Embassy 1,2,3 Theatre
707 7th Avenue,
New York,
NY
10036
707 7th Avenue,
New York,
NY
10036
38 people
favorited this theater
Showing 276 - 300 of 1,093 comments
Hello-
this is a question i have been wanting to make for a while. the Columbia/Mayfair/ Demille/Embassy 1-2-3 may have been gutted but where is the Famous Dave’s BBQ the
interior now allegedly contains?
Video showing Pscyho at the Demille http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DjRzj_Ufiew
That theate directory, at it’s zenith would also include the Astor, the Victoria and also the Waverly. Curious how Walter Reade Jr., the consummate showman, would have adapted to the changing era, had he not perished in a skiing accident.
The April 28 ,1968 ad posted above also shows the directory ad for Walter Reade Theatres. Amazing to think that none of those theatres are operating any longer. Granted that was a long time ago, but it is still depressing to think how much we have lost. I saw “War and Peace” at the DeMille Theatre and still remember the Russian outfits that the usherettes wore. Showmanship was what is was all about in those days. Now its move'em in and move'em out and blare them with TV commercials and too many to count sound blasting movie trailers.
April 28, 1968 ad for War and Peace at the DeMille. Loge seats were $7.50, surely a record high price at the time, but it was for a two-part, 6 ½ hour movie.
Hello!!!
i have been thinking about the contradiction Henderson makes in her book “42 St.”. she herself acknowledges Hammerstein’s Victoria as one of the 12 theaters built on 42 ST. between 7th and 8th Avenues. yet she says the American of 1893 built close to where the AMC Empire multi-plex is now was the first of the 12 theaters to be demolished. but the Victoria was torn down in 1915 to build the 1st Rialto movie theater which opened in 1916. the bone of contention seems to be whether the Victoria was completely torn down or if some part no matter how small was kept.
which prompts my question- does a theater have to be completely torn down to be referred to as “torn down”? i’m not quite sure what it was but some element of the Victoria must have been left up if Henderson lists the American not the Victoria as the first of the 12 theaters on the block to be “torn down”.
About 12 years ago they wanted 1 million a year just for the theatre location.
The block the theatre is located was just sold and is to be demolished in the next year or so for another tower in Times Square. Just talked to the building managing company.
The 1935 Rialto was a completely new structure.
I think Mary Henderson did not consider the Hammerstein Victoria since the building itself was still there in 1935 and indeed not on 42nd street. The American fire and demolition were in 1930 which would make it the first opened and first closed on the block. It may have re-opened after the depression had it not been for the fire.
I sure wish they didn’t play musical names with all these theaters. I know that Hammerstein’s Victoria and the Victory (aka – Republic, New Victory) theaters had common roof components as a result of the Victoria’s roof garden theatre, sharing roof structure with the Victory Theater. However, I don’t believe that the roof structure was involved or integrated into the construction of the final Rialto theatre that was ultimately built.
Additionally, I’m completely confused with Bigjoe’s quote from Mary C. Henderson’s book where she says “the American has the dubious distinction of being the 1st theater built on the block and the first one torn down.”. If she’s referring to the same "American Theater” that was built in 1893 and was later bought by Marcus Loew, that theatre wasn’t demolished…. until after a fire sometime in the 1930’s. Again, maybe there’s another “American Theater” with the same name that she’s referring to, since they seem to change theater names as often as Bloomberg comes up with stupid ideas. I still believe that Hammerstein’s Victoria would be the first theater to be torn down….although technically not ON 42nd Street. Even if you accept that some walls from the Victoria had been retained and used in the first Rialto’s construction, the Victoria would still qualify as having been “demolished” for all practical purposes.
The Republic is the Victory.
Where was the republic???
A May 15, 1935 NYT article on the demolition of the Rialto states that three walls of the old Hammerstein’s theatre were part of the new theatre and that it was built into the same shell within the Hammerstein Building roof structure shared by the Republic and still standing in 1935.
Al, as far as I know, the building was completely demolished twice. The first time to build the original Rialto and the second time, in 1935, to build the final dump. Also, if you look at the link I posted to the picture of the original Rialto, you can see the window of the projection booth at the top center over the marquee.
Saps, LOL!
And how many theatrical impressarios can dance on the head of a pin? Someone must know and I demand the answer!
I think the building was gutted but the remaining basic four walls were reused.
The Victoria was totally demolished to build the first Rialto. Henderson statement notwithstanding, the Victoria (or Rialto’s 1&2) were NOT on 42nd Street, so she’s either mistaking or the editor failed to catch the error in the book. Bigjoe, it’s only a book and books can have mistakes, don’t get so carried away.-LOL
If it really bothers you that much, maybe the original plans for the first Rialto still exist at the building department. As for myself, rather than being concerned which theater was torn down first, I’m mad that all these theater’s were torn down in the first place (especially when you consider what replaces most of them). Once demolished, theater’s built in the first half of the 20th century could NEVER be built again….and even if it were possible, the cost would be prohibitive.
