Union Square Theatre
New York
(photo coutesy of Wayne S. Turney)
Union Square Theatre (New York) Briefly one of the most famous of New York theatres, it was situated in the middle of the block
between Broadway and Fourth Avenue, on 14th Street, part of the old Morton House. H. M. Sims designed the house for Sheridan
Shook, who opened it in 1871 as a variety theatre. When vaudeville failed to attract, he turned over management in 1872 to A. M.
Palmer, who established a fine stock company there, and for the next eleven years the house vied with those of Daly and Wallack
in prestige. While the other two were best known for comedy, the Union Square enjoyed most of its great successes with the
romantic dramas of the time. Among the theatre's major hits, all French in origin, were Sardou's Agnes, Clara Morris in Camille,
and The Two Orphans. After Palmer moved his company farther north in 1883 the house's reputation began to fade. Destroyed
by fire in 1888, the theatre was rebuilt, but the heart of the theatre district had moved away, and before long the theatre was again
a vaudeville house. It was later home to burlesque and to films. The shell of the old theatre, complete with stagehouse, remains
on the site. (It is not to be confused with an Off Broadway house, also called the Union Square Theatre, located on 17th Street.)
