Yes Ed, Huang was a D-Bag and I wish there was a law that alowed us to send people like him to jail for destroying such beautiful architecture; especially when we all knw that theaters like this will NEVE be built again. Every theater that is lost makes the remaining ones that much more valuable.
I too was in the Kings (twice) in the last year, but have not been in the Keiths so I can only judge by the photos. The Kings auditorium was bad but not irrevocable. I have no doubt that the Keiths is in worse shape.
My understanding is that there were indeed gaping holes and pigeons living inside. It is why the New Amsterdam is always used as the main reference point when people say that a certain theater is “too far gone” for restoration. Of course, at the end of the day it always boils down to money and the New Amsterdam is the perfect example of what can be done if the will (and the funding) can be found. I could be wrong but wasn’t $70MM spent on Radio City’s restoration way back when and that theater was all in one piece and still put together. I do agree, however, that the Keiths auditorium looks to be in better shape than I expected to see; certainly not much worse than the Kings (also being renovated at a cost of $70MM).
Thanks for the link Matt. To be honest, the interior doesn’t look much worse than the Kings and is certainly much better than the New Amsterdam before its restoration. That said, we all know that the restorations on both took/will take tens of millions and we simply don’t have those resources for this theater.
Ed, I don’t disagree with look on lending standards in the next year but in due time they will get back to more liberal standards. I have been in real estate for almost 21 years! :–) Of course, people will always need paces to live and if they don’t build for sale condos they will simply build rentals as is happenning throughout Manhattan, Downtown Brooklyn and Long Island City. Flushing is a good prospect as well.
Once again, SWC, you are wrong. The census is being challenged and tightly so. There are certainly more people in NYC now than there have ever been and the the economy in NY is absolutely improving. If you choose not to see it that is your choice but it doesn’t change reality. Housing is in tight supply. Once lending becomes easier (and it will within a year) you will see how quickly the housing market recovers in the boroughs. I understand your frustration with the Keiths, I really do. I get sick thinking about the loss of theaters like the Roxy, The Center, Proctors 59th St, Capitol, Rivoli, the original Ziegfeld, the Academy of Music, the Brooklyn Fox, Triboro, Loews Commodore, the Forum, and on and on. But again, the sheer number of them meant that they could not all bre saved so I take solace in the ones that we have been able to preserve. There is still work to do but I’m afraid that the Keiths never got the right break or the right saviour. It was a beautiful theater. I was there only once but was awed by its beauty.
It’s a terrible shame. Chicago is truly a great city, but it pales when compared to what it could be! The future of this country is in cities! People increasingly want to live and employers will want to locate where they do not need cars to commute.
SWC, you are being very short sighted. We are just coming out of the greatest economic crisis since the depression and NYC has held it together amazingly well. When the economy rebounds you will see those apartments rented and sold very quickly. Willets Point is a DUMP. That is why Eminent Domain exists; to pay property owners Fair Market Value to put the land to a use that better benefits the community at large. Same as Atlantic Yards and at Columbia’s new Campus in the Wasteland that was once Far West Harlem.
The sad reality is that Theater Palaces have outlived their functional usefulness as Movie Theaters. That’s a fact. In these economic times it is tough to get government funding for a restoration of a theater and even if you could, there must be a plan for the theater to support itself. The Kings has pulled off an amazing feat in scoring a $70MM restoration with a lot of city help. They plan on having over 200 events a week to keep it running without further subsidy. We simply can’t do that for every old movie palace in the city. What private company is going to pay to restore a theater and then subsidize its operation on its own? Short of that, each theater has to have its own plan. How will they raise the funds? How will they generate income? In the case of the New Amsterdam and the Kings it involved city tax breaks and the involvement of private companies like Disney and ACE theatricals.
For the Valenica, the Gates, The Hollywood, The Elmwood, the 175th Street, the Stanley, etc, it involved a church that dedicated itself to preserving the architectural integrity of the space and having parishioners pay for the continued upkeep.
For the Jersey, it was a local volunteer group that raised funds and have restored the theater over time after the city transferred ownership to them.
For the St. George, it was one local woman who bought the theater and them “made it work” and now it is a big success as Staten Island’s premier entertainment venue.
For many other theaters in Manhattan it meant returning to live theater.
