Imagine the thunder of hooves slowly fading. It makes way for the swell of an orchestra tuning up right here at the Winter Garden Theatre. This wasn’t always a theatre. The Winter Garden Theatre started as the American Horse Exchange in 1896.
William K. Vanderbilt built it when Longacre Square now Times Square was horse and carriage central. By 1911 automobiles had replaced horses. The Shubert family leased the building and transformed it. Architect William Albert Swasey redesigned the space into a theatre. He turned the horse ring into an auditorium. The Winter Garden Theatre officially opened on March 20 1911. The opening production was La Belle Paree. It was a musical by Jerome Kern.
Did you notice how wide the Winter Garden Theatre is? The design brought the audience closer to the stage. Swasey kept the Horse Exchange’s trusses exposed. He covered the ceiling in sky blue canvas. Latticework trimmed the ceiling and walls. Garlands and leaves decorated the boxes and proscenium arch. The original stage even had a water tank. A runway extended into the audience. It was nicknamed the Bridge of Thighs.
In 1922 Herbert J. Krapp renovated the Winter Garden Theatre. The runway was removed. The ceiling and proscenium arch were lowered. The trusses were covered. Elegant ornamentation was added. The theatre adopted a traditional Adamesque style. It was similar to other Shubert venues.
The Winter Garden Theatre served as a cinema twice. Warner Brothers leased it from 1928 to 1933. United Artists ran it in 1945. From 2002 to 2007 it was called the Cadillac Winter Garden Theatre. This was due to a sponsorship deal with General Motors.
The Winter Garden Theatre has a rich history of revues and musicals. The Passing Show played here. It was the Shubert’s answer to Ziegfeld’s Follies. Almost every Al Jolson musical played here too. After Ziegfeld died editions of his Follies played at the Winter Garden Theatre. Fanny Brice Bob Hope and Gypsy Rose Lee starred in them.
Peter Pan starring Mary Martin played here in 1954. The premiere of West Side Story was in 1957. The Unsinkable Molly Brown Funny Girl and Mame were hits in the 1960s. Funny Girl made Barbra Streisand a star. Mame starred Angela Lansbury.
Stephen Sondheim’s Follies played in the 1970s. It harkened back to the theatre’s early days as a revue house. Gypsy was revived with Angela Lansbury. Gilda Radner performed in Gilda Radner Live from New York.
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats premiered in 1982. It ran until 2000 becoming the second longest-running show on Broadway. Mamma Mia debuted in 2001. It stayed until 2013. More recently the Winter Garden Theatre hosted School of Rock.
Today the Winter Garden Theatre continues to host major productions. Good Night and Good Luck is scheduled here in 2025. Its interior is a designated New York City landmark. The Winter Garden Theatre is more than a venue. It is a testament to the evolving entertainment landscape of Times Square.