian Beaumont Theater , at Lincoln Center on West 65th Street. While exceptions exist,
8804-490: The historic 72nd Street station and the addition of a second subway control house and passenger shelter on an adjacent center median just north of 72nd Street, across from the original building, resulted in the creation of a public plaza with stone pavers and extensive seating, connecting the newer building with Verdi Square, and making it necessary to divert northbound traffic to Amsterdam Avenue for one block. While Broadway's southbound lanes at this intersection were unaffected by
8928-663: The increased southbound traffic between Columbus Circle (Eighth Avenue) and Times Square (Seventh Avenue) caused the city to re-stripe that section of Broadway for four southbound and two northbound lanes. Broadway became one-way from Columbus Circle south to Herald Square ( 34th Street ) on March 10, 1957, in conjunction with Sixth Avenue becoming one-way from Herald Square north to 59th Street and Seventh Avenue becoming one-way from 59th Street south to Times Square (where it crosses Broadway). On June 3, 1962, Broadway became one-way south of Canal Street , with Trinity Place and Church Street carrying northbound traffic. Another change
9052-577: The intersection of Broadway and Fifth Avenue was repurposed into a public plaza, simplifying that intersection. As part of the 2017 project, Worth Square was expanded, converting the adjoining block of Broadway into a "shared street". In September 2019, the pedestrian space in the Herald Square area was expanded between 33rd and 32nd Streets alongside Greeley Square . Five blocks of Broadway—from 50th to 48th, 39th to 39th, and 23rd to 21st Street—were converted into shared streets in late 2021. The block between 40th and 39th Streets, known as Golda Meir Square,
9176-618: The late 1980s Times Square has emerged as a family tourist center, in effect being Disneyfied following the company's purchase and renovation of the New Amsterdam Theatre on 42nd Street in 1993. The New York Times , from which the Square gets its name, was published at offices at 239 West 43rd Street; the paper stopped printing papers there on June 15, 2007. At the southwest corner of Central Park , Broadway crosses Eighth Avenue (called Central Park West north of 59th Street) at West 59th Street and Columbus Circle ; on
9300-729: The length of Manhattan Island. Upon the arrival of the Dutch , the trail was widened and soon became the main road through the island from Nieuw Amsterdam at the southern tip. The Dutch explorer and entrepreneur David Pietersz. de Vries gives the first mention of it in his journal for the year 1642 ("the Wickquasgeck Road over which the Indians passed daily"). The Dutch called it the Heeren Wegh or Heeren Straat , meaning "Gentlemen's Way" or "Gentlemen's Street" – echoing
9424-557: The middle-class, variety shows in concert saloons for men of the working class and the slumming middle-class." The plays of William Shakespeare were frequently performed on the Broadway stage during the period, most notably by American actor Edwin Booth who was internationally known for his performance as Hamlet . Booth played the role for a famous 100 consecutive performances at the Winter Garden Theatre in 1865 (with
9548-590: The name of a similar street in Amsterdam – or "High Street" or "the Highway"; it was renamed "Broadway" after the British took over the city, because of its unusual width. Although currently the name of the street is simply "Broadway", in a 1776 map of New York City, it is labeled as "Broadway Street". In the 18th century, Broadway ended at the town commons north of Wall Street . The part of Broadway in what
9672-473: The new construction, its northbound lanes are no longer contiguous at this intersection. Drivers can either continue along Amsterdam Avenue to head uptown or turn left on West 73rd Street to resume traveling on Broadway. Several notable apartment buildings are in close proximity to this intersection, including The Ansonia , its ornate architecture dominating the cityscape here. After the Ansonia first opened as
9796-603: The next block is the Manhattan School of Music . Broadway then runs past the Manhattanville campus of Columbia University, and the main campus of CUNY–City College near 135th Street; the Gothic buildings of the original City College campus are out of sight, a block to the east. Also to the east are the brownstones of Hamilton Heights. Hamilton Place is a surviving section of Bloomingdale Road, and originally
9920-420: The next sixteen years. However, smaller vaudeville and variety houses proliferated, and Off-Broadway was well established by the end of the nineteenth century. A Trip to Coontown (1898) was the first musical comedy entirely produced and performed by African Americans in a Broadway theatre (inspired largely by the routines of the minstrel shows ), followed by the ragtime -tinged Clorindy: The Origin of
