Ziegfeld Theatre

The Ziegfeld Theatre was a Broadway theatre formerly located at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and 54th Street in Manhattan, New York City. It was built in 1927 and razed in 1966.

The theatre was named for Florenz Ziegfeld, who built the theatre with financial backing from William Randolph Hearst. It was designed by Joseph Urban and Thomas W. Lamb. It opened on February 2, 1927 with the musical "Rio Rita", which moved to another theatre when "Show Boat" opened at the Ziegfeld on December 27, 1927. The theatre became the Loew's Ziegfeld in 1933 and operated as a movie theater until showman Billy Rose bought it in 1944.

NBC used the Ziegfeld as a television studio from 1955 to 1963. The "Perry Como Show" used the theatre beginning in 1956. It was one of the locations used for the Emmy Awards in 1959 and 1961.

In 1963 the Ziegfeld reopened as a legitimate Broadway theatre. This was short-lived however, as Rose began to assemble abutting properties for a new real estate project. [cite news |title=News of Realty Rose Seeks Club |work=New York Times |date=6 May 1965] The Ziegfeld was torn down in 1966 to make way for a skyscraper, the Fisher Bros. Burlington House (later renamed the Alliance Capital, and then AllianceBernstein building.) [ [http://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F60D17FD3D58117B93C7A91783D85F428685F9 cite news |title=Ziegfeld Theater Will Be Razed for a Skyscraper |work=New York Times |date=5 August 1966 [includes site map] ] ] A movie theatre was built down the street (at 141 W. 54th Street) with the name "The Ziegfeld," and houses photographs of the older Broadway theatre.

A fragment of the Joseph Urban facade, a female head, can be seen in front of the private home at 52 E. 80th Street. [cite news |first=Christopher |last=Gray |title=An Architect's Evocative Legacy of Fantasy and Drama |work=New York Times |date=14 November 2004] . The box from the cornerstone, and its contents are in the [http://www.nypl.org/research/lpa/the/the.html New York Public Library Billy Rose Theater Collection-Special Collections] .

Notable Broadway premieres

*"Rio Rita" (1927)
*"Show Boat" (1927–1929)
*"Ziegfeld Follies of 1931" (1931)
*"Brigadoon" (1947–1948)
*"Kismet" (1953–1955)

Notable Broadway revivals

*"The Red Mill" (revised version) (1945)
*"Show Boat" (revised version) (1946-1947)
*"Of Thee I Sing" (1951)
*"Music in the Air" (1951)
*"Antony and Cleopatra" and "Caesar and Cleopatra" on alternative nights (1951-1952). This was an imported British production starring Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, and the Old Vic acting company.
*"Porgy and Bess" (1953) (the famous world tour featuring Leontyne Price)

References

External links

*ibdb venue|id=1393|venue=Ziegfeld Theatre
* [http://www.musicals101.com/bwaypast6.htm#Ziegfeld Short history of the Ziegfeld]
* [http://cinematreasures.org/theater/2251/ Cinema Treasures Ziegfeld Page]