October 25, 2001
Loss
We have heard about the thousands of lives that were lost on September 11 and in addition to those inconceivable losses, there are other things that were irreplaceable lost that day. The Broadway Archive is a foundation which has labored for years to assemble a comprehensive collection of Broadway plays adapted for television. In addition, they had accumulated tens of thousands of photos and documents related to theater history. Unfortunately, most of those archives were housed at 30 West Broadway, just one block from 7 World Trade Center which crumbled on September 11th.
No one has been able to get near the collection to assess the damage, but it is sumised to be completely destroyed. Thirty years of theater history have been obliterated. Here's a very appropriate Cole Porter classic to remember the loss:
"The more I travel, across the gravel, the more I sail the sea.
The more I feel convinced of the fact, New York's the town for me.
Take me back to Manhattan, take me back to New York.
I miss the east side, the west side, the north side, and the south side.
So take me back to Manhattan... that dear old dirty town!"