Center Theatre
1236 Sixth Avenue,
New York,
NY
10020
1236 Sixth Avenue,
New York,
NY
10020
14 people
favorited this theater
Showing 101 - 125 of 125 comments found
I could not follow the link posted by Warren (Hi! from Benjamin of the Nostalgia Boards) on Sept. 19th about this theater supposedly being intended to be the new home of the Metropolitan Opera, so I can’t comment on the info on that website. BUT having read a number of histories of Rockefeller Center, I believe this is very much a mistake — this theater was NOT designed to be a new home for the Metropolitan Opera.
(Two good books and a monograph I’ve read are 1) a popular history of Rockerfeller Center by … (the name escapes me for the moment, but it was written in the 1960s); 2) a more scholarly one by Carol Krinsky (from the mid-1970s); and 3) a scholarly monography by James Marston Fitch of the Historic Preservation program at Columbia. (Plus there is a relatively new comprehensive history, the Okrent book(?), which I haven’t looked at yet.)
My guess, is that the misundertanding boils down to differing interpretations of the meaning of the phrase “built for.”
The generally accepted story is that the original impetus for the ENTIRE CENTER was the desire of the Metropolitan Opera to have a new home. They got John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to buy up the leases on the land for them (he was to sell part of it and donate part of it, I believe) so they could build a grand opera house with a plaza in front (like the Paris Opera) and arcades and stores, etc. to provide a grand setting. But for a variety of reasons, including the stock market crash of 1929, this scheme didn’t work out. So John D. Rockefeller who had already started working on this scheme — and was left holding the bag, so to speak — had to “fish or cut bait” and he decided to build Rockefeller Center instead of just letting the property just stay as it was (“low rent”) while he was shelling out a premium to get all those leases under one ownership.
Had the original plans been followed, the Metropolitan Opera House would likely have been designed to stand on what was to become the centrally located site of the GE (originally RCA) Building — facing a magnificent, large public square (which would have been located where the ice skating rink is today).
By the time plans were developed for Radio City Music Hall and the Center Theater at Rockefeller Center, the Metropolitan was long, long gone from the picture and these theater were designed with different objectives in mind — and at locations more in keeping with their functions. Remember, although the Sixth Ave. “el” was scheduled to be torn down, Sixth Ave. was still a very seedy street — not the greatest location for an opera house, while a location behind a large public square facing Fifth Ave. would have been considered ideal for an opera house.
As I understand it, the Center Theater was originally designed to function as Radio City Music Hall ultimately functioned during its heyday (a film interspersed with a stage show), and Radio City Music Hall was originally intended to be just that, an enormous “music hall,” along the lines of the fabled “Palace Theater” (or the 3,000 seat, or so, George Carroll Theater, just a block down the street from Radio City Music Hall).
When the Music Hall flopped as a “music hall,” it took over the film/stage show function and the Center Theater was left to search for a new format/use.
P.S. — Carol Krinsky is trained as an art historian and, if I remember correctly, her book has nice little histories and pictures of Radio City Music Hall and the Center Theater.
CConnolly
Sad the Guild could not have stayed open. It was a good house but had gotten run down. After the Music Hall stopped showing movies they picked up alot of the Disney Films.
Rob
RobertR: That link works nicely…I know I’ve seen that picture before…I think it’s in the book “Lost New York”. I was so curious about this that I actually took a quick walk to see what went up in its place and I have to say that it’s pathetic. A completely unremarkable black and glass building. Just take a look at the “lovely” building that took the place of the Roxy. If you stand on the southwest corner of 7th and 50th, you can clearly see where the Sports Illustrated building is nestled exactly where the Roxy once stood.
Can you imagine at the time this was done that the architects and builders thought this was progress?
From this site I’m learning so much about Rockefeller Center. So there were three theaters in the Center at one time. In addition to the Music Hall, there was The Guild and The Center. Amazing.
My random memories of the Center include a couple of visits to the ice shows staged there in the late ‘40s (I estimate in and after Fall, 1946, when I was four years old). By that time, I had already seen a few shows at RCMH with which to compare those at the Center. My most vivid recollection is of one scene deploying a transparent skrim, a revelation to my childish imagination as I wondered how we were able to “see through†an apparently tangible curtain.
