The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, originally the Globe Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 205 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1910, the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre was designed by Carrère and Hastings in the Beaux-Arts style for Charles Dillingham. The theater is named after theatrical couple Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne; its original name was inspired by that of the Globe Theatre, London's Shakespearean playhouse. The current configuration of the interior, dating to 1958, has about 1,519 seats across two levels and is operated by the Nederlander Organization. The facade is a New York City landmark.
The theater's only surviving facade is on 46th Street and was once the carriage entrance. The ground level contains the theater's entrance on the east, as well as exits from the auditorium and stage house. On the upper stories, the facade contains a five-bay-wide central pavilion with arches, flanked by simpler pavilions on either side. Another entrance on Broadway, with an ornate lobby, was demolished in 1958. The auditorium originally contained three levels and box seating prior to its reconfiguration. The tiled roof and the auditorium's ceiling were designed with retractable sections, which are no longer in use.
The Globe Theatre opened on January 10, 1910. Most of the Globe's early shows were revues and musicals, including several productions by Dillingham. The Globe was converted into a movie house operated by the Brandt chain in the 1930s. City Playhouses Inc., a partnership between developers Robert W. Dowling and William Zeckendorf, bought it in 1957. After the firm Roche and Roche completely renovated the interior, the former Globe was renamed and reopened on May 5, 1958. City Playhouses sold the Lunt-Fontanne to producers Cy Feuer and Ernest H. Martin in 1960, and it was then sold to developer Stanley Stahl in 1965. The Nederlanders have operated the theater since 1973.
Site
The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre is on 206 West 46th Street, on the north sidewalk between Eighth Avenue and Broadway, near Times Square in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The rectangular land lot covers . The theater has a frontage of on 46th Street and a depth of about .
The Lunt-Fontanne shares the block with the Paramount Hotel (including Sony Hall) and Lena Horne Theatre to the west, as well as the Hotel Edison to the north. Other nearby buildings include the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre to the northwest; the Ethel Barrymore Theatre and Morgan Stanley Building to the north; the Palace Theatre, Embassy Theatre, and I. Miller Building to the east; the New York Marriott Marquis to the south; and the Richard Rodgers Theatre, Music Box Theatre, and Imperial Theatre to the southwest.
Design
The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre was designed by Carrère and Hastings in the Beaux-Arts style. It was constructed for Charles Dillingham, opening in 1910 as the Globe Theatre. The Lunt-Fontanne is the only surviving theater of four that Carrère and Hastings designed, as well as the last theater designed by that firm. Thompson–Starrett Co. was the main contractor. The Nederlander Organization operates the theater.
Facade
46th Street
The primary elevation of the Lunt-Fontanne's facade is on 46th Street and was originally the carriage entrance. It is symmetrically arranged, though the facade is shorter than its width. The first story, at ground level, was designed as a raised basement. The facade is divided into a central pavilion with five vertical bays, which is flanked by slightly recessed outer pavilions. This arrangement, described as being in a modified Italian Renaissance style, was reminiscent of Carrère and Hastings's earlier design for the Century (New) Theatre on Central Park West. The westernmost portion of the facade contains the stage house, which is faced in brick and is recessed behind the main portion of the facade.