Bouwerie Lane Theatre

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Bank of New York Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Bouwerie Lane Theatre, The Bowery, New York City
Bouwerie Lane Theatre, The Bowery, New York City
Location: Manhattan, New York City, New York
Area: acres
Built/Founded: 1874
Architect: Henry Engelbert
Architectural style(s): French Second Empire
Added to NRHP: 1980
NRHP Reference#: 80002671

The Bouwerie Lane Theatre was an off-Broadway theatre venue. It was located at 330 Bowery (NW corner of Bond Street) in New York City, inhabited by the Jean Cocteau Repertory Theatre from 1974 until 2006.[1]

The building was designed over one hundred years ago by Henry Engelbert and constructed from 1873-74 as the Bond Street Saving Bank. This cast iron building is a rare example of the French Second Empire style. The German Exchange Bank occupied the building in 1879, and converted to a theater in 1963. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 (Building #80002671).

Prior to the 1960s, the building was used for the storage of fabrics. Then in 1963, the building was converted into a theater by Honey Waldman. Ms. Waldman produced several plays there as well as at other locations in the Northeast. The building was purchased by Adam Gordon in 2007 and is being converted to a private mansion with climbing wall, and will feature two retail storefronts.[2]

The wealth of almost sculptural ornamental detail makes this building an unusually fine example of the elaborate style of the French Second Empire.

The Landmarks of New York

Among the many plays and musicals that were produced at the theatre, the first was The Immoralist (1963) with Frank Langella, Dames at Sea (1968), Night and Day (2000) by Tom Stoppard, Brecht's The Threepenny Opera (2003), and the final production, Moliere's The Miser (2006). [3]

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