Nova Theatre

This theater had a sister theater in Park Slope, Brooklyn (The Plaza and now the Pavilion Twin). It recently closed, leaving Manhattan north of 125th Street with not a single operating cinema.

Nova Cinemas closed for good

The building is located on Broadway and 147th Street.

Does anyone know if the Nova's heartbreaking conversion into a 99-cent store has been completed?

To answer my own question - yes, the Nova has indeed been converted into a 99-cent store. All that remains within the interior is the downward slope which greeted patrons as they entered the theatre, an odd cement formation in the ceiling where at least one or two of the cinemas were (I spent a moment or two staring at it, trying to figure out what it was, but to no avail), a small counter to one's left as they enter the theatre (it's too battered to have been installed during the recent renovation) and what appears to be either the fire exit (although it isn't marked as such) or the entranceway to a storage room. (Walking around, I couldn't imagine how three auditoriums were fit within that space or what the precise layout was; at least one or two of them must have been relatively tiny.) Of the exterior, the box office and marquee are gone, as are the one-sheet display cases shown in the above photo; the tiles beneath those one-sheet cases remain and the exterior otherwise has been painted tan.

Did nova convert his theater into a 99cent store or has he sold the land. Meaning is the store his?

Mr. Nova did not own the Nova Cinema but did rent the cinema before the rent was raised to high and Mr. Nova left. The landlord than gutted the cinemas for retail use and found someone to rent it ( a 99 c store). Mr. Nova also closed and has since reopend The
New Coliseum.

I'm curious to know... does anyone have any memories of having seen movies at the Nova or any memories they'd like to share of the theatre, the people who went or worked there, etc., etc.? What was the interior like? Was it as popular a theatre as the Coliseum on 181st Street? What was its history, beyond its opening as a photoplay house in 1913, Jesus Nova assuming the lease in the early 1980s, and its recent shuttering and conversion into a 59/79/99-cent store? The only time I visited its interior was when I wanted to see what had become of it this past March and I've been haunted since by what I saw that day and heartbroken that such a cool, little long-running neighborhood movie house slipped away and just became another retail space...

br91975 I agree, to think it made it from 1913 and then into the new millenium and then greed closed it. I drove by it a few times but never saw the inside. Never saw inside The Astro either but went buy it a few times.

While difficult to see in the photo above, the white carvings at the top of the building on each side are smiling rabbit faces (complete with ears), further symbolizing the original name of the theatre. Are these still there since conversion to a 99 cent store?

The exterior of the property looks much as it did - see my posting from this past March 7th - during its years of operation as a movie theatre. Of the marquee, all that remains are stubs of the wire supports visible to the left and right of the center of the marquee in the above photo.

Thanks for your response to my September 2nd post, Robert - just out of curiosity, where was the Astro located?

1989 films
5/19 1- Fistfighter 2- See No Evil
6/2 2- Renegades 2- See No Evil
6/16 1- No Holes Barred 2- See No Evil & Renegades
6/23 1 & 2 Batman
7/7 1- Lethal Weapon II 2- Batman
8/11 1- Lethal Weapon II 2- Nightmare on Elm Street V
8/18 1- Casualties of War 2- Nightmare V
8/25 1- Casualties of War 2- Millenium
9/1 1- License to Kill & Casualties of War 2- Lockup & Do Right Thing
9/8 1- The Abyss 2- Casualties of War & License to Kill
9/15 1- Casualties of War 2- Kickboxer
9/22 1- Black Rain 2- Kickboxer
9/29 1- Black Rain 2- Kickboxer & War Party
10/13 1- Black Rain 2- Halloween V
10/20 1- Look Who's Talking 2- Black Rain & The Package
10/27 1- Look Who's Talking 2- Shocker
11/10 1- Best of the Best & Shocker 2- Look Who's Talking
11/17 1- Harlem Nights 2- Look Who's Talking
11/24 1- Harlem Nights 2- Back To The Future 2
1/12/90 1- Downtown 2- Texas Chainsaw Massacre III
1/19 1- Tremors 2- Downtown & Texas Chainsaw 3
1/26 1- Tango & Cash 2- Little Mermaid & Tremors
2/16 1- Nightbreed 2- Hard to Kill

'Spy Kids 2', 'Undisputed', and 'XXX' were the final offerings at the Nova - which became a triplex sometime in the early '90s - in August of 2002.

