Built in 1900 by Oscar Hammerstein I, the Republic was taken over in 1902 by David Belasco. The theater reverted to its original name around 1910 and continued as a legitimate house until 1932 when it became home to Billy Minsky's burlesque shows. After Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia banned burlesque in 1942, the Republic was converted into a movie theater, the Victory, and fell into decline. In 1995 the beautifully restored New Victory opened again as a theater.

New York City has long been considered the leading American center for arts and culture. The arts, especially theater, constitute one of New York’s primary economic forces. Throughout the 20th century, the LGBT community has had a significant and disproportionate impact on the Broadway stage, even as the New York Legislature-enacted Wales Padlock Law (1927-1967) made it illegal for theaters to show plays that featured gay and lesbian characters (though some productions managed to get around this restriction). This curated collection spotlights the Broadway Theater District and its associations with major LGBT performers and creators.

Theatre Republic, 1900. Theater mogul Oscar Hammerstein I opened this venue with a Venetian facade as the Theatre Republic in 1900. In 1902, its manager and theatre impresario David Belasco leased the building. He renamed the theatre after himself. When Belasco took over full operation of the venue, he undertook major work, installing an orchestra pit, a new lighting system and a modern stage with trap doors through which scenery could be hoisted. In 1910, Belasco's Stuyvesant Theatre on 44th Street took over the Belasco Theatre name, while this one returned to the name Theatre Republic. By 1931, the theater was once again renamed, this time as Minsky's Burlesque, Broadway's first burlesque house. Upon the ban of burlesque shows in 1942, it became "The Victory," a second-run movie house. Just as it set the stage as a place to indulge vices of the 1930s, in the 1970s the venue became the first porn theater on 42nd Street. The Victory cleaned up its act in the 1990s, and the stage was "once again graced by legitimate theater." It opened with the plays "Crowbar" and a production of "Romeo and Juliet." The Victory was acquired by the City and State to become part of the 42nd Street Development Project. The theater reopened as The New Victory Theater in 1995.

Following the Civil War, the resumption of industry, trade, and peace were boom times for New York City. Hundreds of thousands flocked to New York and as they did the city expanded. Out of this new growth came with it the Theater District, which teemed with shows, operas, and acts to amuse the city's population. This list highlights some of the theaters that sprung up during the turn of the century.

Lyric Theatre, 1903. Completed in 1903, the Lyric Theatre actually was one of the only New York theatres with two formal entrances: 213 West 42nd Street (seen here) and 214-226 West 43rd Street. The original occupant of the theatre was supposed to be composer Reginald De Koven's American School of Opera. Unfortunately, the school went bankrupt before construction was completed and the theatre was leased to the Shubert brothers. In 1934 the building became a movie theatre, which it remained until 1992. In the mid-1990s, as a part of the Times Square renewal project, the theatre was gutted and combined with its neighbor, the Apollo, to create the Ford Center. The Ford Center was then renamed the Hilton Theatre in 2005, the Foxwoods Theatre in 2010, and was once again called the Lyric Theatre by 2014. Today the facades of the two formal entrance to the original Lyric Theatre act as the entrances of the modern Lyric Theatre.

The "naughty, gaudy, bawdy, sporty, 42nd Street." Over the 20th century it was constantly changing: theatre > burlesque > movies> grindhouse> XXX> revitalization. These are the theatres of the "Deuce."