The Murray Hill Theatre was a Broadway theatre located on Lexington Avenue between East 41st and 42nd streets in Manhattan, New York City.[1][2] It operated as a legitimate theatre for plays, musicals, and operas until it became a part of the Columbia Amusement Company's chain of burlesque theaters in 1908. The theatre was acquired by the motion picture empire of Marcus Loew, and re-opened as a movie theatre, Loew's 42nd Street Theatre, in 1917. It continued to operate as a movie theatre until it was demolished in 1951.

History

The Murray Hill Theatre was built by impresario Frank B. Murtha and opened on October 19, 1896, with the world premiere of Oscar Weil and Charles Dazey's opera In Mexico; a work performed by The Bostonians.[3] It had a seating capacity of 1500 people.[4] Over the next decade the theatre was leased to two different theatre companies: first the Murray Hill Theatre Stock Company of Henry V. Donnelly and later a theatre company led by W. T. Keogh.[5]

In 1904, the theatre began a slow shift away from the legitimate plays, musicals, and operas it had presented earlier and became a theatre for burlesque and vaudeville entertainments; ultimately becoming one of the many burlesque theaters operated by the Columbia Amusement Company (COA).[6] The COA began operating the theatre after being granted a theatre license by the New York City Council on May 1, 1908.[7] Under their tenure, the theatre was host to Will Rogers in 1910.[8]

The theatre was purchased by Marcus Loew and after some remodeling, re-opened as the movie theatre Loew's 42nd Street Theatre in 1917. It continued to operate as a movie theatre until it was demolished in 1951.[5]

Partial list of productions

References

  1. ↑ "THIS WEEK'S NEW BILLS; OPENING OF A HANDSOME NEW EAST SIDE THEATRE. Frank Murtha's Murray Hill Theatre Will Be Dedicated by the Mayor and the Bostonians Will Produce a New Comic Opera There". The New York Times. October 18, 1896. p. 11.
  2. ↑ Digital Collections, The New York Public Library. "(cartographic) Bounded by Lexington Avenue, E. 57th Street, Avenue A, E. 54th Street, First Avenue (East River), and E. 40th Street, (1897)". The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  3. ↑ Brown, Thomas Allston (1903). "Murray Hill Theatre". A History of the New York Stage, Vol. 3. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company. pp. 614–619.
  4. ↑ Loew's 42nd Street Theatre. Museum of the City of New York. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Don B. Wilmeth, Tice L. Miller (1996). "Murray Hill Theatre". The Cambridge Guide to American Theatre. Cambridge University Press. p. 296. ISBN 9780521564441.
  6. ↑ Ruth Crosby Dimmick (1913). "Murray Hill Theatre". Our Theatres To-day and Yesterday. H. K. Fly Company. p. 65.
  7. ↑ Theatrical Licenses Granted. May 7, 1908. p. 5309. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  8. ↑ Will Rogers, Steven K. Gragert, M. Jane Johansson (1996). The Papers of Will Rogers: From vaudeville to Broadway : September 1908-August 1915. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 181. ISBN 9780806133157.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ Bloom, Ken (1996). "Gay New York". American Song: A-S. Schirmer Books. ISBN 9780028645735.

40°45′4″N 73°58′34″W / 40.75111°N 73.97611°W / 40.75111; -73.97611

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