Hudson Theatre facts for kids
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44th Street facade as seen in 2022
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| Address | 141 West 44th Street Manhattan, New York City United States |
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| Coordinates | 40°45′25″N 73°59′05″W / 40.75694°N 73.98472°W |
| Owner | Millennium & Copthorne Hotels |
| Operator | Ambassador Theatre Group |
| Type | Broadway |
| Capacity | 970 |
| Production | Merrily We Roll Along |
| Construction | |
| Opened | October 19, 1903 |
| Reopened | February 8, 2017 |
| Years active | 1903–1934, 1937–1949, 1960–1968, 2017–present |
| Architect | J.B. McElfatrick & Son; Israels & Harder |
| Designated | November 15, 2016 |
| Reference no. | 16000780 |
| Designated entity | Theater |
| Designated | November 17, 1987 |
| Reference no. | 1340 |
| Designated entity | Facade |
| Designated | November 17, 1987 |
| Reference no. | 1341 |
| Designated entity | Lobbies and auditorium interior |
The Hudson Theatre is a famous Broadway theater located at 139–141 West 44th Street in New York City. It is in the heart of the Theater District in Midtown Manhattan. This theater is one of the oldest Broadway venues still standing today. It was built between 1902 and 1903.
The outside of the theater was designed by J. B. McElfatrick & Son. Israels & Harder finished the inside design. The Hudson Theatre has 970 seats spread across three levels. Both the outside and inside of the theater are special landmarks in New York City. The theater is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which means it's an important historical site.
The Hudson Theatre has two main rectangular parts. Both are covered in tan brick with a special pattern called Flemish bond. The main entrance is on 44th Street, and the main seating area (called the auditorium) is at the back, facing 45th Street. The first floor of the 44th Street side has the entrance, ticket area, and main lobby. The other floors used to have offices. The auditorium has seats on the ground level (orchestra) and two balconies above. There are also special "box" seats on the first balcony.
The lobbies and auditorium are beautifully decorated in a fancy style called Beaux-Arts Classical. The areas behind the stage are simpler. The theater is surrounded by the two parts of the Millennium Times Square New York hotel, and it's actually part of the hotel.
The Hudson Theatre was first run by Henry B. Harris. He sadly died when the Titanic sank in 1912. His wife, Renee Harris, continued to run the theater until the Great Depression. After that, it was used as a radio studio for CBS from 1934 to 1937. Then, it became an NBC television studio from 1949 to 1960.
The Hudson sometimes operated as a Broadway theater until the 1960s. Later, it became a movie theater and then a nightclub. In the late 1980s, the Millennium Times Square New York hotel was built around the theater. The Hudson Theatre was then turned into an event space for the hotel. In 2017, the Hudson Theatre reopened as a Broadway theater. It is now run by the Ambassador Theatre Group, and the building is owned by Millennium & Copthorne Hotels.
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Where is the Hudson Theatre Located?
The Hudson Theatre is at 139–141 West 44th Street. This is between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, close to Times Square. It's right in the middle of the Theater District in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
The theater sits between the two parts of the Millennium Times Square New York hotel. It is actually part of this hotel. The main front of the theater is on 44th Street. The back of the theater extends north to 45th Street.
Many other buildings are nearby. To the west is 1530 Broadway. To the east are the Hotel Gerard and the Belasco Theatre. Other close buildings include the High School of Performing Arts, the Lyceum Theatre, and One Astor Plaza.
How Was the Hudson Theatre Designed?
The Hudson Theatre was designed in the Beaux-Arts style. This style is known for being grand and classical. The theater was built between 1902 and 1903. The original architect was J. B. McElfatrick & Son. However, the firm of Israels & Harder finished the design. It's believed that McElfatrick designed the outside, and Israels & Harder designed the inside.
The Outside Look of the Hudson Theatre
The Hudson Theatre has two main rectangular parts. One is the narrow entrance on 44th Street. The other is the main seating area (the auditorium) on 45th Street. Both the 44th and 45th Street sides are covered in tan brick. The bricks are laid in a pattern called Flemish bond.
The four-story side on 44th Street is the most decorated. This is where the main entrance is. It has five vertical sections, with the three middle ones sticking out a bit. The design was made to be a bit shorter than its width. This was because the area was mostly homes when the theater first opened. The five-story side on 45th Street is much simpler.
44th Street Entrance Details
The first floor of the 44th Street side has limestone blocks that look rough (this is called rusticated). The very bottom has a water table made of granite. The outer parts of the building have double wooden doors with glass. These doors are set back from the wall. Above these doors are supports (called brackets) holding up a decorative ledge (a cornice).
