Putting up a Broadway show is hard enough. That’s just what a group of intrepid engineers and designers have done to the Palace Theater, the iconic 47th Street venue that’s played host to such luminaries as Judy Garland, her daughter Liza Minnelli, Bette Midler and classic musicals like “Sweet Charity” and “La Cage Aux Folles.
While the famous site is landmarked by the city, a designation that can lead to permissions hurdles, the team got lucky with a quirk. At the same time that the attached Double Tree hotel was demolished above, 116 cement-cased hydraulic lifts were placed beneath the foundation of the building. The actual lift, however, didn’t begin until February 2022.Jim Seger of PBDW Architects said that over the course of two weeks, the Palace moved up at a slower-than-a-snail’s pace of “about an inch an hour.”“It was like surgery,” Seger added. “There were teams on call at all times. Everything was being watched very carefully.
“You used to look up at the ceiling and the dome had these recessed lights because there was no chandelier, and you couldn’t look up without being blinded,” Cook said. “We took the original chandelier size and shape, but added art moderne in a contemporary way.”Judy Garland famously played the Palace and used a special staircase that would let her emerge in the back of the auditorium.One historic feature beloved by Broadway buffs that had to stay was the iconic Judy Garland Staircase.