4. The New Amsterdam Theatre, 1903
Along with the Lyceum Theatre and the Hudson Theatre, The New Amsterdam Theatre is among the oldest in New York, opening in 1903. At the time of its construction, the New Amsterdam was the largest Broadway theater with 1,702 seats. The venue was also built to incorporate two performance spaces within an additional office tower. The New Amsterdam is a rare example of Art Nouveau architecture in New York, meant to express the spirit of drama. Its first production was Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” In 1904, the Roof Garden, which no longer exists, was added where more risqué productions were presented.
The New Amsterdam Theatre was the home of the Ziegfeld Follies from 1913 to 1927. Owner Florenz Ziegfeld operated a nightclub on the roof. It was first used as a movie theater during the Great Depression in 1937, a time when many Broadway theaters had to resort to showing films in order to stay in business. It remained a movie theater until 1985 when the building was obtained by Disney Theatrical Production as the flagship theater for Walt Disney productions on Broadway. Its current production is Disney’s “Aladdin,” which opened in 2014. The building was made a historical landmark in 1979.