Century Theatre, 1930. A grand (and hulking) presence on the corner of 63rd Street, the Beaux-Arts theatre and opera house, designed by Carrère and Hastings, opened in 1909 as the New Theatre. The New Theatre produced shows for only two seasons before leasing the space to other theatre managers. The venue reopened as the Century in 1911 and by 1915 was under the management of Florenz Ziegfeld. Buoyed by the success of his roof garden venue and nightclub at the New Amsterdam in Times Square, Ziegfeld opened the Cocoanut Grove on the rooftop here. Unfortunately the theatre had too many strikes against it. And the WPA Guide to NYC was there to call it out as, describing the venue as "New York's most spectacularly unsuccessful theater" and a "Shrine of Snobbism." The locations was too far from the theatre district, the large and ornate building was expensive to maintain, and the acoustics were poor, despite efforts to improve them. In 1931 the theatre was demolished and replaced by the Art Deco Century Apartments, designed by the firm of Irwin Chanin.

The Century apartment building, 1936. The Century towers, which take their name from the theater which previously occupied the site, are an Art Deco apartment complex designed by architect Irwin S. Chanin and completed in 1931.

Century Theatre, ca. 1912. The elegant Beaux Arts structure opened as the New Theatre in November 1909, but immediately encountered challenges: while the building was acclaimed for its architecture, the cost of maintenance was high and the acoustics of the performance space were poor. Combined with a location some distance from Manhattan’s established Theater District, the New Theatre closed after just two seasons. The space was reopened as the Century Theatre in 1911 and continued to cycle through new management regimes — including the Cocoanut Grove, a rooftop nightclub — until its demolition in 1931. The Century, a 29-story apartment building now occupies the site.

The Century Apartments ARCHITECT: Irwin S. Chanin DATE: 1931 STYLE: Art Deco The Century Apartments, built in 1931, is one of the major Art Deco style apartment buildings in America. It stands today as a testament to the vision of its architect and builder Irwin S. Chanin and is one of his finest works. With its twin-towered form, enabled by the 1929 multiple dwelling law, it is one of a small group of related structures that help give Central Park West its distinctive silhouette. The Century is a sophisticated essay in Art Deco design, exhibiting a complex balance of horizontal and vertical elements that creates a dynamic design tension. This is expressed in the manipulation of such structural features as brickwork, windows, bays, and balconies. The towers with their crowns are one of New York City’s major architectural adornments. The Century Apartments continue to symbolize the high quality of residential design on New York’s Upper West Side.