Alas, no one ever presented a viable proposition for the RKO Keiths Flushing. Was Manes crooked? absolutely! It’s disgusting but here we are all these years later and there is still no credible plan to save this theater other than its lobby. We should make sure that they at least do a wonderful restoration of that. In the meantime, there is still time to save the Brooklyn Paramount, the RKO Keiths Richmond Hill, Loews Canal, The Jackson, etc…
BobbyS, the hustlers that you speak of in Chicago were called Blockbusters here in New York and they did terrible damage here as well. While it did drive a lot of white residents out of the city, those areas of New York where it was most prevalent are for the most part solid middle class minority neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens. The city now has strict laws against blockbusting and also redlining (banks refusing to lend in certain areas). Laws are one thing but they have to be enforced and here they have been.
I understand your concerns too Ed. It is a double edged sword. I was born and raised in the city and still proudly live here, but I all too clearly remember the days when the Bronx and Bushwick were burning and neighborhood after neighborhood was in deep decline putting the entire city at great risk. I am thrilled that virtually all NYC neighborhoods have rebounded sharply since those bad old days and while I sometimes recall Times Square’s past in a romanticized way, the reality was that it was a pit and a cancer that was killing Broadway and our city. Today Times Square is an economic powerhouse providing tens of thousands of jobs to people that cater to these new tourists, office workers and yes residents! I don’t like seeing the poor pushed out, but I also didn’t like seeing the middle class pushed out of so many areas back in the 70’s and 80’s as neighborhoods slid into despair. It’s great to see Hell’s Kitchen, Park Slope, The Lower East Side, Chelsea, Long Island City, Dumbo, and on and on develop into places where people want to live, work and play. Few other cities have this vibrancy.
When it came time to buy a home of my own, i chose the Financial District because it is one of the very few gentrifying areas that did not push anybody out. The homes were simply repurposed from obsolete office buildings and that makes me feel good. The city has over a million rent controlled/rent stabilized homes and provides an amazing amount of services to the poor which I am in full support of, but that takes a lot of money; money that comes from keeping the rich and middle classes in the city. So Willets Point will become the home of more middle income residences and retail which will benefit a great many more people. Luckily, no one lives in Willets Point. But they will! :–)
BobbyS, I have a lot of hope for the Brooklyn Paramount. First, it is owned by a local college and not a for profit business. Second, downtown Brooklyn is fast becoming one of NY’s prime arts districts. There is so much development going on. I expect this theater to ultimately be renovated. Brooklyn has 2.6MM people. There is room for 2 restored palaces. :–)
I am very familiar with the boroughs as I have lived here my whole life. Scott is right that the Bronx and Brooklyn did experience similar slides, BUT they are now booming. What changed? The simplest answer has to be the public perception of safety. When people feel safe they walk outside; especially at night. In a dense city like NY it results in a lot of activity which leads to stores and restaurants staying open later. Almost all retail removed those ugly metal grates as safety improved. People were no longer afraid of the subways. NY has the best police department in the country and they have seen to it that the gang problem that most other cities have is not very big here. The perception of safety is everything; especially when you are trying to get people to attend an entertainment venue. Today, there are very few neighborhoods in the city that I wouldn’t feel comfortable walking around.
Ed Solero, Before the UN was built the site was filled with slaughterhouses, breweries and tenements which technically provided services and housing. But we didn’t leave it there because people worked and lived there. For the city to progress, we had to clear it out for better uses for a growing city. Uses that would benefit far more people. That is the reason the Willets Point has to go and rightly so. I do agree with you about the loss of the RKO Keiths. The current plan is a pale one compared to a full restoration, but it is all we have at this point. I would rather see a part of it saved than none at all.
WilliamMcQuade, I applaud your fight to save the Triboro. I never had the opportunity to see it. I agree that New York has lost a horrific number of the world’s most beautiful Movie Palaces but it is grossly unfair to say that New York somehow trails Chicago and San Francisco and Oakland in preservation. Let’s count the theaters shall we? All Five Wonder theaters are still here (Valencia, 175th, Paradise, Jersey (still counts) and the Kings now undergoing a $70MM renovation. We have Radio City, The Beacon, The New Amsterdam, The Hollywood, The Apollo, Loews Gates, The St. George and The Ziegfeld. There are others that are now operating as churches as well like the Gates and the Elmwood. In addition, we still have the Brooklyn Paramount, Loews Canal and the RKO Ketihs Richmond Hill waiting in the wings. The Staten Island Paramount, I also believe, is in the process of restoration. I believe that NY retains the greatest collection of movie palaces in the country. That NY has lost so many treasures says a lot about the sheer quantity of Movie Palaces that our city once had. We have lost much, but we still have much more than anyone else. Most other cities are lucky to have one or two remaining palaces. It doesn’t mean that we don’t fight to keep everything that is left. It is why we still fight for the Ridgewood.
