Hayes Theater
The Hayes Theater is a Broadway theater at 240 West 44th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Named for actress Helen Hayes, the venue is operated by Second Stage Theater. It is the smallest Broadway theater, with 597 seats across two levels. The theater was constructed in 1912 for impresario Winthrop Ames and designed by Ingalls & Hoffman in a neo-Georgian style. The original single-level, 299-seat configuration was modified in 1920, when Herbert J. Krapp added a balcony to expand the Little Theatre. The theater has served as a legitimate playhouse, a conference hall, and a broadcasting studio throughout its history.
The facade and parts of the theater's interior are New York City landmarks. The facade is made largely of red brick. The main entrance is through an arch on the eastern portion of the ground-floor; the rest of the ground floor is taken up by emergency exits, shielded by marquee. The main entrance connects to a box-office lobby, as well as a foyer with a vaulted ceiling and staircases. The auditorium is decorated with ornamental plasterwork, with Adam-style design elements; it has a sloped orchestra level, one balcony level, and a flat ceiling. There are other spaces throughout the theater, including lounges.
Ames had intended for the Little Theatre to host new plays, but its unprofitability led him to expand the theater within a decade of its opening. Ames leased the theater to Oliver Morosco in 1919 and to John Golden in 1922. The New York Times bought the theater in 1931 with plans to raze it, but the Little continued hosting plays until 1941, when it was converted into a conference hall. The theater became an ABC broadcasting studio in 1951. The Little again hosted Broadway productions from 1963 to 1965, when it became a Westinghouse studio, taping shows such as the Merv Griffin Show. The Little again hosted Broadway productions starting in 1977, and it was then sold to Martin Markinson and Donald Tick, who renamed the theater for Helen Hayes in 1983. Second Stage bought the theater in 2015 and reopened it in 2018, shortening the name to the Hayes Theater.
Site
The Hayes Theater is at 240 West 44th Street, on the south sidewalk between Eighth Avenue and Seventh Avenue, near Times Square in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. The land lot is nearly rectangular, with an indentation on the western end. The lot covers, with a frontage of on 44th Street and a depth of.The Hayes Theater shares the city block with St. James Theatre to the west, Sardi's restaurant and 1501 Broadway to the east, and 255 West 43rd Street and 229 West 43rd Street to the south. Across 44th Street are the Row NYC Hotel to the northwest, the Majestic and Broadhurst theaters to the north, and the Shubert Theatre and One Astor Plaza to the northeast. Other nearby structures include the John Golden, Bernard B. Jacobs, Gerald Schoenfeld, and Booth theaters to the north, as well as the former Hotel Carter, Todd Haimes Theatre, and Lyric Theatre to the south. Prior to the theater's development, the site was part of the Astor family estate and contained several brownstone townhouses.
Design
The Hayes Theater was designed by Ingalls & Hoffman for impresario Winthrop Ames using elements of the neo-Federal, colonial, and Georgian Revival styles. It was originally constructed in 1912 as the Little Theatre. In its original configuration, the Little's auditorium had just one level of seating. The layout was meant to give theater patrons the feeling that they were Ames's "guests for the nonce, in an old colonial house behind a garden wall, left behind in the march of progress, the front untouched and the interior remodeled by an amateur of the stage". The current two-level layout was completed in 1920 and designed by Herbert J. Krapp, who went on to become a prolific Broadway theater architect. The Hayes is operated by Second Stage Theater, a nonprofit theater company, as of 2018.Facade
The facade consists of red brick with Flemish bond, as well as limestone trim. It is asymmetrically arranged, with the theater's main entrance to the far east side of the ground floor. A stone water table runs along the bottom of the ground-floor facade. The rest of the facade was designed with sash windows containing white frames.The entrance doorway is a brick arch, which contains impost blocks on either side, as well as a console-shaped keystone at the top. Within this arch are a set of wooden double doors, which are flanked by Ionic-style columns and by sidelights containing lozenge and oval patterns. The brick arch is flanked on either side by paired columns with Corinthian-style capitals. There are electronic signs between each column pair; these rest on pedestals and are topped by urns and volutes. A band course runs above the arch, behind the paired columns. Above this is a stone plaque with inscribed letters reading "The Little Theatre MCMXII", as well as a pair of dancing figures in low relief. The paired columns support a stone architrave above the doors.
