The Olympia Theatre (1514–16 Broadway at 44th Street), also known as Hammerstein's Olympia, was a theatre complex built by impresario Oscar Hammerstein I in Longacre Square (later Times Square), New York City, opening in 1895. It consisted of a theatre, a music hall, a concert hall, and a roof garden. Later, sections of the structure were substantially remodeled and used for both live theatre and for motion pictures. As a cinema, it was also known at various times as the Vitagraph Theatre and the Criterion Theatre.
Olympia Theatre
Hammerstein's Olympia, New York Theatre, Loew's New York, Criterion Theatre, Vitagraph Theatre, Criterion Center Stage Right
According to The New York Times, the Olympia was a "massive gray stone building", and extended 203 feet (62 m) on Longacre Square, 104 feet (32 m) on 45th Street, and 101 feet (31 m) on 44th Street. It was made from Indiana limestone, featured an imposing façade, and followed French Renaissance designs. It was designed by J. B. McElfatrick & Son.[1][2] The building opened on November 25, 1895 with the Broadway debut of Excelsior, Jr., with over 30 performers from Europe appearing.[3] It was the second theatre to open in what is now known as the Theater District. (The first was the Empire Theatre, on the southeast corner of 40th Street and Broadway.) The complex consisted of the Music Hall, a large variety theatre, the Lyric, a legitimate theatre, the Concert Hall, for smaller music performances, and a rooftop garden theatre.
In 1898, Hammerstein was forced to sell the complex to settle debts from its construction.[4] The venues were sold separately, with the Music Hall becoming the New York Theatre, which became part of the Loew's movie theatre chain in 1915.[5] The Lyric was renamed the Criterion Theatre. From 1914 to 1916 it operated as the Vitagraph Theatre, leased by the Vitagraph Company for prestige motion pictures including The Battle Cry of Peace, before returning to the Criterion name. It permanently switched to cinema use in 1920.[6][7][8] The rooftop garden theatre was leased by Florenz Ziegfeld and hosted the first five editions of the Ziegfeld Follies under the name Jardin de Paris, named for the location in Paris of the Moulin Rouge. It, too, became a movie theatre.[9] The complex was demolished in 1935.
Subsequent site use
It has been suggested that this section be split out into another article titled Bow Tie Building. (Discuss) (October 2022)
After the old venues were demolished, architects Thomas W. Lamb and Eugene DeRosa designed a new building on the site which included a new Criterion Theatre cinema, the International Casino nightclub, and retail space.[1] The nightclub closed after only two years, and the space became the Bond Suits store until 1977. It was then reconverted to a discotheque, Bond International Casino, which closed in 1986. The cinema was multiplexed in 1980.
In 1988, a portion of the former nightclub space was converted was to a pair of live theatre spaces called the Criterion Center.[10] In 1991, the spaces were leased to Roundabout Theatre Company, a prominent non-profit theatre company, which used the larger Stage Right space as a small Tony Award-eligible theatre while the smaller second theatre became the first version of the Laura Pels Theatre. Notable productions during Roundabout's tenure at the Criterion include the 1993 revival of Eugene O'Neill's Anna Christie (featuring Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson in their Broadway debuts),[11] the 1995 revival of Stephen Sondheim's Company,[12] and the 1997 revival of 1776. The company left the space in 1999 when their lease was canceled.
In the early 2000s, Toys "R" Us built a flagship store in the building, leading to the closure of both the cinema and the live theatre venues.[13] The multilevel store featured a 60-foot in-store Ferris Wheel and an animatronic T-rex among its attractions. Upon expiration of its lease, Toys "R" Us closed on December 30, 2015.[14] The decision was attributed primarily to a rise in property values in Times Square that would increase its rent from $12 million to upwards of $42 million a year. In June 2015, Gap Inc. signed a lease for the property and expected to open stores for its Gap and Old Navy brands in 2017. The two stores account for 62,000 square feet of the 100,000-square-foot store.[15] In July 2016, during the construction of the Gap and Old Navy flagship store, remnants of the original Olympia were found under the floors.[16][17][18] The building, known officially as the Bow Tie Building, remains owned by Bow Tie Partners, the real estate holding company tied to Bow Tie Cinemas, the chain operated by the Moss family.[19]
olympia, theatre, york, city, confused, with, olympic, theatre, york, olympia, theatre, 1514, broadway, 44th, street, also, known, hammerstein, olympia, theatre, complex, built, impresario, oscar, hammerstein, longacre, square, later, times, square, york, city. Not to be confused with Olympic Theatre New York The Olympia Theatre 1514 16 Broadway at 44th Street also known as Hammerstein s Olympia was a theatre complex built by impresario Oscar Hammerstein I in Longacre Square later Times Square New York City opening in 1895 It consisted of a theatre a music hall a concert hall and a roof garden Later sections of the structure were substantially remodeled and used for both live theatre and for motion pictures As a cinema it was also known at various times as the Vitagraph Theatre and the Criterion Theatre Olympia TheatreHammerstein s Olympia New York Theatre Loew s New York Criterion Theatre Vitagraph Theatre Criterion Center Stage RightHammerstein s OlympiaAddress1514 16 BroadwayNew York CityUnited StatesTypeBroadwayCurrent userestaurantConstructionOpened1895Rebuilt1935Years active1890 1935 1989 1999ArchitectJ B McElfatrick amp Son Contents 1 History 2 Subsequent site use 3 References 4 External linksHistory EditAccording to The New York Times the Olympia was a massive gray stone building and extended 203 feet 62 m on Longacre