VIDEO: Construction Begins on Broadway's Palace Theatre

The long-planned project to lift Broadway's iconic Palace Theatre began this afternoon. ABC News went inside the project tonight as construction got underway. Go inside the lift and $50 million dollar renovation of one of Broadway's most famous theaters below!

The massive undertaking will place the theater three stories up inside the $2.5 billion 46-story TSX Tower, a full 30 feet above ground level.

The project will relocate the landmark 1,700 seat theater intact to free up the ground level for retail space. TSX Tower will also offer hotel rooms, restaurants, a stage facing onto Times Square and more.

"This is the most heavily trafficked corner in the western hemisphere and there was no retail space here, but probably the most valuable commercial retail space in the world," developers said.

The project is the result of five years of planning. Moving the 5 million pound theater will be accomplished with the use of custom lifting posts which will push the theater up at the rate of one quarter inch per hour over a period of 6-8 weeks.