The Eastside Cinema has been preemptively gutted and the theatre floor leveled in anticipation of making the space more immediately attractive to prospective retail tenants.
Like I think is true with the vast majority of NYC art/indie film lovers, I cringe a bit when I see a flick in that vein opening at the Angelika as opposed to the Sunshine…
I think the theatre you’re referring to, Carl, is the former Embassy 1, which is currently home to the Times Square Visitors Center and ceased operations as a movie house sometime in 1997. (The Times Square Visitors Center, incidentally, counts three other theatre sites – the Warner/Rialto at 7th and 42nd and the Selwyn/American Airlines Theatre and Harris on 42nd between 7th and 8th – as former homes) The Embassy 49th Street was located on Broadway between 48th and 49th Streets and demolished in the spring of 1987 to help make room for the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza.
The final two films to be screened at the National Twin – ‘Home Alone 3’ and the Tim Allen-Kirstie Alley-starrer, ‘For Better or Worse’ – reflected in a nutshell the mostly 20th Century Fox and Universal product the National showed during its run as a Cineplex Odeon house.
The scaffolding, I’m guessing – and I won’t have a chance to walk past the Waverly until this weekend to verify this – has been constructed in order to facilitate, at least in part, the removal of the marquee. Part of the architectural plans for the IFC Center (which will be the occupant of the space) include installing one of the two ‘Waverly’ marquee signages within the lobby, visible to passers-by.
There was talk for a time in the mid-1990s that United Artists was considering gutting the Criterion, most of the retail spaces to the theatre’s right, and converting the property into a 15-screen house. However far along those plans were I don’t know, but they were likely scuttled at the absolute latest after both Loews and AMC announced their plans to build their megaplexes on 42nd Street, a timeline that matches the point when UA’s maintenance of the Criterion slid into something just barely north of non-existent.
I guess, per John’s initial post, now there might be a reason to see ‘Shrek 2’ ;–) In addition to two sites in Times Square, the second tale revolving around the giant green ogre is scheduled to open at the Beekman and First and 62nd Street Cinemas in Midtown East.
PS (to John, or anyone else who might be in the know) – is there any word on a closing time for the Loews State? Loews Cineplex has been looking to shake that albatross loose for at least three years and the talk has been (at least according to William’s post in which he first brought forth to this site the bad news about the Astor Plaza) that that house would be shuttered sometime this calendar year.
According to a ‘Buzzcut’ item in the June 2004 issue of Los Angeles Magazine, the Beverly Theater building – which was the first movie house in Beverly Hills – is slated for demolition at an unmentioned date.
I’m always impressed by the breadth of your knowledge, William. One minor correction about the Warner Twin/Strand, though – it was actually replaced by 1585 Broadway, the office tower which houses part of JP Morgan Chase’s Manhattan operations, among other white-collar tenants. The Central Theatre (a.k.a., Forum, Forum 47th Street, and Movieland, among other names during its years of operation), which stood on the southwest corner of Broadway and 47th Street, was demolished in 1998 and replaced by the midtown branch of Ian Schrager’s W Hotels.
The fire Gerald mentions occurred during the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, 1986; two of the final three features were ‘Dreamchild’ and the Michael Caine-starrer, ‘Water’.
The last film to screen at the DGA Theatre while it was still under the aegis of the 57th Street Playhouse was Atom Egoyan’s ‘Exotica’, in the summer of ‘95. (Also, for those who are curious, a fair glimpse of both the interior and exterior of the DGA Theatre/57th Street Playhouse/Normandie/etc. can be seen in the 2003 documentary 'Cinemania’.)
The film version of ‘Little Dorrit’ was 6 hours in length, broken up into two parts – ‘Nobody’s Fault’ and ‘Little Dorrit’s Story’ – and was based on a Charles Dickens novel. If I remember correctly, Cannon Pictures, of all studios, was its U.S. distributor.
