Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre is a Broadway theater at 242 West 45th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1927, the theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp in a Spanish style and was built for real-estate developer Irwin S. Chanin. It has 1,100 seats across two levels and is operated by The Shubert Organization. Both the facade and the auditorium interior are New York City landmarks.
The facade is designed in a Spanish style with golden brick, terracotta, and stone and is divided into two sections. The western portion of the facade contains the theater's entrance, with five double-height arched windows and a curved pediment above. The eastern portion is the stage house and is topped by a loggia. The auditorium contains Spanish-style detailing, a large balcony, and an expansive vaulted ceiling. The auditorium's interior features murals by Willy Pogany as well as several box seats.
The Royale, Majestic, and Masque theaters, along with the Lincoln Hotel, were all developed by the Chanin brothers and designed by Krapp as part of a theater/hotel complex. The Royale was the first of the three theaters to be completed, opening on January 11, 1927. The Shubert family took over the Royale in 1930 but subsequently went into receivership, and producer John Golden leased the theater in 1932. Golden renamed the theater after himself in 1934, but the Shuberts took over in 1936 and leased the theater to CBS Radio. The Royale was restored as a legitimate theater under its original name in 1940. The theatre was renamed in 2005 after Bernard B. Jacobs, former president of the Shubert Organization.
Site
The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre is at 242 West 45th Street, on the south side between Eighth Avenue and Broadway, near Times Square in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. The nearly rectangular land lot covers, with a frontage of on 44th Street and a depth of. The Golden Theatre shares the city block with the Row NYC Hotel to the west. It adjoins six other theaters: the Gerald Schoenfeld and Booth to the east, the Broadhurst and Shubert to the southeast, the Majestic to the south, and the Golden to the west. Other nearby structures include the Music Box Theatre and Imperial Theatre to the north; the New York Marriott Marquis to the northeast; One Astor Plaza to the east; and Sardi's restaurant, the Hayes Theater, and the St. James Theatre one block south.The Jacobs is part of the largest concentration of Broadway theaters on a single block. The adjoining block of 45th Street is also known as George Abbott Way, and foot traffic on the street increases box-office totals for the theaters there. The Majestic, Masque, and Royale theaters and the Lincoln Hotel had all been developed concurrently. The site of all four buildings had previously occupied by twenty brownstone residences. The site was part of the Astor family estate from 1803 to 1922, when it was sold to Henry Claman. The plots collectively measured wide along Eighth Avenue, along 44th Street, and along 45th Street.
Design
The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, originally the Royale Theatre, was designed by Herbert J. Krapp in a Spanish style and was constructed from 1926 to 1927 for the Chanin brothers. It was part of an entertainment complex along with the Lincoln Hotel and the Majestic and Masque theaters, which were also designed by Krapp in a Spanish style. The Royale was designed to be the medium-sized theater of the complex, with about 1,200 seats initially. The Chanin Realty and Construction Company constructed all four structures. The Jacobs is operated by the Shubert Organization.Facade
The facade contains two sections. The western section is wider and is symmetrical, containing the auditorium entrance. The eastern section, which contains the stage house, is narrower and taller than the western section. In both sections, the ground floor is clad in rusticated blocks of terracotta above a granite water table. At ground level, the auditorium entrance includes five pairs of glass and aluminum doors, which lead to the ticket office and auditorium. There are also rectangular aluminum-framed sign boards beside the openings. The entrance is topped by a marquee. Four sets of aluminum doors lead from the stage house portion of the facade. A terracotta cornice runs above the base. The stage door is at 270 West 45th Street and is shared with the Majestic and Golden theaters.The upper stories contain gold-colored, bonded Roman brick. The brick facade was designed to relate to the adjacent theaters and hotel. On the upper stories, the auditorium section has a set of five arches on the second and third stories. The arches rise above terracotta piers that contain Corinthian-style capitals. Each arch contains iron-framed sash windows with multiple panes, separated by horizontal transom bars. A similar, narrower arcade exists on the neighboring Golden Theatre. A sign with the theater's name is placed between the auditorium and stage sections. The parapet of the auditorium facade contains a terracotta coping. Above the center portion of the facade, there is a rounded pediment with finials and an ornamental lunette.