10044-470: The northern border of Sleepy Hollow, New York . Canyon of Heroes is occasionally used to refer to the section of lower Broadway in the Financial District that is the location of the city's ticker-tape parades . The traditional route of the parade is northward from Bowling Green to City Hall Park . Most of the route is lined with tall office buildings along both sides, affording a view of
10168-557: The number of potential patrons for the growing number of theatres increased enormously. Plays could run longer and still draw in the audiences, leading to better profits and improved production values. As in England, during the latter half of the century, the theatre began to be cleaned up, with less prostitution hindering the attendance of the theatre by women. Gilbert and Sullivan 's family-friendly comic opera hits, beginning with H.M.S. Pinafore in 1878, were imported to New York (by
10292-492: The other triangle is a lush tree-filled garden bordering Amsterdam Avenue from just above West 72nd Street to West 73rd Street. Named Verdi Square in 1921 for its monument to Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi , which was erected in 1909, this triangular sliver of public space was designated a Scenic Landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1974, one of nine city parks that have received
10416-456: The parade for thousands of office workers who create the snowstorm-like jettison of shredded paper products that characterize the parade. While typical sports championship parades have been showered with some 50 tons of confetti and shredded paper, the V-J Day parade on August 14–15, 1945 – marking the end of World War II – was covered with 5,438 tons of paper, based on estimates provided by
10540-556: The performers, or temporary availability of a theatre between the end of one production and the beginning of another. However, some shows with planned limited engagement runs may, after critical acclaim or box office success, extend their engagements or convert to open-ended runs. This was the case with 2007's August: Osage County , 2009's God of Carnage , 2012's Newsies , and 2022's Take Me Out . Historically, musicals on Broadway tend to have longer runs than "straight" (i.e., non-musical) plays. On January 9, 2006, The Phantom of
10664-468: The plays of George Bernard Shaw , and Katharine Cornell in such plays as Romeo and Juliet , Antony and Cleopatra , and Candida . In 1930, Theatre Guild 's production of Roar, China! was Broadway's first play with a majority Asian cast. As World War II approached, a dozen Broadway dramas addressed the rise of Nazism in Europe and the issue of American non-intervention. The most successful
10788-455: The portions of Broadway through Duffy Square , Times Square , and Herald Square have been closed entirely to automobile traffic, except for cross traffic on the Streets and Avenues, as part of a traffic and pedestrianization experiment, with the pavement reserved exclusively for walkers, cyclists, and those lounging in temporary seating placed by the city. The city decided that the experiment
10912-470: The primary thoroughfares of the Dutch New Amsterdam colony, which continued under British rule, although most of it did not bear its current name until the late 19th century. Some portions of Broadway in Manhattan are interrupted for continuous vehicle traffic, including Times Square , Herald Square , and Union Square , and instead used as pedestrian-only plazas. South of Columbus Circle ,
11036-423: The production plays), meaning that the length of their presentation is not set beforehand, but depends on critical response, word of mouth, and the effectiveness of the show's advertising, all of which determine ticket sales. Investing in a commercial production carries a varied degree of financial risk. Shows need not make a profit immediately; should they make their "nut" (weekly operating expenses), or lose money at
11160-645: The productions of Rodgers and Hammerstein , became enormously influential forms of American popular culture " and contributed to making New York City the cultural capital of the world . New York City's first significant theatre was established in the mid-18th century, around 1750, when actor-managers Walter Murray and Thomas Kean established a resident theatre company at the Theatre on Nassau Street in Lower Manhattan , which held about 280 people. They presented William Shakespeare 's plays and ballad operas such as The Beggar's Opera . In 1752, William Hallam sent
11284-462: The remaining condo inventory. This article about a building or structure in Manhattan is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . 40°46′54″N 73°58′55″W / 40.781572°N 73.981852°W / 40.781572; -73.981852 Broadway (Manhattan) Broadway ( / ˈ b r ɔː d w eɪ / ) is a road in the U.S. state of New York . Broadway runs from
11408-538: The road continues, but is no longer called "Broadway". The latter portion of Broadway north of the George Washington Bridge / I-95 underpass comprises a portion of U.S. Route 9 . It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in New York City, with much of the current street allegedly beginning as the Wickquasgeck trail before the arrival of Europeans. This then formed the basis for one of