One person you might want to consider contacting, Alex, is Larry Alaimo. According to an article about the Waverly which ran in the Times last summer, Larry worked as a manager from the early-1980s until the theatre closed under the aegis of Clearview Cinemas in September of 2001. At the time the piece – and de-facto profile of Larry – ran, he was working at another Clearview location uptown which I suspect was the Chelsea West. My advice would be to stop by the theatre and see if someone on staff could put you in touch with Larry (or perhaps you’d have the good fortune of spotting Larry himself; he’s a bespectacled gentleman in his 50s with salt-and-pepper hair) or contact the corporate headquarters of Clearview Cinemas at 908.918.2000 and find out what, if anything, they can do to help.
There used to be a movie theatre at 3rd and 116th – the one film I recall, per a studio-placed ad which ran in the Times, was 1988’s ‘Salsa’; does anyone remember its name or know of its history?
What do you suppose the standards were when the Astor Plaza and the 42nd Street E-Walk Theatre began screening new releases day-and-date a couple of years ago? Do you think that was more distributor-driven (i.e., seeing the money potential to make an additional cash hit with a 2-3 week run at the Astor Plaza) or something Loews was more pro-active with, considering: a) how difficult it was to book first-run films on the day of their release into the Astor Plaza, what with the 38 competing screens two blocks away; or, b) the sinkhole – arguably on the level of what the Loews State has been since the E-Walk Theatre opened in November of ‘99 – a mostly move-over, 1440-seat single screen house would be, imploring them to pursue the current booking policy for the theatre?
The switch in programming Warren alludes to, I’m pretty sure, might have been a panic move on behalf of the owner of the Fair, after the Giuliani-advocated restrictions on adult businesses in the city became law in the mid- to late-1990s. The audiences for what were literally made-for-TV movies from the 1970s and straight-to-video, 3am USA Network-type programming must have been, to absolutely no surprise whatsoever, sparse, so the return to a porn booking policy must have been a logical one from a business perspective. Whatever ‘renovations’ the Fair may have underwent I’m frankly not bold enough to explore…
Just to clarify a bit on the Victoria/MovieCenter – the original auditorium (or at least the original space occupied by the Victoria) was divided into five auditoriums, not six. (The still-existant frontage on the theatre’s marquee bears this out.) After having been closed for about a year and having been rechristened as the Victoria – albeit as the Victoria 5 – it reopened in the fall of 1992 (with one of its initial offerings being the film ‘South Central’). The new management offered up a policy of first-run films for about a year – while, at some point during that time, ceasing to program the Victoria as a fiveplex and instead as a quad – until closing up shop about a year later (and after months-plus runs of ‘Malcolm X’ – relatively logical – and, somewhat quizzically, ‘The Firm’). For the next couple of years, more ethnically-based films (such as ‘Sankofa’) were programmed into the Victoria, on only one or two screens at a time, until the theatre closed once again. Since then, except for possibly sporadic events, the Victoria has been closed, waiting for a savior – and perhaps a stronger economy as well, at which point perhaps the management of the Apollo will revisit the merger plans which were being discussed a few years ago.
There are some interesting (interesting, that is, from a wreck-on-the-side-of-the-road perspective) photos of the interior of the Liberty – not long before its renovation into a nightclub began last year – posted on the French-language version of www.silverscreens.com
Cineplex Odeon reopened this house as the Chelsea West in December of 1996 (to answer your question, Robert, this was a Walter Reade house – that is, until they were bought out by Cineplex Odeon in 1987). One of the first features shown post-renovation in December of 1996 was ‘The People Vs. Larry Flynt’ and, as touted in an ad in the Times, management was serving free coffee to folks who attended the morning show during the first few days of its run. A fresh, hot cup of brew and a porn king/First Amendment martyr? Not a connection I’d automatically make, but hey… :–)
Here’s a link to a brief piece running in today’s NY Times, recounting the recent closing of the Flatbush Pavilion –
View link
The building which formerly housed the Columbia Cinema has been demolished.
The Eastside Cinema has been preemptively gutted and the theatre floor leveled in anticipation of making the space more immediately attractive to prospective retail tenants.