About midway through the 1985 film "Death Wish 3" a delivery truck drives by the Nova Cinemas. The film must have been shot sometime in 1984 most likely summer; anyway "Beverly Hills Cop" is one of the movies advertised on the marquee. The Nova at this time must have been a twin because only two movies were on the marquee.

Yes, but one of the movies might have been showing on two screens!

The Nova was converted into a three-screen venue in the early to mid-'90s and closed as such.

Newspaper display ads and general movie clocks for Creative Entertainment-booked theatres (as was true with the Nova) often provide inaccurate information, listing more showtimes than a given theatre can support (i.e., four full showtime runs for a three-screen venue) or a showtime schedule on one or more screens which doesn't jibe with running times.

Thats done on purpose so they can double book films onto one screen. Many of these are in the first few weeks and the distributor would never allow the screen to be split. In addition to the papers being wrong they give they wrong times on the tape so if anyone checks they can say that particular movie is playing alone. This causes people to show up at the theatres furious. It's worth it though to give out a few free passes to be able to not have to pass on a film on it's opening week because your stuck with the 5th week of a commitment on an ongoing film. Check out the Kent in brooklyn during peak release times they will have 5 movies advertised all with times like 130 330 530 730 930.

A long-standing personal mystery solved; thanks for that bit of info, Robert. I'm surprised none of the distributors have caught on; it's probably safe to say they pay more concern to the venues their films show in on, say, the UWS of Manhattan than they do of the ones in Washington Heights or Corona.

Robert that is very true Kent is a triplex but often "shows
4 movies" playing on the recording at 12,220,440,7,930 a few weeks back and even around the first week or so of December they listed 5 movies.Coliseum sometimes has six movies playing at or around the same time (8:45,9:10,9:15,9:25,9:40).

There are two other film booking questions I have, Robert, that perhaps you (or someone else in the know) can answer for me:

1) Is there a standard length of engagement agreement between the major studios for all their releases and the exhibitors or is it negotiated on a per-film basis?

2) Prior to a film's release, can an exhibition agreement be broken? I've noticed the theatres a film is scheduled to open in vary sometimes from what's listed within advance-release print ads and the theatres in which it actually opens. One recent example involves 'Coach Carter' and 'Racing Stripes', both of which were scheduled to open at the New York Twin; 'Racing Stripes', though, opened at the 64th & 2nd/Gemini instead...

3) Sunday newspaper print ads, specifically those which run in the NY Times, Post, and Daily News, don't always list every Manhattan theatre in which the film opens - commonly, the Nova was left off and the New Coliseum continues to be with regularity. Any idea why this tends to be so?

Actually, sorry, that was THREE questions; thanks in advance for your answers (or those of someone else of equal reliability)...

An agreement is made with all studios for first run and second run cinemas.
Along with the contracts you get when you first open. I operate several theaters one is a twin and we have “Racing Stripes”. Warner states that when we got the picture we hade to keep it for at least four weeks.
We got the movie January 14th on the National
Release date. We could not split the movie for the first three weeks. This Friday it will show with a split with “National Treasure” which we are bringing back for one showing nightly. "Racing Stripes" will still show twice on weekdays and three times this weekend.

An agreement is made with all studios for first run and second run along with the contracts you get when you first open. I operate several theaters one is a twin and we have “Racing Stripes”. Warner states that when we got the picture when hade to keep it four weeks. We got the movie January 14th on the National
Release date. We could not split the movie for the first three weeks. This Friday it will show with a split with “National Treasure” which we are bringing back for one showing nightly. ”Racing Stripes “ will still show twice on weekdays and three times this weekend.

Newspaper ads that list all theatres in the area showing that movie are called co-op ads. Theatres have to pay to be placed in these ads. We had an average of $9,000 a week to be placed an ad for Friday-Sunday.
This is why many owners be placed in the time clock which is free in most papers.

Thanks for answering my questions; I'd long wondered about those booking and advertising policies and it's great to finally have some clearance. Again, thank you...

My dad managed this movie theatre also. Mr. Nova had 4 theatres that I know of, The Alpine, The Nova, The Riverdale Twin and finally the Colliseum. My dad worked at all 3.

