Mr. Judge and Mr. Apruzzese, both being in the exhibition business, are right on the money. The writer was attending an advance screening of a “security print,” so-called due to the extra security which not only patrons are subjected to, but which actually accompanies the 35mm print itself. In such instances, theatre personnel are also subjected to similar procedures and a security guard actually keeps the print within sight during its entire time at the theatre (signing for it upon delivery, witnessing the ‘build’ performed by the projectionist, sitting in the darkened projection booth throughout the presentation, witnessing the projectionist ‘tear it down,’ and seeing to it that the print is turned over to the proper courier afterwords).
Again, this is completely to do with anti-piracy concerns, not safety issues (still a bit over the top in my opinion!), and is not remotely standard movie-going practice. Let’s please avoid making this into yet another, “The reason people aren’t going to the movies is…” story.
I should’ve stated that “The building in which the theatre was located occupied 617-627 Madison…” This is according to the C/O mentioned by lostmemory.
Here’s another photo of the theatre’s exterior: http://www.ebay.se/viItem?ItemId=7519931641#photo
The address of this theatre appears to have been either 617 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, 10022 or 41 E. 58th Street. (I’m not sure on which street the entrance was located.)
The theatre actually occupied 617-627 Madison, 37-41 E. 58th Street, and 36-54 E. 59th Street.
Per RobertR’s comment on 6/7, Pocket Cinema Theatre (and also Pocket Theater) should be listed as a previous name.
In answer to Benjamin’s 1/28 post, the theatre was indeed, an Off Broadway house, showing films on off-nights, in the 1960s.
This theatre was listed in the Film Daily Year Books of, at least, 1955-1969, as the Boricua (a typo in the 1955 edition caused it to be listed as Boricud). Shouldn’t it be listed under that name with Star as a previous name?
A NY story:
Jackie and Aristotle Onassis were watching “I Am Curious (Yellow)” at the Cinema 57 Rendezvous on October 5, 1969, when Mrs. Onassis left the auditorium half-way through the show, only to discover photographers in the lobby. She asked that they be removed, which they were. She then exited the building and, according to a Daily News photographer among the group, used a judo move to flip him over onto the ground. An AP photographer caught the “post-flip” moment on film but no witnesses, including the theatre’s doorman and the AP photographer and people in the background of his photo, could confirm the account of the News photog. Through sources close to her, Mrs. Onassis also denied the accusation.
Mr. Onassis remained in the theatre auditorium for the remainder of the feature.
From the NY Times of 4/2/1967:
“The six-story building that once was the Yorkville Casino is being converted into the first office building on the street… The building will also house a motion picture theater…
In 1934, the movie theater, which had been a part of the casino building, began showing German-language films, a practice that ended only with its closing in 1965. The theater is being remodeled as a 599-seat cinema called the 86th Street East for the showing of art films.â€
Based on this article and the comments on the page for the 86th Street Casino Theatre, I concur with Warren’s conclusion. These two entries should probably be combined.
To follow-up the article, the Film Daily Year Book of 1969 shows the 86th Street East in operation as part of the Brandt circuit.
Thank you for clarification of the address, Warren. (And for the photo!) In my efforts to discover the street addresses for every Manhattan theatre listed on the site, I’ve only got three question marks left:
Camelot Twin
Jean Renoir
Juliet I & II
Any assistance on these three would be appreciated. (My personal list also includes each theatre’s zip code, to help avoid ever posting any duplicate entries. Speaking of which, thank you as well for setting me straight on the Uptown and Audubon.)
Since most theatre ads just list the intersection, I can’t say anything with a certainty beyond the fact that numerous Certificates of Occupancy from the early 1990s list the building at 1280 Lexington with 2nd Floor theatres with a capacity of 1133. In other words, the Department of Buildings' designation for the 17-story building in which the theatre (and other retail space) was located is 1280 Lexington.
The building makes up the following addresses: 1280-1290 Lexington, 125-131 East 86th Street, and 114-136 East 87th.
Might the address for this theatre be incorrect? Could it have been 2551 Broadway?
