Astor Theatre
1531 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
1531 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
12 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 340 comments found
Interesting article. I wonder what a post-war, 6,000+ seat movie palace in Times Square would have looked like?
Astor Theatre versus Hotel in 1947 “War of Nerves”: Boxoffice
Great pictures Tinseltoes. Where did you find them? I didn’t realize that theater was so large. The first time I went to NYC in 1975 it was a flea market but I dont; rememebr seeing the two balcony’s
In the Photos Section, I’ve posted images of the Astor’s original auditorium and the 1959 modernization. In the interim, the original design with boxes and two balconies remained, but with periodic refurbishments of decor and seating.
Featured in this 1941 trade ad: Boxoffice
Sixty years ago tonight, WB’s “The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima” had its gala world premiere at the Astor Theatre. The next day, the WarnerColor religious epic started regular continuous performances at the Astor and a reserved-seat run around the corner at the much smaller Bijou Theatre. The Bijou gave one performance nightly, with matinees added on Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday, and holidays.
Times Square area growing shabbier by the time of this billboard in late 1975. Scroll to bottom of page for photo: Boxoffice
Summer of 1971, with “Wild Rovers” at the Astor and a Disney reissue at the Victoria: Boxoffice
“Largest Piece of ‘Pop Art’ in the World” claimed for this 1968 monstrosity: Boxoffice
Modernization described in this 1960 trade article: boxoffice
Did they really bridge the two marquees to appear as one, as depicted in the sketch? I’d love to see a photo of that treatment. Also an interesting item in the lower right regarding the reduction of seating at the Roxy Theatre, during renovations for Cinemiracle exhibition.
Here’s a sketch of the spectacular block-wide signage for UA’s “The Vikings” during its dual engagement at the Astor and Victoria in 1958: boxoffice
Featured in this 1949 trade ad for MGM’s “Battleground”: boxofficemagazine
This is not really about shows, but I have become the proud owner of a stained glass window that came out of the Astor theater…the men’s smoking lounge I’m told. The design is one of Christopher Columbus' sailing ships. Does anyone remember seeing these lovely pieces of art before the theatre’s demise??
That’s nearly five sold-out shows (at 1500 seats) per day for 21 weeks. I wonder…
According to this two-page trade ad, Danny Kaye’s “Wonder Man” sold one million tickets in its 21-week engagement at the Astor Theatre in 1945: boxofficemagazine
Here’s a 1941 trade ad for one of the Astor’s biggest hits: boxofficemagazine
The blue sidewalk came with the 1959 modernization. It wasn’t a feature of the original Astor Theatre.
I remember the blue sidewalks in front of the theater. Except when I saw them, they were the floor of a souvenir shop. By the time I got to Times Square the Astor was closed, although I knew that the shop had once been a theater, or at least its lobby. I wish I had the wherewithal to try to get a peek inside, but I didn’t. Damn.
By this day in 1946, Alfred Hitchock’s “Spellbound,” starring Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck, was in the 22nd week of its exclusive NYC premiere engagement at the Astor Theatre. The B&W suspenser was still attracting such big crowds that producer David O. Selznick had booked his earlier Hitchcock winner, the B&W “Rebecca” with Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine, into a special return engagement adjacent to the Astor at the Victoria Theatre to attract some of the turnaways.
“The Alamo” did not “move-over” from the Rivoli. It opened at the Astor and Victoria at popular prices a couple of months after it left the Rivoli, where the run had been disappointing.
Sorry, Big Joe, but I don’t know the answers to those questions. I suggest that you check the newspapers and trade journals of the time…I find the “new look” baffling. As I write this, I can’t see your query before me as I would have in the past. And what happened to the “preview” option?
to Tinseltoes- you have been most hopeful with previous questions so here goes with a new one. as you stated above THE ALAMO moved from its Todd-AO roadshow run of many months at the Rivoli to a continuous performance run at popular prices at the Astor in May of 1961. but the ads for this engagement made no note of the fact the print was 25 mins. shorter than the roadshow Todd-AO print. therein lies mu question. after a Cinerama roadshow engagement of many months at the Warner Theater THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD moved to a popular price continuous performance run at the Astor. what was the running time of the continuous performance print as opposed to the roadshow print? also it obviously wasn’t in Cinerama so what was the Astor run advertised as being in? many thanks in advance.
Sixty-three years ago today, Walt Disney’s Technicolor cartoon feature, “Melody Time,” opened its world premiere engagement at the Astor Theatre. The RKO release had a “live” prologue featuring Roy Rogers and child actors Luana Patten and Bobby Driscoll, followed by animated episodes introducing such new Disney characters as “Pecos Bill,” “Johnny Appleseed,” “Little Toot,” and “Slue Foot Sue.” Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers also performed on the soundtrack, along with the Andrews Sisters, Dennis Day, Buddy Clark, Frances Langford, the Dinning Sisters, Jack Fina, organist Ethel Smith, the orchestras of Fred Waring and Freddy Martin, and many others. The Astor advertised “Special Children’s Prices At All Performances,” but did not specify amounts.
Rarly “twin” theatres.