diving horses while a 500-member chorus sings in triumph?
"14 The Hippodrome threw the spark that would forever light January 22, 1906. April 13, 1905); "New York's Gigantic Toy," p.257 15.
[Invitation that links Man from beyond and Houdini escape act]. products.
But on August 16, 1939, the Hippodrome Intrigued, we began to investigate the history of the site. tower was placed on the site of the Hippodrome; only the name remains in
Others predicted an
Second, it brought the electrical billboard, that "threw a fire and glare of electric Together, they were able to convince a Apr 22, 1922, Aug 09, 1920 1 photographic print. The theater was eventually razed in 1939. fantastic shows at the Hippodrome would temporarily offer an escape for inspired by his ideas.
google_color_text = "99FFFF"; When Dillingham left in 1923 to pursue other interests, the Hippodrome was leased to Keith-Albee, which hired architect Thomas W. Lamb[9] to turn it into a vaudeville theatre by building a much smaller stage and discarding all of its unique features. construction company was owned by one of the financial backers.
predicted that "The theatres will suffer immenselyfor at least the The inside of the theatre was as much an unequalled "New York's Gigantic Toy," p.251 14. untitled article by Alan Dale (ca. A successful 1935 run of the circus musical "Jumbo" briefly revitalized the Hippodrome and for several years thereafter, it booked late-run movies, boxing, wrestling, and Jai Lai matches. costume and stage design, writers and composers from around the world Its many imported spectacles were closely google_ad_width = 120;
middle-class audience, Thompson & Dundy tried to put a hippodrome at
Tourists making their pilgrimages to Bryant Park or the New York Public Library or Times Square may pass by the building, which stands between 43rd and 44th Streets, but they don't stop. [Houdini versus products of the Weed Chain Tire Grip Company].
Percy
Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as 
showmen, of the viability of their unique formula of amusement as a
Here is a 1910 photo: little play. activity. It's unclear if he ever put the plan into actionregardless and unsurprisingly, the speculators persisted. Until the end of World War I, the Hippodrome housed all sorts of spectacles then switched to musical extravaganzas, including Good Times which ran for 456 performances from 1920-21. Image. However, some of the content may be protected by the U.S. But
The theatre was sold to property company in July 1930 with a view to demolition to built a large hotel. (In a climactic scene of Andersonville, actors portraying cavalry rode actual horses into the giant pool.). Lamb built a smaller stage and discarded many of the original theater's unique features. Chicago in 1893. -
Close proximity to Broadway, Madison Square Garden, and Penn Station and Moynihan Train Hall, truly discover the heart of the entertainment district at Manhattan West. We rely on your support to make local news available to all. obvious to the inventive. York; Inventing Times Square
Bailey and the Ringling Brothers Circuses. them to return to their childhoods. Or see some of Image 2 of [Hippodrome program for the season 1917-1918]. dishwashers; the building itself was supplied with an electrified Shocked by an unexpected decline in attendance during the Hippodrome's For other uses, see, The Hippodrome in 1907, on a hand-tinted postcard.
Dillingham's most famous production was the 1922 show "Better Times," which ran for more than 400 performances. "7 The Spectatorium, however, was never completed, after York 1927; "New York's Gigantic Toy," p.245 8. The second act was Andersonville, about the notorious Confederate military prison where many Union soldiers were maltreated.
Barnum had built the Roman hippodrome between 26th (1917) Hippodrome Program for the Season -1918. NOTES combination of these two factors made the Hippodrome what Thompson but for the adult consumer.6 In Thompson's opinion, the featured lavish spectacles complete with circus animals, diving horses, The theater was enormous, with a seating capacity of 5,200 and a stage ten times the size of the average Broadway stagelarge enough to accommodate 1,000 performers and crew members or a full circus with elephants and horses. William Gabel. The ring is a horse hitch. In 1925, movies were added to the vaudeville, but within a few years, competition from the newer and more sumptuous movie palaces in the Broadway-Times Square area forced Keith-Albee-Orpheum, which was merged into RKO by May 1928, to sell the theatre. google_color_link = "00CCCC"; The International Cup, the Ballet of Niagra, and the Earthquake, Pioneer Days / Circus Events / Neptune's Daughter.
substantial, but not nearly enough to finance the price of the
"Hippodrome Theatre" redirects here. After it closed its doors in 1939, the Hippodrome Image 1 of [Hippodrome program for the season 1917-1918]. even Barnum's 8000-seat circus paled in comparison with the proposal was to be built as a permanent theatre for the Columbian exposition in We learned from the building's owner, Edison Properties, that remnants of the theater survived. Image 8 of [Hippodrome program for the season 1917-1918].
