HB Playwrights Theatre
124 Bank Street | West Village | built 1936
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The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.
Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.
- 1891
Charles Rentz Jr. files plans to turn the ground floor of 124 Bank Street into a workshop
The house had been built around 1837 as one of a row. On March 20, 1891 the architect Charles Rentz Jr. filed plans for its owner, William Doughtery, to alter the ground floor for commercial use, with a one-story rear extension. It became A. C. Burdette's West Side Machinery Depot, which advertised gas engines, electric motors, dynamos and fans in 1892.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1895
The Thalmann family converts 124 Bank Street into a livery stable
Henry and Herman Thalmann already ran a livery stable on West 10th Street. In April 1895 they hired architect Martin V. B. Ferdon to convert the house, adding a floor to the rear extension, iron beams and a wide carriage bay, with rooms upstairs for stable workers. The family later opened a third stable at 129 Charles Street.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1937
Kansas Packing Company strips 124 Bank Street down to a one-story garage
After buying the building in August 1936 for $5,500, the Kansas Packing Company, based at 822 Greenwich Street, wanted a garage and not the apartments above it. By the end of 1937 the upper floors were gone and a new brick facade with a stepped pediment and inset diamonds had been added.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1965
Herbert Berghof and Uta Hagen turn the garage at 124 Bank Street into HB Playwrights, a 73-seat theater
The acting teachers Herbert Berghof and Uta Hagen already ran HB Studio at 120 Bank Street. In 1965 they bought this garage down the block and converted it into a 73-seat performance space called HB Playwrights. Students at the two addresses have included Lee Grant, Eli Wallach, Jack Lemmon, Gene Wilder, Faye Dunaway and Steve McQueen.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
Further reading
- The HB Playwrights - 124 Bank StreetDaytonian in Manhattan
- Then & Now photos: 124 Bank StreetVillage Preservation: Greenwich Village Then & Now
Nearby
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