Circle Theatre

1901 - 1935

Designed by architect Charles Cavenaugh and opened in 1901 by Charles Evans and W.D. Mann, the Circle Theatre was initially built to present “high-class, polite Vaudeville” aimed toward community middle-class families. After a neighboring church objected to the site and a consequent legal battle, it pivoted to offering classical music. After closing that same year, the theater came to an agreement with the church. It reopened in 1902, offering legitimate theatre, only to alter its offerings again to Burlesque and an occasional motion picture presentation. In 1906, the Circle Theatre remodeled its interior to the then-fashionable Neo-Classical style, raising its roof and adding a second balcony. Loew’s Inc. ran the theatre as a movie house from the late 1910s to 1931. For a few years, it was an independent cinema. In 1935, after labor disputes, a bomb caused massive damage to the lobby and box office. Its interior was transformed into the Columbus Circle Roller Rink. The building was razed in 1954. Today, the Northeast corner entrance to the Time-Warner Shopping Center and its distinctive Jazz at Lincoln Center marquee mark the spot of the Circle Theatre site.