Samuel J. Friedman Theater

The story

A Broadway publicist has his name on the marquee. The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, known for decades as the Biltmore, was designed by Herbert J. Krapp in the neo-Renaissance style and built for Irwin Chanin, opening in 1925. Its shallow domed ceiling and terracotta facade earned the interior a New York City landmark designation. The Manhattan Theatre Club has operated the 650-seat house since renaming it in 2008 for publicist Samuel J. Friedman, whose family made a major donation — a quiet monument to the people who work behind the curtain.