while this theater on occasion does play a big
mainstream film mostly it plays artsy films. so
I don’t see it being in peril that much whenever
the 62St. & 1st. Ave. reopens.
another question. regardless of how up to date
the 62St. & 1st. Ave. redo is won’t it have the
same problem the theater has always had. namely
its all the way over on 1st. Ave.
first whoever is taking over the 62 St. & 1st Ave.
multiplex wouldn’t they have to do a fairly complete
renovation? the place has been boarded up so to
speak and gathering dust for yearsssssssssss.
secondly if and when the 62 St. & 1st Ave. reopened
why would it give the Cinema 1 that much competition?
this theater survived the first opening period.
is there any info at all about how eminent this
theater’s closing might be? remember the eminent
closing of the Ziegfeld took yearssssssss to
actually happen.
to Escott O. Norton I thank you yet again. from
all the talk following the IMAX redo I got the
impression the interior had been radically changed.
but if I understand your latest reply correctly
the interior is 80% the same as when it opened
May of 1927. that’s good to know that the IMAX
redo didn’t do away with that much.
I want to thank Escott O. Norton for your detailed
reply. it was quite kind of you to do so. a 3rd way
of the asking the question. percentage wise how
much of the original 1927 interior is left? 40%
or less?
I guess another way of asking the question
would have been this- while the exterior doesn’t
seem to have changed much how much of the
1927 opening interior is left?
I haven’t had the opportunity to visit L.A. since
the Chinese had its IMAX redo, to which a question.
aside from the screen has anything in the theater interior been changed that much. I am assuming it has landmark status so that the renovation would have been able to change just so much.
I could swear I bought my The Happiest Millionaire
souvenir program during its 1st run engagement at
Radio City Music Hall. another thought- has anyone
ever come across a souvenir program for Cheyenne
Autumn which played this theater?
I read the post you stated. I was surprised by
your rather recent post since I hadn’t read anything
anywhere. articles about the Ziegfeld’s closing were
found everywhere. why not this theater.
also you apparently didn’t my sarcastic comment
about trendy hipsters. all these much loved movie
theaters get razed just to build a retail shop
of some sort for trendy hipsters. so it can apply
to this theater as well. do we really need another
such retail space.
while I have been a big fan of the Cinema ½/3 for most of my moviegoing life I don’t see how the Cinema 1 can show a film in 70MM. the screen isn’t that big.
a year ago I asked a question as to what exactly
were the “maintenance problems” referred to in the
intro at top as the reason for the theater’s
closing. I went to the theater on a regular enough
basis and don’t remember it being in any worse
shape than the other 1st run Times Square houses.
so what exactly were said “maintenance problems”?
would any devotees of the Chinese know the difference in size if any of the Chinese’s IMAX screen and the one at the Loews Lincoln Square in Manhattan?
to AL A. thanks for your info as to this theater’s
porn period. i had a feeling it was before i starting
coming here which turned out to be the case. from
1978’S “Nighthawks” to “G.B.F.” which opened Jan.
2014 i never noticed anything “seedy” about the Quad.
but then again the N Y Post is a very negative
newspaper so I shouldn’t be surprised they painted
a negative picture of the Quad. till the last time
i went Jan. 2014 i found the auditoriums, lobby and
men’s room to be well maintained and clean. i always
found the staff to be courteous as well.
so the N Y Post’s article making it seem as if the
place was worn out, run down, etc… prior to
closing for renovation is in my view simply not
true.
in the New York Post of today 4/14/17 there is a
2 page article about the reopening of the refurbished
Quad Cinema. i beg to differ with s few points
made in said article.
1.while the Quad was never going to be mistaken
for Radio City Music Hall or the Ziegfeld i always
found the theater well kept and well maintained.
I first went here to see the pioneering 1978 U.K.
film “Nighthawks”. the last time i attended this
theater was January 2014 to see the delightful
teen comedy “G.B.F.”. at no point in the those
36 years did find the theater dirty or ratty.
the impression you get from the article is that
prior to the closing down for the redo the
theater was dirty, ratty and worn down etc….
having been a regular patron at the Quad for the
36 year period mentioned i never found that to
be the case.
