2nd Avenue Theatre

New York, NY

35 - 37 Second Avenue

, New York, NY 10003 United States

(map)

Status:	Closed/Demolished
Screens:	Single Screen
Style:	Unknown

Function:	Unknown
Seats:	1874
Chain:	Unknown

Architect:	Unknown
Firm:	Unknown

David Kessler's 2nd Avenue Theatre opened on September 14, 1911 and was the first of the Yiddish theatres to open along the 'Rialto'. Many important Yiddish artist's served their apprenticeship and gained experience in their art under the infuence of David Kessler; among these were Maurice Schwartz, Bertha Gerstein and Celia Adler. He also established standards for acting and taste for better plays among actors and public.

Kessler's Theatre also screened movies and is listed in the 1914-1915 edition of American Motion Picture Directory. Its location being given at S.W. 2nd Avenue and E. 2nd Street.

In 1924 an ailing Thomas Adler appeared in Gordin's "The Stranger". It was his final performance and two years later the theatre was used for his funeral service. An estimated crowd of between 150,000 and 200,000 packed the street to view the cortage as it made its way along the Lower East Side - pausing briefly at each of the Yiddish theatres.

Molly Picon joined Jacob Kalich, Celia Adler and Aaron Lebedeff in a celebration of 'The 75th Anniversary of the Yiddish Theatre' which was staged at the 2nd Avenue Theatre in 1953. The theatre went dark soon afterwards and in 1958 it was demolished for a parking lot.

Contributed by Ken Roe, Rollingrck, bamtino

YOUR COMMENTS

David Kessler died in 1920.

NY Times May 15, 1920

DAVID KESSLER DIES; NOTED YIDDISH ACTOR; Stricken While Acting Role in a Tolstoy Play, His Death Follows an Operation.

David Kessler, one of the leading Yiddish actors in the United States, star and manager of Kessler's Second Avenue Theatre, died yesterday afternoon in the Beth Israel Hospital, at 70 Jefferson Street, in his sixty-first year.

Demolished in 1958.

NY Times September 21, 1958

TROUBLE ON SECOND AVENUE; Yiddish Actors Mourn Loss of Two Famous Downtown Theatres

THE end of nearly twenty years of illusion was in sight last week along Second Avenue, once the thriving world capital of the Yiddish theatre. Wreckers were dismembering the Second Avenue Theatre for a parking lot.

posted by Lost Memory on Nov 6, 2007 at 9:06am

Hey Lost, what was the other downtown theatre being mourned according to that Times article?

posted by Ed Solero on Nov 6, 2007 at 11:54am

Probably Thomashevsky's National Theater. Both Yiddish theaters had a main auditorium for legitimate drama (2000 seats) and a 1000-seat rooftop theater for movies & vaudeville. If there was a strike in the Yiddish theater, the managers would sometimes switch to movies in the main theater in order to break the strike.

posted by Judith Thissen on Nov 6, 2007 at 12:01pm

It was the National Theater as Judith already posted. If you want to read the full NY Times May 15, 1920 article about David Kessler, I found a link to a pdf file here.

posted by Lost Memory on Nov 6, 2007 at 12:10pm

That link expired pretty quick. I hope you were a fast reader. Anyway, this website claims that the Second Avenue Theater was renamed the Molly Picon Theater. "In the fall of 1930, back at the Second Avenue Theatre, by now renamed the Molly Picon Theatre, she was performing in The Girl of Yesterday (entering via a rope) and The Love Thief to twenty-seven hundred patrons a week".

posted by Lost Memory on Nov 6, 2007 at 12:26pm

The photo that KenRoe posted above would appear, on first glance, to show the theatre under the Molly Picon name. However, I think what we're seeing in that image is the very prominently displayed top billing for Ms. Picon in the 2nd Avenue Theatre's current production at the time.

posted by Ed Solero on Nov 6, 2007 at 12:39pm

I agree that the photo shows Molly Picon's name as billing and not the name of the theater. Most of the NY Times stories that I have looked at, refer to this theater as the Second Avenue Theater. The earlier articles refer to it as Kessler's Theater or Kessler's Second Avenue Theater. One article, I think was from 1931 called it the Molly Picon Theater. I guess it doesn't hurt to have Molly Picon Theater as an aka name.

posted by Lost Memory on Nov 6, 2007 at 12:53pm

Molly Picon was the theater's top star in those days and probably controlled it with her husband-manager (a common practice in the Yiddish theatrical business since the late 19th century). Yiddish theaters were frequently named after the star-manager, so it is not be unlikely that for a few seasons it was known as Molly Picon Theater or Molly Picon's Second Avenue Theater.

posted by Judith Thissen on Nov 6, 2007 at 1:11pm

photo here

http://cache.viewimages.com/xc/3056976.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=B391128A19AB54609A788F4754FC776AA55A1E4F32AD3138

and here
http://www.jamd.com/search?text=molly%20picon

posted by Irv on Apr 26, 2008 at 12:47am

sorry...second one is here

http://www.jamd.com/image/g/3056980

posted by Irv on Apr 26, 2008 at 12:48am

Note: Please read our comment policy before posting. Comments which are off-topic, obscene, spam, or personal attacks will be removed. Help us keep the discussion productive!

Search

Theater Guide

Add Your Cinema Treasure!

Newest Theaters

Recent Comments

Updated Theaters

2nd Avenue Theatre

YOUR COMMENTS

Notify me when someone replies to my comment?