Ed Sullivan Theater
New York City, NY Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Here is the famous Ed Sullivan Theater on Broadway, complete with its bright marquee and familiar Late Show signs. With all the television history packed inside this building, “if only the walls could talk” seems especially fitting here. 05-20
The theater opened in 1927 as Hammerstein’s Theatre, built by Arthur Hammerstein as a musical playhouse. One of the performers in its opening production was a young actor named Archie Leach, later known to movie audiences as Cary Grant. CBS began using the building for radio broadcasts in 1936 and eventually converted it into Studio 50.
Ed Sullivan Theater
New York City, NY Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The Ed Sullivan Show made the stage famous around the world. The Beatles played their first live American television performance here on February 9, 1964, before an estimated 73 million viewers. The theater was renamed for Ed Sullivan in 1967.
David Letterman brought late-night television back to the building in 1993 and remained until 2015. Stephen Colbert followed that same year, giving the old theater another eleven years in the television spotlight.
UPDATE: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert aired its final episode on May 21, 2026, ending the CBS franchise after 33 years. The landmarked theater remains standing, but its next act has not yet been announced. 08-26
Majestic Theatre
New York City, NY Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Walking along West 44th Street in 2020, there was no mistaking the Majestic Theatre. The big black marquee, the familiar white mask and the Phantom’s name stretched across the front of the building. After more than three decades, it was hard to picture the Majestic showing anything else. 05-20
The theater opened on March 28, 1927, with the musical revue Rufus LeMaire’s Affairs. It was built by the Chanin Brothers as part of a three-theater complex and designed by Herbert J. Krapp in the Spanish style. With more than 1,600 seats, the Majestic was made for the large musical productions that soon became its specialty. The Shubert Organization took over the theater in 1930 and still owns it today.
Majestic Theatre
New York City, NY Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The Phantom of the Opera opened here on January 26, 1988. Its famous chandelier came crashing down night after night while the show kept adding performances to the Broadway record book. Phantom eventually became the longest-running production in Broadway history, a record it still holds.
After 35 years and 13,981 performances, the Phantom finally left the building on April 16, 2023. That made this 2020 view of the marquee one of the last looks at a sight that had been part of West 44th Street since the late 1980s.
UPDATE: Following the closing of Phantom, the Majestic underwent an extensive restoration. The black exterior trim was removed, the marquee returned to its earlier red appearance and the theater’s original 1927 chandelier was brought out of storage and returned to the auditorium. The restored theater reopened with Gypsy in 2024 and later hosted Beaches. Purple Rain is scheduled to begin performances in March 2027. 08-26
Neil Simon Theatre Marquee
New York City, NY Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Cruising along West 52nd Street, the tall vertical sign for the Neil Simon Theatre is hard to miss. Behind the marquee is a handsome red-brick facade with arched windows and plenty of old Broadway detail above the sidewalk. 05-20
The theater opened on November 22, 1927, as the Alvin Theatre. That name was created by combining the first names of its original producers, Alex Aarons and Vinton Freedley. Herbert J. Krapp designed the building in the Neo-Georgian style, with seating for around 1,400 theatergoers.
Its opening production was the Gershwin musical Funny Face, starring Fred and Adele Astaire. The Alvin later hosted Ethel Merman in Girl Crazy, Lucille Ball in her only Broadway musical, Wildcat, and the original production of Annie. Liza Minnelli, Henry Fonda and countless other familiar names have also appeared on its stage.
Neil Simon Theatre
New York City, NY Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The Nederlander Organization purchased the theater in 1975. It was renamed for playwright Neil Simon in June 1983 while his Brighton Beach Memoirs was playing inside. Both the auditorium and exterior were designated New York City landmarks in 1985.
More recent audiences may remember the theater as the longtime home of Hairspray, which played here from 2002 until 2009.
UPDATE: MJ the Musical opened at the Neil Simon in February 2022 and continues to fill the marquee with Michael Jackson imagery. The show became one of the theater’s biggest modern hits and remains onstage. 08-26
New York Sight Seeing (Gone)
New York City, NY Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
That New York Sight Seeing storefront really was hiding an old theater. Behind the tour tickets and Times Square signs was the former Embassy Theatre, tucked into the ground floor of the building at 1560 Broadway. 05-20
The Embassy opened on August 26, 1925. It was designed by noted theater architect Thomas W. Lamb and was a relatively intimate house with only 556 seats. Inside were wood-paneled walls, mirrors, chandeliers and plenty of decorative plasterwork.
In 1929, the Embassy dropped regular feature films and became one of the country’s earliest theaters devoted entirely to newsreels. Moviegoers could stop in at almost any hour to catch a continuously changing program of news, sports and world events. It was sort of a round-the-clock television news channel before television took over the job.
The theater later returned to regular movies and remained in operation until 1997. It reopened the following year as the Times Square Visitor Center, which explains the New York Sight Seeing signs in this view. Visitors could buy theater tickets, arrange tours and even see one of the old Times Square New Year’s Eve balls on display. The ornate interior became a New York City landmark in 1987.
UPDATE: The visitor center closed in 2014. Pelé Soccer opened a flagship store inside the former theater in 2019, with a small soccer field laid out across the old auditorium floor. Much of the landmarked theater decoration remains behind the sporting goods displays. 08-26
Palace Theater
New York City, New York Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
In a part of Times Square where nearly everything is fighting for attention, the big marquee for the Palace Theatre still manages to stand out. This famous entrance along Broadway has welcomed vaudeville stars, moviegoers and Broadway audiences for more than a century. 05-20
The Palace opened on March 24, 1913, as one of the country’s grandest vaudeville houses. For performers, “playing the Palace” meant that an act had reached the top. Will Rogers, Fanny Brice, the Marx Brothers, Harry Houdini and many other familiar names appeared on its stage.
Movies gradually replaced the variety acts during the 1930s, although Judy Garland brought live entertainment roaring back with a legendary 19-week engagement in 1951. The theater eventually became a full-time Broadway house, reopening with Sweet Charity in 1966. Later productions included La Cage aux Folles, Beauty and the Beast and Sunset Boulevard.
The Palace has also hosted concert engagements by Bette Midler, Liza Minnelli and Diana Ross. Its lavish auditorium, with two balconies and plenty of gilded decoration, became a New York City interior landmark in 1987.
UPDATE: The Palace closed in 2018 for one of the strangest construction projects in Broadway history. Its 14-million-pound auditorium was placed on hydraulic jacks and lifted 30 feet to make room for retail space beneath it. The newly elevated theater reopened in May 2024 and is now tucked inside the TSX Broadway tower. The Lost Boys is currently playing on the Palace stage. 08-26
Majestic Theatre
Majestic Theatre
Neil Simon Theatre
New York Sight Seeing (Gone)
