Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2009 - 75

The Story of 42nd Street puts everything together: the
people, the architecture, the performances, and the playwrights,
describing a saga that once dominated American theatre. It
also outlines how "The duce" became this nation's destination
street for the newest in live entertainment. It describes many of
the performances found in these twelve theatres, created in just
twenty-one years between 1899 and 1920. The book includes
profiles of the impresarios who built them and follows the life of
each building until its demise or restoration. The authors' inclusiveness offers unparalleled insight about a legendary place.

Genteel neighborhood to theatre district
Starting with an early history lesson about development in this
part of the city, we learn how 42nd Street became a genteel
neighborhood of brownstones and churches, later joined by
a bachelor residence designed by McKim Meade and White.
Then comes construction of the American Theatre by T. Henry
French on the south side of the street, its story sadly ending
with fire and demolition in 1932.
Although not the first to build, Oscar Hammerstein I is
given credit for establishing this as New York's theatre district.
He followed construction of the American Theatre with the

Olympia Theatre in 1895. by 1900 he
had constructed the Theatre Republic
on the north side of the street. He then
completed the victoria next door on the
corner of Seventh Avenue. In 1904 he
built his eighth Manhattan theatre, the
lew Harris, placing it on the south side
of the street.
Although not part of the book's
story, by the 1920s, construction of giant
"movie palaces" seating thousands were
built to the north on broadway. These extravaganzas brought huge façade displays
of light bulbs, creating a new entertainment center called Times Square. However, the authors do
show how 42nd Street remained the center of live performance
until the depression made a savage dent in the fortunes of the
place. Cheap movie tickets lured audiences to the movies, and
most of its theatres became second- or third-run movie houses.
Some later housed burlesque or finally just settled for making
money with pornography.
As revealed
throughout the book, the producers who built
TD&T quarter page 2009.qxd 01-Sep-2009

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2009