The Gramercy will once again serve as a theatrical venue when it plays host to the musical ‘From My Hometown’ starting July 12th.
The Warner/Cinerama was actually located on Broadway between 47th and 48th and was replaced by an office skyscraper.
Like I think is true with the vast majority of NYC art/indie film lovers, I cringe a bit when I see a flick in that vein opening at the Angelika as opposed to the Sunshine…
I think the theatre you’re referring to, Carl, is the former Embassy 1, which is currently home to the Times Square Visitors Center and ceased operations as a movie house sometime in 1997. (The Times Square Visitors Center, incidentally, counts three other theatre sites – the Warner/Rialto at 7th and 42nd and the Selwyn/American Airlines Theatre and Harris on 42nd between 7th and 8th – as former homes) The Embassy 49th Street was located on Broadway between 48th and 49th Streets and demolished in the spring of 1987 to help make room for the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza.
The final two films to be screened at the National Twin – ‘Home Alone 3’ and the Tim Allen-Kirstie Alley-starrer, ‘For Better or Worse’ – reflected in a nutshell the mostly 20th Century Fox and Universal product the National showed during its run as a Cineplex Odeon house.
Yes, that’s the same Lyric Theatre, Todd.
The scaffolding, I’m guessing – and I won’t have a chance to walk past the Waverly until this weekend to verify this – has been constructed in order to facilitate, at least in part, the removal of the marquee. Part of the architectural plans for the IFC Center (which will be the occupant of the space) include installing one of the two ‘Waverly’ marquee signages within the lobby, visible to passers-by.
There was talk for a time in the mid-1990s that United Artists was considering gutting the Criterion, most of the retail spaces to the theatre’s right, and converting the property into a 15-screen house. However far along those plans were I don’t know, but they were likely scuttled at the absolute latest after both Loews and AMC announced their plans to build their megaplexes on 42nd Street, a timeline that matches the point when UA’s maintenance of the Criterion slid into something just barely north of non-existent.
I guess, per John’s initial post, now there might be a reason to see ‘Shrek 2’ ;–) In addition to two sites in Times Square, the second tale revolving around the giant green ogre is scheduled to open at the Beekman and First and 62nd Street Cinemas in Midtown East.
PS (to John, or anyone else who might be in the know) – is there any word on a closing time for the Loews State? Loews Cineplex has been looking to shake that albatross loose for at least three years and the talk has been (at least according to William’s post in which he first brought forth to this site the bad news about the Astor Plaza) that that house would be shuttered sometime this calendar year.
According to a ‘Buzzcut’ item in the June 2004 issue of Los Angeles Magazine, the Beverly Theater building – which was the first movie house in Beverly Hills – is slated for demolition at an unmentioned date.
I’m always impressed by the breadth of your knowledge, William. One minor correction about the Warner Twin/Strand, though – it was actually replaced by 1585 Broadway, the office tower which houses part of JP Morgan Chase’s Manhattan operations, among other white-collar tenants. The Central Theatre (a.k.a., Forum, Forum 47th Street, and Movieland, among other names during its years of operation), which stood on the southwest corner of Broadway and 47th Street, was demolished in 1998 and replaced by the midtown branch of Ian Schrager’s W Hotels.
The fire Gerald mentions occurred during the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, 1986; two of the final three features were ‘Dreamchild’ and the Michael Caine-starrer, ‘Water’.
The last film to screen at the DGA Theatre while it was still under the aegis of the 57th Street Playhouse was Atom Egoyan’s ‘Exotica’, in the summer of ‘95. (Also, for those who are curious, a fair glimpse of both the interior and exterior of the DGA Theatre/57th Street Playhouse/Normandie/etc. can be seen in the 2003 documentary 'Cinemania’.)
The film version of ‘Little Dorrit’ was 6 hours in length, broken up into two parts – ‘Nobody’s Fault’ and ‘Little Dorrit’s Story’ – and was based on a Charles Dickens novel. If I remember correctly, Cannon Pictures, of all studios, was its U.S. distributor.
