Ambassador Theater

The Ambassador Theatre stands diagonally on West 49th Street, offering an auditorium styled after 18th-century British architect Robert Adam. The interior holds 1114 seats arranged across three levels, with detailed plasterwork decorating the walls and ceiling throughout the space.

Architect Herbert J. Krapp designed this house in 1921 for the Shubert brothers during a busy building period. During the late 1930s and 1940s, it served as a radio broadcast studio for CBS before returning to stage performances in 1956.

The theater transitioned through various roles, from hosting operettas to serving as a radio broadcast studio before returning to live performances in 1956.

The house provides infrared listening devices and wheelchair-accessible entrances, with designated seating in the orchestra section for visitors with mobility needs. Doors typically open about an hour before showtime.

The entire construction took only 82 days, a record for theater building in New York at the time. The facade sits at an angle because the lot runs diagonally to the street grid.

Location: Manhattan

Inception: February 11, 1921

Architects: Herbert J. Krapp

Official opening: February 11, 1921

Capacity: 1114

Address: 215 West 49th Street, New York, NY 10019

Website: http://ambassadortheater.com

GPS coordinates: 40.76111,-73.98500

Latest update: December 5, 2025 22:30