The stage house has five sash windows on each of the second through fifth stories. These windows contain sills made of terracotta. At the fifth story, the three center windows are placed within a loggia, which in turn is placed on brackets. The loggia has paired columns with decorative capitals, which support a Spanish tile roof. There is a pyramidal tile roof above the stage house. The Jacobs's loggia complements a similar one on the Golden Theatre.
Auditorium
The Jacobs's interior was designed with a red, orange, and gold color scheme. The layout was part of an effort by Irwin Chanin, one of the developers, to "democratize" the seating arrangement of the theater. The Jacobs was designed with a single balcony rather than the typical two, since Chanin had perceived the second balcony to be distant. The Chanin brothers wanted the three theaters' interior designs to be distinct while still adhering to a Spanish motif, in the belief that beautiful and comfortable theaters would be able to compete against other performing-arts venues. Roman Melzer was credited for the overall design, while Willy Pogany painted murals and Joseph Dujat created plasterwork. By the 2010s, the Jacobs was designed with a red and gray color palette.The auditorium has an orchestra level, one balcony, boxes, and a stage behind the proscenium arch. The auditorium's width is greater than its depth, and the space is designed with plaster decorations in high relief. According to the Shubert Organization, the auditorium has 1,092 seats, while according to The Broadway League, there are 1,078 seats. The physical seats are divided into 636 seats in the orchestra, 168 at the front of the balcony, 252 at the rear of the balcony, and 16 in the boxes. There are 20 standing-only spots. Below the orchestra are restrooms and drinking fountains. The Jacobs and the neighboring Schoenfeld are two of the most desired theaters among producers because of their good sightlines from the seating areas.
Seating areas
The rear of the orchestra contains a promenade with two columns supporting the balcony level. The orchestra floor is raked. The orchestra and its promenade contain walls with paneled baseboards, above which are rough stucco blocks. The side walls contain doors, above which are exit signs within bracketed panels. The rearmost row has a standing rail behind it. Two staircases lead between the orchestra and the balcony. These staircases have metal railings and elaborate balustrades. In front of the orchestra level is an orchestra pit, which is placed below the stage. The orchestra level is wheelchair-accessible but there are no elevators to the balcony.The balcony level is divided into front and rear sections by an aisle halfway across the depth. The walls consist of paneled stucco blocks. Above the wall is a frieze with rosettes, which forms the wall's cornice. Light fixtures and square panels with arabesques are placed at the front of the balcony's soffit, or underside. Behind this, the center of the soffit is decorated with a medallion containing a light fixture and acanthus-leaf motifs. The outer portions of the soffit are divided into rhombus-shaped panels, which contain latticework and arabesques surrounded by acanthus-leaf and rope moldings. In front of the balcony are moldings of swags and rosettes. The soffit has been modified with the installation of air-conditioning grilles, while lights have been installed in front of the balcony.
On either side of the stage is an elliptically arched wall section with two boxes at the balcony level. The front box on either side is lower than the rear box. Each wall section is surrounded by a rope molding. In front of each box is a railing with shield motifs; the center motif is flanked by griffins. The underside of each box is decorated with a medallion containing a light fixture, as well as acanthus-leaf motifs. The coved ceilings above the boxes contain Spanish-inspired brass chandeliers.
Other design features
Next to the boxes is an elliptical proscenium arch. The archway is surrounded by rope moldings, above which is a wide band, consisting of four-part leaves surrounded by a guilloche motif. The proscenium measures about high and wide. A sounding board curves onto the ceiling above the proscenium arch. The sounding board has a large decorated latticework panel in the center, which is surrounded by a molding that depicts overlapping leaves. The rest of the sounding board was originally decorated with Spanish-style motifs and is surrounded by moldings on all sides. The depth of the auditorium to the proscenium is, while the depth to the front of the stage is.The ceiling consists of a groin vault that extends over the balcony. The vault is surrounded by a molding with laurel leaves. The ceiling is divided into ribs, containing laurel-leaf and talon moldings. The center of the ceiling contains a latticework grille with arabesques, marking the convergence of the ribs. In addition, there are two arches along the walls on either side of the vault; they contain a set of murals by Willy Pogany, entitled Lovers of Spain. These arches each depict a woman in a procession of musicians. The arches are surrounded by molded acanthus leaves and shells, and there are square panels with rosettes on the arches' outer reveals. According to a contemporary account, the arches measured across.