United Palace of Cultural Arts
4140 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10033
4140 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10033
38 people
favorited this theater
Showing 51 - 75 of 268 comments
Bway, will you be attending? I plan on being there. I’ve posted it on facebook and have told many of my friends and neighbors. My teenage nephews want to go as they have NEVER seen a movie in a theater that wasn’t muti-plexed. I can’t wait to see thier faces when they see this theater! It’s so exciting!
EVEN better, isn’t it wonderful to see a status change on the page above!!!! OPEN (Showing Movies)!!!!!! How often do we see it change that way instead of the other way!!!
Wow….is all I can say. For all the depressing news we usually hear on these theater pages of demolitions, conversions, etc, isn’t it nice to actually have something like this happen to a theater.
It worked! YAY!
Loews 175th
Film returns to the 175th Street Theatre! Sunday, November 17th at 6:00 PM with Casablanca on the bill! I will be there!
http://unitedpalace.org/index.php/events/345-celebrate-the-return-of-film-to-the-palace-with-casablanca
here is what i know. reverend ike completely restored the theater down to the last seat and the organ in the late 1960’s. it was featured in the 1970 atos convention. after that, i attended several concerts and played the organ several times. my understanding is that the organ was to be used in the production of a music video in the early 1990’s. the heat of the spotlights melted the stop tablets. to this day, the money has not been available to repair and restore the instrument. can anyone confirm or deny?
Thanks RickB.
Posting an URL on this site does not automatically make it a clickable link. Here is the page that tells how to add links.
Here is a link to the Real Deal article.
LuisV, I asked on the Loews Kings page, and I’ll ask here, why is it that I click on the link and nothing happens?? Is it something Im doing wrong?
The United Palace getting a lot of press today in the Wall Street Journal, Curbed and The Real Deal as the prepare to return this grandest of palaces to showing films once again! So Excited!
http://therealdeal.com/blog/2013/08/22/ex-movie-palace-in-washington-heights-to-restore-screen/
I stepped inside last Sunday, and saw the console of the Robert Morton wrapped in plastic in the lobby. I heard the organ played at a THS Conclave (can’t remember whether it was ‘76 or the '80). I know the organ is listed on several organ websites as unplayable; the recent Times article states this is due to water damage. Anybody know what’s up?
But that’s irrelevant. The New Amsterdam is still a Palace! The Hollywood is a palace! Radio City a palace! and others. Just because they weren’t built for full time presentation of films doesn’t lessen their beauty and their historical importance as Movie Palaces. For me, a theater is a theater, whether it was made exclusively for films or not and I make no real distinction between the two, but I understand that this site is called “Cinema Treasures” and not “Theater Treasures” so the theaters on this site must have had cinema at one time to be included. The criteria is not that the theater has been purpose built for cinema only. That said a great many live theaters have been included as many did show films at one point during their long career.
Most live Broadway Theatres had movie capabilities so they could sponsor premieres and travel shows. The intention was not for full-time operation.
Maybe Vito can clear this up!!! :–)
I think we can both be right. It’s quite possible that it was designed for live theater/events and as the construction progressed and the deepening depression wore on, the decision was made to add movie capability thereby enabling them to do the quick switch when their worst fears were realized.
Radio City may have been planned to be only live theater, but it never was only live theater at the beginning, as mentioned, two weeks after opening it showed it’s first movie. They had to know it would be showing film two weeks earlier…. :)
Oh, and thanks Tinseltoes for the backup. :–) Radio City was built for live theater and events, but quickly realized it wouldn’t work thereby becoming one of the greatest palaces ever to have existed!
The Mark Hellinger would never have been in danger. It would be very successful as a venue for live theater and I hope the church eventually cashes out so they can use the funds “to help the poor”. Yes, they have taken great care of the theater. It’s beautiful, but it should be used as a theater once again and, yes, live theater counts. :–)
Again, even if the theaters are used as churches instead of theater (movies), it’s still better than gutted and turned into a drug store or something….or worse, torn down. As for the Hollywood Theater (Mark Hellinger), as far as I know, the theater is maintained beautifully, even if used for a church. Would you rather have seen it turned into retail, or some of the far worse things that could have been done to it? Hollywood-Mark Hellinger Theatre
As for Radio City Music Hall, it was always meant to show film, as well as live theater. It showed it’s first movie in January 1933….within two weeks of opening.
Agreed, but it is considered a palace nonetheless. Radio City was also built for theater not movies. It too, is one of our greatest palaces! :–)
LuisV, the Mark Hellinger’s original purpose was movies, not Broadway shows.
Many churches have been wonderful stewards of old theaters; others have not. Certainly in the case of theaters like Loew’s 175th Street (United Palace), the Stanley (Jersey City), Loew’s Valencia and Loew’s Metropolitan, churches have saved and preserved the theaters that might otherwise have been lost, but other churches have gutted theaters or severely damaged them. The church that purchased the Mark Hellinger theater in Manhattan has taken a stunning movie palace and removed it from the Broadway Live Theater scene. Though they have taken wonderful care of the theater I wish they would sell it back so it can be returned to its legitimate use as a home for the Broadway Stage.
Wow, that is just wonderful!!
The perfect example of why often times “churches” have “saved” a theater….and now even returning to it’s natural use, at least partly. For all those that “knock” the Tabernacle of Prayer in Jamaica (former Valencia Theater), because of the garish colors they painted….remember it’s churches like that that saved many theaters.
BIG NEWS! There is a campaign under way to buy a projector for this theater and bring regularly scheduled films back to this theater for the first time in more than 40 years. I’m giving $100! Please consider donating and watch the great clip below! This theater is already restored and already has a screen. All that is missing is the projector! http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/return-film-to-the-united-palace