Eagle Theatre
1852 Third Avenue,
New York,
NY
10029
1852 Third Avenue,
New York,
NY
10029
1 person
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This nearly forgotten neighborhood cinema on the Upper East Side is listed in the 1926 Film Daily Year Book as the Eagle Theatre, with 600 seats. But in the 1927 FDYB, the name changes to New Eagle Theatre and the seating capacity to 1,800, suggesting that the original Eagle Theatre was demolished to make way for a much larger one. The “New” was eventually dropped from the Eagle’s name, and later editions of the FDYB also show a reduced seating capacity of 1,294.
The Eagle Theatre made its last appearance in FDYBs in the 1956 edition. It probably closed due to competition from home TV, but it’s also possible that, like some other theatres in the area, it switched to showing Spanish-language movies as the Eagle Theatre or under a different name.
A NYC Property Search of the address shows a “miscellaneous store building” with a market value of $698,000.
Contributed by
Warren G. Harris
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Recent comments (view all 18 comments)
We went to the Eagle Theater three weeks ago and saw what’s remaining. They nicely reused the space and preserved a lot of things including plaster works on walls and ceiling. They are using both orchestra floor and balcony for retail so you can easily walk in. There are also two old Peerless projectors still remaining in the projector room.
Nice visit and the managers were friendly too. Let’s take a look if you’re in the area !
This information comes from an April 19, 1998 edition of the NY Times. In case the link doesn’t work, here is the portion that relates to this theater:
Store’s Theatrical Past
Q. At 1852 Third Avenue, between 102d and 103d Streets, there is a discount housewares store that apparently occupies an old theater. The balcony and the stage area are still evident, and ornate chandeliers hang from the ceiling high above. What’s going on here?
A. Street-level commerce. A structure on the site was modified in 1914 to become a ‘'motion picture show’‘ — perhaps a storefront theater or nickelodeon, according to Richard Sklenar of the Theater Historical Society of America in Elmhurst, Ill.
The 21-foot-wide Eagle Theater, as it was called, seated 600, and was owned by a businessman named Adolph Kreuder. According to Historical Society archives, a 1,200-seat theater was built on the site in the 1920’s for $125,000, designed by Weinberger & Weiskoff. The theater closed about 1981 and became a meat market — yet the Welte organ, installed in 1927, remained in place until 1987. The building’s marquee now says Jack’s, and it is a fascinating place to buy shampoo and diapers.
According to the article, the architects were Weinberger and Weiskoff.
Here’s a photo of the interior of the Eagle:
http://reliques.online.fr/theaters/theaters03.html
Can you see any ornamentation in the store itself? The photo linked above is of the balcony view, but that’s only a warehouse I think.
Image number 4 is the Eagle interior.
View link
was this theater ever known as the Metro ?
The Metro is on the west side, Chris.
I remember the Eagle Theatre was the place to go as a child, where one can see the main feature, a grade-B movie, a comedy, and a cartoon … all for 35 cents. Those were the days!
does anyone have any old photos showing the facade of the eagle theater at 1852 third ave nyny 10029….
I remember going there with my mom when I was a child… for all the events !