Mr. Fox then buys the lots next door and builds the Riviera Theatre. The Riviera was built as a legit house, on the old subway circuit. A show played its 200 performances downtown on Broadway then moved to a neighborhood theatre before going on the road. Records in the Shubert Archives indicate that from 1918 to 1931, the Shubert’s had a profit-sharing contract with Fox. The Riviera became the Shubert Riviera in 1923. In one of her first Broadway appearances, Bette Davis came through the Riviera in a show that had been on the road. In this case the road was a railroad.