Broadway Theatres: History and Architecture

by William Morrison

A wealth of historical data about 74 of Manhattan's great theatrical houses. Extensive, detailed captions document location, architects, opening date, other data for the Fifth Avenue Theatre (1873), the Hippodrome (1905), the Music Box Theatre (1921), as well as the New Amsterdam, Winter Garden, Ziegfeld, more. Over 200 photos and illustrations.

Genres: Theatre, Nonfiction, Architecture

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

William Morrison was a pen name used by Joseph Samachson (1906-1980). He earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from Yale at the age of 23. He was an assistant professor at the College of Medicine, University of Illinois. He also headed a laboratory in metabolic research dealing with diseases that affect the skeleton. Samachson worked as a research chemist until 1938, leaving to become a fulltime writer. He worked as a technical writer but also wrote science fiction for the pulp magazines. In the early 1940s he wrote primarily for the comics. From that period, he is best known as the co-creator of the Martian Manhunter at DC but also created other characters like Zatara, Tomahawk and Two-gun Percy. In the 1950s he produced science fiction novels and many short stories and was a frequent contributor to major magazines like GALAXY. With his wife, he wrote books about various subjects, including the theater, music and ballet. He returned to biochemistry in 1953, eventually retiring in 1973 after five years as Associate Clinical Professor of biochemistry at Loyola University, Chicago.

Reviews

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you want a book cataloging Broadway theaters, this is your only choice.
Very outdated. Mediocre photos (due in large part to the fact that many theaters no longer exist so you have to work with what you've got).
No close-ups of architectural details.
Not sure the author is much of an actual theatergoer, as "Rent" was described as being about "New York's new class of educated slum dwellers."
WHAT?

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative, but as it's 20 years old, I was trying to figure out which theatre is which since many have different names now. I really miss Broadway...