Studio 54
| Gallo Opera House (1927) Casino de Paris (1933) WPA Federal Music Theatre (1937) New Yorker Theatre (1939) CBS Studio 52 (1942) |
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Studio 54 logo designed by Gilbert Lesser
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| Address | 254 West 54th Street New York City |
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| Coordinates | 40°45′51″N 73°59′02″W / 40.764303°N 73.983829°WCoordinates: 40°45′51″N 73°59′02″W / 40.764303°N 73.983829°W |
| Owner | Roundabout Theatre Company |
| Type | Broadway |
| Capacity | 1,006 (519 orchestra/487 mezzanine) |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1977 |
| Closed | 1986 |
| Architect | Eugene De Rosa |
Studio 54 is a former nightclub and currently a Broadway theatre located at 254 West 54th Street, between Eighth Avenue and Broadway in Manhattan, New York City.
The building, originally built as the Gallo Opera House, opened in 1927, after which it changed names several times, eventually becoming CBS radio and television Studio 52.
Later, the building, renamed after its location, housed a world-famous nightclub and discotheque. Founded and created by Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager in 1977, it was sold in 1980 to Mark Fleischman, who reopened the club after it had been shut down following the conviction of Rubell and Schrager on charges of tax evasion. In 1984, Fleischman sold the club, which continued to operate until 1991.
Since November 1998, it has served as a venue for productions of the Roundabout Theatre Company and retains the name Studio 54. A separate restaurant and nightclub, Feinstein's/54 Below, operates in the basement of the building.
Designed by famed architect Eugene De Rosa, the venue opened in 1927 as the Gallo Opera House (soon revised to Gallo Theatre), named for its owner, Fortune Gallo. Beginning with a very large-scale production of La bohème which closed after three weeks, the Gallo was met with a succession of failed attempts to draw an audience, and was lost to foreclosure after only two years. It later reopened under new ownership as The New Yorker, but continued failing to attract sufficient crowds. It changed hands in the early 1930s, then in 1937 it became the WPA Federal Music Project of New York City's Federal Music Theatre/Theatre of Music, then it became the New Yorker Theatre in 1939, housing an all-black version of The Swing Mikado, originally from Chicago, for two months, when the production moved to the 44th Street Theatre to finish its run. The New Yorker Theatre saw its final production, Medicine Show, end in May 1940, following which the building remained vacant for three years.
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