{"nrhp_refnum":"80002664","name":"New Amsterdam Theater","other_names":["The New Amsterdam Theater,Rooftop Theater &amp","Aerial Gardens","T"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"214 W. 42nd St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.75590253000007,"lon":-73.98790395799995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-01-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Engineering","Entertainment/Recreation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A combined theater and office building at 214 West 42nd Street in Manhattan, designed in 1903 by Henry B. Herts and Hugh Tallant for producers Klaw and Erlanger. It holds a main theater, an eleven-story office tower and a second theater on the roof.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is an early example of multiple-use planning, with a full theater stacked above another and an office tower at the entrance. It is also noted for its steel skeleton construction, cantilevered balconies, advanced stage machinery and Art Nouveau interior created by more than a dozen artists and craftsmen. Its architectural program and decoration remain largely intact above the altered lobby and lower facade.","narrative":"Opened on October 26, 1903, this Manhattan building on West 42nd Street combines a lavish main theater, an office tower and a second theater on the roof. Architects Henry B. Herts and Hugh Tallant designed it for producers Marc Klaw and Abraham Erlanger, who spent more than $1,500,000 on construction and gave the architects unusual freedom. More than a dozen American and European sculptors, painters and craftsmen worked mainly in the Art Nouveau idiom, producing relief panels, murals, terra cotta railings and a sunken Smoking Room. Technically, the steel skeleton allowed cantilevered and suspended balconies without sight-blocking columns, and the stage could be lowered 33 feet. The Rooftop Theater, with its Aerial Gardens, was the first complete theater placed over another. Florenz Ziegfeld staged his Follies here from 1913 to 1927. Conversion to movie use around 1937 changed the entrance and lobby, but the upper facade and most of the interior survive.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Henry B. Herts and Hugh Tallant (architects); Klaw and Erlanger (producers/builders)","architectural_style":"Art Nouveau interior decoration","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied, in good condition and altered. The main theater was converted to movie use around 1937, and the lobby, lower facade and Rooftop Theater seating have been changed.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:38.708067-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/80002664.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80002664/30d98cb3eb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80002664/30d98cb3eb-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Beyond My Ken","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:New_Amsterdam_Theatre.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Beyond My Ken</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:New_Amsterdam_Theatre.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"08001034","name":"Garment Center Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/new-york/garment-center-historic-district-08001034/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75319758","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Amsterdam_Theatre","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2004827"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/new-amsterdam-theater-80002664/"}