Project Details
- Project Name
- Ed Sullivan Theater
- Project Types
- Entertainment
- Size
- 30,000 sq. feet
- Year Completed
- 2015
- Shared by
- Design Republic
- Consultants
-
Other: MG Engineering Consultants,General Contractor: IRM Construction,Other: Concepts Office,Design Architect and Architect of Record: Design Republic
- Project Status
- Built
Project Description
The historic Landmarked Preserved CBS Ed Sullivan Theatre located at 1679-1699 Broadway, was recently renovated to reflect its original 1927 grandeur. It is historically known as the home of The Ed Sullivan Show and the site of The Beatles’ US debut performance. It has also housed David Letterman’s tenure on CBS’ Late Show from 1993 to 2015. The theatre currently houses The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the second incarnation of the Late Show franchise.
With this amazing project endeavor, CBS made a tremendous re-investment with the complete restoration of the landmark theater, new talent support spaces, new production offices, a beautiful new Marquee, lighted facade signage, redesign of the ‘Elvis’ Stage Door and the design of a unique ‘apres-show’ roof top deck for Stephen Colbert’s Guests and staff.
The extensive renovations were made between the two hosts’ tenures. The restoration included the exposure of the theater’s dome, which had been covered up by air ducts and sound buffers, the re-installation of the original stained-glass windows, which had been removed and placed in storage during the Letterman era, and the restoration of the iconic central theater lantern with individual stained-glass chambers that house its bulbs. The restoration was made possible due to advances in technology that allowed less sound and video equipment to cover up the auditorium’s architectural details.