The Apollo Theatre
| Apollo Theatre 223 W. 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036 Also known as Bryant, Minsky's Burlesque, New Apollo, Academy Status: Closed/Demolished Originally opened in 1910 as the Bryant, a vaudeville and movie house, this theater was acquired ten years later by the Selwyn brothers. The theater was rebuilt, renamed the Apollo, and given a new neo-classical/Georgian style colonnaded facade on 42nd Street, which it would share with the Selwyn's Times Square Theatre next door. The theaters were both designed by architect Eugene DeRosa. The Apollo could seat 1197 and was designed in Adam style, with 675 seats on the orchestra level, 495 in the balcony, and 27 in the boxes. The legitimate era of the Apollo lasted until 1933, and after being forced into bankruptcy during the Depression, the Apollo became home to Minsky's Burlesque in late 1934. By the late 30s, films made a return to the Apollo, and the theater would remain a grind house for decades until the Brandt Organization made an attempt to bring back live theater to the Apollo in 1979, cleaning it up and giving it a new marquee, heralding the New Apollo. Legitimate theater would be short-lived, since in 1983, the Apollo returned to screening movies. Apollo's last incarnation would be as the Academy, a concert hall. For this, the theater's orchestra level seats were removed and the floor leveled, though the balcony seating remained intact. The original decor was uniformly covered in a dull white paint. In 1996, after its days as the Academy ended, most of the Apollo's architectural elements were removed, including the spectacular dome from the auditorium ceiling, to be reused in the Ford Center for the Performing Arts (recently renamed the Hilton Theatre), which would be constructed on the site of the Apollo and neighboring Lyric Theatres upon their demolition. -From the website CinemaTreasures |
1960's
1940's
Late 1930's
1990's
| Entrance hallway. |
| Entrance |
| Advert ca 1952 |