As the urban middle-class took on aspects of being “cultured” in the late 19th Century, it demanded more refined entertainments than bear-baiting and bare-knuckle boxing. Theater districts were the answer, usually clustering around existing theaters and museums patronized by the upper-class. Thus New York City’s Broadway district saw a number of new music halls and restaurants open immediately after the Metropolitan Opera House relocated to West 39th and Broadway in 1883. In the earlier 1800s, London’s West End theater district expanded outward from the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. In time, all those that feed off theatrical talent were also found in the theater districts: recording studios, radio studios, agents, producers, and so forth.
As the urban middle-class took on aspects of being “cultured” in the late 19th Century, it demanded more refined entertainments than bear-baiting and bare-knuckle boxing. Theater districts were the answer, usually clustering around existing theaters and museums patronized by the upper-class. Thus New York City’s Broadway district saw a number of new music halls and restaurants open immediately after the Metropolitan Opera House relocated to West 39th and Broadway in 1883. In the earlier 1800s, London’s West End theater district expanded outward from the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. In time, all those that feed off theatrical talent were also found in the theater districts: recording studios, radio studios, agents, producers, and so forth.