I'd been hoping to hear from someone who had ties in one way or another to the Nova. (See my post from this past September 2nd.) Even though I never saw a film at the Nova, I was saddened when it closed - to think a movie theatre could last 89 years and then, in a matter of months, just disappear into the streetscape and become just another 99-cent store... what a shame. When did your father work there, Lissy? Are there any memories he'd be willing to share?

This is what the former Bunny Theater looks like today.

Here is a closeup of the bunny head on the building.

Another closeup view showing the Bunny name can be seen here.

My father's uncle is listed in the NY City Directory as manager of the Bunny Theater in 1920-21. He later managed the Endicott Theater in Brooklyn. I'm looking for whatever information I can find on him and these places.

Hello. I've lived in the area where the former Nova Theatre is located my whole life, and it and the RKO/New Coliseum (whichever you want to call it) were big parts of my movie-watching childhood throughout the '90's. (I'm 20 now.) I frequented both often throughout the '90's when by the end of the decade my interest in movie-watching started waning drastically believe it or not (still's the case to this day.)

Anyways, I had many a great memory at the Nova, with all of its neon lights and colors both in the marquee and inside the building that screamed '80's, it's impressively big, blue entranceway and ramp and its modest 3 theaters. (I recall the bathrooms being kinda junky though.) Back in the '90's this sucker had lines of people wrapping around the corner waiting everytime a big blockbuster came out! Truly a sight to see, and something long gone by around this area.

Last time I visited the Nova was in July 2001, shortly after "Scary Movie 2" came out. (Man, what a junker that last movie I watched there was. Shame.) It was a nondescript visit, and my last one. Then before I knew it the Nova was shuttered and converted into yet another 99c store (as if there aren't enough of those around here.) I was heartbroken upon hearing this and finally checking it out myself on a recent visit. Only the entrance ramp triggers my memory of the ol' Nova, everything else looks completely different (and yes, I too am amazed how they managed to fit in 3 theaters in that little space).

At least the New Coliseum is still around and had a recent, fresh renovation. Though I haven't been to that one since late '99. Wonder how that reno is holding up after 2 years of wear and tear but that story is for another post. Does anyone have any more photos of the Nova during its heyday and if possible, any photos of the pre-Nova days when it was the Bunny or something else? Hopefully they'll landmark this theater like they did to the not-so-nearby Claremont Theater.

This is another recent photo of the former Bunny Theater.

Anyone have the slightest idea or info as to what use did this building serve before Jesus Nova leased it and made it into the Nova, or perhaps after the "Bunny Theater" days??? Before the conversion into a 99c store, did it always serve as a theater. There are so many relics and gems in this part of Harlem but little to no info on them (at least on the internet). It's quite frustrating, not being able to find much history or vintage photos on a lot of things around here.

Ace, I can confirm that it was still operating as the Bunny (and Bunny Roof) well into the thirties. By the late forties and early fifties it was known as the Dorset.

The sixties and seventies remain a mystery to me but by 1981 it was already the Nova and it became a twin around 1989-1990.

Here's a current view of the Bunny/Nova Theater, scroll down about 3/4 of the page:

http://www.forgotten-ny.com/STREET%20SCENES/unused/rejects.html

Interesting AIAlvarez. Man, if only there were vintage photos of this theater (the nearby Claremont & RKO Hamilton have vintage photos of themselves) but it was probably an obscure, small theater all of it's life.

I read an article that was posted in another board circa-2003 (which I dug up again) that talked about recent closings of theaters along the Upper West Side & Harlem, the Nova being one of the mentioned. They mentioned how Jesus Nova's father, Ramon Nova (deceased) gave up his cab (don't know if it was his business or his job) to lease the building which eventually became the Nova 23 years ago. Being that the article was written in 2003 that would mean that the Novas leased and created the Nova theatre around 1979-1980.

Of course, Jesus Nova himself would know a lot more about his family's time with the theater, and since he was behind the re-opening of the New Coliseum more than two years ago a bit north from the Nova, and is possibly still around, would any of you guys like to contact him and interview or perhaps ask him some questions??? Or even better, have him post here and on the New Coliseum page because that would be awesome.

Ace: I can't recall for certain, and I don't have access to my books right now so I can't check, but I think there was a period photo of Manhattan's Bunny Theatre in David Naylor's "American Picture Palaces." Maybe somebody reading this who has the book at hand can check it and respond. I do know I've seen a photo of this theatre in one book or another, and Naylor's book is the most likely.

