Rivoli Theatre
1620 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10019
1620 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10019
49 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1,001 - 1,005 of 1,005 comments
The facade on the Rivoli was Greek, not Egyptian— and dated to 1917 when the building was designed by Thomas Lamb.
The original curved screen may have been removed by the time of SOUND OF MUSIC, but in 1966, Dimension 150 was installed with a huge curved screen which remained until the theatre was twinned.
I was in projection booth in 1968. The operator I met was there when 70MM was put in.He told me when Mike Todd’s “80 Days” first opened that Mike Todd was virtually living in the booth for several weeks he was such a perfectionist. He had the amperage on the carbon arcs raised so high for more light that the 70mm prints were lasting less than 10 runs per print! The day I was there they were running “Sweet Charity” in 70mm. The last movie I saw in 70mm was “1941” in 1979 I believe.
The Rivoli’s deeply-curved Todd-AO screen was removed long before the 1980s, although it may have been re-installed. I saw the premiere engagement of “The Sound of Music” at the Rivoli in 1965 on a large, but flat screen, in Toidd-AO, which was no longer being projected onto curved screens in most 70mm theaters. Thanks for a great site.
Originally a Broadway house turned into a movie theatre; then in the early 80’s split into two screens by turning the balcony into a separate cinema, this was a United Artists first-run house until it was demolished a few years ago. I was a customer there.