Hippodrome Redux

Franconi's Hippodrome, the subject of this post, only stood for a few years in the 1850s in New York. It took more than 50 years for New York to once again have a Hippodrome. In 1905 Frederic Thompson and Elmer S. Dundy (who built Luna Park) built the extravagantly large, magnificently decorated Hippodrome on an entire block of Sixth Avenue, between 43rd and 44th Streets. It was said to be the largest and most spectacular theater ever built - and it would be a New York attraction until 1939. Thompson and Dundy resigned as managers in 1906,

Consider the size of the stage, for example: 200 feet long and 144 feet wide, big enough for hundreds of people, all sorts of animals including elephants, and even automobiles. It was twelve times the size of  a regular Broadway theater stage. There were electric lights, an 8000-gallon glass water tank that could stand in as a diving pool, complete with waterfalls. And there was seating for over 5000 people.

In addition to concerts, circus acts and plays, the Hippodrome was used for all sorts of odd entertainments. In 1917, it was the site of an ice skating competition for the Hippodrome Cup; in that year, the Cup was won by Theresa Weld of Boston [New York Times, March 24, 1917, p. 8]. And for its first anniversary in 1906, the Hippodrome hosted a gala which ended with an invitation to the audience to take a swim in the huge water tank, which would be lowered to serve as a swimming pool of sorts. One thousand "bathing costumes" had been hired from Coney Island for that purpose [New York Times, April 11, 1906, p. 11].

In the 1920s it became a venue for huge musical revues and later still, for vaudeville shows, including Billy Rose's 1935 show Jumbo, which starred Jimmy Durante. By the time it closed in 1939, the Hippodrome was being used mainly for boxing matches and the screening of second and third  run movies.

Postcard image from the US GenWeb Archives; the scene from Neptune's Daughter, staged at the Hippodrome in 1907-8. is from NYPL Digital Gallery.