Stage Door Canteen

Stage Door Canteen

The Stage Door Canteen was an entertainment venue for American and Allied servicemen that operated in the Broadway theatre district of New York City throughout World War II. With actress Nedda Harrigan leading the effort, the canteen opened March 2, 1942, by the American Theatre Wing, and operated seven nights a week in the previously unoccupied Little Club under the 44th Street Theatre at 216 West 44th Street in Manhattan. The official estimate of attendance on the canteen's opening night was 1,250, with 200 "actresses of varying importance" as hostesses and 75 "'name' actors" as busboys.The canteen's popularity led to the establishment of other canteens throughout the United States as well as London and Paris.

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