Broadway @ 53rd Street

Originally opened as Hammerstein’s Theater in 1927, this theater’s first attempt as a performance space failed in 1934 and the building was converted into a casino and nightclub. CBS bought the building in 1949 and, after extensive renovations, began using it as a television studio for the Ed Sullivan Show, where the Beatles gave their first U.S. performance in 1964. In recent years, the theater has been the domain of The Late Show with David Letterman. The New York skyline that one sees in the window behind Dave’s desk is, of course, entirely simulated; the back of the theater would actually look onto an alley next to Eighth Avenue.