Winter Garden Theatre

The Winter Garden Theatre stands on a site that once held the American Horse Exchange, a bustling hub built by William K. Vanderbilt in the late nineteenth century. Back then, this part of the city was known as Longacre Square and served as the center of the local horse and carriage trade. The building featured a massive indoor ring where thoroughbreds were put on display for wealthy buyers. When the horse-and-carriage industry gave way to the automobile in the early twentieth century, the Shubert family seized the opportunity to lease the structure. They transformed the former auction ring into a theater that opened its doors in nineteen eleven.