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Shubert Alley
40°45′29.2″N 73°59′13.0″W / 40.758111°N 73.986944°W
Shubert Alley is a pedestrian alley in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The alley, a privately owned public space, connects 44th and 45th Streets and covers about 6,400 square feet (590 m2). It runs through the middle of a city block, parallel to Eighth Avenue to the west and Broadway to the east. The western half of the alley abuts the Shubert and Booth theaters, while the eastern half is adjacent to One Astor Plaza. Because it is near several major theaters, the alley has been considered the geographical center of Broadway theatre.
The alley was built along with the Shubert and Booth theaters in 1913. The Shubert family parked their cars in the alley, which was gated and locked at night. Actors would gather in the alley while waiting to try out for parts, lining up along the western wall. In the 1930s, the alley was fenced off and part of it was used as a bus terminal. The eastern half of the alley, which faced the Astor Hotel, was rebuilt when the hotel was demolished in 1967. A northward extension of Shubert Alley opened in the 1980s when the New York Marriott Marquis was built. The alley continues to serve as a theater fire exit and has also hosted several events during its history, including Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS benefits and the annual Stars in the Alley concert.
Shubert Alley runs parallel to Eighth Avenue to the west and Broadway to the east, linking 44th Street to the south and 45th Street to the north. The western half of the alley abuts the Shubert and Booth theaters, while the eastern half is adjacent to One Astor Plaza. The eastern half of the alley originally faced the Astor Hotel, which was razed in 1967 when One Astor Plaza was built. A large chamber under the western half of the alley contained air-conditioning and mechanical systems for the seven theaters on the block: the Majestic, Broadhurst, Shubert, John Golden, Bernard B. Jacobs, Gerald Schoenfeld, and Booth. Though Shubert Alley is typically open to the public, it is a privately owned public space covering about 6,400 square feet (590 m2). Ownership of the alley is split; The Shubert Organization owns the section to the west and the owners of One Astor Plaza own the section to the east. To retain their property rights and protect against adverse possession, the alley's owners jointly close the alley to the public for one day every year.
The alley was built along with the Shubert and Booth theaters in 1913 as a 15-foot-wide (4.6 m) walkway. At the time, fire laws required that there be room for equipment in an emergency. The alley not only allowed the theaters to meet fire regulations but also enabled the structures to be designed as corner lots, with curved corners facing the alley. Henry Beaumont Herts, the architect of the Shubert and Booth theaters, designed the Shubert Alley facades of both theaters with a full decorative scheme. This was a departure from typical theater designs of the time, in which the side facades were blank walls. There is also a plaque outside the Shubert Theatre's entrance at the corner of 44th Street and Shubert Alley, which contains the text "Dedicated to all those who glorify the theatre and use this short thoroughfare".
Brothers Lee and Jacob J. Shubert, who were the city's most powerful theater owners and producers in the 20th century, both had offices overlooking Shubert Alley. At the alley's northern end was a brownstone house, which until 1945 served as the residence of Frederick A. Muschenheim, the operator of the Hotel Astor. Before it was demolished around 1948, it was the only private house in the immediate area. Shubert Alley continues to serve as a theater fire exit and often is filled with audience members during show-times and intermissions. The alley has also served as a filming location, such as for Act One in 1963 and Mister Buddwing in 1966.
Shubert Alley has hosted several events over its history. For instance, in 1960, the alley was used for a Coney Island-themed carnival. Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS has held an Annual Flea Market and Grand Auction in Shubert Alley, selling props, costumes, and autographed memorabilia, almost every year since 1987. Starting in 1989, a free annual concert called Stars in the Alley has been held in Shubert Alley the week of the Tony Awards, featuring performances and celebrity guest appearances from current Broadway shows, to mark the official end of the Broadway season. Though Stars in the Alley was not held from 2008 to 2013, it returned in 2014. Broadway Barks, a charity event in which Broadway and other celebrities present shelter animals for adoption, has taken place annually in the alley since 1999.
The alley is often perceived in the Broadway theatrical industry as the center of Broadway theatre. Twelve theaters immediately surround it on 44th and 45th Streets, including eight on the same block. According to a 1942 New York Herald Tribune article, theatrical strategists would sometimes use pedestrian traffic, rather than box-office sales, as an indicator of whether Broadway theaters were successful. In 1948, a writer for The New York Times said that Shubert Alley was "the feverish heart of Broadway" and "a world of its own"; at the time, the most popular theaters were on 44th and 45th Streets. Theater scholar and professor Richard Hornby wrote in 1991: "In New York, the desirability of a theatre is inversely proportional to its distance from Shubert Alley."
