In historic first, Broadway theater in New York City will be renamed for Lena Horne

Ilana Keller, NorthJersey.com
·1 min read
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For the first time, Broadway will have a theater named for a Black woman.

The Nederlander Organization announced Thursday that the Brooks Atkinson Theatre will be named for actor and activist Lena Horne, according to The New York Times.

Horne is a veteran of five Broadway shows, making her debut in 1934 with "Dance With Your Gods." She became the first Black woman nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 1958 for "Jamaica."

Her final appearance was "Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music" in 1981, for which she received a Special Tony Award.

A Grammy Award winner and Tony nominee, she also had a lengthy discography and film and television résumé. She was a longtime civil rights activist.

Songstress Lena Horne, right, talks with a friend as she was in Nashville on July 25, 1973, to visit a cousin, John Horne, a sophomore at Fisk University. Horne was attending a cocktail party given in her honor by Fisk University President Dr. James Lawson and Mrs. Lawson at their home on Jackson Street.
Songstress Lena Horne, right, talks with a friend as she was in Nashville on July 25, 1973, to visit a cousin, John Horne, a sophomore at Fisk University. Horne was attending a cocktail party given in her honor by Fisk University President Dr. James Lawson and Mrs. Lawson at their home on Jackson Street.

She died in 1990 at age 92.

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The theater was built in 1926 and originally named the Mansfield Theatre. It was renamed in 1960 in honor of New York Times critic Brooks Atkinson.

Singer Lena Horne meets fans and signs copies of her autobiographical book at Bamberger's department store at Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey on Nov. 16, 1965. Although a small area was chained off to allow the singer some distance from her admirers, she had no part of it and walked away from her escorts into the crowd.
Singer Lena Horne meets fans and signs copies of her autobiographical book at Bamberger's department store at Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey on Nov. 16, 1965. Although a small area was chained off to allow the singer some distance from her admirers, she had no part of it and walked away from her escorts into the crowd.

The theater, 256 W. 47th, is currently the home of "Six" and seats 1,069.

This is the second Broadway theater this year with plans to be renamed for a prominent Black performer. In March, the Shubert Organization announced that the Cort Theatre will be renamed for James Earl Jones.

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This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: New York City theater to be renamed after Black actress Lena Horne