11532-436: The road gently undulates along the ridgetop. In Yonkers, Broadway passes the historic Philipse Manor house, which dates back to colonial times. It remains Broadway as it leaves Yonkers for Hastings-on-Hudson , where it splits into separate north and south routes for 0.6 miles (1.0 km). The trees become taller and the houses, many separated from the road by stone fences, become larger. Another National Historic Landmark,
11656-523: The road is one-way going southbound. Broadway in Manhattan is known widely as the heart of the American commercial theatrical industry , and is used as a metonym for it, as well as in the names of alternative theatrical ventures such as Off-Broadway and Off-off-Broadway . Broadway was originally the Wickquasgeck trail, carved into the brush of Manhattan by its Native American inhabitants. This trail originally snaked through swamps and rocks along
11780-531: The run ending just a few months before Booth's brother John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln ), and would later revive the role at his own Booth's Theatre (which was managed for a time by his brother Junius Brutus Booth Jr. ). Other renowned Shakespeareans who appeared in New York in this era were Henry Irving , Tommaso Salvini , Fanny Davenport , and Charles Fechter . Theatre in New York moved from Downtown gradually to Midtown Manhattan , beginning around 1850, seeking less expensive real estate. At
11904-473: The season. This is done in order to maximize access to their target audience. Most Broadway producers and theatre owners are members of The Broadway League (formerly "The League of American Theatres and Producers"), a trade organization that promotes Broadway theatre as a whole, negotiates contracts with the various theatrical unions and agreements with the guilds, and co-administers the Tony Awards with
12028-431: The second time in five years, owing to poor connections between pedestrian plazas and decreased vehicular traffic. With the new redesign, the bike lane is now on the right side of the street; it was formerly on the left side adjacent to the pedestrian plazas, causing conflicts between pedestrian and bicycle traffic. In spring 2017, as part of a capital reconstruction of Worth Square, Broadway between 24th and 25th Streets
12152-491: The section of Broadway between 32nd and 21st Streets would be redesigned as part of a project called Broadway Vision. The section between 32nd and 25th Streets would receive a bidirectional bike lane and would be converted to a shared street. Cars would be banned permanently from 27th to 25th Street. That work was finished the same July. In March 2024, the DOT announced plans to convert the section between 17th and 21st Streets into
12276-483: The site of the former New York Coliseum convention center is the new shopping center at the foot of the Time Warner Center , headquarters of Time Warner . From Columbus Circle northward, Broadway becomes a wide boulevard to 169th Street; it retains landscaped center islands that separate northbound from southbound traffic. The medians are a vestige of the central mall of "The Boulevard" that had become
12400-499: The south at State Street at Bowling Green for 13 mi (20.9 km) through the borough of Manhattan , over the Broadway Bridge , and 2 mi (3.2 km) through the Bronx , exiting north from New York City to run an additional 18 mi (29.0 km) through the Westchester County municipalities of Yonkers , Hastings-On-Hudson , Dobbs Ferry , Irvington , Tarrytown , and Sleepy Hollow , after which
12524-594: The southern portion of Tarrytown, Broadway passes by historic Lyndhurst mansion , a massive mansion built along the Hudson River built in the early 1800s. North of here, at the Kraft Foods technical center, the Tappan Zee Bridge becomes visible. After crossing under the Thruway and I-87 again, here concurrent with I-287 , and then intersecting with the four-lane NY 119 , where 119 splits off to
12648-761: The spine of the Upper West Side , and many of these contain public seating. Broadway intersects with Columbus Avenue (known as Ninth Avenue south of West 59th Street ) at West 65th and 66th Streets where the Juilliard School and Lincoln Center , both well-known performing arts landmarks, as well as the Manhattan New York Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are located. Between West 70th and 73rd Streets, Broadway intersects with Amsterdam Avenue (known as 10th Avenue south of West 59th Street). The wide intersection of
12772-470: The stage for 657 performances. Chinatown itself was surpassed by the musical Irene (1919) in 1921 as the longest-running Broadway musical, and even earlier, in March 1920, by Lightnin' (1918) as the longest-running Broadway show. In 1896, theatre owners Marc Klaw and A. L. Erlanger formed the Theatrical Syndicate , which controlled almost every legitimate theatre in the U.S. for
