Yet the area became known as the “Great White Way” the year before the Wright Brothers’ first succeeded at flight.
Today, to be considered part of “Broadway,” a theater must contain 500 or more seats. There are currently 41 such houses in the Theater District, all clustered around Times Square on or near Broadway between 41st and 53rd Streets.
The origins of New York City’s reputation for theater stem to the mid-18th century with the opening of the city’s first known drama venue. Located in lower Manhattan and given the unimaginative name of “The Theatre,” it seated only 280.
Other theaters followed, such as the Park Theatre in 1798, the Bowery Theatre in 1826, and the Astor Place Theatre in 1847.
During the 1820s, entertainment centers known as “pleasure gardens” developed. One of the most popular among all social classes was Niblo’s Garden. Beginning as a fenced, open-air beer garden, the venue expanded until it contained a hotel, a saloon, gaslit gravel paths through lush foliage, and an elaborate 3,000-seat theater. “The Black Crook,” considered by many to be the first true Broadway musical, opened there in 1866. The nightly production lasted five and a half hours, and the show became a runaway hit.
The interiors of these early theaters were lit with candles, and later with smelly, smoky, and dangerous gas lamps, resulting in some theaters burning and being rebuilt more than once.
In 1895, Oscar Hammerstein (grandfather of the well-known lyricist) opened the Olympia Theatre on Times Square, which was then called Longacre Square. It was part of a large complex that also included a roof garden, billiard room, concert hall, and music hall.
Although initial streetlights on Broadway, installed between Union Square and Madison Square by 1880, produced light via an electric arc, Hammerstein made history by using electric lighting both inside and outside the Olympia.
As technology advanced, modern street lamps lit the area. Following the lead of the Olympia, other theaters installed brilliant electrical signs to promote their shows. “Spectaculars”—large, complex light displays with flashing or even animated designs—proliferated.
In 1902, the New York Morning Telegraph published an article about the theater district by columnist Shep Friedman with the headline, “Found on the Great White Way.” Two theories exist on where Friedman came up with the term: perhaps he borrowed from a London theater district, called the “White Way” for its well-lit streets, while another theory suggests that it was a biblical reference to the “way of the righteous,” symbolizing the virtuous path of entertainment and culture that Broadway represented at the time.
Regardless, the nickname stuck. Since then, the strip of light known as Broadway has been dark only during the two World Wars, when all the signs were blacked out.
Sources:
Why Broadway is Called the Great White Way | Backstage
History of New York Streets: Untapped New York
Broadway: A history of the Great White Way - Dance Informa Magazine
Why Is Broadway Called the Great White Way – Repeat Replay
The Bowery Boys: New York City History
See also: “Miss Minnette Goes to Broadway and Back” (Heroes, Heroines, and History, January 13, 2025)
Multi-award-winning author Marie Wells Coutu finds beauty in surprising places, like undiscovered treasures, old houses, and gnarly trees. All three books in her Mended Vessels series, contemporary stories based on the lives of biblical women, have won awards in multiple contests. She is currently working on historical romances set in her native western Kentucky in the 1930s and ‘40s. An unpublished novel, Shifting Currents, placed second in the inspirational category of the nationally recognized Maggie Awards. Learn more at www.MarieWellsCoutu.com.
Her historical short story, “All That Glistens,” is loosely based on a woman from Star Lime Works, Kentucky, who went to Broadway. It was included in the 2023 Saturday Evening Post Great American Fiction collection and is now available free when you sign up for Marie's newsletter here. In her newsletter, she shares about her writing life, historical tidbits, recommended books, and sometimes recipes.
The origins of New York City’s reputation for theater stem to the mid-18th century with the opening of the city’s first known drama venue. Located in lower Manhattan and given the unimaginative name of “The Theatre,” it seated only 280.
Other theaters followed, such as the Park Theatre in 1798, the Bowery Theatre in 1826, and the Astor Place Theatre in 1847.
 |
| The only known photo of Niblo's Garden (Photo: New York Public Library Digital Collections) |
The interiors of these early theaters were lit with candles, and later with smelly, smoky, and dangerous gas lamps, resulting in some theaters burning and being rebuilt more than once.
 |
| The Olympia Theatre, owned by the grandfather of famed lyricist Oscar Hammerstein, was the first Broadway theater to use electric lighting inside and out. The theater was part of the Olympia entertainment complex that occupied a full city block. (Photo: Museum of the City of New York) |
Although initial streetlights on Broadway, installed between Union Square and Madison Square by 1880, produced light via an electric arc, Hammerstein made history by using electric lighting both inside and outside the Olympia.
 |
| Electric lights along Broadway earned the Theater District the nickname, the "Great White Way" in 1902 (Photo: Keystone View Company/Library of Congress) |
As technology advanced, modern street lamps lit the area. Following the lead of the Olympia, other theaters installed brilliant electrical signs to promote their shows. “Spectaculars”—large, complex light displays with flashing or even animated designs—proliferated.
In 1902, the New York Morning Telegraph published an article about the theater district by columnist Shep Friedman with the headline, “Found on the Great White Way.” Two theories exist on where Friedman came up with the term: perhaps he borrowed from a London theater district, called the “White Way” for its well-lit streets, while another theory suggests that it was a biblical reference to the “way of the righteous,” symbolizing the virtuous path of entertainment and culture that Broadway represented at the time.
Regardless, the nickname stuck. Since then, the strip of light known as Broadway has been dark only during the two World Wars, when all the signs were blacked out.
Sources:
Why Broadway is Called the Great White Way | Backstage
History of New York Streets: Untapped New York
Broadway: A history of the Great White Way - Dance Informa Magazine
Why Is Broadway Called the Great White Way – Repeat Replay
The Bowery Boys: New York City History
See also: “Miss Minnette Goes to Broadway and Back” (Heroes, Heroines, and History, January 13, 2025)
Her historical short story, “All That Glistens,” is loosely based on a woman from Star Lime Works, Kentucky, who went to Broadway. It was included in the 2023 Saturday Evening Post Great American Fiction collection and is now available free when you sign up for Marie's newsletter here. In her newsletter, she shares about her writing life, historical tidbits, recommended books, and sometimes recipes. 