I think you're right, Joe. In the photo there is a vertical sign affixed to the center portion of the facade which featured a large and fanciful oval caricature of a rabbit to compliment the two carved bunnies found at either end of the upper facade.

Wow, I'd really like to see a scan of that photo if you guys get your hands on the book.

Looking at the photo of the Nova at the top of the page, I also wonder if that was the facade's original paint scheme. I bet it was (considering the New Coliseum has never been painted) and the new proprietors painting the facade entirely tan only added insult to injury.

Ace, I have the book and can send you a scan if you write to me at: bijou@aol.com

Alvarez, I wrote to you a couple days back. Hope you got it.

Circa 1933-34, the Bunny was modernized and re-named the Dorset. I believe that prior to becoming the Nova, the Dorset had been re-named the Tapia, but I'm not 100% sure. In advertising, the Tapia used an address of Broadway & 148th Street, and 3589 Broadway is very close to that intersection. I don't know of any other cinemas that ever existed in that immediate radius.

The only other one I can think of is the RKO Hamilton at 3560 Broadway.

My previous post appears to be missing, but anyway, the Tapia name I was enquiring about appears in ads in the early seventies.

The Tapia Theater was being discussed on the Ridgewood Theater page. This 1974 ad shows a Brandt's Tapia Theater. The location given in the ad is 148th Street and B'way (thats how I read the ad). Since its near Broadway, it would be West 148th St. I also thought the Tapia was the Bunny/Nova Theater but I have no proof that they are the same theater. Could the Bunny Theater have been renamed the Tapia Theater in the 1970's before the name was changed to the Nova Theater?

The name "Bunny" was discarded and replaced by "Dorset" in 1933 or 1934.I believe that "Dorset" was changed to "Tapia" in the mid-to-late 1960s. There was, and perhaps still is, a famous Tapia Theatre in San Juan, Puerto Rico, though it was not a cinema. That's probably why the name was chosen for the Dorset. The neighborhood was predominantly of Puerto Rican heritage. I think that the Tapia first ran only Hispanic imports, but eventually went mainstream as other theatres closed in Upper Manhattan. "Gone With the Wind" was shown at the Tapia with the dialogue dubbed into Spanish. I doubt if there were English subtitles.

Thanks for the information. I have another question about the Nova Theater. On Cinematour, they give the name of the architect for the Nova Theater as George Pelham. He is credited with designing apartment buildings and office buildings in New York but I didn't know that he also designed theaters. Any idea if Pelham was the architect of this theater?

David Naylor's "Great American Movie Theaters" credits George H. Pelham as architect of the Bunny Theatre, with an opening date of 1913. I don't think that Pelham was a prolific designer of theatres. There are no other theatres credited to him in Naylor's book...I don't know how deeply Naylor researched the Bunny for the book, which was published in 1987. He writes that "The Bunny opened as a showcase for silent pictures, including those of its namesake, silent star John Bunny. Now it has been renamed for its current owner, Jesus Nova." Naylor seems to create a false impression that the theatre was called the Bunny until being renamed the Nova. I guess that we should be thankful that Nova didn't call the theatre the Jesus instead.

Please let me know if this works!

http://preview.aalvarez733.photosite.com/~site/Scripts_PhotoSiteOnlineTool/PhotoSiteOnlineTool.dll?CMD=CMDStartOnlineTool

It doesn't work for me. If it's supposed to be a link to an image in a scrapbook, I think that you need to do some fine tuning. All I see is a blurb for the company that runs the website.

Al....Were you trying to link to this photo of the Bunny Theater? Your link didn't work. LOL

That's the one! Thanks guys, I will figure it out some day.

The movie on the marquee, "The Heart of Jenifer" (Jennifer might be spelled wrong) has a date of 1915 on the Imdb website. If you look at the modern photo at the top of the page, it appears that the windows were bricked up. Yet in the 1915? photo, there are no windows either. I wonder if the building ever had windows or was it designed to give the appearance of having windows.

Some of the early Film Daily Year Books give an address of 3587 Broadway for the Bunny Theatre and 3589 Broadway for the Bunny Roof. I suspect that those two premises were combined for what became the Dorset Theatre, which used an address of 3589 Broadway. A new auditorium might have been built behind the street exterior.