2.also in those 36 years i never noticed any
inappropriate(e.g. sexual activity) in any of
the four auditoriums or the men’s room. a former
manager mentions yearsssss ago when 6th Ave. was
frequented by hookers they often brought their
“business” to the Quad. i have been a frequent
visitor to the Village since i was a senior in
high school. heck i even took classes at the
New School and NEVER remember 6th Ave. being
frequented by hookers.
i have a simple 2 part question-a)when this theater
close down as a regular movie theater was it still
a 1st run venue or had it become a 2nd/3rd run
grind house? b)what time passed between it closing
down as a regular movie theater and reopening as
an adult cinema?
i thank robboehem for your reply. when i discovered
this wonderful site late January 2013 i looked up
all the movie theaters i remembered from my trips out
to L.A. and S.F.. so i was shocked that a modern
built state of the art movie theater had such a
short lifespan. the only theater in Manhattan that
comes close is the 62 St. & 1st Avenue multiplex
built by Cineplex Odeon which opened the fall of
1992. it closed down a few years ago and is just
standing there bordered up and unused.
speaking of which. i read in the intro that this
theater wasn’t demolished until almost 6 years
after it closed. so i was just sitting there for
6 years gathering dust?
i went to this theater a number of times whenever
i visited San Francisco. for instance i saw Sofia
Coppola’s first film “The Virgin Suicides” and “The
Favor” with Brad Pitt. if i am not mistaken this
theater most have the shortest lifespan of any
modern built movie theater.
yes they were. motion pictures or flickers
to use a term from the early years made their
debut in theaters in April 1896. the showing
at Koster and Bail’s Music Hall in NYC on the night
of April 23, 1896 was the 1st time films had
been projected on a screen in a theater
before a paying audience.
did this theater show movies from the day it
opened? or did it become a movie theater later.
the original name The Graham Opera House would
imply it did not open as a picture house as
they were called.
true porn produced 1968-1975 was on film so that
shouldn’t knock the Roxy out of the running for the
title of the oldest in continual operation movie
theater in the U.S.. many small movie theaters
around NYC about the same time for lack of a better term resorted to showing porn because that was all
they could get. so the title of the oldest in
continual operation movie theater since the day it
opened i think would be more meaningful if it didn’t
need to resort to showing porn to pay the rent.
just out of curiosity as the Roxie ever shown
“adult” films? if so that would knock it out
of the running. i don’t care if it was a 2nd
run neighborhood house or a a first run venue
i am looking for the oldest theater that opened
as a movie house and has been in continual
operation as such ever since.
just in case you were wondering the oldest in
continual operation movie theater in NYC is
the Alpine in Brooklyn which opened in 1921 and
has been in continual operation ever since.
Hello-
to Al. A.–
while this theater on occasion does play a big mainstream film mostly it plays artsy films. so I don’t see it being in peril that much whenever the 62St. & 1st. Ave. reopens.
another question. regardless of how up to date the 62St. & 1st. Ave. redo is won’t it have the same problem the theater has always had. namely its all the way over on 1st. Ave.
Hello-
to AL A.–
first whoever is taking over the 62 St. & 1st Ave. multiplex wouldn’t they have to do a fairly complete renovation? the place has been boarded up so to speak and gathering dust for yearsssssssssss.
secondly if and when the 62 St. & 1st Ave. reopened why would it give the Cinema 1 that much competition? this theater survived the first opening period.
Hello-
is there any info at all about how eminent this theater’s closing might be? remember the eminent closing of the Ziegfeld took yearssssssss to actually happen.
Hello Again!:–)
to Escott O. Norton I thank you yet again. from all the talk following the IMAX redo I got the impression the interior had been radically changed. but if I understand your latest reply correctly the interior is 80% the same as when it opened May of 1927. that’s good to know that the IMAX redo didn’t do away with that much.
Hello Again-
I want to thank Escott O. Norton for your detailed reply. it was quite kind of you to do so. a 3rd way of the asking the question. percentage wise how much of the original 1927 interior is left? 40% or less?
Hello Again from NYC-
I guess another way of asking the question would have been this- while the exterior doesn’t seem to have changed much how much of the 1927 opening interior is left?
Hello From NYC-
I haven’t had the opportunity to visit L.A. since the Chinese had its IMAX redo, to which a question.
aside from the screen has anything in the theater
interior been changed that much. I am assuming it
has landmark status so that the renovation would
have been able to change just so much.
Hello-
to vindanpar-
I could swear I bought my The Happiest Millionaire souvenir program during its 1st run engagement at Radio City Music Hall. another thought- has anyone ever come across a souvenir program for Cheyenne Autumn which played this theater?
Hello-
I am trying to find out exactly what the “maintainence problems” were that apparently lead to the closing of the theater.
Hello-
I read the post you stated. I was surprised by your rather recent post since I hadn’t read anything anywhere. articles about the Ziegfeld’s closing were found everywhere. why not this theater.
also you apparently didn’t my sarcastic comment about trendy hipsters. all these much loved movie theaters get razed just to build a retail shop of some sort for trendy hipsters. so it can apply to this theater as well. do we really need another such retail space.
Hello-
the eminent closing of the Ziegfeld was reported yearsssssssssssssssssss before it actually happened. so what was said about this theater?
also do we really need another upscale boutique for trendy hipsters? that’s the reason we’re losing the Sunshine?