The three middle sections hold the theater's main entrance. This entrance is also set back. Inside, there are three sets of double wooden doors with glass. Above these doors is a wooden bar (a transom) and glass windows. A large sign (a marquee) hangs above the inner sections. It is supported by rods from the third floor. This marquee was added in 1990 but looks like the original one. A decorative band (a belt course) with small tooth-like shapes (called dentils) runs above the first floor.
On the second and third floors, four tall, flat columns (called pilasters) stand on either side of the inner sections. They have decorative tops with theater masks. The inner sections on the second floor have French doors. These open onto iron railings with lyre designs. Above the middle section is a broken, curved top (a pediment). In its center is a man's head (likely the god Apollo) and a lyre. The outer sections on these floors have regular sash windows with limestone frames.
The third-floor windows are smaller than the second-floor ones. Below each third-floor window is a decorative support (a corbel). Above the windows is a limestone band (a string course) with three wedge-shaped stones (called keys) above each window. The middle window has a tablet with the word "HUDSON" on it. The third floor is topped by a leaf-and-tongue molding and a cornice with block-like shapes (modillions).
The fourth-floor windows are similar to the third-floor ones. The three middle windows have decorative corner blocks (called quoins) on their sides. Each fourth-floor opening has a decorative frame (an entablature) with three splayed keys above each window. The top of the fourth floor has a stone cornice with dentils and a low wall (a parapet) with a metal railing.
45th Street Side Details
The north side of the theater, on 45th Street, is much simpler. It's made of tan brick. This side mainly shows the stage house, which is the tall part where the stage is. It has three large, curved openings (blind arches) at the bottom. The western opening has a stage door.
On either side of the stage house are narrower sections called galleries. The first floor of these galleries has metal emergency exit doors. The upper floors have double-hung windows with stone tops. A metal fire escape runs in front of both galleries.
Inside the Hudson Theatre
The Hudson Theatre has many levels inside. On the 44th Street side, the first floor has the entrance, ticket area, and main lobby. The second floor used to be part of the seating area (Dress Circle) but was later divided into offices. The third and fourth floors were turned into apartments. On the 45th Street side is the stage house, which includes the three-level seating area (auditorium), the stage, and backstage rooms.
The lobbies and auditorium are very fancy, decorated in the Beaux-Arts Classical style. The backstage areas are much simpler. When the theater first opened in 1903, its three lobby spaces were very wide, about 30 feet wide and 100 feet long. This was wider than any other lobby in New York City at the time. The lobbies and auditorium had hundreds of hidden lights that could be dimmed, creating a soft, glowing light.
Lobby Areas
Entrance Vestibule
The entrance area from 44th Street is a rectangle, about 36 feet wide and 16 feet deep. The bottom two-thirds of the walls are covered in green marble. The walls are 12 feet high. This area originally had a green decorative band (frieze) at the top and a curved ceiling with electric lights.
Ticket Lobby
The ticket lobby is just north of the entrance. You enter it through four sets of double wooden doors with glass. The floor has a special hand-woven carpet with hexagonal shapes. The walls are made of dark green marble with gold lines. They have a shallow decorative ledge (cornice) and a classical plaster frieze at the top.
The east wall has the box office with two ticket windows. These windows have bronze frames and are flanked by statues of women (called caryatids) that support the decorative tops above them. The ticket lobby has a curved plaster ceiling with 264 sunken panels (called coffers). These coffers originally held light bulbs. Later, chandeliers were added instead.
Inner Lobby
Four pairs of bronze-and-glass doors lead from the ticket lobby to the inner lobby, also called the foyer. The walls have decorative plasterwork, including tall, flat columns (pilasters) that support a decorative frame (entablature). These pilasters were originally ivory, orange, and green. They stand next to six arches, three on each side. Five of these arches hold mirrors. The arch on the far right of the east wall has a staircase leading to the first balcony. The middle arch on the west wall has a fireplace with a carved marble mantelpiece.
The north wall has a red curtain that separates the foyer from the main seating area. The ceiling is divided into three sections by wide, decorated plaster bands. Each section has a beautiful Tiffany stained-glass dome. These domes have gold, green, pink, and turquoise glass pieces, which are original. The center dome has a chandelier.
Auditorium Seating Area
The auditorium has a ground-level seating area (orchestra), special boxes, and two balconies. There are also walkways (promenades) on each of the three seating levels. A large stage is located behind the main arch (proscenium arch). The auditorium is a bit wider than it is deep. It is decorated with detailed plaster designs that stick out (high relief).