12896-434: The term "Broadway theatre" is used predominantly to describe venues with seating capacities of at least 500 people. Smaller theaters in New York City are referred to as off-Broadway , regardless of location, while very small venues with fewer than 100 seats are called off-off-Broadway , a term that can also apply to non-commercial, avant-garde , or productions held outside of traditional theater venues. The Theater District
13020-534: The theatres. Since colored bulbs burned out too quickly, white lights were used, and Broadway was nicknamed "The Great White Way". In August 1919, the Actors' Equity Association demanded a standard contract for all professional productions. After a strike shut down all the theatres, the producers were forced to agree. By the 1920s, the Shubert Brothers had risen to take over the majority of the theatres from
13144-481: The theatrical producer and director who established The Public Theater , led the "Save the Theatres" campaign. It was a not-for-profit group supported by the Actors Equity union to save the theater buildings in the neighborhood from demolition by monied Manhattan development interests. Papp provided resources, recruited a publicist and celebrated actors, and provided audio, lighting, and technical crews for
13268-461: The time, the average age of theatergoers was 40.4; nearly two-thirds of the audience were women; and 29% identified as a racial minority. The classification of theatres is governed by language in Actors' Equity Association contracts. To be eligible for a Tony, a production must be in a house with 500 seats or more and in the Theater District, which are the criteria that define Broadway theatre. Off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway shows often provide
13392-650: The tract that housed the Bloomingdale Insane Asylum from 1808 until it moved to Westchester County in 1894. Still in Morningside Heights, Broadway passes the park-like campus of Barnard College . Next, the Gothic quadrangle of Union Theological Seminary , and the brick buildings of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America with their landscaped interior courtyards, face one another across Broadway. On
13516-568: The twenties, there were 70–80 theaters, but by 1969, there were 36 left. During this time, many Broadway productions struggled due to low attendance rates, which resulted in perceived mediocrity among such plays. For this reason, the Theatre Development Fund was created with the purpose of assisting productions with high cultural value that likely would struggle without subsidization, by offering tickets to those plays to consumers at reduced prices. In early 1982, Joe Papp ,
13640-453: The two thoroughfares has historically been the site of numerous traffic accidents and pedestrian casualties, partly due to the long crosswalks. Two small triangular plots of land were created at points where Broadway slices through Amsterdam Avenue. One is a tiny fenced-in patch of shrubbery and plants at West 70th Street called Sherman Square (although it and the surrounding intersection have also been known collectively as Sherman Square), and
13764-568: The vein of Victor Herbert. Live theatre has survived the invention of cinema. Leaving these comparatively frivolous entertainments behind and taking the drama a step forward, Show Boat premiered on December 27, 1927, at the Ziegfeld Theatre . It represented a complete integration of book and score, with dramatic themes, as told through the music, dialogue, setting, and movement, woven together more seamlessly than in previous musicals. It ran for 572 performances. The 1920s also spawned
13888-616: The visitors' center for Kykuit , the National Historic Landmark that was (and partially still is) the Rockefeller family 's estate . Broadway then passes the historic Sleepy Hollow Cemetery , which includes the resting place of Washington Irving and the setting for " The Legend of Sleepy Hollow ". Broadway expands to four lanes at the trumpet intersection with NY 117 , where it finally ends and U.S. 9 becomes Albany Post Road (and Highland Avenue) at
14012-692: The war's end, theatre resumed in 1798, when the 2,000-seat Park Theatre was built on Chatham Street on present-day Park Row . A second major theatre, Bowery Theatre , opened in 1826, followed by others. By the 1840s, P.T. Barnum was operating an entertainment complex in Lower Manhattan. In 1829, at Broadway and Prince Street, Niblo's Garden opened and soon became one of New York's premier nightspots. The 3,000-seat theatre presented all sorts of musical and non-musical entertainments. In 1844, Palmo's Opera House opened and presented opera for only four seasons before bankruptcy led to its rebranding as
14136-571: Was Lillian Hellman 's Watch on the Rhine , which opened in April 1941. After the lean years of the Great Depression , Broadway theatre had entered a golden age with the blockbuster hit Oklahoma! , in 1943, which ran for 2,212 performances. According to John Kenrick 's writings on Broadway musicals, "Every season saw new stage musicals send songs to the top of the charts. Public demand,
