{"nrhp_refnum":"79001639","name":"Community Theatre","other_names":["Broadway Theatre"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"601 Broadway","address_restricted":false,"city":"Kingston","county":"Ulster County","state":"NY","lat":41.92911659200007,"lon":-74.00451121099996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-07-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Performing Arts"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A brick theatre building at 601 Broadway in the center of Kingston, Ulster County, New York, completed in 1927 as the Broadway Theatre. It has a two-story commercial facade and a larger auditorium block behind.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as the best appointed cultural facility in the Kingston area when it opened, with an elaborate Neoclassical Revival interior and strong acoustics. It is described as the last largely unaltered pre-World War II theatre in Kingston and a representative, mostly intact 1920s theatre design. It also hosted notable performers and Hudson Valley Philharmonic concerts.","narrative":"Opened on June 9, 1927 as the Broadway Theatre, this brick building at 601 Broadway sits in the middle of Kingston's main shopping district. A plain two-story facade with four storefronts and a central entrance hides a large auditorium seating 1,560 after a 1953 renovation, down from 1,703. The interior carries elaborate Neoclassical Revival plaster carving, bronze light fixtures and a coffered dome, and the original stage machinery survives. New York architect Douglas P. Hall designed it, and Skinner & Cook of New York City built it. A classical portico added in 1953 accompanied the name change to Community Theatre. For decades it was Kingston's best appointed cultural venue, hosting performers such as Lillian Gish, Bette Davis, Victor Borge and Isaac Stern, and later Hudson Valley Philharmonic concerts. Its acoustics and large stage were praised, and it is described as the most intact early theatre in the Hudson Valley. A local citizens' group worked to save it from possible demolition in 1977.","period_of_significance":"1927","architect_builder":"Skinner & Cook/Douglas P. Hall","architectural_style":"Neoclassical Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as good and altered; occupied and open to the public. A local citizens' group, Ulster Performing Arts Center, was purchasing it in June 1979 to begin restoration.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:38.699648-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/79001639.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79001639/dc40e99d2b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79001639/dc40e99d2b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Daniel Case","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ulster_Performing_Arts_Center.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Daniel Case</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:Ulster_Performing_Arts_Center.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75322580","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster_Performing_Arts_Center","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1120658"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/ulster-county/community-theatre-79001639/"}