When it opened, the Hudson Theatre had 1,076 seats. Today, it has 970 seats. Each seat is 23 inches wide, which is larger than most Broadway seats. The seats have gold cushions and wooden backs.
The foyer leads to a curved walkway (promenade) at the back of the orchestra level. Three tall columns separate this promenade from the orchestra seats. Similar walkways are on each balcony level.
The balcony levels have flat columns (pilasters) on their walls and decorative moldings on their fronts. Unlike many other Broadway theaters from the 1900s, the balconies at the Hudson are mostly supported from the wall (cantilevered) rather than by columns. This was a newer design at the time. At the back of the first balcony, columns with fancy tops (Corinthian capitals) support the second balcony.
Near the front of the auditorium, on either side, are two curved boxes on the first balcony level. These boxes have pairs of fluted columns and pilasters in the Corinthian style. These columns support a decorative frame (entablature) with a patterned band (frieze) and a cornice with tooth-like shapes (dentils). Each frieze has a panel with Tiffany tiles.
Other Design Features
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Next to the boxes is the main arch around the stage, called the proscenium arch. It has a wide, paneled band with a Greek key pattern. This band also has Tiffany mosaic tiles in green, yellow, and orange, and mother-of-pearl tiles. A laurel leaf molding surrounds the arch. The stage area goes back behind this arch to the northern wall of the stage house.
The columns near the orchestra boxes support a curved ceiling area above the proscenium arch, called a sounding board. This sounding board is divided into hexagonal panels that used to hold lights. Behind the sounding board, the walls of the second balcony curve to form the ceiling. The ceiling has wide plaster bands with moldings and octagonal panels.
Other Rooms and Spaces
The basement is under the entire theater. It connects to the ground floor by five staircases and one elevator. Two doors also lead to the Millennium Times Square hotel. After the Hudson reopened in 2017, the basement was used for backstage facilities, restrooms, and bar areas.
The second floor on the 44th Street side used to be part of the seating area (Dress Circle). After the theater closed, it was divided into offices. It only connects to the rest of the theater by one staircase from the first floor. When the Hudson Theatre reopened in 2017, a special VIP lounge was added on the second floor.
The third and fourth floors on 44th Street were turned into two apartments after the theater closed. Even though they were not well-maintained, they still had many of their original decorations in 2016.
History of the Hudson Theatre
Early Days as a Broadway Theatre
Around 1900, Times Square became the main place for big theater shows. The Hudson, Lyceum, and New Amsterdam theaters all opened in 1903. They were among the first theaters to move to this new area. From 1901 to 1920, 43 theaters were built around Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, including the Hudson Theatre.
The theater was first run by a producer named Henry B. Harris. He was very well-known in the theater world. The land for the theater was owned by a financier named George Gustav Heye.
Building and Opening the Theatre
In January 1902, Henry B. Harris formed a company to rent the land from Heye. In March, Heye submitted plans to build a theater and a six-story office building. J. B. McElfatrick was listed as the architect. Construction began on April 2, 1902. Later, in January 1903, Israels & Harder submitted updated plans for the theater.
Actors Robert Edeson and Alice Fischer officially named the theater the Hudson Theatre on March 30, 1903. The Hudson opened on October 19, 1903, with Ethel Barrymore starring in a play called Cousin Kate. People generally liked the theater. The Times newspaper said it was "No richer and more tasteful theater is to be found short of the splendid Hofburg Theater in Vienna."
The Hudson Theatre was meant to show "drawing-room comedies." These were plays about polite society. In 1905, Man and Superman by George Bernard Shaw opened here. This was the first time Shaw allowed one of his plays to be shown differently from his original idea. In 1908, Henry Harris bought the Hudson Theatre from Heye for $700,000.
Renee Harris Takes Over
Henry Harris died when the RMS Titanic sank in 1912. All his theaters closed for one night in his memory. His memorial service was held at the Hudson. Harris's wife, Renee, survived the Titanic and took over running the Hudson. She became one of the first women to be a Broadway producer.
Some of Renee Harris's shows ran for a long time, like Friendly Enemies (1918) and Clarence (1919). George M. Cohan also presented several shows at the Hudson. In May 1928, Howard Schnebbe took over the lease. The Hudson also hosted Black musicals like Hot Chocolates (1929).
In the early 1930s, the theater business was hit hard by the Great Depression. The Hudson started losing money. In November 1931, the Emigrant Savings Bank tried to take over the theater because Renee Harris owed money. The bank bought the Hudson for $100,000 in January 1932. Even with these problems, the theater continued to host shows.
