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Winter Garden Theatre

The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Originally designed by architect William Albert Swasey, it opened in 1911. The Winter Garden's current design dates to 1922, when it was completely remodeled by Herbert J. Krapp. Due to the size of its auditorium, stage, and backstage facilities, it is favored for large musical productions. It has 1,600 seats and is operated by The Shubert Organization. The auditorium interior is a New York City landmark.

This article is about the current Broadway theater. For the former Broadway theater, see Winter Garden Theatre (1850). For other uses, see Winter Garden.

Address

1634 Broadway
Manhattan, New York City
United States

40°45′42″N 73°59′01″W / 40.76167°N 73.98361°W / 40.76167; -73.98361

Shubert Organization

Broadway

1,600

Back to the Future: The Musical

March 10, 1911

1922–1923

1911–1928, 1933–1945, 1948–present

William Albert Swasey (original theater)
Herbert J. Krapp (rebuild)

January 5, 1988[1]

1387[1]

Lobby and auditorium interior

The Winter Garden Theatre was adapted from the old building of the American Horse Exchange, completed in 1896. Its original façade consisted of several arches on Broadway, which were subsequently converted to a brick wall with a large sign. The interior is covered with detailing in the Adam style. Though the auditorium contains a single balcony above the orchestra level, the boxes are arranged in two levels above the orchestra. The auditorium contains a ribbed ceiling, which originally had exposed trusses prior to Krapp's renovation. The proscenium and stage also date to Krapp's renovation, when they were scaled down from their original size.


The Winter Garden was originally operated by brothers Lee and Jacob J. Shubert. In its early days, the theater frequently hosted series of revues presented under the umbrella titles The Passing Show, Artists and Models, and the Greenwich Village Follies. The Winter Garden served as a Warner Bros. movie house from 1928 to 1933 and a United Artists cinema from 1945 to 1948. Aside from these interruptions, it has largely operated as a legitimate theater. From 1982 to 2013, the Winter Garden hosted only two productions: the musicals Cats and Mamma Mia!. The theater was renovated in 2000 and was known as the Cadillac Winter Garden Theatre from 2002 to 2007.

List of Broadway theaters

List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets

Bloom, Ken (2007). (1st ed.). New York: Routledge. pp. 270–275. ISBN 978-0-415-97380-9.

The Routledge Guide to Broadway

Botto, Louis; Mitchell, Brian Stokes (2002). . New York; Milwaukee, WI: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books/Playbill. pp. 43–50. ISBN 978-1-55783-566-6.

At This Theatre: 100 Years of Broadway Shows, Stories and Stars

Henderson, Mary C. (1973). . Clifton, N.J.: White. ISBN 978-0-88371-003-6. OCLC 847042402.

The City and the theatre: New York playhouses from Bowling Green to Times Square

Hirsch, Foster (2000). . Lanham: Cooper Square Press. ISBN 978-1-4616-9875-3. OCLC 852759296.

The Boys from Syracuse : the Shuberts' Theatrical Empire

Morrison, William (1999). Broadway Theatres: History and Architecture. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications.  0-486-40244-4.

ISBN

Stagg, Jerry (1968). . ISBN 978-0-394-41792-9. OCLC 448983.

The brothers Shubert

Stern, Robert A. M.; Gilmartin, Patrick; Mellins, Thomas (1987). . New York: Rizzoli. ISBN 978-0-8478-3096-1. OCLC 13860977.

New York 1930: Architecture and Urbanism Between the Two World Wars

. Architecture and Building. Vol. 43. W.T. Comstock Company. 1911. pp. 330–332.

"The Winter Garden"

(PDF) (Report). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. January 5, 1988.

Winter Garden Theater

Official website

at the Internet Broadway Database

Winter Garden Theatre