The Imperial Theatre was designed with a secret carriage entrance to ease street congestion.

Society · Published 9 October 2026 · Updated 25 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Opened in 1923, this Broadway landmark features two distinct facades: a narrow, white terracotta entrance on 45th Street and a wide, brick carriage entrance on 46th Street. Designed by Herbert J. Krapp for the Shubert brothers, the theater has hosted legendary productions for over a century, from musicals to plays.

The Imperial Theatre, located at 249 West 45th Street in Manhattan, was constructed to replace the aging Lyric Theatre. The Shubert brothers, who commissioned the project, hired architect Herbert J. Krapp to design a venue that balanced a narrow, pedestrian-focused entrance with a more functional carriage access point on 46th Street. The theater’s interior, which remains a designated New York City landmark, is noted for its Adam-style detailing, including plasterwork panels featuring winged fairy-like figures holding masks of comedy and tragedy.

Throughout its history, the Imperial has been a barometer for Broadway's shifting fortunes. It survived the Great Depression, despite the Shubert Organization entering receivership in 1933, and has hosted iconic hits such as Annie Get Your Gun, Fiddler on the Roof, and Dreamgirls. The theater’s physical capacity has been a subject of varying estimates; while the Shubert Organization cites 1,457 seats, other industry bodies like The Broadway League and Playbill provide slightly different figures, reflecting the complexities of measuring historic performance spaces.

The theater has also been a focal point for legal and architectural preservation. In 1988, the Shubert Organization and other theater owners unsuccessfully sued to overturn the landmark status granted to the Imperial's interior, arguing that such protections hindered necessary modifications. More recently, the site has continued to make headlines for its financial value, notably in 2021 when the Shubert Organization sold the air rights above the theater for $51 million—a record-setting price for the area at the time.

Beyond its commercial success, the Imperial has served as a creative incubator. It hosted the 27th Tony Awards in 1973 and the 1982 ceremony. Its stage has seen everything from a fully functional swimming pool during the 1952 run of Wish You Were Here to the record-breaking box office performance of Ain't Too Proud in 2019. Today, it remains a central pillar of the Theater District, bridging the gap between early 20th-century design and modern Broadway production.

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