Winter Garden Theatre, Broadway, New York City

The Winter Garden Theatre is located at 1634 Broadway, between W. 50th and 51st streets, in the Midtown Manhattan. It has 1,600 seats and is operated by The Shubert Organization. The first floor interior, including the auditorium was designated a New York City landmark in 1988. Due to the size of its auditorium, stage, and backstage facilities, it is favored for large musical productions. Since its opening in 1911, the venue has hosted several touring musicals, including the longest running showcase of Cats.

The original structure of the Winter Garden Theatre was adapted from the old American Horse Exchange built by William K. Vanderbilt. The first American Horse Exchange building was destroyed by fire in 1896 and reconstructed. It was located at Broadway, 7th Avenue and 50th Street.

In 1900, the Shubert brothers Sam, Lee and Jacob moved to New York City and soon began producing shows and acquiring theatres. In 1911 the they leased the building and architect William Albert Swasey redesigned the structure as a theater by turning the showring into a large auditorium with only one balcony, and decorating it with a garden motif. The stage at one point included a water tank, and in its first decade extended a runway out into the audience, dubbed by audiences “The Bridge of Thighs.”

In the following years, the Shubert Organization became the most powerful theatre owners and managers in the United States.

In 1922, the Winter Garden was remodeled by architect Herbert J. Krapp. The runway was eliminated, the ceiling was lowered and the theatre became more in line with the traditional Adamesque style used in other Shubert venues. From 1928 to 1933, Warner Brothers leased Winter Garden and it was used as a movie house. The same happened in 1945, when United Artists ran it. In 1948, the structure became a theater again. In 2001 after Cats closed, architect Francesca Russo oversaw a restoration of the theatre to its 1920s design.