The former Harris Theatre is actually next door, to the right of the McDonald’s featured in the photo Bryan links to; its one-time (and entirely gutted interior) space is currently occupied by the New York branch of Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum.
br91975
commented about
Cine 42on
Jan 13, 2005 at 7:13 pm
About the most impressive thing – heck, make that the ONLY impressive thing – in the Arnold Schwarzenegger flick ‘The Last Action Hero’ (from which the photo Bryan links to is derived from) are the multiple shots of the 42nd Street (and Deuce-area) grindhouse marquees illuminated at night.
br91975
commented about
Cine 42on
Jan 13, 2005 at 2:03 pm
It’s difficult to imagine Disney – the owner of the former Cine 42 property – preserving what were two rather unspectacular cinemas. My guess is they’ve probably been gutted and the space which formerly housed them has been converted for alternate uses (i.e., offices).
After the AMC Fenway opened in June of 2000, the Circle Cinemas were still doing strong business, especially with the Boston College crowd and the immediate and surrounding neighborhoods to draw upon. My sense – and it’s nothing more than that; I have no inside connections to draw upon – is that National Amusements will either hold onto the Circle Cinemas or, should they decide to sell the property, will build a new venue somewhere in the general vicinity.
I second saps and Ron’s opinion. If the software which keeps this site up-and-running allows it, maybe an on-screen history of 20-25 unique recently added to theatre comments pages would be a good compromise… again, as long as the software allows for it.
Thanks for posting that information, Ron – and thank you for giving the time it took to post it. I’ll do whatever research I can from here in NYC (i.e., Google), then hopefully have a morning or afternoon to spare in one of the Boston or Cambridge Public Library branches when I’m next in the area. Again, thank you…
A month after its grand reopening, the Metro is currently showing two move-over engagements – ‘The Motorcycle Diaries’ and ‘What the Bleep Do We Know?!’ – deep into their runs and likely not doing too much business at this point; kind of a surprising way for Peter Elson to go when one considers the glut of other quality, more recent films just released around and during the holiday season, such as ‘The Aviator’, ‘Kinsey’, ‘Sideways’, and ‘The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou’, all of which are drawing healthy box office in Manhattan and around the country and all of which cater perfectly to UWS audiences.
Thanks for that info, Ron. I live in New York but I head back to Boston every few months to visit family who still live in the area. When I have time during one of those trips home, I’ll stop by one of the local libraries and see what I can find.
Doing some research at the local library a couple of years ago on the former Cinema 1 & 2 in Medford Square, I came across some articles about and photographs of the Granada. After the fire Ian mentioned in his initial description, the entrance was cinderblocked. The theatre was a knock-out – the auditorium, the lobby… stunning design within both; its closing and subsequent demolition totaled a true loss. Presently the space is occupied by in some, or perhaps total, portion by offices, all or at least part of are associated with the Malden Public Schools.
There was also – don’t remember the name of it – a movie theatre in Everett which operated at least into the late ‘70s, and perhaps most likely into the early '80s. Does anyone remember the name of it or have any info as to what became of the building which housed it? (What I wouldn’t give to get my hands on one of those ads which used to run in The Boston Globe through the early '80s and, once a film entered second-run, listed alphabetically – by city and town, I think – in list format, as opposed to the more common block listings, the theatres where that particular film was then showing in. Most of them were community theatres and I’d love to do the research and find out what became of the ones which closed… which, of course, would be most of them… )
Too little, too late… the Sutton has been demolished and is now nothing more than a pile of rubble and a series of memories for everyone who loved this cool little moviehouse. The fight now is on to save the Beekman and Cinema 1-2-3; check out those theatres' pages on this site, along with the news stories on the front page, to find out why and how these gems became endangered and about the resultant efforts to save them.
One minor correction – the name of the individual who is the majority owner of the Regal Entertainment Group (and also counts Qwest Communications, Walden Media, and the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, among his other holdings) is Philip Anschutz.
What theatre did Clear Channel renovate and restore in New York? The Ford Center/Hilton Theatre on 42nd Street was created and constructed in the mid- to late-‘90s under the aegis of Livent which, at that time, was still an independent company.
