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 301 - 325 of 1,093 comments
If you look up Marcus Loew in the Wikipedia, it will give you a better idea of the start of theatres built to show film. One thing that’s certain, when Marcus Loew built Loew’s State, which also housed Loew’s Theatres corporate offices, it was designed primarily for movies, despite having vaudville also.
Nearly all the movie palaces built before 1928 also had vaudville shows. As I’ve previously said, in order to be classified as “movie theatre only”, the theatre would have to be built with just a few dressing rooms (not the classic multi-floor design) and a shallow stage.
btw- 1913-2013 is the 100th birthday of Local 306, IATSE, Moving Picture Machine Operators Union.
According to the NY Times, the Rialto (1916) was the first non-nickelodeon built without a stage and primarily for film.
Besides keeping the noise of projectors isolated so not to bother the audience, because of the combustible nature of the nitrate film, movie theaters had to be self standing and not under the same roof as is today with theaters in the basement or first floor of an apartment or office building — i.e., Loews 84th St. in NYC and others. If I am not mistaken, even though safety film was around for years, it was not until movie palaces were torn down and multiplexes began to appear in malls, etc., that movie theaters began to be included under the same roof as other businesses.
Oh, and hdtv267… Please don’t leave! Post your information and know that it is appreciated by the vast majority of CT members. Let all the other crap just roll off your back and don’t dignify it with a response. Particularly not with a response of quitting the forum! I really hope you have a change of heart. If not, my best wishes for you!
Bigjoe59… Something to keep in mind is that back in 1909, most motion picture production was of the one- and two-reel variety. Additionally, just a few years earlier, it was not uncommon for many vaudeville companies to include their own exhibition of reels between acts, or as an act unto themselves. This included the companies providing their own projection equipment and screen for the show.
I think a key factor in identifying structures that were purpose built with movies in mind (by your own definition) would be whether or not the builders equipped the theater with its own projection booth and screen. That’s probably going to be a bit more difficult to ascertain than finding out when a given theater first opened and whether it was built from the ground up. It might not be impossible, however. Even in those early days, the combustible nature of nitrate prints was well known, and construction projects that included motion picture exhibition booths would have surely been scrutinized by the municipality for reasons of public safety. As a matter of fact, one of the reasons why projection equipment was housed in booths (besides abating the distraction caused by the loud clacking of the apparatus) was to ensure the safety of patrons in the event of a fire.
Hello Again to AL A.–
thank you for your quick reply. its always good too read your thoughts on the subject.
as i said i have a rather liberal definition of what constitutes a built from the ground up or to use the proper term purpose built movie theater. now no one can contest that the Cresent was designed to be and was built from the ground up as a theater and opened on the night of Dec. 16, 1909. now i don’t know this to be fact but i’m guessing the technical know how and equipment needed to show movies or photoplays as i believe they were called in the early years was a bit more complicated by 1909 from when they made they debut at Koster and Bial’s Music Hall in April of 1896. my point being since movies were a part of the bill on the opening night of Dec. 16, 1909 the thought to exhibit movies as well as vaudeville must have been a part of the whole design and construction phase. that’s why i am classifying the Cresent as the oldest purpose
built “movie theater” i could find in my search.
whether is was a large theater in terms of seating capacity or whether is was ornate in its exterior or interior design or whether is was considered a major theater in terms of the product or performers it got isn’t important. the important fact is that on the opening night movies were part of the bill.
hdtv, please don’t go. I’ve enjoyed your insights and photos over the years. I’d hate to have any one person force you off this board. (What IS playing at the AMC Rockaway, anyway?)
bigjoe59, if you pick up Ross Melnick’s book AMERICAN SHOWMAN I think you will better understand why an answer to your question is a problem. The movie was just a small part of the program so no major theatre would be designed primarily for film until perhaps the thirties. Now you would need to define what constitutes a ‘major theatre’.
Hello To Al A. & techman707-
as always i enjoy reading my fellow poster replies. to which your comments of May 4.
i guess i have a rather liberal definition of what classifies as a built from the ground up or to use the more proper term purpose built movie theater. my search used the nifty list this site complied of all movie theaters that ever existed in New York State. i of course just looked up the theaters listed under New York, New York which was the list’s notation for Manhattan.
the oldest purpose built “movie theater” i could find was the Cresent at 36 W. 135 St.. it opened on the night of Dec. 16, 1909. true the opening night program as you can imagine was a double bill of movies and vaudeville but the important fact to remember is this- the fact movies were shown as part of the opening night program would seem to be proof that during the design and construction phase it was the intent to exhibit movies as well as vaudeville. to which this fits my definition of a purpose built “movie theater”.