Like RCMH, the Center had a cream-tan velvet contour curtain, but with ten folds rather than the fourteen at the larger theater. The walls were of mahogany veneer. The proscenium opening was 60’ with a stage depth of 44’. Like the one at RCMH, its stage had three elevators and a revolving platform. And like RCMH, the Center had three shallow mezzanines, with respective seating capacities of 406, 655, and 559. The orchestra accommodated 1,890. Total capacity was 3,509. Like the Grand Foyer at RCMH, it had a wide staircase and elevators to the top mezzanine, and its basement had a Grand Lounge. Its lobby had three ticket offices.
The preceding statistics come from the American Memory web page at the Library of Congress, Digital ID: ppmsca 05843 (I’ll later supply a precise URL if I can find it). I’m certainly not recalling them from childhood memory, but I definitely do retain vivid images of the Center and its impressive ambience. In 1950 I saw a live telecast of the Milton Berle Show there, and remember the stage as being too cluttered with camera equipment to get a good view of the action. I also attended a few radio broadcasts of NBC’s “The Big Show†on Sunday evenings there, hosted by Tallulah Bankhead. One took place in Spring ’51, with Ethel Merman and Edgar Bergen as guest stars.
The last time I remember seeing its façade was in December ’53 after seeing the Christmas show at RCMH; I took photographs of its lighted marquee. The theater was converted into office space and an indoor garage shortly after that.
View link
try this
RobertR: where on that page you sent as a link is the photograph?
That circular auditorium was awesome, another NY treasure ground into dust :(
Kind of remarkable how there’s been – and continues to be – so much talk about Radio City Music Hall and the Roxy, while the Center is largely forgotten…
www.deadprogrammer.com/archive..
Look at the incredible picture of the Center auditorium here.
The Center Theatre was designed by Edward Durrell Stone, chief designer for Hood and Foulihoux, one member of the architectural team for Rockefeller Center (Associated Architects). When the Metropolitan Opera could not occupy one of the theatres (designed by their chief designer at the time – Joseph Urban) it was taken out of the project.
The Center Theatre used the same stage machinery as the International Music Hall (RCMH’s orignal name) – an orchestra lift, 3 stage lifts with a turntable in the center. There wasa large pipe organ with twin consoles in niches on either side of the proscenium arch. the theatre also had the lighting control at the front of the orchestra pit (like Earl Carroll’s Theatre) and a contour curtain based upon the Ted Weidhas patents.
There are incorrect attributions to design for the Rockefeller Center Theatres – Donald Desky was brought into the Music Hall after it been designed and provided oversight primarily for furnishings, the Roxy apartment and lounges, not shape and design for the auditorium. His partner, Eugene Schoen worked on the Center Theatre and had a greater input, primarily because it was not as far into the design process.
For a fascinating book about the concept of, the design and the building of Rockefeller Center, including Radio City Music Hall (originally known as the International Music Hall), the RKO Roxy and Samuel Lionel “Roxy” Rothapfel, get Great Fortune written by Daniel Okrent. The original idea of a theater in Rockefeller Center was indeed the new Metropolitan Opera House. The book may be purchased at Border’s, Barnes and Noble and Amazon. For theater lovers as we are, it was truly fascinating to read about Rocketfeller Center’s history.
Warren: You'r right,I was wrong. The true answer can be found at http://archiverockefeller.edu/bio/jdrjr.php
Warren: My source was my dad who worked down the street and asked what they were building, and the answer was “the new Met” That’s the story I heard,and supposedly the prompters box was located in the middle of the cieling. But of course like all stories it could be wrong. Maybe Rockefeller center has an historian many corp. do.
H, what is your source for the claim that the Center was originally built to house the Metropolitan Opera House? I’ve never heard or read that before. I thought it was intended to be a smaller version of the Roxy Theatre, presenting a feature movie and a stage show. That was the Center’s policy at opening, but it had to be changed to just movies and then to musical plays or ice shows to avoid conflict with its larger sibling, Radio City Music Hall. RCMH was intended to be a “live” venue, but flopped at opening and was quickly switched to a movie/stage show policy.