There already is an effort underfoot to save the Beekman – a community group, the Friends of the Upper East Side Historic District, have submitted an application with the LPG. In addition, there has been a fair amount of media coverage the last couple of days – in the NY Post and via a report broadcast on Fox-5, along with an article in today’s Post about the now threatened Cinema 1-2-3, and a vow of assistance in the attempt to preserve both the Beekman and Cinema 1-2-3 from Harvey Weinstein.
Disney didn’t quite ‘ban’ ‘Song of the South’ in this country. Instead of opting to use the film to spur intelligent dialogue among adults (and children) about how racial (and, to a broader base, cultural) perceptions have changed and evolved since the time of the film’s creation and initial release, they’ve opted to shelve it indefinitely, since its last U.S. theatrical run in November of ‘86. It has been (or, at least, was) available on video in the U.K. (and perhaps other international territories as well) in the years since.
Thanks also go out to Lou Lumenick, for breaking the Cinema 1-2-3 story and for bringing the potential plight of the Beekman to the attention of the public at-large, and for Fox-5 (owned by News Corporation, as is the Post) for covering the story of the Beekman in their news coverage last night. Excellent job and, again, thank you both.
Not a damn surprise, I really, truly hate to say. With as vocal and as passionate an advocate as Harvey Weinstein getting involved, however, I think there’s a better than fair chance of the Cinema 1-2-3 and the Beekman being saved. (Meanwhile, I would have hoped for a more emotionally engaged response from Woddy Allen, but perhaps stronger words – and actions – will soon follow; below, for the record, is the NY Post article Paul first brought to our attention.)
SAD CINEMA SEQUEL
By LOU LUMENICK Post Movie Critic
January 6, 2005 — A second historic Upper East Side movie theater, the Cinema 1, 2 & 3 behind Bloomingdale’s on Third Avenue, will close this spring and be converted to retail space, The Post has learned.
The latest shocker came as New Yorkers were stunned by The Post’s report yesterday that the prestigious Beekman Theatre, at Second Avenue and 66th Street, will close in June, be torn down and replaced by an outpatient-treatment center run by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital.
Miramax honcho Harvey Weinstein said he will fight to keep the theaters open.
“I spent my formative years as a teenager haunting these movie theaters,” Weinstein told The Post from Paris, where he was attending the European premiere of “The Aviator.”
“I used to take the train from my home in Flushing when movies like ‘Raging Bull,’ ‘Rocky’ and ‘Midnight Cowboy’ would open exclusively at the Cinema 1.”
Weinstein vowed to do “whatever I have to do, including financially” to save the endangered theaters.
“To me, they’re shrines of the ‘70s movie experience, and it would be a great loss to the city’s cultural life for them to close,” he said.
New York’s most famous filmmaker agreed.
“Of course I think it’s sad,” said Woody Allen, who shot a famous scene in “Annie Hall” at the Beekman. “It joins a long list of charming Manhattan landmarks I’ve filmed at over the years that have since vanished.”
Reading International, the parent company of City Cinemas, has filed for a permit with the city’s Buildings Department to demolish the interior.
The company’s executives did not return phone calls.
Seri Worden, executive director of the Friends of the Upper East Side Historic District, said the owners had recently applied a stucco facing over the blue tiles outside the theater â€" apparently to prevent the building from being placed on the landmark list.
A friend who works in downtown Boston just informed me that, earlier this afternoon, he saw construction-type (or, more aptly, given the situation, demolition) workers in the former Gaiety lobby space… an interesting sight, to say the least, given the circumstances and some of the illegal demo-prep done prior to the work-stop action issued against Kensington…
The Lyric was, in the early- to mid-‘90s, the third-to-last (not counting the MoviePlex 42) of the Deuce grindhouses to close its doors for business, followed by the Selwyn and the Harris.
I’m not sure if that possibility entered their thinking, Ron, or the consideration of, if necessary, negotiating a height variance with the city which would allow them to build their hospital as is, in terms of overall interior square footage, while still preserving the Beekman.
The former Harris Theatre is actually next door, to the right of the McDonald’s featured in the photo Bryan links to; its one-time (and entirely gutted interior) space is currently occupied by the New York branch of Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum.
