Description
St. Malachy's Church is a Gothic Revival Catholic church on West 49th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, in the heart of the Theater District. Known as the "Actors' Chapel", it has been the church of Broadway's performers since the 1920s.
Below the main church lies the Chapel of St. Genesius, patron saint of actors, added in 1920. It is a Broadway tradition to light a candle here for the success of a show on opening night.
When the theaters moved uptown around 1920, a pastor won permission for a 4 a.m. Mass, then banned by church law, to suit the late hours of theater workers. Rudolph Valentino's funeral was held here, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. married Joan Crawford here, and its chimes once played "There's No Business Like Show Business".
Below the main church lies the Chapel of St. Genesius, patron saint of actors, added in 1920. It is a Broadway tradition to light a candle here for the success of a show on opening night.
When the theaters moved uptown around 1920, a pastor won permission for a 4 a.m. Mass, then banned by church law, to suit the late hours of theater workers. Rudolph Valentino's funeral was held here, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. married Joan Crawford here, and its chimes once played "There's No Business Like Show Business".