Entrance to Niblo’s Garden, 1887.

Proprietor William Niblo acquired the Columbia Garden “pleasure garden” — an open-air entertainment venue — during the 1820s, renaming the premises Niblo’s Garden and introducing a theater and concert venue in 1834. The Garden covered much of the block bounded by Broadway and Houston, Crosby, and Prince Streets.

In 1835, Niblo’s Theater hosted P.T. Barnum’s first exhibition and would soon introduce vaudeville programming to its entertainment lineup. In 1846, the original theater was destroyed in a fire.

In another first, Niblo’s hosted what is considered the first-ever musical theater production: in 1866, “The Black Crook,” a lengthy musical comedy set in Germany, debuted to widespread condemnation. Naturally, the outcry in the press led audiences to flock to Niblo’s.

The theater burned again in 1872 and was rebuilt, with funding from department store entrepreneur A.T. Stewart. Niblo’s held its final performance in 1895 and was soon demolished.