I politely disagree! The future of thsi country is in cities and there is no city better eqipped to reap the benefits of urban living than New York. Flushing will be but one part, though an important one. FiDi and downtown Brooklyn are booming. Long Island City and again picking up steam and this news today shows that there is a lot stirring in Flushing. I applaud them and support them instead of just sitting on the sidelines complaining but offering nothing in return. YAY for New York and it’s progress in growing not just its core but all areas of the city.
How it was created is irrelevant. We have to deal with what we have now and Bloomberg is doing the right thing in getting rid of the Auto parts slum and replacing it with housing and retail. As gas prices continue to rise, more and more Americans will want and increasingly need to live in urban areas where they can commute to work using mass transit and business will increasingly want to locate in areas with easy access to mass transit. Flushing can be New York’s 5th downtown (after Midtown, The Financial District, Downtown Brooklyn and Long Island City).
Nonsense. We are now emerging from the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression and there is no doubt in my mind tha Flushing will become a boomtown and these projects come to fruition. Willets Point WILL happen! That’s what eminent domain is for; to create development for the greater public good. We don’t need or want that 3rd world unpaved road quagmire that currently makes up Willets Point. We DO need more housing, more retail and more recreational and entertainment areas. It’s most unfortunate that the RKO Keiths couldn’t have been fully redeveloped. Instead, we will have the lobby and, in my opinion, it is better than nothing. How I wish we still had the lobby’s of the Triboro or The Roxy or any of the other palaces that met the wrecking ball. I just hope they truly do an honorable and faithful restoration with the $8MM budgeted.
Just passed by the theater remnant last week. There is no mention at all on the posts above about the condition of the interior of thei theater. Yes, the marquee and beautiful Facade are gone but the huge theater structure remains. With the loss of the Lincoln Theatre down the road to become an H & M is this a “Hidden Gem” in Miami Beach?
Thanks Panzer, though it is maddening to see the photos and not have the theater names attached to them. We can at least take #49 off the list. The Loews Kings is most definitely being restored to the tune of $70MM. The photo shoud be replaced by Chicago’s Uptown, or Philadelphia’s Boyd.
I not that worried about the Sheen “fans” damaging the theater after his “performance” mainly because they must have incredibly low expectations. Frankly, I think anyone who bought a ticket to this fiasco and a bonafide idiot himself. I AM happy that ticket scalpers are the ones who will lose big on this debacle. It couldn’t happen to a nicer group of people.
The status of this theater needs to be changed to CLOSED. I just passed by and it is all boarded up with lots of work going on behind the scenes; presumably to convert it to retail space. We’ll see see what H&M will do to preserve the old theater. I am not hopeful.
Just passed through Lincoln Road and I can confirm that there is no Tao, but I also didn’t recall seeing any evidence of the Beach theater either. I’m going to try to swing by there again tomorrow to check it out. What a shame as this appears to have been a stunning theater very “Miami” in design. Has the Auditorium been gutted or is it still there? Do anyone know?
Tlsloews, the renovation is well under way. It is a multiyear process, but rest assured, it is happening. it is very exciting. BobbyS, the RKO Keiths Flushing deal has been approved and the results for that theater are far worse, though I am somewhat conflicted. The Keiths had sustained major damage and there was no real plan in place to save it. Again, a real plan is one that pays for the complete restoration that is also able to support itself after the work is done. Alas, what was salvaged is that the lobby will apparently be saved and restored by the developer at a cost of $8MM and it will become the entrance to the condos to be built where the auditorium now stands. Though not happy with the outcome, I believe this is still better than the complete destruction of the theater. There are still other theaters that are in better condition and CAN be saved such as the Loew’s Canal in Manhattan, the RKO Keiths Richmond Hill, the Ridgewood, The Jackson, The Brooklyn Paramount, etc. New York has an embarassment of Theater Palace riches and though we should try to save them all, the reality is that they won’t be.
