Clearview's Chelsea
260 West 23rd Street,
New York,
NY
10011
260 West 23rd Street,
New York,
NY
10011
7 people
favorited this theater
On the site where Cavanagh’s Irish Steak and Ale House stood from 1876 ‘til 1971 (followed by after-hours club Galaxy 21 in the mid-1970s and storefront performance space the Squat Theatre in the late 1970s and early 1980s), Cineplex Odeon unveiled Manhattan’s then-largest multiplex on July 14, 1989.
On that date, the theater’s first six auditoriums featured “Do the Right Thing”, “Weekend at Bernie’s”, and, with one print being shown in 70mm, “Lethal Weapon 2”. The final three auditoriums of the $15 million facility opened later in the year.
Management of the facility was assumed by Clearview Cinemas in late autumn of 1998 during the divestiture of 13 Cineplex Odeon houses throughout Manhattan resulting from a consent decree deal struck between merging Loews Theatres and Cineplex Odeon to satisfy the state’s Attorney General and the Department of Justice.
Contributed by
Damien Farley
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Recent comments (view all 51 comments)
Good news Mets fans….Mets at the Movies will be showing at this theater.
You can pay to watch the Mets lose in a theater, or watch them lose on television for free. This is a tough decision to make. LOL
Damn… On that photo you could clearly see the after-image of the old Cineplex Odeon logo.
I remember seeing The Chronicles of Narnia: TLW&tW (2005) at this theater, and seeing the Dolby Digital “Egypt” trailer before the film began. That was the only time I’ve been to that theater, and the only time I saw a Dolby trailer in a theater, until I saw The Illusionist (2010) at Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema, which played the Dolby “Rain” trailer prior to the film.
thebrat, can you tell us what Dolby EGYPT and Dolby RAIN mean? Are these Dolby promo ads we should have noticed/remembered?
The Dolby Digital “Egypt” and “Rain” trailers are indeed promos that advertise Dolby Digital in an auditorium. Even though most theaters (if not all) have Dolby Digital installed, it depends if the theater decides to play a trailer before the film. Having a Dolby promo before a film may be a tradition at some theaters, or some chains, but all the other Dolby Digital equipped theaters I’ve been to don’t play a trailer advertising the system. You can easily search for the Egypt and Rain trailers on YouTube, as they are common in home theater circles.
A few years back, the Chelsea Cinemas were sold and rumors were rampant that the multiplex would be razed for an apartment tower or hotel. Well, the Chelsea Cinemas have been flipped again. This time for $35MM. Rumors are flying once again. This theater was the last multiplex built in Manhattan before stadium seating. Though I’m sure it does well, it will now be expected to do even better to justify the new sales price. My guess is that this theater’s days are numbered.
I certainly hope the Chelsea is with us for a while. This is my theater of choice being that it is my “neighborhood” theater. I avoid the theaters on 42nd Street and the 34 St AMC. They attract the bridge and tunnel crowd. The Lincoln Square and the Union Square theaters are always way too crowded. The Chelsea is a comfortable place to see a film and the cliental tend to treat attending a movie here seriously. No talking, no use of cell phones.
Who was this sold to?
The theater was sold to a Great Neck, L.I.-based developer: The Parkoff Organization. Here’s a quote from the article: A spokesperson for Clearview indicated that their lease will continue under the new landlord and suggested the theater would not be closing any time soon, but did not specify the terms of the theater’s lease.
Saw “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” here Saturday night (Feb. 4, 2012). The theater is decently maintained. The theater we saw the movie in was #9. Ok size but the projection was excellent and the usher played “host” for the audience announcing the film’s director and his credits (nice touch) and asking that no one use a cellphone or other devices (nice touch to do this personally rather than through a screen presentation request). I have a trouble with these “stacked” theaters in the city, though. I know that it is likely the only way to handle this but the schlep up all those elevators is an odd experience and it felt “lonely” at first because the floors were so under populated (but the theater was packed). Compare this to a place out in the ‘burbs like Paramus’ theater and the experience is completely different. Lastly, I have to agree with some of folks posting for this theater that I was mightily impressed by the behavior of the audience. Not a single cell phone out during the movie, no one talking. Nice.