Trans-Lux Modern Theatre
625 Madison Avenue,
New York,
NY
10020
625 Madison Avenue,
New York,
NY
10020
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This theatre is listed as open in the 1937 Film Daily Year Book.
By the 1970’s the Schraffts gave way to L'Orangerie a belle-epoque style restaurant that tried to capitalize on the tremendous popularity of Warner LeRoy’s Maxwell’s Plum, further east. What was the name of the Trans-Lux house that succeeded the Modern?
A view of a Trans-Lux Modern Theatre was featured in an ad for Carrier air conditioners in Boxoffice Magazine, March 7, 1936. I think it’s the same theater seen in the two exterior photos linked in ken mc and Warren’s comments. If this theater closed in 1933, Carrier must have been using an old photo of it. It’s possible that the ad had already been in use for a few years and Carrier was just too cheap to have a new one created.
Here are new links to previously posted images. The one posted above by “ken mc” shows a 58th Street wall of the entrance, which was on Madison Avenue.
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Here is a 1931 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/5dorsv
No! It lasted only two years, and was then converted into retail space. The office building that housed it has since been demolished and replaced by another office building.
Was it ever anythiong but a newsreel theatre?
Was this ever anything other than a newsreel theatre?
The Trans-Lux East is listed here under the later name of Crown Gotham.
Is the Trans-Lux East (1963-1979) not listed yet?
As Damien has already pointed out, this theater had an address range of 617-627 Madison Avenue. Any number within that range should be acceptable.
This theatre had only one screen, which should be noted in the introduction, which presently says “unknown”…The theatre opened in 1931 and made its first appearance in Film Daily Year Books in the 1932 volume with an address of 625 Madison Avenue. It was also listed in the 1933 volume at 625 Madison Avenue. It did not appear in subsequent volumes because it had closed forever by that time. I therefore suggest that 625 Madison Avenue be used as the address in the introduction.
The status of this theatre should be listed as “closed/demolished”…Please note that this was the same Madison Avenue blockfront that once housed the New German Theatre (later Plaza), which was on the SE corner of Madison & 59th Street, and was demolished to make way for the office building that had this Trans-Lux as tenant on the corner with 58th Street. In the meantime, a new and much smaller Plaza had been built at 42 E. 58th Street, which was just a stone’s throw from the Trans-Lux.
The photo posted by Damien Farley on 9/22/05 shows the 58th Street side of the theatre. The theatre had no presence on 59th Street; it occupied only 1,872 square feet at the office building’s corner with Madison Avenue & 58th Street. It seems possible that the space was previously occupied by a restaurant rather than a store; both are considered “retail” in real estate terms.
Oops…Make that Schrafft’s Restaurant with an “h”.
I don’t know the exact date that this theater closed but by 1956 the theater space was being used again as a restaurant by Scrafft’s.
I should’ve stated that “The building in which the theatre was located occupied 617-627 Madison…” This is according to the C/O mentioned by lostmemory.
Here’s another photo of the theatre’s exterior:
http://www.ebay.se/viItem?ItemId=7519931641#photo
NYC did list this building as having three addresses, but I also believe that the theater address was 617 Madison Ave. In 1930 there is a restaurant located where this theater was. On March 12, 1931 a C/O was issued for a 154 seat motion picture theater at this address. The name on the C/O was Thomas W. Lamb, located at 701 7th Ave.
The entrance was on Madison Avenue, at the NE corner with 58th Street. The theatre was only 26 feet wide, so it was about 32 feet from 58th Street, allowing for the width of the sidewalk that separated it. It had nothing in common with 59th Street, and was about 3/4s of a block from it. The building in which the theatre sat is not the same building as the one that currently stands on that block. Here are are two photos that probably haven’t been seen since they were taken in 1931. The first shows the Madison Avenue entrance. As you can see, the only exterior wall (south) of the theatre extended down 58th Street to a length of 72 feet. The north wall was not visible because it was inside the office building and separated the theatre from stores. The second photo shows the auditorium. In the rear, you can see the exit doors that emptied into Madison Avenue. You can also see the reverse side of those doors in the left portion of the first photo:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/139-3996_IMG.jpg
www.18.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/140-4001_IMG.jpg
The address of this theatre appears to have been either 617 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, 10022 or 41 E. 58th Street. (I’m not sure on which street the entrance was located.)
The theatre actually occupied 617-627 Madison, 37-41 E. 58th Street, and 36-54 E. 59th Street.