West End Theatre

West End Theatre refers to two successive venues in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, that used the same name. The first was planned and begun in 1899 at the northeast corner of 124th Street and Seventh Avenue, a location now associated with Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard. That project was abandoned after its foundation had been constructed, so it did not develop into a functioning theatre. Its incomplete foundation nevertheless represents the first known use of the West End Theatre name in this Harlem entertainment context. A second and more substantial West End Theatre was built at 362 West 125th Street, on the south side of the street between Morningside Avenue and St. Nicholas Avenue, with its rear adjoining Hancock Place. The building was commissioned by Meyer R. Bimberg, a New York entrepreneur whose fortune came from selling campaign buttons and who was known by the nickname “Bim the Button Man.” Bimberg was associated with the construction of several New York theatres, including the building later known as the Belasco Theatre. Designed by the architectural firm Neville & Bragge, the second West End Theatre used a Spanish Baroque architectural treatment. It opened on November 3, 1902, providing a formal entertainment venue on West 125th Street during Harlem’s early twentieth-century commercial and cultural development. The theatre was sold to the theatrical partnership Weber & Fields on February 9, 1903, only a few months after its opening. This transaction placed the venue within the orbit of prominent vaudeville and musical-comedy entrepreneurs of the period, although the available reference material does not establish a complete performance history or a detailed chronology of its programming. The venue later operated as a movie theater, and its identity became associated with cinema rather than with a currently operating stage institution. No current theatrical company, parent organization, website, public listing, or active operating business is identified for the West End Theatre name. In 1975, the surviving 125th Street building was acquired by La Gree Baptist Church. The church’s ownership marked a change from commercial entertainment use to religious use. In July 2016, the property was sold to a real estate developer, and plans were announced for a new mixed-use development combining commercial and residential space on the site. West End Theatre is therefore best understood as a defunct historic venue name rather than an active entertainment brand. Its significance lies in the architectural and commercial history of Harlem, the role of Meyer R. Bimberg in New York theatre construction, the brief early ownership by Weber & Fields, and the later reuse and redevelopment of the 125th Street property.

The West End Theatre name was applied to two Harlem venues in Manhattan. The earlier project dates from 1899 and occupied the northeast corner of 124th Street and Seventh Avenue, an intersection now associated with Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard. Construction proceeded at least as far as the foundation, but the project was abandoned before a functioning theatre was completed. This first site is consequently part of the name’s history without becoming a long-running public venue. The second West End Theatre was constructed at 362 West 125th Street, on the south side of the thoroughfare between Morningside Avenue and St. Nicholas Avenue, with the rear of the building extending toward Hancock Place. The project was developed by Meyer R. Bimberg, a New York businessman who had made his fortune selling campaign buttons. Bimberg was involved in the construction of five New York theatres, including the venue that later became known as the Belasco Theatre. The building was designed by Neville & Bragge in a Spanish Baroque style and opened on November 3, 1902. Its location on West 125th Street placed it within Harlem’s growing commercial district and gave the venue a role in the neighborhood’s early twentieth-century entertainment infrastructure. On February 9, 1903, the theatre was sold to Weber & Fields. The available historical account identifies the transaction but does not provide a full list of productions, performers, or operating seasons, so the venue’s programming history remains incompletely documented in the supplied sources. The second West End Theatre subsequently functioned as a movie theater. This later cinema use reflects the broader transition of many urban theatrical buildings from live performance toward film exhibition during the twentieth century. The venue eventually ceased operating as a commercial movie house. In 1975, La Gree Baptist Church acquired the building, giving the property a new religious use and ending its role as an entertainment venue. The property changed hands again in July 2016, when it was sold to a real estate developer. Plans were announced for a mixed-use commercial and residential building on the site. These plans placed the former theatre within the redevelopment pressures affecting Harlem’s major commercial corridors and indicated that the property’s future would be determined by real-estate development rather than by the restoration of an active theatre or cinema. The historical subject is thus not a contemporary theatre company or a chain of cinemas, but a pair of Manhattan venues connected by a shared name. The first was an abandoned construction project, while the second became a completed Spanish Baroque theatre, passed briefly to Weber & Fields, later operated as a movie theater, and then moved through religious ownership and planned redevelopment. Its documented history illustrates changing patterns of entertainment, property use, and urban development in Harlem.

• 2016

  Property sold for planned redevelopment

  [1]West End Theatre (Manhattan)en.wikipedia.org

  In July, the property was sold to a real estate developer. Plans were announced for a new mixed-use commercial and residential building.

• 1975

  Acquisition by La Gree Baptist Church

  [1]West End Theatre (Manhattan)en.wikipedia.org

  La Gree Baptist Church acquired the former theatre property, which had by then been used as a movie theater.

• 1903

  Venue sold to Weber & Fields

  [1]West End Theatre (Manhattan)en.wikipedia.org

  The second West End Theatre was sold to Weber & Fields on February 9, several months after its opening.

• 1902

  Second West End Theatre opens

  [1]West End Theatre (Manhattan)en.wikipedia.org

  The surviving West End Theatre at 362 West 125th Street opened on November 3. It was designed by Neville & Bragge in a Spanish Baroque style and developed by Meyer R. Bimberg.

• 1899

  First West End Theatre project begun

  [1]West End Theatre (Manhattan)en.wikipedia.org

  A theatre project using the West End Theatre name was started at the northeast corner of 124th Street and Seventh Avenue. Construction was abandoned after the foundation had been built.

A historic Harlem entertainment venue that operated first as a theatre and later as a movie theater; it is no longer active.

• 2016

  Sale for mixed-use redevelopmentStrategy

  Background

  The former West End Theatre property was no longer operating as an entertainment venue and was considered for a new use.

  Action taken

  The property was sold to a real estate developer in July, with plans announced for commercial and residential construction.

  Aftermath

  The announced redevelopment represented a further transition from historic entertainment use toward mixed-use urban development.

  Source

• 1975

  Conversion to religious ownershipStrategy

  Background

  The former entertainment venue was acquired by La Gree Baptist Church after its period as a movie theater.

  Action taken

  The church purchased the property and used it for religious purposes.

  Aftermath

  The transaction ended the building’s known role as a commercial theatre or cinema and began a period of church ownership.

  Source

1. 1West End Theatre (Manhattan)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2West End Theatre at the Internet Broadway Databaseibdb.com