| 209 West 45th Street | |
|---|---|
 209 W. 45th St. | |
 Interactive map of 209 West 45th Street | |
| General information | |
| Location | 209 West 45th Street (Manhattan),New York City,New York, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 40°45′30.5″N73°59′10.5″W / 40.758472°N 73.986250°W /40.758472; -73.986250 |
| Opened | 1917 (108 years ago) (1917) |
| Demolished | 1982 (43 years ago) (1982) |
TheBijou Theatre was a formerBroadway theater inNew York City that opened in 1917 and was demolished in 1982. It was built by theShubert family in 1917 at 209 West 45th Street, and was the smallest of the houses they operated with a capacity of 603.[1][2] Although it did not keep the planned name of theTheatre Francais, it retained its French decor.[1] It was one of three theaters that hosted the premiere season of the musicalFancy Free—but primarily it presented plays by many writers, includingSacha Guitry,John Galsworthy,A. A. Milne,James M. Barrie,Herman J. Mankiewicz,Leslie Howard,Anton Chekhov,Henrik Ibsen,Luigi Pirandello,Graham Greene,Eugene O'Neill,William Saroyan, andSeán O'Casey.[3]
The Oscar-winning British filmThe Red Shoes played the Bijou for 107 weeks, from October 21, 1948, to November 13, 1950.
Starting on November 16, 1950, as the Bijou, it hosted the filmCyrano de Bergerac, starringJosé Ferrer.[4]
In 1951, it became aCBS radio studio, then—as theD. W. Griffith Theatre—it presentedart films, and was subsequently reduced in size due to the expansion of the adjacentAstor Theatre.[1] It was reinstated as the Bijou Theatre in 1965, and was home to arguably its largest hit—Mummenschanz[5]—but was demolished in 1982 to make room for theMarriott Marquis Hotel.
