History
Republic Theater
Built at the behest of
Oscar Hammerstein Senior, and designed in 1899 by
architect Albert Westover for
Oscar Hammerstein, the New Victory Theater opened as the
Republic Theatre
[1] [2] on
September 27 1900 with
Lionel Barrymore in the play
Sag Harbor
.
Belasco Theater
Two years later it was leased by
David Belasco
, who renamed it for himself and produced a series of plays starring
George Arliss,
Mary Pickford, and
Lillian Gish.
In 1910, when Belasco renamed his Stuyvesant Theater on West 44th Street for himself, the name Theater Republic was reinstated. Its most famous tenant was
Abie's Irish Rose
, which ran for 2327 performances between 1922 and 1927.
Minsky's Burlesque
Billy Minsky converted it into a
burlesque house in 1931, and it remained as such until 1941.
Victory Theater
It became a movie house called the Victory in 1942
. The neighborhood gradually disintegrated, and by the 1970s it was one of several
porn palaces lining the street.
New Victory Theater
The City and State of New York took possession of the Victory in 1990. In 1992, it was one of six 42nd Street theaters to fall under the protection of The New 42nd Street, Inc., a not-for -profit set up to oversee the redevelopment of these historic theaters.
The Victory was the first theater to be restored in an effort to revitalize 42nd Street and Times Square, and between 1994 and 1995 it underwent an $11.4 million renovation headed by the architectural firm of Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates
. The restoration replaced the double staircase on the exterior that had been removed by Minsky, and returned the rest of the theater to the way it appeared during the Belasco era.
On
December 11 1995, the refurbished theater, renamed The New Victory Theater, opened as a venue for family entertainment, including
concerts,
dance recitals,
circus performances, and
puppetry, and educational programs.
In 2005, the theater was among 406
New York City arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $20 million grant from the
Carnegie Corporation, which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor
Michael Bloomberg.
Notes