1950 Hagstrom Map of Midtown Manhattan Theaters, New York City

This is a c. 1950 Hagstrom map of Midtown Manhattan highlighting the Theatre District and its many theatres. The map depicts the city from Eighth Avenue to the East River and from West 61st Street, Central Park, and East 61st Street to 26th Street. Although myriad buildings are illustrated, not all the city blocks are filled. Banks, churches, clubs, department stores, hotels, nightclubs, office buildings, public buildings, train stations, and theatres are shaded using various colors to allow for easy differentiation and identification.

A Closer Look

The focus, of course, is on the areas many theatres, which are shaded red. Numerous theatres still in operation today are labeled here, including the New Amsterdam, Lyric, Majestic, Broadhurst, Booth, Golden, Barrymore, and the Music Box. Numerous others illustrated here have since been closed or repurposed. The newly constructed United Nations Headquarters, located along the East River between East 42nd Street and East 48th Street, is illustrated and the Secretariat Building, the Meeting Halls, and the Assembly Hall are all labeled. Other New York City landmarks that fall within the map's borders include the Empire State Building, the central branch of the New York Public Library, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Bryant Park, Grand Central Station, and Herald Square. Both Macy's and Bloomingdale's are labeled, as are the Waldorf Astoria Hotel and the Plaza Hotel. An index, situated along the bottom of the map, lists the identified locations, provides the color with which they are shaded, and each building's location on the map's grid. Streets and avenues are also labeled and subway lines are illustrated and identified as well.

Publication History and Census

This map was created by the Hagstrom Company and published c. 1950. We have identified at least three different editions of this map that were published between c. 1940 and c. 1965. The current example represents the second edition and was modified to include the United Nations Headquarters. The first edition was much the same as this map, although the area illustrated was slightly different. The third edition was published after the construction of Lincoln Center and extended above 61st Street. Each of these editions vary in rarity. The current example of the second edition is fairly rare, as we have been unable to trace any known examples in institutional collections and have only encountered it once before.