“Caroline knew how to spot talent and she did it with the spirit of inclusitivity. It was about the work and it was about the art,” Gunderson said during a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open a new exhibit honoring the legendary New York City comedy club.

Located within the center’s state-of-the-art museum, the new Carolines exhibition celebrates the 40-year legacy of the iconic Times Square comedy venue – one of the world’s most important venues for showcasing the art of stand-up comedy, a Comedy Center news release said. The Carolines exhibit features iconic artifacts, including the stage backdrop bearing the world-renowned harlequin Carolines logo, showroom curtains and signage, entry doors and “barfly” stools.

Carolines showcased the world’s greatest comedic talent – first in Chelsea and later at the South Street Seaport, before calling Times Square home in 1992 – playing an integral role in the resurgence of the Times Square district, the NCC release said.

“I am so impressed how they (NCC) appreciate the art form. It was something I wanted to do 40 years ago. … I am just so happy and thrilled that we are part of this today,” Hirsch noted. “Comedy clubs bring life to comedy. A joke is only funny if it lands, and for it to land, you need an audience.”

The Carolines exhibit features iconic artifacts, including the stage backdrop bearing the world-renowned harlequin Carolines logo, showroom curtains and signage, entry doors and “barfly” stools. P-J Photo by Michael Zabrodsky

Gunderson said that Hirsch had the ability to meet the artform as it evolved and continually redefined her standards of excellence.

“Caroline understood the importance of the club’s role in the artform. The club is the gym,” Gunderson said.

Throughout the club’s 40-year run, Hirsch has been a force for discovering and developing comedic talent. Comedians gracing the Carolines stage included Jerry Seinfeld, Robin Williams, Chris Rock, Wanda Sykes, Margaret Cho, Jay Leno, Michael Che, Sandra Bernhard, Billy Crystal, Amy Schumer, Tracy Morgan, Norm Macdonald, Kevin Hart, Iliza Shlesinger, Bill Burr, Rosie O’Donnell, and many more, the release stated. In December of 2022, it was announced that the Carolines on Broadway was not renewing its lease for its renowned Times Square location. The club’s final shows took place on Dec. 31, 2022.

Carolines first opened as a small cabaret club in the New York’s Chelsea neighborhood in 1982. Hirsch, a lifelong comedy fan, soon began booking comedians in her room. The comedy acts were a tremendous success, and it wasn’t long before Carolines became a full-fledged comedy club. As the popularity of stand-up surged throughout the 1980s, so did the popularity of Carolines, which was becoming the place to see live comedy in New York City, the release noted.

The Carolines exhibition is now open to the public. Museum visitors are welcome to take photos in front of the iconic stage backdrop, as if they were performing stand-up comedy at the legendary club.

The Carolines exhibition joins the museum’s 37,000-square-foot visitor experience, which educates, inspires, and entertains guests of all ages as they take an interactive journey through comedy history, across all eras and genres of the artform. The Center’s archive is the United States’ Congressionally designated preservation home for comedy history and maintains a collection of over 150,000 individual objects, documents, and recordings.

NCC is located at 203 W. Second St. for more information visit comedycenter.org.