The New Gaiety Theatre, London, by Ernest Runtz with elevations by Richard Norman Shaw

The New Gaiety Theatre

Ernest Runtz, with elevations by Richard Norman Shaw

From a painting by the French illustrator, J. André Castaigne (1861-1929)

1902-03 (painting, 1905)

Corner of the Strand and Aldwych

London WC2

This atmospheric evening scene shows businessmen returning from the City in horse-drawn cabs and omnibuses, men carrying advertising boards, perhaps for shows, and a brightly lit theatre on the corner of Aldwych, opposite Waterloo Bridge. In the middle distance stands the early nineteenth-century church of St Mary-le-Strand by James Gibbs, just as it does today. The theatre, however, is long gone. [continued below]

Image acquired, with thanks, from the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Reproduction No.: LC-USZ62-93896. Text by Jacqueline Banerjee.

The New Gaiety Theatre was built to replace the original Gaiety Theatre managed by George Edwardes, which had fallen prey to the London County Council's "Strand Improvement Scheme." The architect chosen for the task was Ernest Runtz (1859-1913), not as famous a theatre architect as Frank Matcham, but still one with a very large practice, who designed commercial buildings as well (see "Ernest Runtz & Ford"). But the London County Council found his designs wanting, and called in Richard Norman Shaw to improve on them. Runtz was responsible for the dome on the corner, but it was Shaw who suggested the "flanking high loggia of paired columns and also improved the design of the higher Gaiety Restaurant behind, which faced the Strand." After a chequered history the "powerful exterior of the Gaiety, which Pevsner thought 'Norman Shaw's best design after he had gone classical or Baroque,' was demolished in 1957" (Stamp 65-66). Both the type of building and its style may come as a surprise to those who know Norman Shaw chiefly for his earlier, picturesque domestic architecture.

References

Stamp, Gavin. Lost Victorian Britain: How the Twentieth Century Destroyed the Nineteenth Century's Architectural Masterpieces. London: Aurum Press, 2010.

Enest Runtz & Ford. DSA Architect Biography Report. Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Web. 23 Feb. 2011..

Last modified 23 February 2011