I discovered that Theatre Historical Society of America has a B&W exterior of the Tapia in its Michael Miller Photo Collection, so I asked executive director Richard Sklenar if he could compare it with that of the Nova photo in the CT introduction above. He graciously did and concluded that they are the same theatre, also remembering that he had seen it at the last THS conclave in New York. The photo of the Tapia is undated but appears to be from the 1970s. At the time, the store to the north of the entrance was occupied by a dry cleaner's. The Tapia's rounded marquee was retained by the Nova, with just a name change across the front. I suspect that the Tapia marquee was inherited from the previous Dorset. Unfortunately, THS has no photos of the theatre as the Dorset.

Thanks for getting a confirmation on the photo. Any chance of the THS allowing you to link to the Tapia photo? Thats one mystery solved. The second question that Al asked was the location of a Harrison Theater in Manhattan. Next time Al logs in maybe he can elaborate on the Harrison Theater. I'll ask if the aka names of Dorset and Tapia can be added to the top of this page.

I've never heard of a theatre in NYC called the Harrison, cinema or otherwise. It could be a misprint, or perhaps a reference to a theatre in Harrison in Westchester County...The Tapia photo is not online, but a copy can be purchased from THS. The file number is NYC-MM-MAN-121-01.

In The New York Times of October 3rd, 1971, the theatre was mentioned in an article by Phillip H. Dougherty about his memories of bargain shopping in the New York area: "We were Lower Washington Heights people in those days, living close to the Bunny Theater, which was to change its name to the Dorset in search of chic. Well, what I was about to say before I got caught in the grip of nostalgia (do you know that the Bunny had an outdoor theater on the roof during the summer?) was that we were living perhaps within equal distance of the original Alexander's on Fordham Road and S. Klein's (On the Square)."

There was a theater on Fort Washington Avenue, right at the begining of the Avenue. It was practically right behind the Rio. It is still there as a church. I have forgotten the name. Do you remember?

Thanks,

Movieplace

You might be thinking of the Costello Theater which is listed on Cinema Treasures here:

http://cinematreasures.org/theater/6937/

What is the basis for the claim that this was originally called Bunny Photoplays? If you examine the vintage B&W photo on page 74 of David Naylor's "Great American Movie Theaters," the vertical sign says "Bunny" at the top and has "Photo Plays" (two words not one) across the bottom. I believe that "Photo Plays" only specifies that movies were being shown there, and should not be taken as part of the name of the theatre. On the attraction board above the entrance, it says just "Bunny."...Also, on June 8, 1915, The New York Times reported that the operating lease of the Bunny Theatre had just been sold to Brandon & Banbury, at a rent of $9,000 per year. Again on October 29, 1922, the NYT reported that the lease on the Bunny Theatre had been sold to Harry A. Harris, who also operated the Bluebird Theatre on Amsterdam Avenue & 146th Street. Advertising in The New York Times also shows it as the Bunny Theatre.

Thank you Lost Memory for the name, it was driving me crazy.

Movieplace

At the NYPL, I found a paper programme for the Dorset Theatre for the week beginning March 22, 1935. Described as "The Showplace of Upper Broadway," the Dorset ran late-run double features with complete changes on Wednesdays and Fridays. The theatre operated daily from 12:30 to 11:15 PM. All matinees were priced at 15 cents for adults and 10 cents for children, except on Sundays when those tickets rose to 25 cents and 15 cents. On Monday through Friday evenings, tickets were 25 cents for adults and 15 cents for children. On Saturday and Sunday nights, the adult price increased to 30 cents, but kids were still 15 cents. At the highest prices, a family of four (two adults and two children) could attend for a total of 90 cents, which might seem a bargain today but was beyond the reach of many families during the Depression.

Wow, what an influz of new information! Good job guys. I thought things had dried up around here..........

Interesting story on the "Tapia" name, and how the Nova inherited it's marquee. As far as the neighborhood itself, the theater was and is located on Hamilton Heights, which at the start of the 20th Century was apparently occupied by Whites until they began leaving in the '30's and '40's as African-Americans began moving West into Harlem. Beginning in the '50's Hispanics and Latin Americans gradually began moving into the area until it became a predominently Hispanic area by the '80's (which is when Jesus Nova took over the Tapia). I dunno exactly about the history of the demographics in this neighborhood, but I'm guessing that's about right.

