Loew's Inwood Theater

Thats a large amount of seats all on one level.

Here are two views of the Inwood's auditorium:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/128-2835_IMG.jpg

The theater, obviously is no longer there, but yes, the edifice is there and is rendered typical low income retail dump para los dominicans, oblivious that they are in what was once a palace for entertainment for the people of Inwood, Manhattan. C'est la vie, right?

This website has a vintage photo of the Loew's Inwood Theater. Its near the bottom of the page.

I enlarged the photo of the Inwood Theater on the above website and there are two movie titles listed on the marquee. One is "Gulliver's Travels" and the second is "The Amazing Mr. Williams". Imdb dates both movies at 1939.

The photo was probably taken in early 1940, as "Gulliver's Travels" didn't have its NYC premiere engagement until December 20, 1939 at the Paramount (a day after "GWTW" opened at the Capitol & Astor). I don't know how long "Gulliver" stayed at the Paramount (with accompanying stage show), but surely for at least one week, after which it would have gone to downtown Brooklyn for at least one week, and then on to the Loew's circuit with "Amazing Mr. Williams" as co-feature. And the Inwood was one of the secondary Loew's in Manhattan, playing after Loew's 175th, which was that area's leader.

Thanks for the additional information Warren. I looked into the building records for this former theater and found that in 1922 there is no theater at this address. Only individual stores are listed. On November 5, 1925 a C/O was issued to a building at this address. Purpose of building was a 1860 seat motion picture theater. The owners name on the certificate is Sol Brill.

Sol Brill must have sold or leased the Inwood to Loew's. He was an early partner of William Fox, but then started a small circuit on his own. Among other theatres that Brill built was the Oasis in Ridgewood, Queens. He might have been somehow related to the Brill brothers who owned 1619 Broadway, since both he and William Fox were originally steam pressers in the garment industry.

Was there another theater down on Broadway about two or three blocks north of the George Washington Bridge? I'm not talking about the Loew's 175th.

I was in this neighborhood about two weeks ago after getting stuck in some awful traffic on the Cross Bronx (what else is new, right?). I made my way to Broadway and as I was heading down, I could definately see what was once a fairly large movie theater on the west side of Broadway. It was somewhere (I guess) in the 180's.

Is that theater listed here?

CConnolly... that theater is the Coliseum on 181st Street and B'way. It is still in operation as a quad - with all 4 theaters located in the former balcony area. The orchestra was converted to retail some years back. Full history is on this page: http://cinematreasures.org/theater/526/

Actually... I thought I passed a building up around 204th Street and Broadway that looked like a former theater. Anybody have an idea what that might have been?

A school, I believe.

I'll have to get uptown again and check it out. Thanks for responding, jack4c.

The building on 204th Street and Broadway (opposite Cumming) was a school, P.S. 52. I attended part of the 7th grade there in 1958. We then moved to NJ in late December, 1958. Born in Washington Heights in 1946 and lived in Inwood Park until we moved. We also saw movies at the Dale and RKO Marble Hill in the Bronx, the Alpine and Loew's Inwood Theater on 207th Street, the theater in Riverdale and another movie theater on I believe 200th Street down near the El. TV didn't work well so went to movies (matinees mostly with a matron posted to watch the kids) every week for as little as 25 cents - 35 cents.

130-2 Dyckman St. is now a CVS drug store. Looked around inside and out - no trace of a theatre history remains.

IS 52 is still open.

I was nearby today and walked around the site. From across the street, one can observe the tall long roof of the former theatre rising behind the CVS facade. Clearly there was once an auditorium there. On the street behind Dyckman (Thayer) the building has a closed back entrance.

I went to JHS 52 located on 204th St between Broadway and Academy St. There was a red brick Annex to JHS 52 on the corner of Broadway. I graduated in 1952. The ceremony was held in the LOEW'S INWOOD Theater on Dyckman Street. There was another theater on the south side of Dyckman Street around the corner from Broadway named the ALPINE. It; like the LOEW'S INWOOD ran through to THAYER Street. On 207th Street there was a LOEW'S DYCKMAN Movie House located between Sherman and Academy. All of these movie houses were single level; no balcony. The RKO COLUSEUM at 181st and Broadway was vaudeville / movie theater with a balcony and large stage. The LOEW'S 175 theater was the grandest of the uptown theaters. It had a balcony and large stage for shows. It contained an ORGAN on a revolving stage that lifted up from the pit. The lobby and staircase was carpetted and walls gold gilted. Last time I passed many years ago it was church.

I saw my very first movie at the Inwood, in 1939, when I was 5. My Grandpa Charlie was baby-sitting for the day, while my Grandma and Mom went shopping downtown. Gramp and I took a trolley across Fordham (from Valentine) and then the IRT down to Dyckman Street to see a Marx Brothers flick (I forget which one, sadly), all of which enchanted me. The ladies were not quite so enchanted, when they found out.

This is a much larger version of the photo that I linked to back in 2005.

Here is an undated interior photo.

The two interior photos, circa 1927, are from the first volume of "American Theaters of Today" by Sexton and Betts.

The Inwood was typical De Rosa-- a strictly Adam neighborhood with no balcony (stadium seating at most). De Rosa's theaters were built to be modified: the similar Lafayette in Suffern, which could have even been a sister theater to the Inwood, underwent additions in the late '20s after the theater's success.