Daly's 63rd Street Theatre
Corporate brand
UnclaimedFormer Broadway theatre and cinema venue in Manhattan that operated under several names between 1921 and 1941.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Daly's 63rd Street Theatre was a Manhattan theatrical venue associated with Broadway productions, experimental performance, repertory activity, and cinema. Although the venue is best known by its Daly's name, the building had a longer and more varied history. It was designed initially by architect Thomas W. Lamb for the Davenport stock company, with construction beginning in 1909. Financial difficulties halted the project, after which architect Erwin Rossbach was engaged by the Association of Bible Students to complete the structure. The organization intended the building for religious lectures and screenings of Biblical films. It was completed in 1914 as the 63rd Street Music Hall. From 1919, the building was used as a children's cinema. Its theatrical identity changed in January 1921, when the Cort 63rd Street Theatre opened there. In 1922 it was renamed Daly's 63rd Street Theatre, commemorating the influential American theatre producer and manager Augustin Daly. The venue subsequently underwent several further renamings that reflected changing operators, programming strategies, and theatrical ambitions. It became the Coburn Theatre in 1928, the Recital Theatre in 1932, and the Park Lane Theatre later that same year. From 1934 to 1936 it operated as Gilmore's 63rd Street Theatre, followed by the Experimental Theatre. From 1938 until its closure in 1941, it once again used the Daly's 63rd Street Theatre name. The theatre's most important historical association is the premiere of Shuffle Along on January 23, 1921, a landmark musical revue created by Flournoy Miller, Aubrey Lyles, Noble Sissle, and Eubie Blake. The production helped establish a major platform for Black musical theatre and became a significant success in the development of American musical theatre. Other notable productions connected with the venue included Liza, Desire Under the Elms, Mae West's Sex, Africana, Keep Shufflin', Lady Windermere's Fan, The Miser, Professor Mamlock, and Awake and Sing! The building therefore hosted a mixture of popular musical revues, serious drama, adaptations, political or socially engaged works, and experimental programming. The theatre ceased operations in 1941. The structure remained standing for several more years but was ultimately demolished in 1957. No current operating business, surviving theatre brand, official website, public listing, or corporate successor is identified in the supplied reference material. The venue is consequently best treated as a defunct historical theatre rather than as an active entertainment company.
History
The building later associated with Daly's 63rd Street Theatre originated as an interrupted early twentieth-century construction project. Thomas W. Lamb designed it for the Davenport stock company, and work began in 1909. Financial problems prevented the original plan from being completed promptly. The Association of Bible Students subsequently took over the project and hired Erwin Rossbach to finish the structure. Its intended use under that organization was as a venue for religious lectures and screenings of Biblical films. The completed building opened in 1914 under the name 63rd Street Music Hall. By 1919, the venue was being used as a children's cinema. A change toward theatrical use followed on January 31, 1921, when the Cort 63rd Street Theatre opened. The building's earliest Broadway-era distinction came with the premiere of Shuffle Along, the musical revue written by Flournoy Miller, Aubrey Lyles, Noble Sissle, and Eubie Blake. The production became a major success and is widely regarded as an important event in the history of American musical theatre, particularly in the visibility and commercial development of Black theatrical performance. In 1922, the theatre was renamed Daly's 63rd Street Theatre in tribute to Augustin Daly. The name did not remain permanent. In 1928 the venue became the Coburn Theatre. In 1932 it was renamed the Recital Theatre and, several months later, the Park Lane Theatre. It operated as Gilmore's 63rd Street Theatre from 1934 through 1936 and then adopted the Experimental Theatre name. The Daly's name returned in 1938 and remained in use until the venue closed in 1941. The programming associated with the building was diverse. In addition to Shuffle Along, the venue hosted Liza, Eugene O'Neill's Desire Under the Elms, Mae West's Sex, Africana, Keep Shufflin', Lady Windermere's Fan, The Miser, Friedrich Wolf's Professor Mamlock in an English-language version, and Clifford Odets's Awake and Sing! These titles indicate a repertoire that moved among musical revue, literary drama, controversial popular theatre, international drama, and socially conscious or experimental work. After closure in 1941, the structure remained for roughly another sixteen years. It was demolished in 1957. Because the theatre changed names repeatedly and no active successor organization is identified in the supplied sources, Daly's 63rd Street Theatre is best understood as a historical venue and theatre name rather than a continuing commercial brand.
