The Hippodrome was located on 6th Avenue between 43rd and 44th streets, built in 1905 by producers Frederic Thompson, Elmer Dundy, and John W. Gates. Designed by architect J.H. Morgan, the theatre included a large water tank that could create white-water rapids and other aquatic effects through a hydraulics system. Due to high production costs, the theatre was eventually taken over by the Shuberts. In their first show, Neptune’s Daughter, the water tank provided a mysterious special effect, known as the Vanishing Pool, in which the entire chorus marched into the waters at the show’s finale and did not resurface until the next performance. The Hippodrome premiered Rodgers and Hart’s circus musical Jumbo, directed by George Abbott and starring Jimmy Durante in 1936, but failed to turn a profit. The theatre had become too expensive and too large to maintain, and in 1939, the Hippodrome was torn down.