United Palace of Cultural Arts

The fifth and last of the Loew’s “Wonder Theatres” to be built in New York, Loew’s 175th Street Theatre was thought to be the most elaborate of architect Thomas Lamb’s endeavors. Originally seating 3,444 when it opened on February 22, 1930 with Norma Shearer in “Their Own Desire” and a stage show “Pearls” from the Times Square Capitol Theatre. The exterior of the building is in the style of a spectacular Neo-Assyrian fortress, taking up an entire city block, and has decorative features around the entire building. The walls of the auditorium are embellished with Indo-Chinese decoration, designed by Manhattan decorative specialist Harold Rambusch, which are perforated and have an ever-changing kaleidoscope of colored hidden lights behind. The foyer features a palatial staircase leading to a grandiose, aurora borealis headed by a goddess decoration, all in the style of a gaudy Hindu temple. The Loew’s 175th Street Theatre is the only ‘Wonder Theatre’ to retain its original Robert Morton 4 manual 23 ranks ‘Wonder’ organ in situ. Loew’s closed the Loew’s 175th Street Theatre in March 1969 with Keir Dullea in “2001:A Space Odyssey”.

The theatre became home to Christ United Church, founded by the late evangelist Reverend Ike, and was known as The Palace Cathedral for church services. In recent years it has also been used as a concert venue and is known as the United Palace when booked for such events.

In June 2013 a fundraising campaign was begun to purchase a digital projector, which will be used to screen independent, foreign and classic movies. This project was successful, and the first movie screened in the theatre for over 44 years was “Casablanca” on November 17, 2013. It is equipped with a 4k DCP projector, a 50ft wide screen and 5.1 surround sound. In July 2017 it was announced the Robert Morton organ would be removed from the building by the New York Theatre Organ Society to undergo a complete overhaul. By early-2019 the restored organ was back in the building. On June 9, 2021 a Gala World Premiere of the movie “In the Heights” was held at the United Palace of Cultural Arts.

Recent comments (view all 276 comments)

stevenj on June 7, 2023 at 6:16 pm

NYTimes article with some great photos Here

terrywade on June 10, 2023 at 10:50 pm

I wonder if the United Palace is a non union theatre? The Tony’s knew they were coming here in late 2022 so I don’t think the move from Radio City to the Palace had anything to do with the current writers strike. I bet the stage is not as big as Radio City and no stage lifts. Hope CBS TV shows wide shots of the theatre ect. They will probably cut the stage down in sections for the Tony awards live show.

markp on June 11, 2023 at 3:45 pm

Its a union shop. My wife is a member of the wardrobe union and they have been there all day.

markp on June 12, 2023 at 8:23 am

What an awesome show last night from the United Palace. The place looked beautiful and it was nice to see such excitement there.

Mikeoaklandpark on June 12, 2023 at 10:18 am

I agree with MarkP. It is such a beautiful theater. That should be the new home of the Tony Awards. I had no clue how beautiful this theater was.

stevenj on June 12, 2023 at 1:54 pm

Anybody know why the Tony Awards moved to the United Palace? Is this permanent?

Mike (saps) on June 12, 2023 at 2:22 pm

The opening number especially really showed off the lobby, staircases, etc.

Bway on June 12, 2023 at 2:36 pm

Absolutely beautiful. I knew it was beautiful, but wow, did this compliment it. Hopefully they move it there for many years to come. Everyone knows radio city is beautiful. But the 175th/United Palace? Fantastic. Thank you Rev Ike for saving it!!

markp on June 13, 2023 at 4:34 pm

I think Bway just summed it up best.

Comfortably Cool on August 9, 2023 at 12:28 pm

Portions of the interior are used to “double” for a Broadway “legit” playhouse in the first episode of the new season of “Only Murders in the Building” on the Hulu subscription network.