Greenwich Village Theatre

The story

The Greenwich Village Theatre seated only 450 people, yet it launched the first Off-Broadway musical to gain wide recognition in New York. Built in 1917 by architect Herman Lee Meader at Sheridan Square, it was originally home to Frank Conroy's Greenwich Village Players. The Greenwich Village Follies of 1919 premiered there on July 15 of that year. The International Composers' Guild also chose its intimate stage for their inaugural performance series, running from February to April 1922. The theatre closed in 1930 and no longer stands, but its brief life reshaped what a New York stage could be.