Daryl Roth Theatre
20 Union Square | also 20 Union Square East, 101 East 15th Street | Gramercy | built 1907
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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.
- 1868
The savings bank moves into a remodeled Greek Revival row house on the corner
The Institution for the Savings of Merchants' Clerks bought a Greek Revival row house in 1867 on the corner where Union Square East meets East 15th Street. The bank added a mansard roof and a new frontispiece, then moved its operations there the following year. This earlier building on the lot stood until the present bank replaced it in 1905-07.
“After adding a mansard roof and new frontispiece to the row house, the bank moved its operations there the following year.”
- 1904
The bank drops "Merchants' Clerks" from its name and becomes the Union Square Savings Bank
In 1904 the bank, which dates to 1848 and was then still in the row house that preceded the present building on this lot, petitioned the State Supreme Court to rename it the Union Square Savings Bank. Its original name was Institution for the Savings of Merchants' Clerks, and it argued that the name no longer suited a bank drawing depositors from every class, not just clerks. The petition also pointed to its long presence on Union Square and its plan to build a new home there.
“…draws its depositors from all classes in the community, and not alone from merchants' clerks.”
- 1907
Henry Bacon's Union Square Savings Bank building opens
The Union Square Savings Bank opens its new granite-faced headquarters at 20 Union Square East, designed by architect Henry Bacon. Construction began in May 1906 on a site cleared of two rowhouses, and the building cost $275,000. Its style is compared to an ancient temple, with a Corinthian portico facing the square.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1937
Voorhees, Gmelin & Walker add new banking counters and a penthouse
In 1937 the architectural firm Voorhees, Gmelin & Walker designed new banking counters and a penthouse for the bank. The penthouse is set back and cannot be seen from the street, and the janitors' apartments were turned into office space at the same time. The bank had begun opening branches after a 1923 law allowed it, but it kept its headquarters here.
“…the architectural firm Voorhees, Gmelin & Walker designed new banking counters and a penthouse addition…”
- 1992
State regulators close American Savings Bank, leaving the Union Square building vacant
The Union Square Savings Bank merged with Kings County Savings Bank in 1968 to form United Mutual Savings Bank, which kept this building as a branch. American Savings Bank bought United Mutual in 1982. State banking regulators declared American Savings insolvent and closed it in 1992 over bad commercial real estate loans, and the building at 20 Union Square East stood vacant afterward.
“…declared insolvent and closed by New York State banking regulators in 1992 as a result of bad commercial real estate loans…”
- 1993
The House of Blues buys the former bank to open a concert venue
The House of Blues concert company buys the bank building and its annex for $2.06 million, planning a live-music venue and a 300-seat restaurant. Preservationists want the bank kept in its original state, and by June 1995 the company withdraws its liquor license application after Community Board 5 raises concerns. The project is delayed.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1995
House of Blues withdraws its liquor-license application for the former bank
House of Blues, which had bought the former bank in 1993, withdrew its liquor-license application in June 1995. Manhattan Community Board 5 had voiced worries about a concert venue in the neighborhood, and the company agreed to hold off on construction in return for a delayed public hearing. Preservationists had earlier wanted the bank kept in its original state.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1996
The Landmarks Preservation Commission designates the Union Square Savings Bank
The Landmarks Preservation Commission's report on the bank is dated February 13, 1996, after hearings on December 12, 1995, and January 30, 1996. Twenty-three witnesses spoke in favor, including Assemblywoman Deborah Glick and representatives of civic groups, and no one spoke against. A representative of the owner said the owner had no opposition to designation.
“Twenty-three witnesses spoke in favor of designation... No one spoke in opposition to designation.”
- 1998
Daryl Roth converts the former bank into an off-Broadway theater
Producer Daryl Roth, who acquires the building in 1996, opens it as an off-Broadway theater. The New York Times describes the converted bank as one of a growing number of unconventional performance spaces in the city. The 99-seat DR2 Theatre later opens in 2002 inside the former banking annex.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2002
The 99-seat DR2 Theatre opens in the old bank's annex
In 2002 the 99-seat DR2 Theatre opened in the former banking annex at 103 East 15th Street, a companion to the main theater in the old bank. Productions there have included Bunnicula, which ran from February to April 2013, and That Golden Girls Show, which ran from October 2016 to January 2017.
“The 99-seat DR2 Theatre opened in 2002 within the former banking annex in 103 East 15th Street.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 2017
Frank Oz reopens the theater's original Union Square entrance
During Frank Oz's theatrical directorial debut, In and Of Itself, he changes the theater's layout so that the Union Square facade serves as an entrance again. The renovation moves the box office and opens the bank's original front doors to audiences. That entrance had gone unused while Fuerza Bruta ran at the theater from 2005 to 2016.
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
- Daryl Roth TheatreWikipedia
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