Henry Beaumont Herts

Henry Beaumont Herts

Henry Beaumont Herts (1871 – 1933) was an American architect.

Herts was born in New York City, attended, but did not graduate from, Columbia University, and apprenticed under Bruce Price. He studied architecture in Europe at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris and at the Universities of Rome and Heidelberg.

In 1900 Herts, with partner Hugh Tallant, formed Herts & Tallant and became known for their theater designs. Tallant was the designer, and Herts serving as the engineer and businessperson. The 1903 New Amsterdam Theatre was their first big success, followed by the Fulton (razed in 1982), the Gaiety (razed in 1982), the Liberty (defunct in 1933), the Lyceum, the New German Theatre, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Herts perfected the cantilevered arch construction that enabled theater architects to support balconies without the use of columns.

Fulton (Helen Hayes) Theater, 42nd Street, NYC, circa 1980 (razed)

The partnership with Tallant ended in 1911. Herts continued in business with assistant Herbert J. Krapp and produced the Booth, its companion the Schubert, and the Longacre Theaters. In 1915 Krapp left the firm.

Herts also designed the Guggenheim family mausoleum at Salem Fields Cemetery, Brooklyn.

Herts retired in 1928 due to poor health, and died in 1933. His papers are held at the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University.