Also interesting is how the Bunny incarnation of the theatre had a rooftop theater during warmer weather. Very novel idea. Don't know if it survived into it's later incarnations, I doubt it did.

During the era of silent movies, few, if any, theatres had air-conditioning, so rooftop auditoriums were commonplace, and hardly unusual. "Talkies" spelled their doom, since the sound amplification would have disrupted the neighborhood...I recently came across a New York Times article from the 1980s which was about the distribution of black exploitation movies and described the Nova Theatre as being in Harlem. I suppose a case could be made for that, but I don't agree.

Does anyone have creative entertainment phone number?

A Robert-Morton theater organ size 2/4 style 75 was installed in the Bunny Theater in 1920.

Here is an undated photo:
http://tinyurl.com/2zd74t

The Heart of Jennifer with Russell Bassett and Hazel Dawn was released in 1915.

The film advertised in that shot, "The Heart of Jennifer," was released on August 30th, 1915. I'm sure it would have made its way uptown to the Bunny Theatre before the end of that year.

NOVA movie list from 2002

1/18/02- Snow Dogs
1/25/02- Kung Pow: Enter the Fist
2/8/02- Collateral Damage
2/8/02- Rollerball
2/15/02- John Q
2/15/02- Return to Never Land
2/22/02- Queen of the Damned
3/1/02- We Were Soldiers
3/8/02- All About the Benjamins
3/15/02- Ice Age
3/15/02- Resident Evil
3/15/02- Showtime
3/22/02- Blade II
3/29/02- Clockstoppers
4/12/02- Changing Lanes
4/12/02- Frality
4/19/02- The Scorpion King
4/26/02- Jason X
5/3/02- Spider-Man
5/24/02- Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron
5/31/02- The Sum of All Fears
5/31/02- Undercover Brother
6/7/02- Bad Company
6/14/02- Scooby-Doo
6/14/02- Windtalkers
6/21/02- Juwanna Mann
6/21/02- Lilo & Stitch
6/28/02- Hey Arnold The Movie
7/3/02- Like Mike
7/12/02- Halloween: Resurrection
7/12/02- Reign of Fire
7/17/02- Eight Legged Freaks
7/26/02- Austin Powers in Goldmember
8/2/02- Martin Lawrence Live Runteldat
8/7/02- Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams
8/9/02- XXX
8/23/02- Undisputed
8/30/02- FearDotCom

I'm so sad that the NOVA is gone.

I hope you'll like my list.

Above is a list of the last movies that were shown at the Nova before it closed in late of 2002.

I hope you'll like my list!

The Bunny is discussed in this April 2003 article:
http://tinyurl.com/583cf7

I used to visit this theater back in the day when it was called The Tapia. In fact, I spent much of my youth in that grimy theater and have many great memories. Recently, I wrote a short story called "Grace's Love Theme" that talks about that classic grindhouse. Please check my blog...

http://blackadelicpop.blogspot.com
also read: The Burning of Superflyville
http://www.blackfilm.org/20020927/features
the Tapia never burned down, but it does in the story.

The Tapia.

http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=new+york&catpageindex=31&catpagesize=25&ProductID=31192

Here is the Nova Theater.

These american classics images are great.

The Bunny Facade was taken down! I went to take pictures of the renovation work on the building to post along with a link to an old map that shows the original foot print to be the full block on Broadway to discover the entire front is gone! The size would allow it to compete with the Hamilton Place across the street. The store manager assured me that it will be restored but... Gone is the memory of an early vaudevillian and film actor important enough to have a theater named for him. I will keep posting, and will post my photos once my computer is fixed or replaced.
Harlem theater buff!
T

Thanks for the links Lost Memory! Those photos are great! The appearance of the Nova in that circa-1983 photo is identical to how it looked it its brief cameo in "Death Wish 3" (1985). As previously mentioned, "Beverly Hills Cop" (1984), along with two other movies I believe, were listed on the Nova's marquee, and a location on the corner of 147th & Broadway at the beginning of that block was used more than once during filming.