To the west of the entrance are four double doors, which provide an emergency exit from the lobby. This section of the facade formerly contained three narrow windows. A double door, designed to resemble a stable door, was originally placed between two of these windows. Carriage lamps were also mounted on the facade to give the impression that the theater was formerly a residence. Above the ground floor, the theater building has a setback, which was formerly decorated with potted plants.
The second and third stories each contain six sash windows flanked by shutters. The second-story window panes are arranged in an eight-over-twelve format; above them are splayed stone lintels, containing keystones with bead motifs and brackets. There are curved metal balconies in front of the four westernmost windows, while the two easternmost windows share a terrace over the main entrance. The third-story window panes are arranged in an eight-over-eight format with paneled keystones. A cornice with modillions runs above the third story. A balustrade formerly ran above the cornice but has since been removed.
Interior
Lobbies
The main entrance leads to a box office, as well as a lobby with two sections. The box office was originally paneled in ivory-colored wood. A passage to the stage is through a door to the west of the box office. The lobby, to the west of the box office, is designed with reliefs in the Adam style. The main section of the lobby is a rectangular foyer, accessed through a doorway on the box office's right wall. To the north of the foyer is a secondary area, one step below the foyer, which leads to the four emergency-exit doors on 44th Street.The western end of the lobby foyer contains an archway to the basement; this was originally a wall with a fireplace. The foyer's north wall contains Ionic-style columns, behind which is the emergency-exit area. The south wall contains doors to the auditorium, as well as Ionic-style pilasters that are directly across from the north-wall columns. There are staircases on the western and eastern ends of the foyer's north wall, which lead up to the balcony; the eastern staircase has a metal railing with lyres. An architrave, with a frieze depicting urns and lyres, runs along the top of the foyer walls. The foyer contains a barrel-vaulted ceiling above the architrave, with a chandelier suspended from an Adam-style medallion. The emergency-exit area's ceiling contains Adam-style panels, and the architrave panels above the exit doors are also designed in the Adam style.
Auditorium
The Hayes Theater is the smallest Broadway venue, with 597 seats. The auditorium has an orchestra level, one balcony, and a stage behind the proscenium arch. The space is designed with plaster decorations in relief. Originally, the Little Theatre had only 299 seats on a single level, the orchestra. In the original configuration, there were only 15 rows of seats. One of the front seats was designed specifically to accommodate businessman J. P. Morgan. The rear of the auditorium did initially have a balcony-level terrace, but it was only wide and had no seats.The rear or southern end of the orchestra contains two paneled-wood doors from the foyer. The orchestra level is raked, sloping down toward the stage, similar to in the original layout of the theater. The side walls of the auditorium were originally covered in wooden panels, but these were replaced with plasterwork panels when Krapp renovated the theater. The front sections of the side walls are angled toward the proscenium, with emergency-exit doors at orchestra level., the side walls contain a pixelated blue mural that resembles the walls' former tapestries.
The rear of the balcony contains a promenade, accessed on either end by the stairways in the foyer. The openings to these stairways are flanked by panels. The balcony promenade's rear wall contains wainscoting, above which are plaster panels. Near the front of the balcony level, both of the side walls contain two arched openings with pilasters on either side, as well as fan-shaped lunettes above. One of these is an emergency exit, while the other is a window opening; these windows allowed Ames to observe the auditorium from his office. The side walls have lighting sconces as well. The underside of the balcony is made of plaster paneling with lights inset into the paneling. The front railing of the balcony has Adam-style plasterwork paneling with pilasters, urns, and molded bands, with light boxes mounted in front. The railing curves onto the side walls, giving the impression of box seats.
At the front of the auditorium is the proscenium, which contains a flat-arched opening flanked by angled bands. Behind the proscenium, there was originally a revolving stage, as well as three sets of curtains. A cornice runs above the proscenium and the side and rear walls, with rosettes, swags, and cartouches. The ceiling is flat but is decorated in ornate plasterwork, dating to Ingalls and Hoffman's design. The entire ceiling is surrounded by a band of rosette, swag, and urn motifs. The center of the ceiling contains a molded oval panel; the perimeter of the oval contains reliefs of cherubs and female figures, connected by swags. The corners of the oval contain triangular panels; those in the rear depict female figures with mirrors, while those in the front depict Roman masks. There are fan-shaped medallions inside the oval, from which hang chandeliers.