Square 104 feet 32 m on 45th Street and 101 feet 31 m on 44th Street It was made from Indiana limestone featured an imposing facade and followed French Renaissance designs It was designed by J B McElfatrick amp Son 1 2 The building opened on November 25 1895 with the Broadway debut of Excelsior Jr with over 30 performers from Europe appearing 3 It was the second theatre to open in what is now known as the Theater District The first was the Empire Theatre on the southeast corner of 40th Street and Broadway The complex consisted of the Music Hall a large variety theatre the Lyric a legitimate theatre the Concert Hall for smaller music performances and a rooftop garden theatre In 1898 Hammerstein was forced to sell the complex to settle debts from its construction 4 The venues were sold separately with the Music Hall becoming the New York Theatre which became part of the Loew s movie theatre chain in 1915 5 The Lyric was renamed the Criterion Theatre From 1914 to 1916 it operated as the Vitagraph Theatre leased by the Vitagraph Company for prestige motion pictures including The Battle Cry of Peace before returning to the Criterion name It permanently switched to cinema use in 1920 6 7 8 The rooftop garden theatre was leased by Florenz Ziegfeld and hosted the first five editions of the Ziegfeld Follies under the name Jardin de Paris named for the location in Paris of the Moulin Rouge It too became a movie theatre 9 The complex was demolished in 1935 Subsequent site use EditIt has been suggested that this section be split out into another article titled Bow Tie Building Discuss October 2022 After the old venues were demolished architects Thomas W Lamb and Eugene DeRosa designed a new building on the site which included a new Criterion Theatre cinema the International Casino nightclub and retail space 1 The nightclub closed after only two years and the space became the Bond Suits store until 1977 It was then reconverted to a discotheque Bond International Casino which closed in 1986 The cinema was multiplexed in 1980 In 1988 a portion of the former nightclub space was converted was to a pair of live theatre spaces called the Criterion Center 10 In 1991 the spaces were leased to Roundabout Theatre Company a prominent non profit theatre company which used the larger Stage Right space as a small Tony Award eligible theatre while the smaller second theatre became the first version of the Laura Pels Theatre Notable productions during Roundabout s tenure at the Criterion include the 1993 revival of Eugene O Neill s Anna Christie featuring Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson in their Broadway debuts 11 the 1995 revival of Stephen Sondheim s Company 12 and the 1997 revival of 1776 The company left the space in 1999 when their lease was canceled The Toys R Us Times Square store in 2012 In the early 2000s Toys R Us built a flagship store in the building leading to the closure of both the cinema and the live theatre venues 13 The multilevel store featured a 60 foot in store Ferris Wheel and an animatronic T rex among its attractions Upon expiration of its lease Toys R Us closed on December 30 2015 14 The decision was attributed primarily to a rise in property values in Times Square that would increase its rent from 12 million to upwards of 42 million a year In June 2015 Gap Inc signed a lease for the property and expected to open stores for its Gap and Old Navy brands in 2017 The two stores account for 62 000 square feet of the 100 000 square foot store 15 In July 2016 during the construction of the Gap and Old Navy flagship store remnants of the original Olympia were found under the floors 16 17 18 The building known officially as the Bow Tie Building remains owned by Bow Tie Partners the real estate holding company tied to Bow Tie Cinemas the chain operated by the Moss family 19 References Edit a b Morrison William 1999 Broadway Theatres History and Architecture trade paperback Dover Books on Architecture Mineola New York Dover Publications pp 24 26 ISBN 0 486 40244 4 Olympia Ready to Open The New York Times November 24 1895 Police Call in Olympia The New York Times November 26 1895 Shepard Richard F November 5 1995 LOOKING BACK Hammerstein s Gamble The New York Times Loew s New York Internet Broadway Database The Broadway League Retrieved November 27 2020 Criterion Theatre Cinema Treasures Retrieved July 24 2020 Criterion Theatre Internet Broadway Database The Broadway League Retrieved November 27 2020 War Picture at the Vitagraph New York Tribune September 5 1915 p 5 Retrieved July 24 2020 Jardin de Paris Internet Broadway Database The Broadway League Retrieved November 27 2020 Criterion Center Stage Right New York NY IBDB Anna Christie Broadway Play 1993 Revival IBDB Company Broadway Musical 1995 Revival IBDB Bagli Charles V August 2 2000 Toys R Us to Build the Biggest Store in Times Sq The New York Times Harris Elizabeth A December 30 2015 Several Days After Christmas Toys R Us Closes in Times Square The New York Times Gap Old Navy Brands to Take Over Toys R Us Times Square Store Bloomberg Business June 26 2015 Archived from the original on July 1 2015 Viagas Robert July 27 2016 Times Square Construction Workers Unearth Ruins of Old Theatre Playbill Rosenberg Zoe August 5 2016 See the remnants of the historic theater unearthed at Times Square Curbed NY Ruins of an 1895 Broadway theatre found under Toys R Us in Times Square Time Out New York Bow Tie Partners The Bow Tie Building Retrieved November 24 2020 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hammerstein s Olympia CinemaTreasures org entry for Criterion Theatre single screen New York CinemaTreasures org entry Loew s Criterion Theatre multiplex New York Olympia Theatre Music Hall at the IBDB database Criterion Center Stage Right at the IBDB database Coordinates 40 45 27 N 73 59 09 W 40 75738 N 73 98570 W 40 75738 73 98570 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Olympia Theatre New York City amp oldid 1119601163, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
