IFC Center
323 Sixth Avenue,
New York,
NY
10003
323 Sixth Avenue,
New York,
NY
10003
23 people
favorited this theater
Once a single screen theater, the Waverly Theatre was subsequently twinned, with the closing and and conversion of the balcony into a second, smaller auditorium in the mid-1980’s. It was a funky little two-screen house which was the launching pad of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” as a midnight cult hit in New Yew York.
Before it closed in late-2001, the Waverly Twin featured mostly films that double-run from the glossy and much more charmless United Artists Union Square Stadium 14 at Broadway and 13th Street. The Waverly Twin was also known for showing the occasional low-budget indie or art flick, and hold-overs whose runs had expired at other Greenwich Village theaters.
In June 2005, the Waverly Twin reopened as the three-screen IFC Center screening independent, foreign, documentary, and classic films. On December 4, 2009, two additional screens were opened, for a total of five screens.
Contributed by
Dan Braun
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Recent comments (view all 198 comments)
It wasn’t his best film and there was maybe only about 15 people at the 7:40 show. It’s also playing day and date on IFC’s on demand channel. Herzog’s other new movie, My Son, My Son What Have Ye Done had the big house.
The first sentence of the introduction needs to be changed. This is no longer “a funky little two-screen house.”
Tinsel: The sentence says “WAS” a funky little two screen house. I was General Manager of the Waverly around 1987-1989 while it indeed was just that. I think that’s a very funny and apt description of the way it WAS. The place was usually packed while I was there. Everyone remembers LarryA the Doorman (he really loved India), BeeshamT the concessionist, and remember the girl concessionist who looked just like Geena Davis?
Photo of the IFC courtesy Nick’s Classic American Theatres.
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Photo of the IFC Center.
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Chuck’s link from Jan 18 shows The Waverly Cafe (to the right of the entrance, which was probably at that time only open for “special events” at that time – I think the cafe only operated for a year) and the Jul 27 link shows the empty store front. In place of the Cafe are two auditoriums: one that’s acceptable (4), the other that is downright shameful (5). 5 is currently showing Valhalla Rising – you’d be better off watching it on your iPhone 4 than in that auditorium (I saw it on a huge screen at TIFF last September, it’s meant to be seen that way).
On Saturday night I attended a midnight showing of “2001: A Space Odyssey” here. It was in one of the smaller upstairs auditoriums, and the screen wasn’t as big as I was hoping, but the movie was as spellbinding as ever. It was my 57th theatrical viewing of the film, but I’d never seen it at midnight. It took me back 40 years or so when I’d see ads for midnight shows of “2001” at the Ziegfeld, and how I wished I was old enough to attend such shows. Finally fulfilled that ambition …
A few shots I took last November:
IFC Waverly
View from down W. 3rd
Marquee at night
Ed, those are some great photos, they are really clear and when you click the photos to enlarge them they are even clearer. Great Job.
Nearly 1,000 issues of The Village Voice from 1955-2004, including the movie and entertainment pages, can be viewed here: google