dave-bronx: Thanks for the info. Columbia U has the Geller papers, so I can look for more there. You might be interested to know that the initial announcement of Cinema I/II in the Times listed Schlanger as the sole architect. I suspect that Geller was brought in later to attract attention to the distinctness of the building as architecture — it did end up getting covered in a number of architecture journals. My guess is that Geller worked on the exterior (although the marquees recall the Murray Hill) while the auditoria are recognizably Schlanger.
I was struck by the Lincoln Center resemblance because of the arcaded window with visible second floor lobby, which was mandated as a common design feature for the three central buildings to give the impression of architectural unity. But even if Geller was entirely responsible for the exterior, oddly it was Schlanger who worked on Lincoln Center.
By the 1950s, Schlanger had achieved an international reputation for his work on sight lines, and so did the seating arrangements for the U.N. General Assembly as well as a number of prominent arts centers in the U.S. and abroad — at the least, the seating at the Met and the New York State Theatre was designed by him.
I’m very familiar with his NYC theaters because they were generally my first choice for seeing a movie if it was playing at more than one theater. I also had the good fortune of growing up in a small New England city with three Schlanger theaters, inevitably my preferred theaters as well. That’s why I’m sure he did the auditoria for Cinema I/II — pretty recognizable to anyone who knows his work. And that’s why I see the later “renovation” as more desecration and was sorry to see Geller involved. Getting rid of the Syncho Screen and replacing it with a conventional screen placed too close to the seating area destroyed Schlanger’s carefully worked out sight lines. And it encased the screen in conventional black masking, something Schlanger campaigned against for his entire career. I went to the new Cinema I once and never went back.
For Dave-Bronx — I’m finishing a book that deals in part with Ben Schlanger, so I was interested in a post you did years ago about architectural drawings. Plus you also wrote there was an intentional connection to Lincoln Center, something I recently concluded, but have no evidence for other than the fact that Schlanger did work on a number of bldgs. in Lincoln Center. Is there any way I could possibly see the materials you have. Thanks!
dave-bronx: Thanks for the info. Columbia U has the Geller papers, so I can look for more there. You might be interested to know that the initial announcement of Cinema I/II in the Times listed Schlanger as the sole architect. I suspect that Geller was brought in later to attract attention to the distinctness of the building as architecture — it did end up getting covered in a number of architecture journals. My guess is that Geller worked on the exterior (although the marquees recall the Murray Hill) while the auditoria are recognizably Schlanger.
I was struck by the Lincoln Center resemblance because of the arcaded window with visible second floor lobby, which was mandated as a common design feature for the three central buildings to give the impression of architectural unity. But even if Geller was entirely responsible for the exterior, oddly it was Schlanger who worked on Lincoln Center.
By the 1950s, Schlanger had achieved an international reputation for his work on sight lines, and so did the seating arrangements for the U.N. General Assembly as well as a number of prominent arts centers in the U.S. and abroad — at the least, the seating at the Met and the New York State Theatre was designed by him.
I’m very familiar with his NYC theaters because they were generally my first choice for seeing a movie if it was playing at more than one theater. I also had the good fortune of growing up in a small New England city with three Schlanger theaters, inevitably my preferred theaters as well. That’s why I’m sure he did the auditoria for Cinema I/II — pretty recognizable to anyone who knows his work. And that’s why I see the later “renovation” as more desecration and was sorry to see Geller involved. Getting rid of the Syncho Screen and replacing it with a conventional screen placed too close to the seating area destroyed Schlanger’s carefully worked out sight lines. And it encased the screen in conventional black masking, something Schlanger campaigned against for his entire career. I went to the new Cinema I once and never went back.
For Dave-Bronx — I’m finishing a book that deals in part with Ben Schlanger, so I was interested in a post you did years ago about architectural drawings. Plus you also wrote there was an intentional connection to Lincoln Center, something I recently concluded, but have no evidence for other than the fact that Schlanger did work on a number of bldgs. in Lincoln Center. Is there any way I could possibly see the materials you have. Thanks!