Johann-Strauß-Theater

The Johann Strauss Theater once stood on Favoritenstrasse in Vienna's 4th district, Wieden, built in 1908 at the height of the city's operetta boom as a dedicated operetta venue. Architect Eduard Prandl gave the 1,200-seat auditorium a baroque-revival form with richly stuccoed boxes. In its first years it hosted premieres by Edmund Eysler and Oscar Straus; in the 1920s it alternated between operetta and cinema. After 1945 it briefly continued as the Scala theater under Soviet sponsorship. The building was demolished in 1960 and replaced by an apartment block, so today only a plaque marks the spot where operetta-era Vienna once played.