Mechanics' Hall (New York City)

For other buildings called Mechanics Hall, see Mechanics Hall (disambiguation).

Detail of 1852 New York City map showing location Mechanic's Hall. Narrow corridor provided frontage on Broadway to lot formerly occupied by New York High School

Mechanics' Hall was a meeting hall and theatre seating 2,500 people located at 472 Broadway in New York City, United States. It had a brown façade. Built by the Mechanics' Society for their monthly meetings in 1847,^[1] it was also used for banquets, luncheons, and speeches held by other groups.

The building eventually became a playhouse. During this time, it was variously known as the Abbey Theatre, Butler's American Theatre, and other names. The blackface minstrel troupe Buckley's Serenaders saw great success there until 1846. Christy's Minstrels became the resident minstrel company in February 1847, buying the building later in 1847. They remained until July 1854, when the troupe disbanded. Bryants Minstrels played at Mechanics' Hall for the first time in 1857.

In 1866, showman Robert Butler took over management of Mechanics' Hall following a fire that destroyed his former theater at 444 Broadway. Butler's luck was no better in the new venue as Mechanics' Hall was also destroyed by fire later that year.^[2]

References

↑ Dimmick, R.C. (1913). Our Theatres To-day and Yesterday. H.K. Fly Company. p. 42. Retrieved 2015-01-31.
↑ (8 April 1868). Another Theatre Gone, The New York Times

Crawford, Richard (2001). America's Musical Life: A History. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Henderson, Mary C. (2004). The City & The Theatre: The History of New York Playhouses: A 250 Year Journey from Bowling Green to Times Square. New York: Back Stage Books.
Mahar, William J. (1999). Behind the Burnt Cork Mask: Early Blackface Minstrelsy and Antebellum American Popular Culture. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
Rock, Howard B. (1989). The New York City Artisan, 1789–1825: A Documentary History. State University of New York.
Sweetster, M. F. (1883). New England: A Handbook for Travellers. A Guide to the Chief Cities and Popular Resorts of New England, and to Its Scenery and Historic Attractions: With the Western and Northern Borders, from New York to Quebec. 7 ed. Boston: James R. Osgood & Co.

Coordinates: 40°43′16″N 74°00′00″W / 40.721°N 74.000°W / 40.721; -74.000

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

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, March 17, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.