On the intersection of Broadway and West 46th Street stands one of the last landmarks of the historic Times Square, the I. Miller Building.
From the 1920s to the 1970s, Israel Miller operated a shoe store, designing shoes for the greatest actresses of the time. His famous slogan hung outside “The Show Folks Shoe Shop—Dedicated to Beauty in Footwear.”
In 1929, he decided to erect marble statues in the four niches on the building’s 2nd story and commissioned Alexander Stirling Calder for the work. The public chose an actress from the fields of drama, comedy, opera, and screen, and they are (from west to east): Ethel Barrymore as Ophelia in Hamlet; Marilyn Miller as Sunny in the 1925 hit musical of the same name; Mary Pickford as Little Lord Fauntleroy; and Rosa Ponselle, in her most famous role, as Norma in Bellini’s opera. These statues have been standing till these days after reconstructive surgery in 2012. They are among the several outdoor statues honoring real women in the heart of New York City.
Ethel Barrymore (1879-1959) became known as “The First Lady of the American Theatre.” She was a stage, radio, and film actress for six decades. This statue depicts her in 1925 in the role of Ophelia in Hamlet she played on Broadway. A few blocks away, on 241 West 47th Street in the Theater District, stands the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, which has been operating as a Broadway theatre since 1928.
Marilyn Miller (1898-1936) was a well-known Broadway musical star of the 1920s and early 1930s. She performed on stage since she was five and made her Broadway debut at sixteen. Her statue depicts her as Sunny, the circus queen from the 1925 musical Sunny. She passed away at the young age of 37 from complications following surgery.
Mary Pickford (1892-1979) was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress, producer, and businesswoman who co-founded Pickford–Fairbanks Studios, United Artists, and was one of the 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In her statue, she is depicted in her role in the 1921 film Little Lord Fauntleroy.
Rosa Ponselle (1897-1981) was considered one of the greatest sopranos of the 20th century. She was born to Italian immigrant parents in Connecticut and started singing from a young age in local venues. She made her Broadway debut at 18 and three years later at the Metropolitan Opera, where she continued singing till her unofficial retirement in 1937. Her statue portrays her as Norma, the role she performed at the Metropolitan Opera in 1927.
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