{"nrhp_refnum":"04001203","name":"Biltmore Theater","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"261-265 W. 47th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.760306712000045,"lon":-73.98677090399997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-10-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Performing Arts"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Broadway theater at 261-265 West 47th Street in New York City's Times Square theater district, built in 1925-26 by the Chanin Organization and designed by Herbert J. Krapp.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the theater is architecturally significant as a classically detailed work by Krapp, a prolific Broadway theater architect, with an Adamesque-style interior. It is also significant for its role in the performing arts history of the Broadway district and for hosting many well-known plays.","narrative":"Built in 1925-26 on West 47th Street, the Biltmore Theater is a Broadway playhouse in the Times Square theater district. The Chanin Organization, a major theater builder of the 1920s, commissioned it, and Herbert J. Krapp, who designed almost half of Broadway's theaters, was the architect. The facade combines glazed brick, terra-cotta ornament and a rusticated base in a neo-Italian Renaissance design, with pilasters, a dentilated cornice and a balustraded parapet. Inside, a horseshoe-shaped auditorium has delicate Adamesque plasterwork, pseudo boxes framed by columns, and an oval dome. The interior is described as the last and most beautiful Adamesque interior Krapp designed for a Broadway theater. The building was designated a New York City interior landmark in 1987 and was renovated and reopened in 2003 as the home of the Manhattan Theater Club. It is valued both for its architecture and for its place in the history of American theater.","period_of_significance":"1925-1952","architect_builder":"Chanin Organization (builder); Krapp, Herbert J. (architect)","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals / Italian Renaissance","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Substantially restored and rehabilitated, reopened in 2003 as the home of the Manhattan Theater Club; still used as a theater.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:52.786006-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/04001203.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04001203/528f96ecfc-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04001203/528f96ecfc-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Epicgenius","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:W_47_St_Nov_2021_109.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Epicgenius</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:W_47_St_Nov_2021_109.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75319297","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_J._Friedman_Theatre","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5935075"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/biltmore-theater-04001203/"}