Hello-
since when is the Cinema ½/3 in danger of closing?
Hello-
while I have been a big fan of the Cinema ½/3 for
most of my moviegoing life I don’t see how the
Cinema 1 can show a film in 70MM. the screen isn’t that
big.
Hello-
a year ago I asked a question as to what exactly were the “maintenance problems” referred to in the intro at top as the reason for the theater’s closing. I went to the theater on a regular enough basis and don’t remember it being in any worse shape than the other 1st run Times Square houses. so what exactly were said “maintenance problems”?
Hello from NYC-
would any devotees of the Chinese know the difference
in size if any of the Chinese’s IMAX screen and the
one at the Loews Lincoln Square in Manhattan?
Hello-
to AL A. thanks for your info as to this theater’s porn period. i had a feeling it was before i starting coming here which turned out to be the case. from 1978’S “Nighthawks” to “G.B.F.” which opened Jan. 2014 i never noticed anything “seedy” about the Quad.
but then again the N Y Post is a very negative newspaper so I shouldn’t be surprised they painted a negative picture of the Quad. till the last time i went Jan. 2014 i found the auditoriums, lobby and
men’s room to be well maintained and clean. i always found the staff to be courteous as well.
so the N Y Post’s article making it seem as if the place was worn out, run down, etc… prior to closing for renovation is in my view simply not true.
Hello to All-
in the New York Post of today 4/14/17 there is a 2 page article about the reopening of the refurbished Quad Cinema. i beg to differ with s few points made in said article.
1.while the Quad was never going to be mistaken for Radio City Music Hall or the Ziegfeld i always found the theater well kept and well maintained. I first went here to see the pioneering 1978 U.K. film “Nighthawks”. the last time i attended this theater was January 2014 to see the delightful teen comedy “G.B.F.”. at no point in the those 36 years did find the theater dirty or ratty. the impression you get from the article is that prior to the closing down for the redo the theater was dirty, ratty and worn down etc…. having been a regular patron at the Quad for the 36 year period mentioned i never found that to be the case.
2.also in those 36 years i never noticed any inappropriate(e.g. sexual activity) in any of the four auditoriums or the men’s room. a former manager mentions yearsssss ago when 6th Ave. was frequented by hookers they often brought their “business” to the Quad. i have been a frequent visitor to the Village since i was a senior in high school. heck i even took classes at the New School and NEVER remember 6th Ave. being frequented by hookers.
Hello From NYC-
i have a simple 2 part question-a)when this theater close down as a regular movie theater was it still a 1st run venue or had it become a 2nd/3rd run grind house? b)what time passed between it closing down as a regular movie theater and reopening as an adult cinema?
Hello Again from NYC-
i thank robboehem for your reply. when i discovered this wonderful site late January 2013 i looked up all the movie theaters i remembered from my trips out to L.A. and S.F.. so i was shocked that a modern built state of the art movie theater had such a short lifespan. the only theater in Manhattan that comes close is the 62 St. & 1st Avenue multiplex built by Cineplex Odeon which opened the fall of 1992. it closed down a few years ago and is just standing there bordered up and unused.
speaking of which. i read in the intro that this theater wasn’t demolished until almost 6 years after it closed. so i was just sitting there for 6 years gathering dust?
Hello from NYC-
i went to this theater a number of times whenever i visited San Francisco. for instance i saw Sofia Coppola’s first film “The Virgin Suicides” and “The Favor” with Brad Pitt. if i am not mistaken this theater most have the shortest lifespan of any modern built movie theater.
Hello-
Beauty and the Beast in playing the IMAX theater in regular IMAX not IMAX 3-D?
Hello-
yes they were. motion pictures or flickers to use a term from the early years made their debut in theaters in April 1896. the showing at Koster and Bail’s Music Hall in NYC on the night of April 23, 1896 was the 1st time films had been projected on a screen in a theater before a paying audience.
Hello-
did this theater show movies from the day it opened? or did it become a movie theater later. the original name The Graham Opera House would imply it did not open as a picture house as they were called.
Hello-
true porn produced 1968-1975 was on film so that shouldn’t knock the Roxy out of the running for the title of the oldest in continual operation movie theater in the U.S.. many small movie theaters around NYC about the same time for lack of a better term resorted to showing porn because that was all they could get. so the title of the oldest in continual operation movie theater since the day it opened i think would be more meaningful if it didn’t need to resort to showing porn to pay the rent.
Hello-
just out of curiosity as the Roxie ever shown “adult” films? if so that would knock it out of the running. i don’t care if it was a 2nd run neighborhood house or a a first run venue i am looking for the oldest theater that opened as a movie house and has been in continual operation as such ever since.
just in case you were wondering the oldest in continual operation movie theater in NYC is the Alpine in Brooklyn which opened in 1921 and has been in continual operation ever since.