Hello To techman707-
as always i thank my fellow posters for replying to my posts but as the saying goes the plot thickens.
in her book “"42 Street” Mary C. Henderson chronicles the life as it were of the 12 theaters that were built on 42 St. between 7th and 8th Avenues. the 12 essays are chronological by the date the theaters were built. the first essay is
for the American which opens with this statement –“the American has the dubious distinction of
being the 1st theater built on the block and the first one torn down.” now Henderson herself acknowledges Hammerstein’s Victoria as one of the 12 theaters.
now several weeks ago i mentioned that the statement that opens the chapter on the American didn’t make sense since the Victoria was torn down at the end of 1915 to build the 1st Rialto which opened in 1916. as a reply a fellow poster said that Henderson didn’t consider the 1st Rialto of 1916 a completely new edifice/ structure implying it encompassed a part or parts of the Victoria. yet in your reply you said the Victoria was completely torn down to build the 1st Rialto. so since Henderson considers the Victoria as one of the 12 theaters built on 42 St. and you said it was completely torn down to build the 1st Rialto doesn’t that make her statement that opens the chapter on the American incorrect?
Bigjoe59, The American was on 42nd Street, whereas the Rialto was on Broadway. So if she said that the American was the first theatre “on 42nd Street” to be torn down, that would be correct.
I worked a few times at the Rialto, but it was the dump that was built AFTER the original Rialto was torn down in 1935. All the theatres, Hammerstein’s Victoria, the original Rialto and the “movie theatre” Rialto, were all built on the same site. The Victoria was completely torn down to build the first Rialto.
If you’re interested, here’s a picture of the first Rialto. Note that it had a Wurlitzer Op. 520 Organ, installed February 25, 1922. If only we could turn back the clock.-LOL
http://www.nycago.org/Organs/NYC/img/RialtoTheatreExt.jpg
Hello To Al A.–
you seem to be quite knowledgeable so i have a good question for you and it pertains to the 1st Rialto on 7th Ave. between 42/43 St. which opened in 1916.
in Mary C. Henderson’s book “42 Street” she states that the American of 1895? was the first theater build on 42 St. between 7th & 8th Avenues and the first to be torn down. but then i said to myself- “wait a second wasn’t Hammerstein’s Victoria torn down at the end of 1915 almost 16 years before the American?”. one of my fellow posters replied that the reason for Henderson’s comment about the American is that she doesn’t consider the Rialto of 1916 a completely new structure. this would imply that the Victoria wasn’t completely razed and some part or parts of it lived on in the Rialto. so if this is true then how much of the Victoria did in fact live on in the Rialto of 1916 that Henderson doesn’t consider it a new structure?
Bigjoe59, there were MANY theatres that had what the City of New York referred to as “portable projection booths” that operated for many years until their closing. In addition, nearly all the “legit” theaters had “front light booths” that were often used as projection booths if the theater needed to run film. One example is the Ambassador theater, that had a complete installation of Simplex E7 projectors and Peerless Magnarcs that I examined in 1969. They looked as though they were never used. To add to the confusion, many vaudeville houses that became movie theatres had projection booths built in the ceiling (or dome) and you actually went into the hanging ceiling to enter the projection booth. Although you couldn’t tell by looking, these were also referred to as “portable projection booths” because the walls were made of steel. So to try to determine “the first” theatre to show film in New York would be almost impossible determine. I had allot of documentation ( a file cabinet full) that I donated to The Museum of the Moving Image in 1989, which included information that might have shed some light on the answer. I wish I knew what they did with all of it, but you might want to check them out.
btw- a long time designation is that movie theatres are spelled “theatre” and legit houses are spelled “theater”. It seems that over the years this has been lost and have become interchangeable. However, when I refer to a movie theatre I spell it “theatre”.
No. This location did not play movies until 1930.
Hello to Ed S. –
thanks for your reply. you of course make a valid point about whether the projection/screening set up at the Crescent was permanent in other words constructed along with the rest of the theater or perhaps hastily put up at the last minute and then later made permanent. i guess we will never know since anyone who went to or worked at the theater is long gone.
also after reading your reply an interesting thought occurred to me. if the theater this page is for the Embassy 1,2,3 were still showing films wouldn’t it be the oldest theater building in Manhattan being used as a movie theater? after all it opened in 1910 as the Columbia a burlesque house.
Bigjoe59… Read my response from yesterday at 5:42 regarding movies being shown as part of some vaudeville bookings from that period. It might help provide some illumination in your search. While you may be onto something with the Crescent, I think determining if there were permanent projection facilities would be key to having something more definitive.
Hello Again To My Fellow Posters-
as always i thank my fellow posters for their thoughts/comments on my posts. its nice to have a lively discussion.
now if you read my last two posts i never use the term “movie only theater” just “movie theater”. i admit the Cresent in terms of its size or
ornateness wasn’t in the same class as the Rialto of 1916. but since it did have movies as part of the bill on opening night that would imply i’m sure you’ll agree that the intention of screening movies as well as having vaudeville acts must have been part of the design and construction phase. i can’t imagine they chose to show films on a whim the morning of the opening night. so what are your thoughts on this as a more valid way of describing the Cresent-“the oldest theater i could find in my search that was built from the ground if not as a movie only theater at least as a combo movie/vaudeville house”. i admit that’s a bit much but since is it the oldest purpose built theater i could find that screened movies on its opening night and for some time after i think its distinctive place in the history of movie exhibition in Manhattan should be duly noted.