I know absolutely nothing about the neighborhood around the Uptown other than what posters above have provided. I do, however, know about the neighborhood surrounding the Loew’s Kings in Brooklyn which is now undergoing a $70MM renovation in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn after being abandoned for over 30 years. The Kings, along with the Uptown, is one of the two most spectacular of the unrenovated theaters remaining in the US, but not for long. The theater renovation is well underway. They expect that this theater will have around 200 events yearly. Interestingly, there is no subway in the immediate vicinity though there is one about a half mile away and though there is some parking it is not as much as would be liked. Nonetheless, this theater thrived when it opened way back when with these same limitations and it is expected it will do so again. Crime, though an issue in the past, is no longer one as crime rates continue to decline, as they have in virtually all areas of New York. The “perception” of crime is critical. People need to feel safe and for the most part in New York they do. That will be a challenge for the Uptown, but it is a challenge that must be taken. We simply cannot allow a theater like the Uptown to be lost to us. Especially in a city like Chicago that has such a history of architectural greatness. Keep up the fight!
There is safety in numbers. The Uptown would be a catalyst in bringing more people at night and therefore make it safer. It is what happened in Times Square as The New Amsterdam and The Victory started bring a new kind of people to 42nd Street and the rest is history.
Thank you so much Kong1911 for the info. As I have stated in prior posts, I believe there is a bright future for the Brooklyn Paramount. Downtown Brooklyn continues to thrive and improve and BAM is also expanding. With Atlantic Yards will come even more development. The Brooklyn Paramount is in pretty good shape overall. The organ is intact and working! And there would be a big to do if LIU tried to gut the theater. They have already moved the gym to a new facility several years ago but it doesn’t appear like they have done anything else with the space. The only choice for them is to redevelop it. With al of the city’s “theater resources” now dedicated to the Loew’s Kings (and rightly so) LIU will need to come up with a private partner to do something creative with the space. As the economy continues its rebound I am very hopeful of a full restoration.
Yes Ed, Huang was a D-Bag and I wish there was a law that alowed us to send people like him to jail for destroying such beautiful architecture; especially when we all knw that theaters like this will NEVE be built again. Every theater that is lost makes the remaining ones that much more valuable.
I too was in the Kings (twice) in the last year, but have not been in the Keiths so I can only judge by the photos. The Kings auditorium was bad but not irrevocable. I have no doubt that the Keiths is in worse shape.
My understanding is that there were indeed gaping holes and pigeons living inside. It is why the New Amsterdam is always used as the main reference point when people say that a certain theater is “too far gone” for restoration. Of course, at the end of the day it always boils down to money and the New Amsterdam is the perfect example of what can be done if the will (and the funding) can be found. I could be wrong but wasn’t $70MM spent on Radio City’s restoration way back when and that theater was all in one piece and still put together. I do agree, however, that the Keiths auditorium looks to be in better shape than I expected to see; certainly not much worse than the Kings (also being renovated at a cost of $70MM).
Thanks for the link Matt. To be honest, the interior doesn’t look much worse than the Kings and is certainly much better than the New Amsterdam before its restoration. That said, we all know that the restorations on both took/will take tens of millions and we simply don’t have those resources for this theater.
Ed, I don’t disagree with look on lending standards in the next year but in due time they will get back to more liberal standards. I have been in real estate for almost 21 years! :–) Of course, people will always need paces to live and if they don’t build for sale condos they will simply build rentals as is happenning throughout Manhattan, Downtown Brooklyn and Long Island City. Flushing is a good prospect as well.
Once again, SWC, you are wrong. The census is being challenged and tightly so. There are certainly more people in NYC now than there have ever been and the the economy in NY is absolutely improving. If you choose not to see it that is your choice but it doesn’t change reality. Housing is in tight supply. Once lending becomes easier (and it will within a year) you will see how quickly the housing market recovers in the boroughs. I understand your frustration with the Keiths, I really do. I get sick thinking about the loss of theaters like the Roxy, The Center, Proctors 59th St, Capitol, Rivoli, the original Ziegfeld, the Academy of Music, the Brooklyn Fox, Triboro, Loews Commodore, the Forum, and on and on. But again, the sheer number of them meant that they could not all bre saved so I take solace in the ones that we have been able to preserve. There is still work to do but I’m afraid that the Keiths never got the right break or the right saviour. It was a beautiful theater. I was there only once but was awed by its beauty.