- Leyendecker, F. X., Teale, O. S., Hippodrome Theatre & Mcmanus-Young Collection. Big Store' Idea to Give Masses
1917. Illumination of the New York Hippodrome," Illuminating Engineer 1 (April favorited this theater, Previously operated by: free services available to all customers regardless of their ability to Electricity If you have comments or additional questions, pleasecontact us. All Rights Reserved. Frederic Thompson, Elmer S. Dundy, and John W Gates, the creators of Coney Island's Luna Park, built the largest theatre in New York seating over 5,000 people at 14 performances a week and boasting a cast size of 1,000 (with live animals). May 17, 1919, Aug 23, 1917 google_ad_channel =""; Thus, shopping had been democratized; the city's wealthiest and
James and Karla Murray write about and photograph New York City.
13. era that made the Hippodrome famous lives on in the American memory. May 15, 1920, Aug 22, 1918 It remained an empty lot until and was used for a while as a bus depot. Nov 24, 1906, Apr 12, 1905
the department stores, the wealthy and the humble were able to it.
Edison bought it from Mass Mutual in 1978 and later renovated it, adding the glass curtain wall and a new lobby. Movie In 1906, Thompson & Dundy lost their creation to their financial backers. Production costs were enormousapproaching $40,000 a week during a 40-week season according to one estimate. It As was the purpose of Luna Park, the the education and inspiration of the masses, while affording them, at The Hippodrome's amusement, however, did not only challenge the elite Thompson imagined a vast "amusement resort" that would cater to the masses, offering them a brief respite from their tiresome lives of toil. "We are coming to the age of the department store in
Apr 28, 1923, Sep 03, 1921 Please consider supporting us bywhitelisting playbill.com with your ad blocker.Thank you! Image 22 of [Hippodrome program for the season 1917-1918]. Image 7 of [Hippodrome program for the season 1917-1918]. In 1933, it was re-opened as the New York Hippodrome cinema, and became the stage for Billy Rose's Jumbo in 1935.
Thompson hatched a scheme to prevent "ticket speculators" from driving up prices by stationing ticket agents outside the theater selling face-value tickets. Image 5 of [Hippodrome program for the season 1917-1918].
Tribune (April 13, 1905); "New York's Gigantic Toy," p.243-244 7. There is a segment in NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOWBUSINESS that takes place in the Hippodrome. McManus-Young Collection (Library of Congress) - Hammerstein's Victoria Theatre (New York, N.Y.) - Teale, Oscar S. (Oscar Schutte). - [Image] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2018682506/. [7] The theatre had state-of-the-art theatrical technology, including a rising glass water tank. Today, a plain office building named the Hippodrome sits on the site where this massive theatre once delighted thousands. How long did it last ? [8], The exterior of the red-brick and terra-cotta building was Moorish in style, with two corner towers, each of which was topped by a globe covered in electric lights.
also warmed the grease paint and curling irons for hundreds of chorus attracted to the novelty of this establishment must come from somewhere,
by its builders.
Following the success of Luna Park, the two had little trouble finding
Oscar Hammerstein, a producer of numerous shows and builder of "the first six weeks." its visitors away from their grim world. Tickets as cheap as 25 cents attracted the city's working class, for whom the pricey theaters of Broadway were out of reach. "Gigantic toy" quotation comes "Opening of Hippodrome," New York //-->, The New York Hippodrome Built in 1905 with a seating capacity of 5,200 people, the Hippodrome was
Broadway Veterans to Star in Berkeley Reps World Premiere of, New Musical About Mexican Icon Frida Kahlo in the Works, Sixth Ave. bet. theatricals," Thompson stated in 1904. Thompson & Dundy had collected the greatest talents in choreography, B.F. Keith's Hippodrome, RKO Hippodrome Theatre. In 1928, RKO, the motion picture company, purchased the theater. illumination for miles."
City's famous Hippodrome Theater. subsequently brought their prices down to one dollar.12
(variety stage) artists of the day, including Harry Houdini, performed MacKaye, Epoch; The Life of Steele MacKaye, Genius of the theatre, New The Theatre Syndicate, who held a near monopoly on theatrical Nonetheless, the 5200-seat Hippodrome opened April 12, 1905 performing two There were circus rings, aquatic effects which included a "Vanishing Pool" that allowed actors to exit the stage underwater, and a moving stage. The amount of current used by the Hippodrome's stage Construction of the Hippodrome was completed in 10 months, another The workers also found a metal gaff with a wooden handle. By the end of the decade, with real estate values in the area rising, a theater on the site no longer made sense. Image 18 of [Hippodrome program for the season 1917-1918]. afford to present its high-tech theatrical extravaganza.
Thompson & moderate prices, and entertainment as irresistibly fascinating as it was He had first created the enlarged playground that allowed He drew inspiration from the so-called "hippodromes" of Europe, grand attractions with horse racing, circuses, and more.