American Airlines Theatre (New York City, New York)

170-foot, 10-story theater and office complex originally completed in 1918 as the Selwyn Theatre. Designed by George Keister in the Italian Renaissance style, it was one of three theaters the Selwyns built and controlled on 42nd Street, along with the Apollo and the Times Square Theatre. It initially hosted major musical and dramatic productions, including Cole Porter's Wake Up and Dream, and in October 1930 Clifton Webb appeared there in Three's a Crowd, but eventually became a cinema. It would return to legitimate theater several times over the next six decades, but eventually fell into disrepair. It was used briefly in the early 1990s as a home for the Times Square Visitors Center and for a limited production of Eugene O'Neill's The Hairy Ape, but for the most part, stood vacant.

The City and State of New York took possession of the Selwyn in 1990. In 1992, it was one of six 42nd Street theaters to fall under the protection of the New 42nd Street organization. The Roundabout Theatre Company committed to renovating the Selwyn in 1997. It was restored to its former grandeur, renamed the American Airlines, and reopened on June 30, 2000. The rear, 43rd-Street facade and interior were largely restored and a new front facade on 42nd Street was built. The original plan was to incorporate the historic facade of the Selwyn's office section (fronting 42nd Street) into the New 42nd Street Studios Building (as part of the new theater complex), but it collapsed on December 30, 1997; a new, modern design was created instead. The 10-story facility contains rehearsal studios, offices and a smaller, 199-seat theater called The Duke, as well as an entrance and corridor leading to the main theater, the American Airlines Theatre, the bulk of which is to the north on 43rd Street and has 750 seats.

The new 10-story south facade on 42nd Street was designed by Charles Platt and Ray Dovell of Platt Byard Dovell White Architects. Largely transparent, it is partially covered by a framework of blades of perforated steel reflecting saturated color from hidden LED light sources. At the ground floor the entrance to The Duke is at the west end, with a metal-and-neon sign above the door, announcing both the New 42nd Street Studios and The Duke on 42nd Street. The four bays to the right have entries to the American Airlines Theatre space, with poster boxes at both ends. The east end of the ground floor has a metal-and-glass storefront, occupied by Pax Wholesome Foods, and a small service door. A perforated metal screen runs across the whole ground floor, partially covered in the middle by a projecting metal-and-glass marquee. Above the ground floor the west half of the south facade has translucent pale-green glass panels up to the 4th floor, with horizontal metal-and-glass ribs. A vertical, neon "AMERICAN AIRLINES THEATRE" sign runs from the 2nd-4th floors, near the center of this section. To the right the glass curtain wall is covered by the screen of projecting steel elements, divided into five bays with horizontal metal fins across the top half of each floor. Above the 4th floor, the horizontal fins extend over to the west for two more bays, while the west end of the projecting screen has translucent panels between each floor. A vertical, metal pole rising from the top of the neon sign marks the edge of the projecting screen and rises to up above the roof line. The far western side of the facade is clad in tan, pre-cast stone panels, and has a angled, 2-sides vertical sign from the 5th-8th floors with neon lettering announcing both the New 42nd Street Studios and The Duke.

The east facade above the neighboring theater is faced in a curtain wall of silver-blue glass. At the front edge, horizontal metal fins wrap around the corner, and also extend across the top floor. The lower floors (up to the 6th) are covered by grey metal screening.

The 3-story north facade on 43rd Street is clad in beige brick. At the east end of the ground floor are two wide bays framed in decoratively carved stone, each with three double-doors of frosted glass. There is a video board above the eastern bay. An additional, lower double-door is to the right, next to which is a metal gate enclosing the recessed bottom landing of a metal, covered fire escape that snakes down the facade from left to right. There are two poster boxes and a final set of double-doors at the west end of the ground floor. The 2nd floor has a recessed area, behind iron bars, for the fire escape to descend, with an opening for metal double-doors at the first main landing. The 3rd floor has a single opening with double-doors at the top of the fire escape. The roof line at the eastern two-thirds of the facade is marked by three Corinthian capitals (with no visible columns) supporting a dentiled band course and frieze surmounted by a triangular, dentiled pediment at the east end; a stone parapet runs on either side of the pediment. The west third of the facade is taller, with an angled, projecting video board lined with lights and framed on the wall by a decorative stone surround.

www.beyondthegildedage.com/2012/09/the-selwyn-theatre.h...

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