After the Harris Family
1930s and 1940s Changes
In January 1934, CBS announced it would rent the Hudson Theatre to use as a studio for radio broadcasts. The studio opened on February 3, 1934, and people could attend the broadcasts for free. The box seats on the first floor were changed into a commercial booth and an announcer's booth. The Hudson was known as CBS Radio Playhouse Number 1. This CBS studio only operated until 1937.
In January 1937, Sam H. Grisman took over the theater. The Hudson reopened as a Broadway venue the next month. In 1939, the Shubert Organization took over the theater. From 1941 to 1944, the Hudson hosted Arsenic and Old Lace, which ran for a record 1,444 performances. The producers of that show, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, bought the Hudson for $300,000 in January 1944. Another long-running show was Detective Story, which ran from 1949 to 1950.
1950s and 1960s Era
NBC bought the Hudson Theatre in June 1950 for $595,000. The theater then became a television studio for NBC. Many Broadway theaters were being turned into TV studios at that time because there wasn't enough studio space in New York City. Shows like Broadway Open House and The Tonight Show were filmed at the Hudson. Steve Allen and Jack Paar, the first two hosts of The Tonight Show, both hosted from the Hudson.
In November 1958, NBC offered the Hudson for sale. They wanted $855,000 for it. This was partly because many of their shows had moved to Hollywood. After not finding a buyer, NBC decided to turn the theater back into a Broadway venue themselves.
The play Toys in the Attic opened at the Hudson Theatre in 1960. In September 1961, NBC agreed to sell the theater for $1.1 million to Samuel Lehrer, who wanted to replace it with a parking garage. Theater groups strongly opposed these plans. The theater's uncertain future meant that shows could only run for a few weeks, so it was often empty. In May 1962, NBC agreed to sell the theater for $1.25 million to Sommer Brothers Construction. They planned to build an office and garage building.
The Sommer Brothers never built their project. In 1965, they put the theater up for sale. It was then bought by Abraham Hirschfeld.
After Broadway: Hotel Conference Center
The theater was closed by 1983. In May of the next year, Harry Macklowe bought the Hudson Theatre. He bought several other properties on the block in the mid-1980s. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) made both the outside and inside of the theater official landmarks on November 17, 1987. This was part of a big effort to protect Broadway theaters.
Macklowe built the Hotel Macklowe (later called the Millennium Times Square New York) around the theater in 1988. The Hudson was made part of the hotel as a conference center and event space. The changes kept the landmarked decorations, like the Tiffany glass, marble stairs, and woodwork. The seating was also refurbished. New dressing rooms and stage equipment were added.
The Hudson had a $7 million renovation to become a conference center. It was used for company meetings, fashion shows, and product launches. One famous event was the World Chess Championship 1990, where Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov competed. The hotel's manager hoped to host theatrical productions and fashion shows there. Weddings could also be held in the theater. From November 2004, the theater was restored, including its Tiffany glass decorations.
Broadway Revival
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In March 2015, news reports said that Howard Panter of the British company Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) might turn the Hudson back into a Broadway theater. In December, an ATG company signed a lease to do just that. The renovation included updating the technical equipment and expanding the backstage and front-of-house areas. The Tony Awards Administration Committee decided in October 2016 that the Hudson Theatre could host Tony-eligible shows. The theater was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on November 15, 2016.
The Hudson reopened with a revival of the musical Sunday in the Park with George. Stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford were there for the ribbon-cutting ceremony on February 8, 2017. The Hudson became the 41st Broadway theater. It was both the newest and oldest Broadway theater in operation at the time. The reopened Hudson hosted shows like 1984 (2017), The Parisian Woman (2017), and American Utopia (2019).
The theater closed on March 12, 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Hudson reopened on February 22, 2022, with previews of Plaza Suite. This was followed by a revival of Death of a Salesman in October 2022. A revival of A Doll's House opened in March 2023. In early 2023, ATG and Jujamcyn Theaters agreed to combine. The new company now runs seven Broadway theaters, including the Hudson. Comedian Alex Edelman's show Just for Us opened in June 2023. A revival of Merrily We Roll Along opened in October 2023 and is scheduled to run until July 2024.
Images for kids
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44th Street facade as seen in 2022
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Second- and third-story detail
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45th Street elevation of the facade
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The ticket lobby's chandeliers hang from the coffered ceiling.
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Detail of Tiffany glass dome
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Seating in the auditorium as seen from the stage area. A first-balcony box is visible at left.
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Side view of the auditorium, with the right-hand boxes at center and the proscenium at left
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Harris at his office in the theater
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Hudson Theatre on a 1910s trading card
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View down the foyer
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Viewed from the east
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Seen in 2003, after it was incorporated into the Millennium Times Square New York
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The facade sign showing 1984 (2017)
See also
