Walnut Street Theatre

Walnut Street Theatre
The New Circus (1809–1811)
The Olympic (1812–1820, 1822–1828)
Walnut Street Theatre in 2024
Map
Address825 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
United States
Public transit9th-10th & Locust:
Walnut Street Theatre
Walnut Street Theatre is located in Philadelphia
Walnut Street Theatre
Walnut Street Theatre is located in Pennsylvania
Walnut Street Theatre
Walnut Street Theatre is located in the United States
Walnut Street Theatre
Coordinates39°56′54″N 75°9′20″W / 39.94833°N 75.15556°W / 39.94833; -75.15556
Built1809
Architectural styleClassical revival
NRHP reference No.66000693[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966
Designated NHLDecember 29, 1962
Designated PHMCSeptember 25, 1996[2]
OwnerWalnut Street Theatre Company (non-profit)
DesignationNational Historic Landmark
Capacity1,054
Construction
Opened1809
Rebuilt1828, John Haviland
1903, Willis Hale
1920, William H. Lee
ArchitectWilliam Strickland
Website
walnutstreettheatre.org

Walnut Street Theatre, founded in 1808 at 825 Walnut Street, on the corner of S. 9th Street in the Washington Square West neighborhood of Philadelphia, is the oldest operating theatre in the United States.[3]

The venue is operated by Walnut Street Theatre Company, a non-profit organization, and has three stages: the Mainstage, for the company's primary and larger productions, the Independence Studio on 3, a studio located on the building's third floor for smaller productions, and the Studio 5 on the fifth floor, which is rented out for independent productions.

  1. ^ "National Register Information System – (#66000693)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. ^ "PHMC Historical Markers". Historical Marker Database. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  3. ^ Davis 2010, p. 1.