5. The Herald Square Theater Was the First to be Converted Into a Silent Movie House

The Top 10 Secrets of NYC's Herald Square_at_night_Herald Square Theater_Untapped Cities_Stephanie GeierThe Herald Square Theater in 1907. Image from Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons

The Herald Square Theater, a Broadway theater, was built in 1883 on the corner of Broadway and 35th street and was called the “New Park Theater.” It was then rebuilt eleven years later as the “Herald Square Theater.” Despite its plain-looking facade, it has quite a few superlatives.

A second interesting tidbit: William Randolph Hearst, publisher of the New York Journal and the infamous promoter of yellow journalism, first saw his wife, chorus girl Millicent Willson, at this theater.

In 1911 it became the first New York City theater to be converted into a silent movie house, but closed in 1914.