{"nrhp_refnum":"08001083","name":"Proctor's Theater","other_names":["Proctor's Palace","RKO Proctor's Theater"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"53 S. Broadway","address_restricted":false,"city":"Yonkers","county":"Westchester County","state":"NY","lat":40.93419882400008,"lon":-73.89890402999998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2008-11-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Entertainment/Recreation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Proctor's Theater is a 2,300-seat vaudeville and movie theater with a five-story Neoclassical office building as its facade, at 53 South Broadway in downtown Yonkers, New York. It was built 1914-16 and designed by William E. Lehman for showman F. F. Proctor.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is significant for entertainment, as a large-scale vaudeville and movie venue in Westchester County reflecting the growth of both forms of entertainment. It is also significant for architecture, as a distinctive, largely intact Neoclassical building in a prominent downtown location. It was also one of the largest entertainment venues in the region and was part of F. F. Proctor's theater chain.","narrative":"Proctor's Theater occupies a corner at South Broadway and Prospect Street in downtown Yonkers, facing Washington Park and City Hall. Built between 1914 and 1916 for vaudeville showman F. F. Proctor, it combines a 2,300-seat auditorium with a five-story office building that forms its terra cotta and limestone Neoclassical facade. Architect William E. Lehman, who specialized in theaters, designed it. It opened in January 1916 as Proctor's Palace, offering vaudeville with short films, and became the RKO Proctor's Theatre in 1929, mainly showing movies until closing in the mid-1970s. The facade, upper floors and much of the gilded ceiling survive, though storefronts have replaced the lobby and marquee, the orchestra seating is gone and part of the auditorium was converted to commercial space. Its listing rests on its role in the history of vaudeville and moviegoing and on its architectural character. The office portion remains occupied.","period_of_significance":"1914-16","architect_builder":"Lehman, William H.","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals: Neoclassical","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The theater has been closed since the mid-1970s, while the office building remains occupied. The marquee and lobby were removed for retail conversion, and plans were underway for the City of Yonkers to acquire and restore it as a performing arts center.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:52.919953-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/08001083.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08001083/4e21b64e74-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08001083/4e21b64e74-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"ALT55 - Victor M","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yonkers_-_2013_017_-_Proctor%27s_Theater,_53_South_Broadway.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">ALT55 - Victor M</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yonkers_-_2013_017_-_Proctor%27s_Theater,_53_South_Broadway.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75323181","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proctor%27s_Theater_(Yonkers,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7247507"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/westchester-county/proctors-theater-08001083/"}