Good point, techman707.
Why would anyone design a purpose built theatre (except a nickelodeon) before 1915 for a product that was quite an insignificant afterthought until THE BIRTH OF A NATION made its appearance in 1915?.
Bigjoe, Can you name any of these theatres you found in your research? Most theatres that come to mind that were built before 1928 were usually built as a dual purpose theatres and not just as a movie theatres. That said, some of the “best” examples of theatres, built exclusively for movies, were built by William Fox, to exhibit films from his Fox Film Co. in the 1920’s. He built many large pre-1928 theatres that could be classified as “movie only” theatres. One sign of a theatre built for movies only is that they don’t have ANY backstage dressing rooms. An interesting example of this is the “Fortway Theatre” in Brooklyn, built by William Fox in the 20s.
Hello To Ed S.–
you’ve been most helpful with my inquiries. so hopeful indepth knowledge will be of assistance this time as well.
1.in my searching for the oldest movie theater in Manhattan built from scratch as a movie theater i came across something quite fascinating. its been said many times by many people that many of the grand old movie theaters built in the approx. 1913-1941 period were killed off either by the almost effect of t.v. or by neighborhoods “changing”. what i found interesting were the decent number of movie theaters in Manhattan that closed up shop long before anyone ever heard of t.v. or any neighborhoods “changed”. of course the stock market crash of Oct. 1929 didn’t help but a number of theaters closed up shop even before Oct. 1929. and i’m not
necessarily talking about hole in the wall theaters but decent theaters. so what’s your take on this most interesting matter.
2.Thomas Lamb designed many grand old movie theaters in the 1913-1941 period. i always said “damn that man was prolific”. now about a month ago i found out that after he made a name for himself he started up an architectural firm with many architects working under him.
the article therefore implied that some of the grand old movie theaters attributed to Lamb may actually have been designed by other architects in the firm. now if this is true how to we know which movie theaters that have always been attributed to Lamb were actually designed by him?
Hello To My Fellow Posters-
2 new notes-
*in 1910 “movies” were at the most 22 mins.long? so i’m guessing they alternated thru out the day with vaudeville acts.how long the Apollo continued to show movies doesn’t matter. my point was that its the oldest theater i have found to date that was built from the ground up expressly to show movies.
*actually of the 12 theaters built on 42 St. between 7th and 8th Avenues two were built with the intend of showcasing “movies”. aside from the Apollo the other was the Candler. it opened in 1914 with the Italian epic “Anthony and Cleopatra”. the original intend didn’t quite take hold and a short while later it became a legit house.
There were also many stage venues designed for occasional game hunt shows, war footage and/or educational presentations, including film, that we wouldn’t consider cinemas even today. Since full length pictures did not become common until 1914-1915 it would seem the genuine “built for pictures” theatres came after that.
For example, I can’t find records that the Apollo 42nd street showed any film at all from 1914 to 1920. After that it had an occasional run between stage shows for over 15 years amounting to less than six films.
Bigjoe and Ed,
I can tell you one thing for sure, I once worked at the Liberty Theatre on 42nd St and I can say for SURE that it WAS NOT built as a movie theatre. The Floors of the balcony were made of all wood.
If I get a chance to look, I’ll try to go through all the documentation I might still have that might shed some light on the “oldest” movie theatre question. Allot of the documentation that I once had was donated to the “Museum of the Moving Image” back in 1989, but I still have some stuff left in the attic.
Interesting, unless it’s merely a typo (1904 vs 1914 only a matter of a single slip on the keyboard). It certainly warrants further investigation. Good luck, and keep us apprised.
