Gem Theatre
36 West 135th Street,
New York,
NY
10037
36 West 135th Street,
New York,
NY
10037
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Designed by architect Maximilian Zypkes, the Crescent Theatre opened December 16, 1909 with a program of vaudeville and motion pictures. It continued to exhibit films through at least 1922, by which time it was known as the New Crescent. By 1926, it was known as the Gem Theatre, and by 1930, as the New Gem Theatre. By 1937, the space was being used as a meeting hall.
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Contributed by
Damien Farley
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
The American Motion Picture Directory;1914-1915 has the Crescent Theatre listed at the address 38 West 135th Street.
The Film Daily Yearbook;1926 edition has this theatre listed as the New Gem Theatre with 300 seats. The 1930 edition of F.D.Y. has it listed as the Gem Theatre with 299 seats.
I neglected to properly list the theatre’s status as “Closed/Demolished.” Harlem Hospital Center now utilizes the land on which the theatre once stood.
The Gem fell victim to the Depression and closed around 1932. Three years later, on July 6, 1935, the Amsterdam News reported that “the old Gem Theatre” at 36-38 West 135th Street had been sold to the Universal Negro Improvement Association for conversion into heaquarters for its activities in Harlem. The ground floor would be used as an auditorium, with a cafeteria and gymnasium to be built in the basement. The second floor would be converted into meeting rooms and offices. Much of the Gem’s original street frontage would be converted into stores to provide rental income for the Asssociation.