Willie Hammerstein Sullivan and Percy G. Williams. Later the Keith-Albee circuit booking office gave Hammerstein a monopoly on big-time vaudeville in Times Square. Willie's father was much more interested in grand opera, and in 1906 opened the Manhattan Opera House. Revenue from the Victoria kept the opera house running. At one point Oscar Hammerstein, always short of money, moved to sell the Victoria to the Shubert family. Willie and his brother Arthur, who produced shows, blocked the attempt. In March 1913 Keith and Albee paid Oscar Hamilton a reported $225,000 to give up his monopoly. They opened the Palace Theatre at 47th
Oscar Hammerstein I Hammerstein's two daughters. They would also sue Hammerstein's third wife, Emma Swift Hammerstein, over money and ownership of the building. Emma Hammerstein would go to court claiming ownership through Hammerstein Opera Company stock, but the stocks were found to be null and void by the judge. The Manhattan Opera House on 34th Street in New York City was renamed the "Hammerstein Ballroom" at the Manhattan Center Studios in his honor. Hammerstein had four sons, Abe, Harold, Arthur,Willie and two daughters: Stella and Rose. Arthur continued the family business as an opera and Broadway producer, director, theater owner, and songwriter. Willie