Hello To Ed S.–
you have a point but hey i like searching.:–)
my original post/query was specifically about the first movie theater in Manhattan built brick
by brick from the ground up expressly to show
movies. for the longest period the oldest ones to fit my criteria that i was able to find were the ornate Regent and the moderately sized Bunny both from 1913. yet in the last two days i found out that the late Apollo on 42 St. was in fact built expressly to show films as well as vaudeville in 1910. so it bests the other two theaters by 3 years. hey you never know maybe with a little more searching i might find another Manhattan movie theater that fits my criteria that bests the Apollo.
speaking of the city as a whole(meaning all 5 boroughs) the answer might be The Nicoland Theater in the Bronx one of the very first theaters designed by renowned architect Thomas Lamb. it was at 768 Westchester Avenue and opened at the end of 1908.
one other note. the Westchester Theater at 2319 Westchester Avenue opened according to its page on this website in 1914. i then contacted the Bronx County Historical Society to ask if they had any additional info/photos on the this theater. guess what? the society’s reference librarian sent me an e-mail containing a photo of the Westchester Theater that existed at 2319 Westchester Avenue. the caption states it was owned and operated by George Hoffman. here comes the good part. the Westchester Theater at 2319 Westchester Avenue according to the photo’s caption opened in 1904 10 years before its page on this website said it opened. interesting hey?
Bigjoe59… I fear we’ll never have a definitive date or location of the very first up-from-the-ground purpose-built movie theater in New York City (whether you consider that to mean Manhattan or any of the five boroughs). Given that building records from this period are sketchy at best – particularly in the outer boroughs before 1936-38 (when the department and its building regulations went City-wide) – the identity of that landmark structure may be forever lost to antiquity. It is a worthy pursuit to try and track it down, regardless.
Hello To My Fellow Posters-
i do enjoy reading all your replies especially the witty ones. :–)
two new notes- *regardless of the sexual orientation and gender of the audience members or whatever activity they might have been engaged in am i correct in my statement that in its porn years the Variety Photoplays never showed gay porn only straight porn.
*my original post was about whether the ornate B.F. Moss Regent and the moderate sized Bunny both from 1913 were the 1st theaters built brick by brick from the ground up specifically to show to photoplays or flickers as they were called at the time. i asked this because since movies exploded like fire works after their debut at Koster and Bial’s Music Hall in April of 1896 i simply couldn’t believe that no theater built expressly to show movies were built until the Regent and Bunny of 1913. well they say if you search long enough you’ll find what you’re looking for. i had always assumed that the Apollo on 42 St.(which was torn down with its neighbor the Lyric to built the theater now known as the Foxwoods Theater)was built from the get go as a “legit” house to use an old term. well guess what? it was built from the get go to be a combo movie and vaudeville theater. so since it bests the Regent and the Bunny by 3 years it takes the crown as the oldest theater i’ve found to date that was built from the get go to show movies.
That is exactly what I meant.
saps – LOL!
I think Al meant that while there was straight porn on the screen, the all-male patrons themselves were not.
Al,
I can only assure you that they WERE NOT running “gay porn” when I worked at the Variety Photoplay theatre, that must have come (no pun intended) later. Now the Gaiety is another story. When I worked there, they ran 16 & 35mm porno and had live stage shows in between. They filmed “The Night They Raided Minsky’s” at the Gaiety when I worked there.
The old Rialto was replaced in 1935. The Variety Photoplays was a gay porn theatre for many years. As to what what projected on the screen, you will need to take their patrons word on that issue.
As for your original question as you have framed it, I think the Regent is indeed the answer.
Hello Again-
many thanks for my fellow posters replies to my inquiry. the first Rialto was torn down in 1932? and the Regent while in good shape as been renovated/refurbished etc….. many times for its use as a church. so what either theater looked like when they first opened is anyone’s guess. i hedging the bet the reason
they were considered “movie palaces” is they were larger and more ornate then any other movie theater in Manhattan at the time of their openings.
as the Streetscapes article reiterates many of the first movie theaters in the first 10 years 1896-1906 were simply converted store fronts, retail spaces, music halls or stage theaters. therefore considering how popular movies became after their April 1896 debut i can’t believe there weren’t any movie theaters built from the ground up specifically as movie theaters until the Bunny and Regent of 1913.
also i greatly enjoy reading the Streetscapes column every Sunday in the NY Times but in the older column posted i believe Gray made a mistake. i have been going into the Union Square and East Village areas since i was in college and i never remember the Variety Photoplays ever showing gay porn. before being torn down a few years ago it was unused for a few years and before that it had been converted to an off Broadway theater like 25? years ago. now before that it showed straight porn not gay. the long gone Pocket Theater two blocks down 3rd Ave. showed gay porn.