Loew's National

Bronx, NY

570 Bergen Avenue

, Bronx, NY 10455 United States

(map)

Status:	Closed/Demolished
Screens:	Single Screen
Style:	Beaux-Arts

Function:	Unknown
Seats:	2397
Chain:	Loews

Architect:	Unknown
Firm:	Neville & Bagge

The National is claimed to be the very first theatre that Marcus Loew built himself, after starting his circuit by acquiring a number of existing properties in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx. The name was a message to the entertainment business that Loew's intended to become a national circuit, and it did. The National was designed by the architectural firm of Neville & Bagge, with H. Craig Severance as consultant, and first opened in September, 1910, with vaudeville the primary attraction and movies shown only as fillers.

With white marble frontage and a gorgeous Beaux-Arts auditorium, the National was one of the largest theatres built in the Bronx up to that time. The movies were first-run for the borough until 1929, when Loew's gave that exclusive privilege to the newly-opened Paradise and shifted the National and its other Bronx theatres to playing the same programs two weeks later.

The National was one of the longest lasting of the Loew's Bronx theatres, operating into the early 1970s before being closed and eventually demolished. As far as I know, it was never sub-divided.

Contributed by Warren G. Harris

YOUR COMMENTS

It closed as a Loew's single screen operation in 1971.

posted by Orlando on Apr 4, 2004 at 5:36pm

I'm very interested to see the address given above for this theatre as 570 Bergen Avenue, because the information I had said the address was 500 Bergen Avenue. I spent many hours walking around that area trying to identify the location so I could take a "now" pic to go with the "then" pic on my web page (scroll half-way down):
http://kraybill.home.mindspring.com/40/40theatres.html

posted by Charlie Kraybill on Sep 12, 2004 at 11:22am

A circa-1971 view of the Loew's National can be seen towards the top of this page. On the marquee are two films, "Weekend With the Babysitter" and "Fountain of Love".

posted by Bryan Krefft on Nov 6, 2004 at 3:44pm

According to the current Loew's exhibit at the American Museum of the Moving Image, the National was the very first theatre actually built by the company, and the construction coincided with the formation of Loew's Consolidated Enterprises, which had Marcus Loew as president, Adolph Zukor as treasurer, Nicholas Schenck as secretary, and the Shuberts as key investors. The National first opened on October 17, 1910, and cost nearly $400,000.

posted by Warren G. Harris on Dec 23, 2004 at 1:11pm

That original marquee made it all the way to 1971.

posted by RobertR on Dec 23, 2004 at 1:30pm

In 1974 the National was still open as an independant.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a13/ChmnofBrd/Coffy.jpg

posted by RobertR on Jul 4, 2005 at 2:53pm

Henry Loew, the only brother of Marcus Loew, was the very first manager of the National, and ran the theatre for 33 years, until his death in 1943 at age 66, according to an obituary in The New York Times of 6/15/43. Henry Loew entered the business in 1904 as manager of his brother's penny arcade at 147th Street & Third Avenue in the Bronx, and then ran another Loew's arcade in Manhattan at 23rd Street & Sixth Avenue before Marcus promoted him to the National when the theatre opened in 1910. Marcus Loew died in 1927 at age 57.

posted by Warren G. Harris on Jul 20, 2007 at 9:34am

Here is the Loew's National circa 1967.

posted by Lost Memory on Jun 3, 2008 at 12:24pm

This is a new link to the photo posted on Jun 3, 2008.

posted by Lost Memory on Jul 2, 2008 at 5:56pm

The year given for this photo is 1968.

posted by Lost Memory on Apr 18, 2009 at 10:37am

I'm a Three Stooges Fan Club member, trying to confirm a personal appearance by the "3" Stooges (Moe Larry and Shemp), on a bill with Wee Bonnie Baker, the Barretts and Don Hooton, after an appearance by the A.B. Marcus Revue. The movie "Queen of Burlesque" was also shown. I have a display ad, but no dates (or town shown). Believe it was the Summer of 1946, and may have been Shemp's first appearance after Curly's strokes. The National was advertised as air cooled and showed a phone number of JA-7863.
Any help will be appreciated.
Thanks Frank Reighter fereighter@aol.com

posted by Frank Reighter on Oct 6, 2009 at 9:00am

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