It’s a terrible shame. Chicago is truly a great city, but it pales when compared to what it could be! The future of this country is in cities! People increasingly want to live and employers will want to locate where they do not need cars to commute.
SWC, you are being very short sighted. We are just coming out of the greatest economic crisis since the depression and NYC has held it together amazingly well. When the economy rebounds you will see those apartments rented and sold very quickly. Willets Point is a DUMP. That is why Eminent Domain exists; to pay property owners Fair Market Value to put the land to a use that better benefits the community at large. Same as Atlantic Yards and at Columbia’s new Campus in the Wasteland that was once Far West Harlem.
The sad reality is that Theater Palaces have outlived their functional usefulness as Movie Theaters. That’s a fact. In these economic times it is tough to get government funding for a restoration of a theater and even if you could, there must be a plan for the theater to support itself. The Kings has pulled off an amazing feat in scoring a $70MM restoration with a lot of city help. They plan on having over 200 events a week to keep it running without further subsidy. We simply can’t do that for every old movie palace in the city. What private company is going to pay to restore a theater and then subsidize its operation on its own? Short of that, each theater has to have its own plan. How will they raise the funds? How will they generate income? In the case of the New Amsterdam and the Kings it involved city tax breaks and the involvement of private companies like Disney and ACE theatricals.
For the Valenica, the Gates, The Hollywood, The Elmwood, the 175th Street, the Stanley, etc, it involved a church that dedicated itself to preserving the architectural integrity of the space and having parishioners pay for the continued upkeep.
For the Jersey, it was a local volunteer group that raised funds and have restored the theater over time after the city transferred ownership to them.
For the St. George, it was one local woman who bought the theater and them “made it work” and now it is a big success as Staten Island’s premier entertainment venue.
For many other theaters in Manhattan it meant returning to live theater.
Alas, no one ever presented a viable proposition for the RKO Keiths Flushing. Was Manes crooked? absolutely! It’s disgusting but here we are all these years later and there is still no credible plan to save this theater other than its lobby. We should make sure that they at least do a wonderful restoration of that. In the meantime, there is still time to save the Brooklyn Paramount, the RKO Keiths Richmond Hill, Loews Canal, The Jackson, etc…
BobbyS, the hustlers that you speak of in Chicago were called Blockbusters here in New York and they did terrible damage here as well. While it did drive a lot of white residents out of the city, those areas of New York where it was most prevalent are for the most part solid middle class minority neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens. The city now has strict laws against blockbusting and also redlining (banks refusing to lend in certain areas). Laws are one thing but they have to be enforced and here they have been.
I understand your concerns too Ed. It is a double edged sword. I was born and raised in the city and still proudly live here, but I all too clearly remember the days when the Bronx and Bushwick were burning and neighborhood after neighborhood was in deep decline putting the entire city at great risk. I am thrilled that virtually all NYC neighborhoods have rebounded sharply since those bad old days and while I sometimes recall Times Square’s past in a romanticized way, the reality was that it was a pit and a cancer that was killing Broadway and our city. Today Times Square is an economic powerhouse providing tens of thousands of jobs to people that cater to these new tourists, office workers and yes residents! I don’t like seeing the poor pushed out, but I also didn’t like seeing the middle class pushed out of so many areas back in the 70’s and 80’s as neighborhoods slid into despair. It’s great to see Hell’s Kitchen, Park Slope, The Lower East Side, Chelsea, Long Island City, Dumbo, and on and on develop into places where people want to live, work and play. Few other cities have this vibrancy.
