 Teatro Puerto Rico in the 1950s | |
 | |
| Location | 490 East 138th Street (at Brook Avenue) Mott Haven, Bronx, New York City |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°48′28″N 73°55′09″W / 40.807801°N 73.919209°W |
| Owner | Ansel family |
| Type | Indoor theatre |
| Capacity | 2,300 |
| Opened | February 1923 |
| Closed | 1996 |
The Teatro Puerto Rico was a music hall focused on the Latino community in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the South Bronx in New York City.[1] During the 1940s to 1950s it presented la farándula, a vaudeville-style package of Spanish-language events, and attracted entertainers from all over Latin America. In the late 1960s, the neighborhood where the theater was located was in decline and the theater closed its doors until 1994. That year a real estate developer invested funds in renovations. After two years in operation, a political scandal involving misappropriated public funds forced the permanent closure of the theater. The building which the theater once occupied is now used as a place of religious worship.
- ^ Verhovek, Sam Howe (September 28, 1987). "Salsa and Heartthrobs: A Palace of Hispanic Life Returns". New York Times.