86th Street Grande Theatre
160 East 86th Street,
New York,
NY
10128
160 East 86th Street,
New York,
NY
10128
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History is difficult to find about this theatre, but its original name seems to have been the 86th Street Winter Garden, and it might have started out as part of an entertainment complex that also included a restaurant, ballroom, etcetera.
By 1936, the name had changed to 86th Street Garden Theatre. In September of that year, it became a showcase for German imports, starting with UFA’s “Schlussakkord”, a musical starring Willy Birgel, Lil Dagover and Maria Tasnady. German films continued into the 1950’s, and were even shown during WWII (revivals approved by the U.S. government).
After that, the theatre switched to subsequent-run Hollywood movies under the name of 86th Street Grande (the letters of “Garden” re-arranged) into the 1960’s, until demolition for new buildings.
Contributed by
Warren G. Harris
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Recent comments (view all 24 comments)
Then this theater should be listed as the 86th Street Grande and use the 86th Street Garden as one of the aka names.
I think that the 86th Street Garden name should stick, as the theatre was famous throughout the city as a showcase for German-lanugage films, many in their American premieres. When it switched to conventional late-run movies under a different name, the theatre quickly faded into insignificance.
Still operating in 1954.
“March 14, 1954-The low-budget, pro-labor film "Salt of the Earth” premieres at New York’s 86 St. Grande theater, the only one that will show it.
The movie is based on an actual strike against the Empire Zinc Mine in New Mexico, the film deals with the prejudice against the Mexican-American workers".
Speaking of “Salt of the Earth”, there is a photo of the 86th Street Grande on Ebay with that movie title on the marquee. Click here for photo.
Here is a different link to the same photo posted on Jun 20, 2007. See how long this link lasts.
My grandfather, J. Louis Geller, operated this theatre from around 1917 when he took it over from his father. (When my great-grandfather owned it, it was a caberet, the Schwarzer Adler, which had Viennese Operetta.) There were several theatres on the street, but I’m told it was the first one with a marquee. The theatre was owned by my grandfather and his siblings, but he ran it. I found an obituary from the publication “Boxoffice” of May 26, 1958 which calls it the 86th Street Garden Theatre.
Lived right up the block from the Grande at 150 E 86th St which was torn down in 2007. if you missed a movie at “Big Loew’s”, the (Orpheum) and at Little Loew’s (Loews 86th St). you could catch it some months later at the Grande. One thing I noticed as a kid, the Grande was not cooled by an air-conditioning unit, instead a big ice truck (was it Consolidated Ice??)would show up in the AM on summer days and they would unload and slide big blocks of ice down into the theatre’s basement. Tons of it actually. Must have blown the air over the ice to cool the house. It was something to grow up on a block with three movie houses on it, plus another on the next block west (RKO 86th) or still another 1 block east (the Schwartze Adler: spelling). I could sleep through all the traffic noises, the Salvation Army singing outside Martin’s Bar across the street but when they turned off the big Howard Clothes sign outside my window, it would wake me up. Go figure.
Big low Little low, how low can you go?Cool history.
In 1942 it went from Garden to Grande.
In August 1963 it was still open.