About the most impressive thing – heck, make that the ONLY impressive thing – in the Arnold Schwarzenegger flick ‘The Last Action Hero’ (from which the photo Bryan links to is derived from) are the multiple shots of the 42nd Street (and Deuce-area) grindhouse marquees illuminated at night.
It’s difficult to imagine Disney – the owner of the former Cine 42 property – preserving what were two rather unspectacular cinemas. My guess is they’ve probably been gutted and the space which formerly housed them has been converted for alternate uses (i.e., offices).
After the AMC Fenway opened in June of 2000, the Circle Cinemas were still doing strong business, especially with the Boston College crowd and the immediate and surrounding neighborhoods to draw upon. My sense – and it’s nothing more than that; I have no inside connections to draw upon – is that National Amusements will either hold onto the Circle Cinemas or, should they decide to sell the property, will build a new venue somewhere in the general vicinity.
I second saps and Ron’s opinion. If the software which keeps this site up-and-running allows it, maybe an on-screen history of 20-25 unique recently added to theatre comments pages would be a good compromise… again, as long as the software allows for it.
Thanks for posting that information, Ron – and thank you for giving the time it took to post it. I’ll do whatever research I can from here in NYC (i.e., Google), then hopefully have a morning or afternoon to spare in one of the Boston or Cambridge Public Library branches when I’m next in the area. Again, thank you…
A month after its grand reopening, the Metro is currently showing two move-over engagements – ‘The Motorcycle Diaries’ and ‘What the Bleep Do We Know?!’ – deep into their runs and likely not doing too much business at this point; kind of a surprising way for Peter Elson to go when one considers the glut of other quality, more recent films just released around and during the holiday season, such as ‘The Aviator’, ‘Kinsey’, ‘Sideways’, and ‘The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou’, all of which are drawing healthy box office in Manhattan and around the country and all of which cater perfectly to UWS audiences.
Do you still have access to that article, Ron? What were the other theatres listed?
When did the RKO Keith’s Richmond Hill cease operations as a movie theatre? What was/were the final booking(s)?
Thanks for that info, Ron. I live in New York but I head back to Boston every few months to visit family who still live in the area. When I have time during one of those trips home, I’ll stop by one of the local libraries and see what I can find.
I remember distinctly the Pi Alley closing on a Sunday, so it must have been, as per Ron’s research, August 2, 1987.
Doing some research at the local library a couple of years ago on the former Cinema 1 & 2 in Medford Square, I came across some articles about and photographs of the Granada. After the fire Ian mentioned in his initial description, the entrance was cinderblocked. The theatre was a knock-out – the auditorium, the lobby… stunning design within both; its closing and subsequent demolition totaled a true loss. Presently the space is occupied by in some, or perhaps total, portion by offices, all or at least part of are associated with the Malden Public Schools.
There was also – don’t remember the name of it – a movie theatre in Everett which operated at least into the late ‘70s, and perhaps most likely into the early '80s. Does anyone remember the name of it or have any info as to what became of the building which housed it? (What I wouldn’t give to get my hands on one of those ads which used to run in The Boston Globe through the early '80s and, once a film entered second-run, listed alphabetically – by city and town, I think – in list format, as opposed to the more common block listings, the theatres where that particular film was then showing in. Most of them were community theatres and I’d love to do the research and find out what became of the ones which closed… which, of course, would be most of them… )
Too little, too late… the Sutton has been demolished and is now nothing more than a pile of rubble and a series of memories for everyone who loved this cool little moviehouse. The fight now is on to save the Beekman and Cinema 1-2-3; check out those theatres' pages on this site, along with the news stories on the front page, to find out why and how these gems became endangered and about the resultant efforts to save them.
One minor correction – the name of the individual who is the majority owner of the Regal Entertainment Group (and also counts Qwest Communications, Walden Media, and the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, among his other holdings) is Philip Anschutz.
What theatre did Clear Channel renovate and restore in New York? The Ford Center/Hilton Theatre on 42nd Street was created and constructed in the mid- to late-‘90s under the aegis of Livent which, at that time, was still an independent company.
