Theatre 80 St. Marks
80 St. Marks Place,
New York,
NY
10003
80 St. Marks Place,
New York,
NY
10003
10 people
favorited this theater
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Theatre 80 St. Marks (Official)
Additional Info
Architects: Millard Bresin
Functions: Live Performances, Live Theater, Playhouse
Previous Names: Theatre 80
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
212.388.0388
Nearby Theaters
Located in a former Prohibition speakeasy club named Scheib’s Place. This was a Lower East Side landmark as one of the city’s oldest revival theatres. It had rear projection 16mm and played double bills of Hollywood classics. Long before the Angelika and other trendy theatres were serving coffee and brownies, you could get them here. It was designed by the owner Howard Otway, who employed architect Millard Bresin to draw up the plans.
Upon the death of Howard Otway, the theatre was leased out for live theatre, and was managed by the Otway family trust. The original mini marquee is still there.
Home of the Pearl Theatre Company for many years, in the Summer of 2009, they announced they would be leaving the building and a new theatrical tenant was being sought. In November 2009, it was announced that the Theatre 80 St. Marks would be reopening as a movie theatre with some live theatre use. Films would be projected digitally. The new operator is Lorcan Otway, the son of the original owner of the theatre, the late Howard Otway.
Contributed by
RobertR, Lorcan Otway
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Recent comments (view all 74 comments)
Does anyone have any old film programs from Theater 80 when they were running films. Would gladly pay for any copies or even if it can be scanned. thanks. Charles, Westchester NY
I attended a screening from the Take Two Film Festival at Theater 80 this past weekend. I had not been there since 1994 when they stopped showing films. It was like no time had passed at all. What a splendid evening. Please show more films if possible.
Digital projection. not sure if its from behind the screen..
I’m writing a book on the revival/repertory movie theaters in NY in the 60s-90s, including Theatre 80. iisentaku, I would love to hear from you. My email is
My book, “Repertory Movie Theaters of New York City: Havens for Revivals, Indies and the Avant-Garde, 1960-1994,” was recently published. It’s listed on Amazon and www.mcfarlandpub.com.
I used to go to this theatre all the time in the 80’s. I loved it even tho it wasn’t a great venue for seeing a movie. First of all, it was 16 mm REAR screen projection. Because the space was so small, all the seat were way too close to the screen.
Still I loved going.
I also vaguely remember there were Sid Grahman-esque hand prints outside the place in cement. I seem to recall Joan Crawford as one.
10 years ago they announced they were returning to film, with some live performances. What is the exact status of the place now?
As of July, 2021 (and probably long before) they are NOT showing movies.
Facing closure, according to a recent article in The New York Times linked here
Campaign to save Theatre 80 St. Marks.
https://p2a.co/8sgaifn?fbclid=IwAR3_Deg7YnOxbkBAR8X29VXmNri5yQeFm9mBTb7oTy8dzyaMeY3wBvPdjdM