When it came time to buy a home of my own, i chose the Financial District because it is one of the very few gentrifying areas that did not push anybody out. The homes were simply repurposed from obsolete office buildings and that makes me feel good. The city has over a million rent controlled/rent stabilized homes and provides an amazing amount of services to the poor which I am in full support of, but that takes a lot of money; money that comes from keeping the rich and middle classes in the city. So Willets Point will become the home of more middle income residences and retail which will benefit a great many more people. Luckily, no one lives in Willets Point. But they will! :–)
BobbyS, I have a lot of hope for the Brooklyn Paramount. First, it is owned by a local college and not a for profit business. Second, downtown Brooklyn is fast becoming one of NY’s prime arts districts. There is so much development going on. I expect this theater to ultimately be renovated. Brooklyn has 2.6MM people. There is room for 2 restored palaces. :–)
I am very familiar with the boroughs as I have lived here my whole life. Scott is right that the Bronx and Brooklyn did experience similar slides, BUT they are now booming. What changed? The simplest answer has to be the public perception of safety. When people feel safe they walk outside; especially at night. In a dense city like NY it results in a lot of activity which leads to stores and restaurants staying open later. Almost all retail removed those ugly metal grates as safety improved. People were no longer afraid of the subways. NY has the best police department in the country and they have seen to it that the gang problem that most other cities have is not very big here. The perception of safety is everything; especially when you are trying to get people to attend an entertainment venue. Today, there are very few neighborhoods in the city that I wouldn’t feel comfortable walking around.
Ed Solero, Before the UN was built the site was filled with slaughterhouses, breweries and tenements which technically provided services and housing. But we didn’t leave it there because people worked and lived there. For the city to progress, we had to clear it out for better uses for a growing city. Uses that would benefit far more people. That is the reason the Willets Point has to go and rightly so. I do agree with you about the loss of the RKO Keiths. The current plan is a pale one compared to a full restoration, but it is all we have at this point. I would rather see a part of it saved than none at all.
WilliamMcQuade, I applaud your fight to save the Triboro. I never had the opportunity to see it. I agree that New York has lost a horrific number of the world’s most beautiful Movie Palaces but it is grossly unfair to say that New York somehow trails Chicago and San Francisco and Oakland in preservation. Let’s count the theaters shall we? All Five Wonder theaters are still here (Valencia, 175th, Paradise, Jersey (still counts) and the Kings now undergoing a $70MM renovation. We have Radio City, The Beacon, The New Amsterdam, The Hollywood, The Apollo, Loews Gates, The St. George and The Ziegfeld. There are others that are now operating as churches as well like the Gates and the Elmwood. In addition, we still have the Brooklyn Paramount, Loews Canal and the RKO Ketihs Richmond Hill waiting in the wings. The Staten Island Paramount, I also believe, is in the process of restoration. I believe that NY retains the greatest collection of movie palaces in the country. That NY has lost so many treasures says a lot about the sheer quantity of Movie Palaces that our city once had. We have lost much, but we still have much more than anyone else. Most other cities are lucky to have one or two remaining palaces. It doesn’t mean that we don’t fight to keep everything that is left. It is why we still fight for the Ridgewood.
I politely disagree! The future of thsi country is in cities and there is no city better eqipped to reap the benefits of urban living than New York. Flushing will be but one part, though an important one. FiDi and downtown Brooklyn are booming. Long Island City and again picking up steam and this news today shows that there is a lot stirring in Flushing. I applaud them and support them instead of just sitting on the sidelines complaining but offering nothing in return. YAY for New York and it’s progress in growing not just its core but all areas of the city.
How it was created is irrelevant. We have to deal with what we have now and Bloomberg is doing the right thing in getting rid of the Auto parts slum and replacing it with housing and retail. As gas prices continue to rise, more and more Americans will want and increasingly need to live in urban areas where they can commute to work using mass transit and business will increasingly want to locate in areas with easy access to mass transit. Flushing can be New York’s 5th downtown (after Midtown, The Financial District, Downtown Brooklyn and Long Island City).
Nonsense. We are now emerging from the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression and there is no doubt in my mind tha Flushing will become a boomtown and these projects come to fruition. Willets Point WILL happen! That’s what eminent domain is for; to create development for the greater public good. We don’t need or want that 3rd world unpaved road quagmire that currently makes up Willets Point. We DO need more housing, more retail and more recreational and entertainment areas. It’s most unfortunate that the RKO Keiths couldn’t have been fully redeveloped. Instead, we will have the lobby and, in my opinion, it is better than nothing. How I wish we still had the lobby’s of the Triboro or The Roxy or any of the other palaces that met the wrecking ball. I just hope they truly do an honorable and faithful restoration with the $8MM budgeted.