The Center Theater was located at 48st.Regency Bruin Theatreth,and was originaly built by Rockerfeller to house the Metropolitan Opera House, but somewhre allong the line the deal fell through and they tried a few shows which floped, “The American Way” was one such show. Then they turned it into an Ice Show venu, then they showed Disney’s Pinnocio. Finally it became the Milton Berle TV studio. It was circular in design and had the signs of the zodiac embossed on the cieling along with twinkling lights.
The Center’s address was 1236 Sixth Avenue.
The Grand Foyer of the the New Roxy was done in red and gold fabric wth mahogany walls. The 3,700 seat auditorium had 75 foot rich mahogany paneled high walls which supported a flat ceiling decorated with figures from Greek mysthology. Centered over the orchestra section was a 104,000-watt chandelier, 30 feet in diameter. Claimed as the largest of its kind, the fixture required its own fan cooling system. The theatre premeired on December 29,1932 (Two days after the Music Hall) with a stage show and the movie ANIMAL KINGDOOM starring Leslie Howard and Myrna Loy. After successful litigation by the owners of The Roxy Theatre on 7th Avenue & 50th street, the theatre was renamed the RKO Center in 1933 featuring less costly second-run double bill films. In 1934 the RKO was dropped from the Center’s name when it opened with its first legitimate production,THE GREAT WALTZ. When the show closed, it attempted showing films again. When that failed, it returned to presenting live shows until it became an NBC studio in 1950. The theatre was demolished four years later (1954).
we renamed The RKO Center in 1933. Less costly second-run double bill movies were featured. The RKO was dropped from its name in 1934 when it got ready for its first legitmate booking, THE GREAT WALTZ. The Center attempted showing movies after this show closed, but when that failed, it returned to presenting live shows until becoming an NBC studio in 1950. The theatre was demolished four years later (1954) In 1950 for four years, the theatre was then demolished.
In March, 1933, while still known as the New Roxy (a name successfully challenged by the original Roxy), it shared the New York premiere engagement of “King Kong” with Radio City Music Hall. Incredible though it might seem, both theatres supported the movie with a stage show, “Jungle Rhythms,” though the version at the New Roxy was slightly less spectacular because it had a smaller resident company of performers and musicians than the Music Hall. But between them, about 400 people were employed as soloists, chorus, or orchestra players. The combined seating capacity of the two theatres was about 10,000, and each gave 5 complete (movie and stage) shows per day. Not surprisingly, with so many seats available, “King Kong” lasted only one week at the Music Hall, but continued (with stage show) for two more weeks at the New Roxy.
My father(John Foy) Told Me that his Uncle “George Carroll” was the architect of the “Roxy Theatre” in New York City that was located near the Radio City Music Hall" this is 100% sure. George Carroll also designed “Kreske’s” across the states. Could someone do some research and confirm this. Thank You.
This theatre opened as the Roxy as stated above in the original post and in Stannorton’s comment. The picture is of when it was known as The Center Theatre after the lawsuit from the original Roxy Theatre forced them to change the name.
I have in my possesion a full set of architectural drawings of the Roxy Theater of New York City. The drawing were done by my great uncle, Tom Moreford. Does anyone have anyone photos of the theater they could share?
This picture is not the Roxy Theater in New York City. It is the Center Theater which is part of Rockerfeller Center. It has since been gutted and turned into offices. In later years it became a TV studio for NBC. I once saw the last of the Milton Berle TV showes there.
I have an old mirror in the art deco style from RKO studios – It’s about 9feet by 4 ½ feet with RKO letters on top. It may have come from the old theater in New York. I’m looking for a photo of the original – any ideas?????
This Theater is discussed in the book “Lost Broadway” by Hoogstraten as well as “Lost New York” by Silver.
This theatre was part of Roxy’s Radio City Complex and was to show movies with a stage show. If you will recall The Music Hall was to be just that with no movies. It is curious that Roxy (Rothafel) made such a critical mistake with the Music Hall and opened it w/o movies since his claim to fame was to introduce movies in every other theatre he managed. The Music Hall was a flop and closed several weeks later causing Roxy (who had a heart attack) to be removed as MANAGER. The Roxy Center Theatre was a very beautiful but simply designed theatre. A lawsuit from the original Roxy Theatre made them take off the name Roxy. The theatre had a lackluster performance and ended up with skating shows.