This renovation is nothing but façadism ! The inside of the building was demolished, not renovated ! The original auditorium and its decorations have been destroyed and are buried behind the new walls. Mosaics, murals and other original architectural details are forever lost, encased in cement.
Also before the demolition, the auditorium had 1,200 seats… Now the new auditorium has only 340 ! The architectural space has been significantly altered, chopping up the auditorium to make space for an art gallery, café etc.
you can read more here:
http://actionbarbes.blogspirit.com/archive/2010/07/22/le-louxor-dans-le-canard-enchaine.html
I went by the theater today. The Church is gone, store fronts boarded up and there is an “ X ” painted on the front of the building, apparently to signal fire-fighters not to go inside…
Also a construction worker with a hard hat and harness walked out. Plus it appears the fire-escapes on the north side have been torn out recently.
Anyone have any information as to what is happening to the building ???
“The Victoria’s cavernous auditorium will be demolished, but its ornate lobby, signature fountain, original marquee, grand stairway and gilded chandeliers will be preserved.”
AND BEHIND the multiplexing is a carefully preserved mostly intact single screen auditorium ! (see photos in link below)
“Mr. Blake, sensitive to the historical and irreplaceable aspects of this theater, had partitions put in to create 5 auditoriums that would leave no scars and could be easily removed.”
It looks like the part of the building with retail stores was demolished or extensively renovated to accommodate a 4-story addition for commercial office spaces (totally hiding that behind the cheap new façade is an old building). Does anyone know if the auditorium is still intact? Or was that destroyed with the transformation of the street front part of the building …
This renovation is nothing but façadism ! The inside of the building was demolished, not renovated ! The original auditorium and its decorations have been destroyed and are buried behind the new walls. Mosaics, murals and other original architectural details are forever lost, encased in cement.
Also before the demolition, the auditorium had 1,200 seats… Now the new auditorium has only 340 ! The architectural space has been significantly altered, chopping up the auditorium to make space for an art gallery, café etc.
you can read more here: http://actionbarbes.blogspirit.com/archive/2010/07/22/le-louxor-dans-le-canard-enchaine.html
I went by the theater today. The Church is gone, store fronts boarded up and there is an “ X ” painted on the front of the building, apparently to signal fire-fighters not to go inside…
Also a construction worker with a hard hat and harness walked out. Plus it appears the fire-escapes on the north side have been torn out recently.
Anyone have any information as to what is happening to the building ???
For more information and events calender please visit: http://bluetal.blogspot.com/
interior photos, showing what is currently there behind the mult-plex walls:
photo 1
photo 2
photo 3
photo 4
photo 5
photo 6
photo 7
photo 8
some links to interior photos showing the original auditorium behind the multi-plex partitions from this blog posting
What sad news, it looks like the re-development plan that has been approved will demolish the auditorium and stage house !
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/harlem-victoria-theater-hub-arts-cultural-center-article-1.1117287
“The Victoria’s cavernous auditorium will be demolished, but its ornate lobby, signature fountain, original marquee, grand stairway and gilded chandeliers will be preserved.”
AND BEHIND the multiplexing is a carefully preserved mostly intact single screen auditorium ! (see photos in link below)
http://newyorktoursbygary.blogspot.fr/2011_11_08_archive.html
“Mr. Blake, sensitive to the historical and irreplaceable aspects of this theater, had partitions put in to create 5 auditoriums that would leave no scars and could be easily removed.”
It looks like the part of the building with retail stores was demolished or extensively renovated to accommodate a 4-story addition for commercial office spaces (totally hiding that behind the cheap new façade is an old building). Does anyone know if the auditorium is still intact? Or was that destroyed with the transformation of the street front part of the building …
This theater is in Queens, NOT Ridgewood !