I’ve read references to this theatre being closer to 96th Street while the Riviera is mentioned as being in the vicinity of 97th, which would make sense if the address provided for the Japanese Roof Theatre (2559 Broadway) elsewhere on the site is accurate. The current address listing for this theatre puts it up by 101st St.
This was actually Loew’s Greeley Square Theatre, which opened 11/18/1911. The address should be listed as 855 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10001 and the status should be listed as closed/demolished. (Building stood until at least 1944.)
The theatre was designed by William Eli Kohn and was built at a cost of $350,000. Seating capacity was 598 and the theatre opened, with “The Manchurian Candidate,” on November 20, 1962.
The address was 375 Grand Street, New York, NY, 10002.
As per previous posts, the address should be listed as 711 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10036.
bamtino
commented about
Cine 42on
Sep 11, 2005 at 5:42 pm
The address for this theatre should be listed as 216 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.
According to COs issued in 1974 and 1988, capacity was 315 on the second floor (theatre) plus, on the mezzanine level, 131 (theatre balcony). The Certificates never reflected the two distinct auditoriums. Total seating capacity should be listed as 446.
I believe that the Uptown, listed elsewhere on this site, is actually a duplicate entry for the Audubon. (According to the NY Times of 4/23/1943, the Uptown was located at Broadway and St. Nicholas Ave.)
Therefore, I’d suggest that, in addition to adding the zip code of 10032 to this entry, the previous names Beverly Hills and Uptown be listed.
(In fact, since this theatre ended its existence as the San Juan Theater, I believe this entry should be renamed and Audubon also listed as a previous name.)
I could be wrong about the conclusions I’m drawing from my research so please feel free to chime in if I’m incorrect about any of this.
According to the NY Times of 4/28/1943, this theatre was actually located at Broadway and St. Nicholas Avenue. I believe therefore, that this was another name for the San Juan Theater, located at 3950 Broadway and listed on this site as the Audubon Theatre.
This entry should be deleted.
Mr. Judge and Mr. Apruzzese, both being in the exhibition business, are right on the money. The writer was attending an advance screening of a “security print,” so-called due to the extra security which not only patrons are subjected to, but which actually accompanies the 35mm print itself. In such instances, theatre personnel are also subjected to similar procedures and a security guard actually keeps the print within sight during its entire time at the theatre (signing for it upon delivery, witnessing the ‘build’ performed by the projectionist, sitting in the darkened projection booth throughout the presentation, witnessing the projectionist ‘tear it down,’ and seeing to it that the print is turned over to the proper courier afterwords).
Again, this is completely to do with anti-piracy concerns, not safety issues (still a bit over the top in my opinion!), and is not remotely standard movie-going practice. Let’s please avoid making this into yet another, “The reason people aren’t going to the movies is…” story.
Yes TC, that is the buidling.
I should’ve stated that “The building in which the theatre was located occupied 617-627 Madison…” This is according to the C/O mentioned by lostmemory.
Here’s another photo of the theatre’s exterior:
http://www.ebay.se/viItem?ItemId=7519931641#photo
The address of this theatre appears to have been either 617 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, 10022 or 41 E. 58th Street. (I’m not sure on which street the entrance was located.)
The theatre actually occupied 617-627 Madison, 37-41 E. 58th Street, and 36-54 E. 59th Street.
Per RobertR’s comment on 6/7, Pocket Cinema Theatre (and also Pocket Theater) should be listed as a previous name.
In answer to Benjamin’s 1/28 post, the theatre was indeed, an Off Broadway house, showing films on off-nights, in the 1960s.
This theatre was listed in the Film Daily Year Books of, at least, 1955-1969, as the Boricua (a typo in the 1955 edition caused it to be listed as Boricud). Shouldn’t it be listed under that name with Star as a previous name?
A NY story:
Jackie and Aristotle Onassis were watching “I Am Curious (Yellow)” at the Cinema 57 Rendezvous on October 5, 1969, when Mrs. Onassis left the auditorium half-way through the show, only to discover photographers in the lobby. She asked that they be removed, which they were. She then exited the building and, according to a Daily News photographer among the group, used a judo move to flip him over onto the ground. An AP photographer caught the “post-flip” moment on film but no witnesses, including the theatre’s doorman and the AP photographer and people in the background of his photo, could confirm the account of the News photog. Through sources close to her, Mrs. Onassis also denied the accusation.
