The Murray Hill Theatre was a Broadway theatre located on Lexington Avenue between East 41st and 42nd streets in Manhattan, New York City.
[1][2] It operated as a legitimate theatre for plays, musicals, and operas until it became a part of the Columbia Amusement Company's chain of burlesque theaters in 1908.
It continued to operate as a movie theatre until it was demolished in 1951.
The Murray Hill Theatre was built by impresario Frank B. Murtha and opened on October 19, 1896, with the world premiere of Oscar Weil and Charles Dazey's opera In Mexico; a work performed by The Bostonians.
[5] In 1904, the theatre began a slow shift away from the legitimate plays, musicals, and operas it had presented earlier and became a theatre for burlesque and vaudeville entertainments; ultimately becoming one of the many burlesque theaters operated by the Columbia Amusement Company (COA).