Built in 1903, the New Amsterdam Theater has long been regarded as the crown jewel of New York's rich theatrical history. Designed by architects Henry Herts and Hugh Tallant and built at a cost of more than 1.5 million, the New Amsterdam Theater had the first major Art Nouveau-style interior in the United States and was celebrated as much for the luxury of its decor as for the size and sophistication of its stage facilities. For years the New Amsterdam Theater was considered the most majestic on 42nd Street. In a ceremony on April 2, 1997, The New Amsterdam Theater was officially reopened. Michael D. Eisner, chairman of The Walt Disney Company, along with Gov. George E. Pataki and Mayor Rudolph W. Guiliani, unveiled the newly restored landmark and announced the Hercules World Premiere Weekend in New York, scheduled for June 13-15. Disney's The Lion King has occupied the New Amsterdam Theater since its opening on November 13, 1997. The New Amsterdam Theater was best known as the home of the Ziegfeld Follies from 1913 through 1927, as well as the venue for George M. Cohan's Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway and for the 1907 premiere of Franz Lehar's The Merry Widow, starring Vernon and Irene Castle. In 1937 the New Amsterdam Theater presented its last live show, Othello, starring Walter Huston. Later, the New Amsterdam Theater was converted into a movie house.