There already is an effort underfoot to save the Beekman – a community group, the Friends of the Upper East Side Historic District, have submitted an application with the LPG. In addition, there has been a fair amount of media coverage the last couple of days – in the NY Post and via a report broadcast on Fox-5, along with an article in today’s Post about the now threatened Cinema 1-2-3, and a vow of assistance in the attempt to preserve both the Beekman and Cinema 1-2-3 from Harvey Weinstein.
Disney didn’t quite ‘ban’ ‘Song of the South’ in this country. Instead of opting to use the film to spur intelligent dialogue among adults (and children) about how racial (and, to a broader base, cultural) perceptions have changed and evolved since the time of the film’s creation and initial release, they’ve opted to shelve it indefinitely, since its last U.S. theatrical run in November of ‘86. It has been (or, at least, was) available on video in the U.K. (and perhaps other international territories as well) in the years since.
Thanks also go out to Lou Lumenick, for breaking the Cinema 1-2-3 story and for bringing the potential plight of the Beekman to the attention of the public at-large, and for Fox-5 (owned by News Corporation, as is the Post) for covering the story of the Beekman in their news coverage last night. Excellent job and, again, thank you both.
Not a damn surprise, I really, truly hate to say. With as vocal and as passionate an advocate as Harvey Weinstein getting involved, however, I think there’s a better than fair chance of the Cinema 1-2-3 and the Beekman being saved. (Meanwhile, I would have hoped for a more emotionally engaged response from Woddy Allen, but perhaps stronger words – and actions – will soon follow; below, for the record, is the NY Post article Paul first brought to our attention.)
SAD CINEMA SEQUEL
By LOU LUMENICK Post Movie Critic
January 6, 2005 — A second historic Upper East Side movie theater, the Cinema 1, 2 & 3 behind Bloomingdale’s on Third Avenue, will close this spring and be converted to retail space, The Post has learned.
The latest shocker came as New Yorkers were stunned by The Post’s report yesterday that the prestigious Beekman Theatre, at Second Avenue and 66th Street, will close in June, be torn down and replaced by an outpatient-treatment center run by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital.
Miramax honcho Harvey Weinstein said he will fight to keep the theaters open.
“I spent my formative years as a teenager haunting these movie theaters,” Weinstein told The Post from Paris, where he was attending the European premiere of “The Aviator.”
“I used to take the train from my home in Flushing when movies like ‘Raging Bull,’ ‘Rocky’ and ‘Midnight Cowboy’ would open exclusively at the Cinema 1.”
Weinstein vowed to do “whatever I have to do, including financially” to save the endangered theaters.
“To me, they’re shrines of the ‘70s movie experience, and it would be a great loss to the city’s cultural life for them to close,” he said.
New York’s most famous filmmaker agreed.
“Of course I think it’s sad,” said Woody Allen, who shot a famous scene in “Annie Hall” at the Beekman. “It joins a long list of charming Manhattan landmarks I’ve filmed at over the years that have since vanished.”
Reading International, the parent company of City Cinemas, has filed for a permit with the city’s Buildings Department to demolish the interior.
The company’s executives did not return phone calls.
Seri Worden, executive director of the Friends of the Upper East Side Historic District, said the owners had recently applied a stucco facing over the blue tiles outside the theater â€" apparently to prevent the building from being placed on the landmark list.
A friend who works in downtown Boston just informed me that, earlier this afternoon, he saw construction-type (or, more aptly, given the situation, demolition) workers in the former Gaiety lobby space… an interesting sight, to say the least, given the circumstances and some of the illegal demo-prep done prior to the work-stop action issued against Kensington…
The Lyric – which was then in its period as one of the handful of the Deuce’s porno theatres – was featured in the film ‘Taxi Driver’.
The Lyric was, in the early- to mid-‘90s, the third-to-last (not counting the MoviePlex 42) of the Deuce grindhouses to close its doors for business, followed by the Selwyn and the Harris.
I’m not sure if that possibility entered their thinking, Ron, or the consideration of, if necessary, negotiating a height variance with the city which would allow them to build their hospital as is, in terms of overall interior square footage, while still preserving the Beekman.
The article which accompanied Lumenick’s commentary piece (also penned by Lumenick) can be found here: http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/37683.htm
Neither the interior or the exterior of the Beekman is landmarked, William; any related references at this point are essentially rhetorical.