Longacre Theatre

The story

The Longacre Theatre carries the ghost of a name the city erased: it is named for Longacre Square, what Times Square was called before it became Times Square. Harry Frazee acquired the site in 1911 and built it to house musicals, though it opened in 1913 with a play called Are You a Crook? Henry B. Herts designed the rusticated terracotta facade and the ornamental plasterwork inside, both now New York City landmarks. The Shubert Organization runs it still, 1,077 seats across three levels, its coved ceiling holding more than a century of applause.