Walnut Street Theatre
Opened in 1809 and the oldest continuously operating theatre in the United States.
The building at Ninth and Walnut Streets opened in 1809 as the New Circus, put up for the equestrian showmen Pepin and Breschard, and was converted for drama soon afterwards, with William Strickland fitting out the stage and orchestra pit in 1811. John Haviland rebuilt it in 1828 behind the Greek Revival front that survives today, and further alterations followed in 1903 under Willis Hale and in 1920 under William H. Lee. It has staged plays every season since, which makes it the oldest continuously operating theatre in the country.
Edwin Forrest, Edwin Booth, Sarah Bernhardt, the Barrymores, Katharine Hepburn and Marlon Brando all appeared here, and the first Lincoln-Douglas commemorative debates and early Broadway try-outs were held on the stage. The theatre was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962 and restored in the early 1970s, when it became a non-profit producing house. The 1,054-seat main auditorium presents a season of musicals and plays, with new and smaller work in the Independence Studio on 3 and a children's series.
Highlights
- Continuous theatrical operation since 1809
- Greek Revival facade from John Haviland's rebuilding of 1828
- National Historic Landmark, designated 1962
- Main auditorium of 1,054 seats plus a studio theatre on the third floor
