Seven 42nd Street Theatres Denied Landmark Status Consideration

When the first subway station opened on Broadway and 42nd Street in 1904, it sparked a surge of business that led to the creation of dozens of legitimate theatres. By the 1970s, many of the theatres on 42nd Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue were converted into porno houses. Though The New 42nd Street, founded in 1990, led to the restoration of some of those houses as Broadway theatres once again, other have seen their historic facades housing different business ventures.

On Tuesday, as reported by DNAinfo, seven theatre buildings built on 42nd Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue were removed from a list of sites under consideration by the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission.

They include the Lyric Theatre, soon to house Cirque du Soleil's PARAMOUR, the Empire Theatre, which is now a movie multiplex, The New Victory Theatre, which houses various family entertainments and the Liberty Theatre, now the home of the Liberty Diner.

Three additional theatres were removed from the list because they are already subject to historic preservation requirements, says LPC spokeswoman Damaris Olivo.

They include the Apollo Theatre, which was renovated into the restored Lyric Theatre, the Selwyn Theatre, which now houses the New 42nd Street Studios, The Duke on 42nd Street theater and the entrance to Roundabout Theatre Company's American Airlines Theatre, and the Times Square Theatre, currently not in use.

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Visit new42.org for complete histories of these historic theatres.