436 E 149th St
1913, George Keister

The Bronx Opera House was conceived by noted Broadway producer George M. Cohan and his partner Sam Harris, as a sister theater to the old Grand Opera House on Eighth Avenue. This new venue was a combination theatre, meaning it would host touring theater companies which performed singular plays. It offered Broadway plays at popular prices, becoming one of the most successful theaters in The Bronx. The Italian Renaissance Revival building was designed by famous theater architect George Keister, responsible for the Apollo, Belasco and Selwyn, among others. With an exterior of brick, limestone and terra cotta, it had a seating capacity of 1,900 people on three levels. Over the years, the theater hosted vaudeville shows and movies, but lost its license in the 1940s. It regained notoriety as a Latin music hub during the 1950s, 60s and 70s, and was purchased in the 1980s by a Pentecostal church. In 2010, plans began for a conversion into a boutique hotel, which opened in 2013 as The Opera House Hotel. The original façade, lobby and restaurant space were connected to a new structure built on the site of the auditorium, which had been demolished years before. It was designated as an NYC Landmark in 2023.