Looking at the images, I'm not sure if the marquee used by the Tapia is the same as that of the Nova's, as it looks wider and more detailed than both incarnations of the Nova's marquee (the circa-'80's and circa-'90's) look. I found another photo of the Nova in that same website, from 1986:

http://tinyurl.com/l7scfz


Guess there's now photos available of every incarnation of the Nova with the exception of the Dorset, right?

K.L Davis, hope you can update us with the latest on the site......I'd also like to hear more about this old map you're talking about.

I live around the corner from the theater and was very saddened to see that they had removed the wonderful facade. Does anyone know what they will do with the name and hare heads?

Here are some photos of the Nova during its last summer in operation. Apparently these are from mid-July 2002, as "Like Mike" and "Halloween" (Resurrection) are on the marquee. PierreCity's post with the list of movies shown at the Nova in 2002 also confirms this. For those who've never visited the Nova, or who have visited what now is a 99c store, this shows a brief glimpse of what it looked like on the inside. Brought back memories for me that's for sure:

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee255/RexingtonSteele/NovaTheater-Summer2002Exterior.jpg (Exterior)


http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee255/RexingtonSteele/NovaTheater-Summer2002Bunnyfacade.jpg ("Bunny" facade)

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee255/RexingtonSteele/NovaTheater-Summer2002Entranceramp.jpg (Entrance ramp)

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee255/RexingtonSteele/NovaTheater-Summer2002Interior.jpg (Interior)

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee255/RexingtonSteele/NovaTheater-Summer2002EmergencyExit.jpg (Emergency exit)

Lots of blue and neon on the inside. Nice. Anyone who visited it when it was the Tapia or in its early days as the Nova remember if it was similar to this?

I got the photos off of this website:

http://www.angelfire.com/empire/playhouse/nova_bunny/nova_bunny.htm

The guy who took them must've taken them shortly after the Coliseum on 181st/Broadway was shuttered (for what would be a two-year period), as he speaks of the Nova being "the farthest north theatre operating in Manhattan". Little did he or anyone else know that it would be shuttered a little over a month after he took those photos.

I worked at the Nova when it was a Twin from about 1990 till around 1993. I don't remember the exact dates but if you have any questions feel free to ask. I was employed as an usher but have ran the ticket booth, concession stand, and even cleaned the theater at night a few times. I came to the Nova when Total Recall was playing and also Another 48 Hours. Sadly enough, I don't remember what movie was playing when I left. Jesus Nova was a great boss but what was impressive is how much he cared for the communities where he chose to have his theaters. He grew up close to the Nova and continued to live close by till the time I left. Anyway, if you have anything to ask of me let me know and I will answer to the best of my abilities.

I have been to the roof of the stage house, but I could not see the front of the roof to see if the bunnies are still there to be replaced. I was told by an employee that the building is owned by Columbia University so I don't have a lot of hope for restoration. I will post my photos and find the link to the historic maps once I can get them off of my old busted computer.

A couple of weeks ago, before I went on vacation, I stopped by the former Nova Theatre to see if the historic facade had indeed been altered. Much to my horror and disappointment, it has, and it doesn't look like its in any condition to be restored. The top half, with the two Bunny heads and the "Bunny" nameplate, have seemingly been lopped right off, and replaced with a generic facade to match it with the Domino's Pizza store nearby. Apart from Domino's and the 99c store which operates within the former movie house, the entire block of stores has been shuttered and vacant for what seems like ages. Here's some photos which I took of this......disaster:

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee255/RexingtonSteele/NovaTheater-August20091.jpg (Front)

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee255/RexingtonSteele/NovaTheater-August20092.jpg (Left side of block)

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee255/RexingtonSteele/NovaTheater-August20093.jpg (Right side of block)

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee255/RexingtonSteele/NovaTheater-August20094.jpg (Whole block)

So, K.L Davis, anything more on the original footprint of the theater taking up the whole block? Whatever remnants of that (if its true) are long gone I assume.

Also, Nova Usher, was the Nova a Twin by the time you left??? I recall watching movies at the Nova as far back as the very early 1990's, though I was very young. Do you recall it being a "shady" theater to work at?

What a shame! It's a horror what they have done comparing to the photo of the theater above, when it was still operating. Thanks for the photos, no matter how depressing.

Indeed. They might as well remove the rest of the historic facade while they're at it. It just isn't the same without the bunny heads and the "Bunny" name plate.

