Loew's State Theatre
1540 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
1540 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
29 people
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I photographed the upstairs #2 house in color just before it closed.
I also have interiors of many other long gone Manhatten houses that I sent to this web site 2 years. Maybe they can be put on site soon.
Interestly on this theatre, when they twined it back in 1968 the 3 70mm Norelco projectors went from the Balcony cut booth (from
the 1959 remodel)downstairs to # 1 house. The upstairs #2 house got all its equipment (Century 70mm) from the just torn down Capitol.
You can get photos of most any theatre from the Theatre Historical Society of America. See them at www.historictheatres.org
I didn’t really get to enjoy this theatre that much I saw “Star Trek4” and Eddie Murphy’s “Golden Child there and it became one of my favorites I loved that big entrance and marquee that graced the base of the scyscrapper just as I was waiting for the weekend to see the film "critical condition” with Richard Pryor it closed down on me with the tittle still on the marquee i was sorely dissapointed as I made this theatre my second home I mean I would sit back and get lost in that canervous theatre 2 upstairs which was the former balcony. I would sit in this theatre during intermission and imagine my self on that screen. I missed this theatre so much I watch them demolish it it was like losing a love one. For a coulpe of weeks from the 46th street side I watched in horror as my favorite section of this thetre was being dismantled. does any body got any interior shots of this theatre or know of any links that show interior or exterior of this this theatre. I had a picture of this cinema on that I got from an old photo site of times square but i lost it. It’ll be greatly appreciated.
As a child I remember walking in front of the theater on the way to the Christmas show at the Music Hall. It was about to premiere Dr. Dolittle with Rex Harrison on a reserved seat engagement. They had the Pushmi-Pullyu costume in a case by the entrance and across the street facing the theater was a spectacular, block long sign above the Astor and Victoria theaters anouncing the film(you can see part of the this announcement in the background of Sweet Charity as Shirley Maclaine is bouncing on a bed in the window of the Castro Convertible store.) I remember long lines constantly in front of the State I for Love Story and The Godfather(which played both theaters.)I did not enter the State until Lost Horizon. I found the State I large with a low ceiling and a not so very big screen at the end. The tearing down of this building was a great loss for New York at the time and no one even so much as sneezed.
Loew’s State first opened on August 9th, 1921, presenting four complete shows per day of vaudeville and a feature movie. Black-face entertainer Frank Tinney and comedian Lew Cooper headed the first stage bill of nine acts, with Metro’s “A Trip to Paradise” on screen. It was built on the site of the famous Bartholdi Inn, which was demolished to make way for the theatre and the adjoining office building that became the executive headquarters of Loew’s, Inc. and had the address of 1540 Broadway…In 1958, Loew’s closed the State for a drastic modernization, reducing its seating capacity almost by half to 1,885. It re-opened on March 28, 1959 with the exclusive world premiere engagement of “Some Like It Hot” and went on to enjoy success in the 1960s with reserved-seat road shows like “Ben-Hur.” In 1968, Loew’s decided to twin the State top and bottom, and later sub-divided it even more before selling the theatre and office building in 1987 for demolition and re-development. A clause in the sales contract required that a replacement theatre for the State should be included in the new construction, but it was another nine years before that happened due to delays in constructing the office tower and finding tenants for it and the retail stores at its base.
The design of Loew’s State Theatre was used for Philadelphia, PA’s Fox Theatre at 16th & Market Streets.
Loew’s State was designed by Thomas Lamb in the Adams style. For many years, it was the most famous vaudeville theatre in the USA except for the nearby Palace.
The movies shown at the State were always secondary to the vaudeville program and for the most part were “move-overs” from the Capitol, Paramount, or other Broadway houses. In 1946, vaudeville was finally discontinued at the State and it became a first-run theatre, mostly for MGM product until the studio and Loew’s circuit were “divorced” by Federal decree.