One person you might want to consider contacting, Alex, is Larry Alaimo. According to an article about the Waverly which ran in the Times last summer, Larry worked as a manager from the early-1980s until the theatre closed under the aegis of Clearview Cinemas in September of 2001. At the time the piece – and de-facto profile of Larry – ran, he was working at another Clearview location uptown which I suspect was the Chelsea West. My advice would be to stop by the theatre and see if someone on staff could put you in touch with Larry (or perhaps you’d have the good fortune of spotting Larry himself; he’s a bespectacled gentleman in his 50s with salt-and-pepper hair) or contact the corporate headquarters of Clearview Cinemas at 908.918.2000 and find out what, if anything, they can do to help.
There used to be a movie theatre at 3rd and 116th – the one film I recall, per a studio-placed ad which ran in the Times, was 1988’s ‘Salsa’; does anyone remember its name or know of its history?
Here’s the URL for the 5.2.04 Daily News article Richard referenced:
View link
What do you suppose the standards were when the Astor Plaza and the 42nd Street E-Walk Theatre began screening new releases day-and-date a couple of years ago? Do you think that was more distributor-driven (i.e., seeing the money potential to make an additional cash hit with a 2-3 week run at the Astor Plaza) or something Loews was more pro-active with, considering: a) how difficult it was to book first-run films on the day of their release into the Astor Plaza, what with the 38 competing screens two blocks away; or, b) the sinkhole – arguably on the level of what the Loews State has been since the E-Walk Theatre opened in November of ‘99 – a mostly move-over, 1440-seat single screen house would be, imploring them to pursue the current booking policy for the theatre?
The switch in programming Warren alludes to, I’m pretty sure, might have been a panic move on behalf of the owner of the Fair, after the Giuliani-advocated restrictions on adult businesses in the city became law in the mid- to late-1990s. The audiences for what were literally made-for-TV movies from the 1970s and straight-to-video, 3am USA Network-type programming must have been, to absolutely no surprise whatsoever, sparse, so the return to a porn booking policy must have been a logical one from a business perspective. Whatever ‘renovations’ the Fair may have underwent I’m frankly not bold enough to explore…
Just to clarify a bit on the Victoria/MovieCenter – the original auditorium (or at least the original space occupied by the Victoria) was divided into five auditoriums, not six. (The still-existant frontage on the theatre’s marquee bears this out.) After having been closed for about a year and having been rechristened as the Victoria – albeit as the Victoria 5 – it reopened in the fall of 1992 (with one of its initial offerings being the film ‘South Central’). The new management offered up a policy of first-run films for about a year – while, at some point during that time, ceasing to program the Victoria as a fiveplex and instead as a quad – until closing up shop about a year later (and after months-plus runs of ‘Malcolm X’ – relatively logical – and, somewhat quizzically, ‘The Firm’). For the next couple of years, more ethnically-based films (such as ‘Sankofa’) were programmed into the Victoria, on only one or two screens at a time, until the theatre closed once again. Since then, except for possibly sporadic events, the Victoria has been closed, waiting for a savior – and perhaps a stronger economy as well, at which point perhaps the management of the Apollo will revisit the merger plans which were being discussed a few years ago.
There are some interesting (interesting, that is, from a wreck-on-the-side-of-the-road perspective) photos of the interior of the Liberty – not long before its renovation into a nightclub began last year – posted on the French-language version of www.silverscreens.com
Cineplex Odeon reopened this house as the Chelsea West in December of 1996 (to answer your question, Robert, this was a Walter Reade house – that is, until they were bought out by Cineplex Odeon in 1987). One of the first features shown post-renovation in December of 1996 was ‘The People Vs. Larry Flynt’ and, as touted in an ad in the Times, management was serving free coffee to folks who attended the morning show during the first few days of its run. A fresh, hot cup of brew and a porn king/First Amendment martyr? Not a connection I’d automatically make, but hey… :–)