If its of any consolation to anyone.........the 99 cent store is really nice. They've got virtually everything. Best one of its kind in the neighborhood. Very big. Makes sense considering 2-3 theater rooms used to be housed in there.

I live in the neighborhood from 1983 till 1994. I used to watch movies in the Nova in the 80's when it was a single screen theater. I used to love the double feature weeks, I alays remember sneaking a bag of popcorn and a 25 cent juice. By the time I got hired by Jesus Nova it was already a twin. I though it was a fairly sized theater for a neighborhood theater.
To address the shadyness of the theater, the theater was run by great people but the neighborhood was and is a pretty rough neighborhood. I have had fights, knives pulled out and in one occasion had a gun flashed. I always felt that at any time crazyness could happen but this was not the theaters fault but the clientele's. Starting with Boyz in the Hood we started having off duty cops check everyone at the door for weapons and such for big premiers and this reallly helped things. To note a positive we used to have a great relationship with the KFC next door and get free chicken all the time, haha!!!

Thanks! I asked about the shadyness of the theater because I've heard stories about the theater myself from my parents, when they used to take me and my brother to both the Nova and the Coliseum when we were kids. My mother first moved to the neighborhood in 1982, and still lives here to this day.

So it used to be a single-screen before it was twinned (and later triplexed? Interesting. How big was the single-screen configuration?

If you haven't already, check out photos of the Nova during its last days in an earlier post of mine. Did the interior look like that even back in the '80's? Looking back I always enjoyed the neon-ridden, blue interior. It made me feel as if I were in a genuine movie theater, not some flashy, bland multiplex.

If you have an e-mail, I'd like to continue talking with you about the Nova and the neighborhood overall. I'm always hungry for history on this great, ever-changing neighborhood of Hamilton Heights.

Well in the 80's that theater was actually dangerous. A lot of diff. things went on in there, drugs (using and dealing), drinking, sex, etc. I started going there when I was like 13 with friends and sometimes by myself. The layout was huge and old, it was pretty amazing though since the screen was also huge! The picture of the theater that you put up with Delta Force and The Hills Have Eyes 2 was actually one of the weeks that I went to it, to be fair I was there for every new movie! The lobby area was typical of an old theater, no neon just one sheet cases with upcoming movies with fluorescent lights. The concession stand was huge and on the middle of the "hill" not at the base as it was later. I know the neighborhood was originally called Hamilton Heights but it is Harlem and Harlem in the 80's was as rough as you get. Today, Washington Heights has started to swallow this part of Harlem and it is almost sad since I actually liked the way it used to be.
Thanks for that picture it reminded me that there used to be a Cleaners next door, I actually forgot it was there and it also shows the KFC that I was referring to, so sad that it has all gone away! BTW: The vacant store next door eventually became a very nice Pet Store.

Lets keep talking though this forum if you don't mind, I will answer all your questions the best I can.

Sorry that I have not posted in a while, but I can only check from borrowed computers until my new one is delivered and I get my old notes off of the busted on, I am in Dell hell. I will post the link to the maps in the next weeks once I have full access. From the old map the front was the full block of Broadway (the area now used by stores and the new church) and the "stage house" was the area now used by the 99 cent store. There might have been a roof top garden as this was the norm in the days before air conditioning as the area grew with the first subway that ended on 145th and Broadway. There are five old legit theater buildings between 135 and the Bunny on Broadway alone, with others on Amsterdamn. Most have been converted into supermarkets, churches or 99 cent stores!

P.S. I do not see the post from the day I was able to talk someone into letting me up on the roof! I was only able to walk on the "stage house" roof and could not climb over to the broadway frontage where I was told the bunnies are sitting to be restored. The land is owned by Columbia University so ...

this is the link to the map from the NYPL website, let me know if it works. It shows both the Bunny theater and the Hamilton on the other side of Broadway
http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?1512243

Thanks K.L., that works.

That map also shows what was probably the BLUEBIRD Theatre on Amsterdam and 147th Street and what looks like a film studio on Amsterdam and 150th Street.

It is amazing how many theaters were built in the area with the advent of the subway! on Broadway alone there are there are 5 between 135th and 147th street, and both the Bluebird at 147th and the Washington (Lambs first theater) at 149th on Amsterdam.