It is commonly assumed by those who discuss the theatre's present economic difficulties that there were no serious problems before 1929, when the talkies and the stock market crash brought prosperity to a sudden halt.
Actually, activity on the road began to drop sharply about 1910 and in the mid-twenties reached a point not far above the present level. Though the fact is sometimes acknowledged, the decline of the road is rarely seen in relation to the later decline on Broadway. I suggest that we ask whether both might have been brought about by the same causes.
The question has not been asked because it appears to us in retrospect that the economy of Broadway was sound in the years when the road was declining.