St. James Theatre

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98-foot, Beaux-Arts theater completed in 1927. Designed by Warren & Wetmore for Abraham L. Erlanger, theatrical producer and a founding member of the Theatrical Syndicate, it opened at The Erlanger. Upon Erlanger's death in 1930, control of the venue was taken over by the Astor family, who owned the land on which the theater stood. The Astors renamed it the St. James Theatre. The theater was purchased by the Shuberts in the late 1930s. They were forced to sell it to the William L. McKnight in 1957 following the loss of an antitrust case. McKnight renovated the St. James and reopened it in 1958. In 1970, McKnight then transferred the theater to his daughter Virginia and her husband James H. Binger, who had formed the Jujamcyn Amusement Corporation. The theater underwent a renovation beginning in 2017 to extend its stage 10 feet into the alley between the Helen Hayes Theatre and the St. James in order to accommodate the 2018 Broadway run of the Disney musical Frozen.

The imposing facade is a plainly finished beige stucco surface above a tan cast-stone and granite base, flanked by rusticated grey cast-stone quoins. Seven windows - five rectangular ones in the center flanked by two bullseyes - run across the top of the facade, underneath a cornice adorned with theatrical masks. The most distinctive and eye-catching feature of the facade is the elaborate wrought-iron loggia directly above the main entrance canopy. The loggia's triple-arched design with an entablature with openwork frieze topped by finials hides an outdoor balcony and fire escape. Its highly ornamental quality offers a dramatic contrast to the plain wall facade behind it. Two narrow, vertical signs, painted green with black borders, and having light bulbs spelling out "ST. JAMES" on the outer-facing sides, are mounted on either end of the facade.

The ground floor is punctuated by openings set in deep reveals containing: a metal stage door to the west, three pairs of aluminum and glass doors below transoms leading into the box office lobby, a service door above two steps, paired metal doors leading from the auditorium, and a paired aluminum and glass door leading to the office floors, and an additional service door to the east. Signs are placed in the transoms areas above the doors, as well as a couple sign boxes between some of the entrances. The base terminates in a wide band course. At the loggia above, stylized Ionic columns flank the arches, and the arch spandrels contain winged creatures and foliation. The arched openings are filled with ornate grilles surmounted by cartouches flanked by foliation.

The theater has a capacity of 1,710. In April and May, 2013, film director Alejandro González Iñárritu spent 30 days shooting his film Birdman almost entirely within the St. James Theatre and its environs. The film depicts the production of a Broadway show during its preview nights and premiere, and utilizes the theatre's stage, lobby, and backstage areas.