Canterbury Hall (New York City)

Canterbury Hall was an edifice located at 663 Broadway in the 19th century. It was used for entertainment and political meetings. It was a three-story building where bawdy concerts took place. The building had a front of 40 feet and a depth of 125 feet.

Often called Mozart Hall, it was also a gathering place of anti-Tammany Hall political forces in New York City. Fernando Wood, New York Mayor and Congressman, founded the organization. The edifice burned entirely in the early morning hours of March 24, 1861.^[1]

Proceedings at the venue were frowned upon by newspaper writers such as one from the New York Times. He commented about Canterbury Hall advertisements promoting the prettiest waiter girls in town. Along with a rival theater, the Melodeon, the establishment was a nightly disgrace to Broadway and its adjacent streets. In November 1860 the proprietors of the business, Fox & Curran, were compelled to pay a license fee of $500 to keep the venue open. A New York Times editorialist expressed the opinion that this was a first measure in ridding the city of such nuisances, which he predicted the New York State Legislature would soon entirely eliminate.^[2]

The property on which Canterbury Hall stood was formerly owned by a Reverend Wiley. His estate encompassed additional buildings on Broadway and was insured for $15,000. The fire which consumed the structure began among stage scenery and was discovered by watchmen. The owners of Canterbury Hall suffered an estimated loss of $10,000. A fire marshall began an investigation into the cause of the fire which was considered to be of incendiary origin.^[1]

References

1 2 Canterbury Hall Burned Down, New York Times, March 25, 1861, pg. 8.
↑ Amusements, New York Times, November 16, 1860, pg. 5.

Coordinates: 40°43.62′0″N 73°59.74′0″W / 40.72700°N 73.99567°W / 40.72700; -73.99567

Structures on Broadway in Manhattan

1-599 (Battery Pl. - W. Houston St.)	1 Broadway 2 Broadway Bowling Green 26 Broadway (previously occupied by Lautman's Dairy) Cunard Building 52 Broadway Adams Express Building 65 Broadway 1 Wall Street AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company Trinity Church Equitable Building Equitable Life Building Marine Midland Building Zuccotti Park One Liberty Plaza Fulton Center Corbin Building American Surety Building 195 Broadway Astor House Woolworth Building City Hall Park New York City Hall Broadway–Chambers Building 280 Broadway 287 Broadway Appleton Building 359 Broadway 361 Broadway (James S. White Building) 462 Broadway Mechanics' Hall E. V. Haughwout Building New Era Building Scholastic Building Singer Building

600-1499 (W. Houston St. - Times Sq.)	Cable Building Canterbury Hall Grace Church Church of the Messiah Grand Central Hotel 770 Broadway Strand Bookstore Tisch School of the Arts Grace Church Union Square Flatiron Building Madison Square Baudouine Building Gilsey House Grand Hotel Radisson Hotel Martinique Hotel McAlpin Herald Square Haier Building Knickerbocker Theatre Marbridge Building Metropolitan Opera House (former) Rialto Theatre Times Square One Times Square (previously occupied by Pabst Hotel) Condé Nast Building The Knickerbocker Hotel

1500-1800 (Times Sq. - Columbus Cir.)	1500 Broadway (previously occupied by Hotel Claridge) 1501 Broadway One Astor Plaza Astor Theatre Minskoff Theatre New York Marriott Marquis Morgan Stanley Building Palace Theatre Brill Building Winter Garden Theatre Central Theatre Capitol Theatre Ellen's Stardust Diner Paramount Plaza Studebaker Building Broadway Theatre 1717 Broadway 1740 Broadway Random House Tower Columbus Circle

North of Columbus Cir.	Museum of Biblical Art Dauphin Hotel Beacon Theatre The Apthorp Bretton Hall Goddard Institute for Space Studies Barnard College Audubon Ballroom United Palace Dyckman House Church of the Good Shepherd

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