Winter Garden Theatre

The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 1634 Broadway between 50th and 51st Streets in midtown Manhattan.HistoryThe structure was built by William Kissam Vanderbilt in 1896 to be the American Horse Exchange.In 1911 the Shuberts leased the building and architect William Albert Swasey redesigned the building as a theatre. The fourth New York City venue to be christened the Winter Garden, it opened on March 10, 1911, with the early Jerome Kern musical La Belle Paree. The show starred Al Jolson and launched him on his highly successful singing and acting career. He played the Winter Garden many times after that. The Winter Garden was completely remodeled in 1922 by Herbert J. Krapp. The large stage is wider than those in most Broadway houses, and the proscenium arch is relatively low. The building is situated unusually on its lot, with the main entrance and marquee, located on Broadway, connected to the 1526-seat Seventh Avenue auditorium via a long hallway, and the rear wall of the stage abutting 50th Street. When Al Jolson performed there, the Winter Garden had a runway built, going out into the audience, and Jolson would run out and slide on his knees while singing, and the audience, not used to such dynamic and close-up showmanship from a performer, would go wild.