Just passed by the theater remnant last week. There is no mention at all on the posts above about the condition of the interior of thei theater. Yes, the marquee and beautiful Facade are gone but the huge theater structure remains. With the loss of the Lincoln Theatre down the road to become an H & M is this a “Hidden Gem” in Miami Beach?
Thanks Panzer, though it is maddening to see the photos and not have the theater names attached to them. We can at least take #49 off the list. The Loews Kings is most definitely being restored to the tune of $70MM. The photo shoud be replaced by Chicago’s Uptown, or Philadelphia’s Boyd.
I not that worried about the Sheen “fans” damaging the theater after his “performance” mainly because they must have incredibly low expectations. Frankly, I think anyone who bought a ticket to this fiasco and a bonafide idiot himself. I AM happy that ticket scalpers are the ones who will lose big on this debacle. It couldn’t happen to a nicer group of people.
The status of this theater needs to be changed to CLOSED. I just passed by and it is all boarded up with lots of work going on behind the scenes; presumably to convert it to retail space. We’ll see see what H&M will do to preserve the old theater. I am not hopeful.
Is this a strip club now. It certainly isn’t CroBar. I saw a sign advertising lapdances outside. Very sad.
Just passed through Lincoln Road and I can confirm that there is no Tao, but I also didn’t recall seeing any evidence of the Beach theater either. I’m going to try to swing by there again tomorrow to check it out. What a shame as this appears to have been a stunning theater very “Miami” in design. Has the Auditorium been gutted or is it still there? Do anyone know?
Tlsloews, the renovation is well under way. It is a multiyear process, but rest assured, it is happening. it is very exciting. BobbyS, the RKO Keiths Flushing deal has been approved and the results for that theater are far worse, though I am somewhat conflicted. The Keiths had sustained major damage and there was no real plan in place to save it. Again, a real plan is one that pays for the complete restoration that is also able to support itself after the work is done. Alas, what was salvaged is that the lobby will apparently be saved and restored by the developer at a cost of $8MM and it will become the entrance to the condos to be built where the auditorium now stands. Though not happy with the outcome, I believe this is still better than the complete destruction of the theater. There are still other theaters that are in better condition and CAN be saved such as the Loew’s Canal in Manhattan, the RKO Keiths Richmond Hill, the Ridgewood, The Jackson, The Brooklyn Paramount, etc. New York has an embarassment of Theater Palace riches and though we should try to save them all, the reality is that they won’t be.
I know absolutely nothing about the neighborhood around the Uptown other than what posters above have provided. I do, however, know about the neighborhood surrounding the Loew’s Kings in Brooklyn which is now undergoing a $70MM renovation in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn after being abandoned for over 30 years. The Kings, along with the Uptown, is one of the two most spectacular of the unrenovated theaters remaining in the US, but not for long. The theater renovation is well underway. They expect that this theater will have around 200 events yearly. Interestingly, there is no subway in the immediate vicinity though there is one about a half mile away and though there is some parking it is not as much as would be liked. Nonetheless, this theater thrived when it opened way back when with these same limitations and it is expected it will do so again. Crime, though an issue in the past, is no longer one as crime rates continue to decline, as they have in virtually all areas of New York. The “perception” of crime is critical. People need to feel safe and for the most part in New York they do. That will be a challenge for the Uptown, but it is a challenge that must be taken. We simply cannot allow a theater like the Uptown to be lost to us. Especially in a city like Chicago that has such a history of architectural greatness. Keep up the fight!
There is safety in numbers. The Uptown would be a catalyst in bringing more people at night and therefore make it safer. It is what happened in Times Square as The New Amsterdam and The Victory started bring a new kind of people to 42nd Street and the rest is history.
Thank you so much Kong1911 for the info. As I have stated in prior posts, I believe there is a bright future for the Brooklyn Paramount. Downtown Brooklyn continues to thrive and improve and BAM is also expanding. With Atlantic Yards will come even more development. The Brooklyn Paramount is in pretty good shape overall. The organ is intact and working! And there would be a big to do if LIU tried to gut the theater. They have already moved the gym to a new facility several years ago but it doesn’t appear like they have done anything else with the space. The only choice for them is to redevelop it. With al of the city’s “theater resources” now dedicated to the Loew’s Kings (and rightly so) LIU will need to come up with a private partner to do something creative with the space. As the economy continues its rebound I am very hopeful of a full restoration.