Longacre Theatre

Longacre Theatre

The Prom, 2019
Address	220 West 48th Street Manhattan, New York United States
Coordinates	40°45′37″N 73°59′09″W / 40.76028°N 73.98583°W / 40.76028; -73.98583
Owner	The Shubert Organization
Type	Broadway theatre
Capacity	1,077
Construction
Opened	May 1, 1913
Years active	1913–1942, 1953–present
Architect	Henry Beaumont Herts
Website
shubert.nyc/theatres/longacre/
New York City Landmark
Designated	December 8, 1987[1]
Reference no.	1348[1]
Designated entity	Facade
New York City Landmark
Designated	December 8, 1987[2]
Reference no.	1349[2]
Designated entity	Auditorium interior

The Longacre Theatre is a Broadway theater at 220 West 48th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. Opened in 1913, it was designed by Henry B. Herts and was named for Longacre Square, now known as Times Square. The Longacre has 1,077 seats and is operated by The Shubert Organization. Both the facade and the auditorium's interior are New York City designated landmarks.

The ground-floor facade is made of rusticated blocks of terracotta. The theater's main entrance is shielded by a marquee. The upper stories are divided vertically into five bays, which contain niches on either side of three large windows. The auditorium contains ornamental plasterwork, a sloped orchestra level, two balconies, and a coved ceiling. The balcony level contains box seats topped by flat arches, and the proscenium opening is also a flat arch. In addition, the Longacre contains two lounges, and the top story formerly had offices.

Theatrical personality Harry Frazee acquired the site in 1911 and developed the Longacre Theatre to accommodate musicals. The Longacre opened on May 1, 1913, with the play Are You a Crook?, but the theater housed several flops in its early years. Frazee, who co-owned the theater with G. M. Anderson, sold his ownership stake in 1917 to focus on baseball. The Shubert brothers acquired the Longacre in 1924 and operated it for two decades before leasing it as a radio and television studio in 1944. The Shuberts returned the Longacre to legitimate theatrical use in 1953. The theater gained a reputation for hosting few successful productions in the late 20th century and was nearly converted to a court in the early 1990s. The Longacre was renovated in 2008.