- 1957
Building demolished
[1]The building was demolished sixteen years after the venue closed.
- 1941
Operations end
[1]The theatre closed after two decades of Broadway-era and related use.
- 1938
Daly's name returns
[1]The building resumed the Daly's 63rd Street Theatre name for its final operating period.
- 1934
Gilmore's 63rd Street Theatre period begins
[1]The venue began a period under the Gilmore's 63rd Street Theatre name, which lasted through 1936.
- 1932
Recital Theatre and Park Lane Theatre periods
[1]The venue first became the Recital Theatre and several months later was renamed the Park Lane Theatre.
- 1928
Venue becomes Coburn Theatre
[1]The theatre changed its name to the Coburn Theatre.
- 1922
Name changes to Daly's 63rd Street Theatre
[1]The venue adopted the Daly's name in honor of Augustin Daly.
- 1921
Cort 63rd Street Theatre opens
[1]The venue opened as the Cort 63rd Street Theatre on January 31.
- 1921
Shuffle Along premieres
[1]Shuffle Along, by Flournoy Miller, Aubrey Lyles, Noble Sissle, and Eubie Blake, premiered at the theatre.
- 1919
Children's cinema use
[1]The building began serving as a cinema for children's screenings.
Products and positioning
A historically significant Manhattan performance venue that moved between commercial theatre, cinema, recital programming, and experimental performance under a succession of names.
Musical revue · 1921
Shuffle Along
A musical revue by Flournoy Miller, Aubrey Lyles, Noble Sissle, and Eubie Blake. Its 1921 premiere at the venue was a defining event in the theatre's history and an important milestone for Black musical theatre in the United States.
Play · 1926
Sex
Mae West's controversial play, which received a notable production at the theatre in February 1926 and contributed to the venue's association with provocative popular theatre.
Drama · 1925
Desire Under the Elms
A drama by Eugene O'Neill included among the notable productions presented at the venue, representing its role in staging serious American theatrical works.
Drama · 1937
Professor Mamlock
An English-language version of Friedrich Wolf's drama, presented at the theatre in 1937 and illustrating the venue's connection to translated and internationally oriented drama.
Drama · 1938
Awake and Sing!
Clifford Odets's socially engaged play, listed among the venue's notable late-period productions and consistent with its increasingly experimental and serious programming.
Film exhibition · 1914
Cinema and children's screenings
Before and alongside its theatrical identity, the building served as a cinema, including children's screenings from 1919 and earlier planned use for Biblical films.
Brand decisions
1938
Return to the Daly's nameStrategyBackground
After periods as Gilmore's 63rd Street Theatre and the Experimental Theatre, the venue restored an earlier identity.
Action taken
The theatre again operated as Daly's 63rd Street Theatre.
Aftermath
This was the final name used before the venue closed in 1941.
1928
Renaming as the Coburn TheatreStrategyBackground
The venue continued to adjust its public identity after the Daly's period.
Action taken
It adopted the Coburn Theatre name.
Aftermath
Further renamings followed in 1932, 1934, 1938, and later.
1922
Adoption of the Daly's 63rd Street Theatre nameStrategyBackground
Following its opening as the Cort 63rd Street Theatre, the venue changed its identity in a period of active theatrical programming.
Action taken
The theatre was renamed Daly's 63rd Street Theatre in honor of Augustin Daly.
Aftermath
The name was used again during the venue's final period from 1938 until closure, although several intervening names were adopted.
Sources1 sources
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