Mr. Onassis remained in the theatre auditorium for the remainder of the feature.
The 86th Street East was in operation, under that name, by 8/3/1967.
P.S. Zip code should be listed as 10028.
From the NY Times of 4/2/1967:
“The six-story building that once was the Yorkville Casino is being converted into the first office building on the street… The building will also house a motion picture theater…
In 1934, the movie theater, which had been a part of the casino building, began showing German-language films, a practice that ended only with its closing in 1965. The theater is being remodeled as a 599-seat cinema called the 86th Street East for the showing of art films.â€
Based on this article and the comments on the page for the 86th Street Casino Theatre, I concur with Warren’s conclusion. These two entries should probably be combined.
To follow-up the article, the Film Daily Year Book of 1969 shows the 86th Street East in operation as part of the Brandt circuit.
As per Warren’s comment from last week, this theatre’s address should be listed as 4037 Broadway, New York, NY 10032.
Thank you for clarification of the address, Warren. (And for the photo!) In my efforts to discover the street addresses for every Manhattan theatre listed on the site, I’ve only got three question marks left:
Camelot Twin
Jean Renoir
Juliet I & II
Any assistance on these three would be appreciated. (My personal list also includes each theatre’s zip code, to help avoid ever posting any duplicate entries. Speaking of which, thank you as well for setting me straight on the Uptown and Audubon.)
Architect of this theatre was Harrison G. Wiseman.
Since most theatre ads just list the intersection, I can’t say anything with a certainty beyond the fact that numerous Certificates of Occupancy from the early 1990s list the building at 1280 Lexington with 2nd Floor theatres with a capacity of 1133. In other words, the Department of Buildings' designation for the 17-story building in which the theatre (and other retail space) was located is 1280 Lexington.
The building makes up the following addresses: 1280-1290 Lexington, 125-131 East 86th Street, and 114-136 East 87th.
Might the address for this theatre be incorrect? Could it have been 2551 Broadway?
I’ve read references to this theatre being closer to 96th Street while the Riviera is mentioned as being in the vicinity of 97th, which would make sense if the address provided for the Japanese Roof Theatre (2559 Broadway) elsewhere on the site is accurate. The current address listing for this theatre puts it up by 101st St.
This theatre was located at 777 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY 10036.
The address of this theatre was 244 West 42nd Street, New York, NY, 10036.
The address of this theatre was 210 Front Street, New York, NY 10038.
This was actually Loew’s Greeley Square Theatre, which opened 11/18/1911. The address should be listed as 855 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10001 and the status should be listed as closed/demolished. (Building stood until at least 1944.)
The theatre was designed by William Eli Kohn and was built at a cost of $350,000. Seating capacity was 598 and the theatre opened, with “The Manchurian Candidate,” on November 20, 1962.
The address was 375 Grand Street, New York, NY, 10002.
The address of this theatre was 1604 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.
As per previous posts, the address should be listed as 711 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10036.
The address for this theatre should be listed as 216 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.
According to COs issued in 1974 and 1988, capacity was 315 on the second floor (theatre) plus, on the mezzanine level, 131 (theatre balcony). The Certificates never reflected the two distinct auditoriums. Total seating capacity should be listed as 446.
I believe that the Uptown, listed elsewhere on this site, is actually a duplicate entry for the Audubon. (According to the NY Times of 4/23/1943, the Uptown was located at Broadway and St. Nicholas Ave.)
Therefore, I’d suggest that, in addition to adding the zip code of 10032 to this entry, the previous names Beverly Hills and Uptown be listed.
(In fact, since this theatre ended its existence as the San Juan Theater, I believe this entry should be renamed and Audubon also listed as a previous name.)
I could be wrong about the conclusions I’m drawing from my research so please feel free to chime in if I’m incorrect about any of this.
According to the NY Times of 4/28/1943, this theatre was actually located at Broadway and St. Nicholas Avenue. I believe therefore, that this was another name for the San Juan Theater, located at 3950 Broadway and listed on this site as the Audubon Theatre.
This entry should be deleted.