14260-539: Was 14.77 million in 2018–2019, compared to 13.79 million in 2017–2018. The average age of the Broadway audience in the 2017–18 theater season was 40, the lowest it had been in nearly two decades. By 2018, about 20% of Broadway tickets were sold to international visitors, although many visitors reported not being able to use their tickets. In 2022–2023, the first full season since the COVID-19 pandemic, Broadway theaters sold 12.3 million tickets, of which 35% were to local residents and 17% to international visitors. At
14384-644: Was a 50-performance hit called The Elves in 1857. In 1870, the heart of Broadway was in Union Square , and by the end of the century, many theatres were near Madison Square . Theatres arrived in the Times Square area in the early 1900s, and the Broadway theatres consolidated there after a large number were built around the square in the 1920s and 1930s. New York runs continued to lag far behind those in London, but Laura Keene 's "musical burletta" The Seven Sisters (1860) shattered previous New York records with
14508-450: Was based on its proximity to Central Park , the first subway line , and Broadway, the primary corridor connecting uptown to the Financial District . In 1977, Herbert Mandel took over the property for rental apartments and in 2014 HFZ Capital , which is headed by Ziel Feldman, brought the property for conversion to condominium apartments. In 2021, HFZ lost control of the property, and CIM Group stepped in to complete construction and sell
14632-527: Was called "Western Boulevard" or "The Boulevard". An 1897 official map of the city shows a segment of what is now Broadway as "Kingsbridge Road" in the vicinity of Washington Heights . On February 14, 1899, the name "Broadway" was extended to the entire Broadway / Bloomingdale / Boulevard / Kingsbridge complex. In the 20th century, a 30-block stretch of Broadway, extending mainly between Times Square at 42nd Street and Sherman Square at 72nd Street , formed part of Manhattan 's "Automobile Row". Before
14756-592: Was closed to vehicular traffic at that time. During 2020, the section from 31st to 25th Street was converted to a temporary pedestrian-only street called NoMad Piazza as part of the New York City Department of Transportation 's Open Streets program. Following the success of the pedestrian-only street, the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership BID closed the section between 25th and 27th Streets to vehicular traffic again during 2021 and 2022. City officials announced in March 2023 that
14880-403: Was converted to a shared street , where through vehicles are banned and delivery vehicles are restricted to 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h). Delivery vehicles go northbound from Fifth Avenue to 25th Street for that one block, reversing the direction of traffic and preventing vehicles from going south on Broadway south of 25th Street. The capital project expands on a 2008 initiative where part of
15004-472: Was made on November 10, 1963, when Broadway became one-way southbound from Herald Square to Madison Square ( 23rd Street ) and Union Square ( 14th Street ) to Canal Street, and two routes – Sixth Avenue south of Herald Square and Centre Street , Lafayette Street , and Fourth Avenue south of Union Square – became one-way northbound. Finally, at the same time as Madison Avenue became one-way northbound and Fifth Avenue became one-way southbound, Broadway
15128-419: Was made one-way southbound between Madison Square (where Fifth Avenue crosses) and Union Square on January 14, 1966, completing its conversion south of Columbus Circle. In 2001, a one-block section of Broadway between 72nd Street and 73rd Street at Verdi Square was reconfigured. Its easternmost lanes, which formerly hosted northbound traffic, were turned into a public park when a new subway entrance for
15252-527: Was successful, and decided to make the change permanent in February 2010. Though the anticipated benefits to traffic flow were not as large as hoped, pedestrian injuries dropped dramatically and foot traffic increased in the designated areas; the project was popular with both residents and businesses. The current portions converted into pedestrian plazas are between West 47th and 42nd Streets within Times and Duffy Squares, and between West 35th and 33rd Streets in
15376-720: Was under renovation at the time, would be renamed after actor James Earl Jones . In June 2022, the Nederlanders announced that the Brooks Atkinson Theatre would be renamed after Lena Horne , The James Earl Jones Theatre was rededicated in September 2022, while the Lena Horne Theatre was rededicated that November. Although there are some exceptions, shows with open-ended runs generally have evening performances Tuesday through Saturday, with
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