TheMurray Hill Theatre was aBroadway theatre located onLexington Avenue between East41st and42nd streets inManhattan, New York City.[1][2] It operated as alegitimate theatre for plays, musicals, and operas until it became a part of theColumbia Amusement Company's chain ofburlesque theaters in 1908. The theatre was acquired by the motion picture empire ofMarcus Loew, and re-opened as a movie theatre,Loew's 42nd Street Theatre, in 1917. It continued to operate as a movie theatre until it was demolished in 1951.
The Murray Hill Theatre was built by impresario Frank B. Murtha and opened on October 19, 1896, with the world premiere of Oscar Weil andCharles Dazey's operaIn Mexico, 1848; a work performed byThe Bostonians.[3] It had a seating capacity of 1500 people.[4] Over the next decade the theatre was leased to two different theatre companies: first the Murray Hill Theatre Stock Company of Henry V. Donnelly and later a theatre company led by W. T. Keogh.[5]
In 1904, the theatre began a slow shift away from the legitimate plays, musicals, and operas it had presented earlier and became a theatre forburlesque andvaudeville entertainments; ultimately becoming one of the many burlesque theaters operated by theColumbia Amusement Company (COA).[6] The COA began operating the theatre after being granted a theatre license by theNew York City Council on May 1, 1908.[7] Under their tenure, the theatre was host toWill Rogers in 1910.[8]
The theatre was purchased byMarcus Loew and after some remodeling, re-opened as themovie theatre Loew's 42nd Street Theatre in 1917. It continued to operate as a movie theatre until it was demolished in 1951.[5]
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