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Shubert Alley
40°45′29.2″N 73°59′13.0″W / 40.758111°N 73.986944°W
Shubert Alley is a pedestrian alley in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The alley, a privately owned public space, connects 44th and 45th Streets and covers about 6,400 square feet (590 m2). It runs through the middle of a city block, parallel to Eighth Avenue to the west and Broadway to the east. The western half of the alley abuts the Shubert and Booth theaters, while the eastern half is adjacent to One Astor Plaza. Because it is near several major theaters, the alley has been considered the geographical center of Broadway theatre.
The alley was built along with the Shubert and Booth theaters in 1913. The Shubert family parked their cars in the alley, which was gated and locked at night. Actors would gather in the alley while waiting to try out for parts, lining up along the western wall. In the 1930s, the alley was fenced off and part of it was used as a bus terminal. The eastern half of the alley, which faced the Astor Hotel, was rebuilt when the hotel was demolished in 1967. A northward extension of Shubert Alley opened in the 1980s when the New York Marriott Marquis was built. The alley continues to serve as a theater fire exit and has also hosted several events during its history, including Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS benefits and the annual Stars in the Alley concert.
Shubert Alley runs parallel to Eighth Avenue to the west and Broadway to the east, linking 44th Street to the south and 45th Street to the north. The western half of the alley abuts the Shubert and Booth theaters, while the eastern half is adjacent to One Astor Plaza. The eastern half of the alley originally faced the Astor Hotel, which was razed in 1967 when One Astor Plaza was built. A large chamber under the western half of the alley contained air-conditioning and mechanical systems for the seven theaters on the block: the Majestic, Broadhurst, Shubert, John Golden, Bernard B. Jacobs, Gerald Schoenfeld, and Booth. Though Shubert Alley is typically open to the public, it is a privately owned public space covering about 6,400 square feet (590 m2). Ownership of the alley is split; The Shubert Organization owns the section to the west and the owners of One Astor Plaza own the section to the east. To retain their property rights and protect against adverse possession, the alley's owners jointly close the alley to the public for one day every year.
The alley was built along with the Shubert and Booth theaters in 1913 as a 15-foot-wide (4.6 m) walkway. At the time, fire laws required that there be room for equipment in an emergency. The alley not only allowed the theaters to meet fire regulations but also enabled the structures to be designed as corner lots, with curved corners facing the alley. Henry Beaumont Herts, the architect of the Shubert and Booth theaters, designed the Shubert Alley facades of both theaters with a full decorative scheme. This was a departure from typical theater designs of the time, in which the side facades were blank walls. There is also a plaque outside the Shubert Theatre's entrance at the corner of 44th Street and Shubert Alley, which contains the text "Dedicated to all those who glorify the theatre and use this short thoroughfare".
Brothers Lee and Jacob J. Shubert, who were the city's most powerful theater owners and producers in the 20th century, both had offices overlooking Shubert Alley. At the alley's northern end was a brownstone house, which until 1945 served as the residence of Frederick A. Muschenheim, the operator of the Hotel Astor. Before it was demolished around 1948, it was the only private house in the immediate area. Shubert Alley continues to serve as a theater fire exit and often is filled with audience members during show-times and intermissions. The alley has also served as a filming location, such as for Act One in 1963 and Mister Buddwing in 1966.
Shubert Alley has hosted several events over its history. For instance, in 1960, the alley was used for a Coney Island-themed carnival. Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS has held an Annual Flea Market and Grand Auction in Shubert Alley, selling props, costumes, and autographed memorabilia, almost every year since 1987. Starting in 1989, a free annual concert called Stars in the Alley has been held in Shubert Alley the week of the Tony Awards, featuring performances and celebrity guest appearances from current Broadway shows, to mark the official end of the Broadway season. Though Stars in the Alley was not held from 2008 to 2013, it returned in 2014. Broadway Barks, a charity event in which Broadway and other celebrities present shelter animals for adoption, has taken place annually in the alley since 1999.
The alley is often perceived in the Broadway theatrical industry as the center of Broadway theatre. Twelve theaters immediately surround it on 44th and 45th Streets, including eight on the same block. According to a 1942 New York Herald Tribune article, theatrical strategists would sometimes use pedestrian traffic, rather than box-office sales, as an indicator of whether Broadway theaters were successful. In 1948, a writer for The New York Times said that Shubert Alley was "the feverish heart of Broadway" and "a world of its own"; at the time, the most popular theaters were on 44th and 45th Streets. Theater scholar and professor Richard Hornby wrote in 1991: "In New York, the desirability of a theatre is inversely proportional to its distance from Shubert Alley."