Hoyt's Theatre
24th St. (near 5th Avenue), New York, NY
Built
1865
Demolished
1908
ABOUT THIS THEATRE
Madison Square Theatre
Daly's Fifth Avenue Theatre
Brougham's Theatre
Fifth Avenue Opera House
Description
In 1865, the Christy Minstrels converted an illegal stock exchange (adjacent to the Fifth Avenue Hotel) into a theatre. Later, Augustin Daly managed it from 1869 to 1873, when it burned down, only to be rebuilt in 1877. Steele MacKaye renovated it and renamed it the Madison Square in 1879, and it boasted a number of theatrical innovations, including gas lights, folding chairs, and a primitive version of air-conditioning. It was razed in 1908 and replaced by an office building.