Helen Hayes Theatre

The story

Broadway's smallest house began as an intentional act of restraint. Impresario Winthrop Ames commissioned the Little Theatre in 1912, designed by Ingalls & Hoffman in neo-Georgian red brick, with just 299 seats on a single level — intimate by design. Herbert J. Krapp added a balcony in 1920, nearly doubling capacity to 597. The building has been a playhouse, a conference hall, and a broadcasting studio across its long life. Now operated by Second Stage Theater and named for Helen Hayes, its vaulted foyer and landmark facade still make smallness feel like a point of pride.