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As the lights illuminate outside of Harlem’s Victoria Theater once again, a project that took more than two decades, is making its debut at last. Since the year 2000, a coalition of government officials, community leaders, artists, designers, and engineers have been working to bring the vacant theater just steps away from the iconic Apollo Theater back to life.
Built in 1917 as the Loew's Victoria Theater, it hosted burlesque, vaudeville, and movies before being abandoned in 1997. The venue was "completely in disrepair" when the restoration project began, Kamilah Forbes, The Apollo's executive producer told Time Out New York. After more than 20 years of work and countless hurdles, the theater, now officially called The Apollo Stages at the Victoria Theater, is back in business. It's the first expansion in The Apollo's 90-year history.
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A century ago, there were theaters at the heart of the Harlem Renaissance: The Alhambra, The Apollo, and the Victoria. None of them faced a certain future.
“Again and again, any one of them could have been hit with the wrecking ball. Any one of them could have been wiped off the map. It almost happened. The effort to save The Apollo, there could be books written about it. … But nothing’s been tougher than saving the Victoria,” Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine said today at a grand re-opening event.
Leaders ushered the project through the fallout from the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the financial crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic. They even dealt with discovering an underground river at the site that threw the engineering plan into a tailspin.
"The Apollo Stages at the Victoria really represent more than an expansion," The Apollo's President Michelle Ebanks said. "It's a promise to maintain a steadfast commitment to the creativity in Harlem and to our Black artists."
The building, designed by KGA (Kostow Greenwood Architects), houses two black-box theaters. The first can seat up to 199 people, while the second can seat up to 99 people. The theaters can be configured in a variety of arrangements to accommodate different productions. They offer a complement to the Apollo, creating a space for more experimental or smaller-scale shows.
Also in the building: An art gallery, which will host a rotating series of shows. A collection of photos by Alex Harsley documenting Black creative spaces across Manhattan is on view now.
While the building has a freshly updated facade, builders were able to keep some of the original facade pieces. They're on display in the lobby next to a documentary video about the theater's history. Though The Apollo and The Victoria don't physically connect, they've been intertwined throughout history and will be in the future as well.
"We have thousands of people who fly onto 125th Street to touch our building next door, our stage, our walls, to handle a piece of our history," Forbes said. "But in this space, this stage is an opportunity for people to touch a piece of our future."