{"nrhp_refnum":"83001788","name":"Tappan Zee Playhouse","other_names":["Broadway Theater"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"20 S. Broadway","address_restricted":false,"city":"Nyack","county":"Rockland County","state":"NY","lat":41.090107663000026,"lon":-73.91873791299997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-07-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Performing Arts"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A theatre building at 20 South Broadway in downtown Nyack, Rockland County, New York, built in 1911 as the Broadway Theatre and later known as the Tappan Zee Playhouse. It has an early twentieth century lobby and auditorium at the front and a converted nineteenth-century stable as the stage house at the rear.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it the oldest theatre in the Nyack area and a largely intact example of early twentieth century, Neoclassical Revival theatre design. It opened as a vaudeville house and one of the county's first movie theatres, and later hosted well-known performers as a summer stock playhouse. It also recalls the early twentieth century growth of downtown Nyack.","narrative":"Built in 1911 on Broadway in downtown Nyack, this brick theatre opened as the Broadway Theatre, offering vaudeville and some of the first moving pictures shown in Rockland County. James Kirby and Judge Arthur Tompkins built it, and it was later leased and sold to Michael Mirabel. A balcony and boxes added in 1923 raised seating from 800 to 1,200. The front section has a Neoclassical Revival facade and an auditorium with a horseshoe balcony, ornate boxes and a pressed metal ceiling. The stage house at the rear incorporates a converted nineteenth-century stable. Competition from a newer cinema led to its closure in 1931, and it stood vacant for about thirty years. In 1958 it reopened as the Tappan Zee Playhouse, a summer theatre that drew stars including Tallulah Bankhead, Gloria Swanson and Helen Hayes. Fires in 1975 and 1977 and a leaking roof caused damage. A preservation association bought it in 1980 to repair it.","period_of_significance":"1900- (specific date 1911)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Neoclassical Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as deteriorated and unoccupied at the time of nomination. A preservation association bought it in 1980 and has been stabilizing and repairing it.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:42.761686-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/83001788.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83001788/3ef194f2e3-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83001788/3ef194f2e3-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"A. O'Brien","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TappanZeePlayhouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">A. O'Brien</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TappanZeePlayhouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75321520","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tappan_Zee_Playhouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7684762"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/rockland-county/tappan-zee-playhouse-83001788/"}