60 years of Paris

NEW YORK, NY — Great piece by Joe Queenan in the New York Times which captures in his own inimitable style the spirit of the Paris. It is said that many of the Paris patrons don’t see movies anywhere else. The fact is that for 60 years and fortunately still going, the Paris has brought NY the best of French and international cinema with the odd American picture thrown in - some of Woody’s 80’s pictures. Long live the Paris!

On Sept. 13, the Paris Theater, on 58th Street just west of Fifth Avenue, will celebrate its 60th anniversary. This is a remarkable accomplishment, as the Paris does not go in much for films in which things get blown up. In a city teeming with faux vieux Irish saloons and restaurants adorned with plaques reading “A tradition since 1988,” the single-screen Paris is the real thing, a bona fide vestige of a storied past.

The Plaza Hotel, which sits directly across the street, may no longer function exclusively as a hotel — it has added condominium units — but the Paris, with its plush seats, plush carpets, microscopic lobby, scalloped balcony and policy of showing just one film a week, remains as it long has been.

Read the full story in the New York Times.

(Thanks to kramchang for providing the photo.)