NEW YORK — One of New York City’s most venerable comedy institutions is shuttering after three decades of bringing laughs to Times Square.
Carolines on Broadway will close its current location after its owner decided not to renew its longtime lease.
The popular stand-up venue at 1626 Broadway by West 49th Street, which hosted famous and rising comedians including Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David, Tracy Morgan, Jon Stewart and Conan O’Brien, announced that the last performance there will take place on Dec. 31.
“We want to thank the comedians, our incredibly talented staff and all of the comedy fans who have visited the club throughout the years to help make Carolines the success it has been for the last four decades,” founder and owner Caroline Hirsch said in a statement posted to Instagram on Tuesday. “We are very excited about the future of the Carolines brand and will provide updates through our social media channels.”
A spokesman for the club confirmed the decision to close was based on a rent increase.
The Carolines comedy brand — which included a weekly A&E series and now has expanded to organizing the New York Comedy Festival — had its beginnings in downtown Manhattan, opening in Chelsea and then moving to the South Street Seaport. It opened its Times Square location in 1992, before the notorious district transformed into a tourist-friendly mecca.
“People thought we were crazy to invest in Times Square, only later to say that we were ahead of the curve when global brands like Disney, Nasdaq and national retailers and businesses came to the neighborhood,” Hirsch said. “We are very proud to have played an integral role in its resurgence and brought much needed laughter to the neighborhood and the city.”
Times Square Alliance president Tom Harris championed Hirsch as a “visionary” who helped elevate the area.
“[She] saw Times Square’s potential in the early 90′s before many and was an integral part of its revitalization when she moved her club here 30 years ago, adding to some of the world’s greatest live entertainment in addition to Broadway in the district,” he said in a statement to the Daily News. “We are thrilled to hear that this is not the end, but a new chapter for her and Carolines on Broadway. We look forward to seeing where it lands and hope that it will continue with us in Times Square.”
———
