Nederlander Theatre
- Architect
- Rapp and Rapp
- Year
- 1926
- Style
- Gothic Revival
- City
- Chicago, IL
- Collection
- movie palaces
The Nederlander Theatre at 24 W. Randolph St. opened in 1926 as the Oriental Theater, a Gothic Revival movie palace and vaudeville house designed by Rapp and Rapp and built inside the New Masonic office building. It seats 2,253 and now hosts touring Broadway productions under Broadway In Chicago; it was renamed in 2019 for theater impresario James M. Nederlander.
the building
Built on the Iroquois Theatre site. The theater replaced the Iroquois Theatre, which opened in 1903 and burned in a fire that killed over 600 people -- the deadliest theater fire and deadliest single-building fire in U.S. history, more than double the death toll of the Great Chicago Fire. The disaster led city officials to close every theater in Chicago for inspection.
the style
Rapp and Rapp designed the Oriental in the Gothic Revival style as a lavish 1920s movie palace.
More on Gothic Revivalthe architect
Rapp and Rapp were prominent theater architects; the Oriental (now Nederlander) was among their movie-palace commissions in the Loop.
significance
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 as the New Masonic Building and Oriental Theater. The office tower portion is now a hotel, and the theater was renamed the James M. Nederlander Theatre in 2019 in honor of the Broadway producer.
nearby
- Delaware Building
- Oliver Building
- Chicago Theatre
- Page Brothers Building
- McCarthy Building
- Daley Center