BROADWAY

New York City thoroughfare that traverses the length of Manhattan, and near the middle of which are clustered the theatres that have long made it the foremost showcase of commercial stage entertainment in the United States; the term Broadway was at one time virtually synonymous with American theatrical activity. Broadway gained its name as the axis of an important theatre district in the mid-19th century, attracting impresarios with its central location and fashionable reputation. The number, size, and magnificence of the Broadway theatres grew with New York City's prosperity and power, until, in the 1890s, the brilliantly lighted street became known as The Great White Way. Impelled by growing U.S. wealth and cultural aspirations and unrivaled by other forms of popular entertainment, theatrical activity on Broadway soared to its peak in the late 1920s, a high point from which it has suffered a continuous decline. Broadway's theatres, numbering about 20 at the turn of the century, reached an all-time high of 80 in 1925; by 1980, only 40 remained (few of which were located on Broadway itself; rather, they were just east or west of Broadway, generally between 41st and 53rd streets). The record season of 192728 saw 280 new productions open on Broadway; there are considerably fewer in recent decades. See also Off-Broadway. village (parish), Wychavon district, administrative and historic county of Worcestershire, England, at the foot of the Cotswolds escarpment, which is crowned by the Beacon Tower built in 1797. The village of Broadway is much frequented by tourists attracted to its Tudor and Jacobean houses built of Cotswold stone. Notable buildings include the Norman church, a 14th-century abbot's grange (once housing the abbots of nearby Evesham), the gatehouse of Broadway Court, and the 17th-century Lygon Arms hostelry. Pop. (1991) 2,328.