Regun Theater
60 West 116th Street,
New York,
NY
10026
60 West 116th Street,
New York,
NY
10026
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Showing 1 - 25 of 34 comments found
The Regun appears in a December 1922 ad for TESS OF THE STORM COUNTRY so it was no longer the Imperial by then.
Love those mnemonic devices they used for phone exchanges years ago. That sort of charm has been lost to antiquity. Thanks ken mc. Might not be necessary, but a fun tidbit nonetheless. Warren, please re-post a new link to the photo you originally posted on Feb 8th.
Curious to know why that information is considered necessary, especially the phone number. Have you tried calling it? If so, what answer did you get?
Listed in the 1960 Manhattan yellow pages. Phone number was Enrght 9-9878.
A rare view of the Regun Theatre’s marquee can be found in the background of this photo copied from a 1930 trade journal. “White Cargo” was a British import based on the 1923 stage hit about a jungle seductress named “Tondeleyo.” Hedy Lamarr would later play the role in MGM’s 1942 version of “White Cargo,” which might also have played at the Regun Theatre, but I can’t say for sure. www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/nycregun.jpg
It could be Loews Broadway, but I have no way to check. You may be right on the porn theater. It could be a new aka for some older house in Brooklyn. Probably not one of the storefront porno places if it was part of a chain.
There is a Broadway Theater aka Loew’s Broadway listed on Cinema Treasures for Brooklyn. That might be the Broadway Theater that you found in the FDYbook? Still nothing on the Amor Theater in Brooklyn which sounds like a porn theater. :)
It’s a team effort.
On the silent theater list, there is a Sunset (W. 125th) Theater which means that the name might have always been Sunset. I just find it odd that it wasn’t listed here already. Good find.
I added the Sunset at the 125th Street address.
Would that be considered “phone sex”?
I don’t if the Sunset Theater had other names, but a theater building was located at 312-322 W 125th St since at least 1924.
Sure thing, Rodney. “I told my wife I wanted her to talk to me during sex. She said OK. Next night, she called me from a motel”. Ba dum bum.
Nobody listens to me. I don’t get any respect. No respect at all. :)
You should add the Sunset Theater. If it turns out to be a duplicate, it won’t be your fault.
Thanks. I see that you mentioned the San Juan aka back in April 2005, but it wasn’t added as an aka. You also mentioned the Beverly Hills as an aka for the Audubon.
The San Juan should be listed here as the Audubon Theater. I don’t see the Sunset Theater listed here although it might be here under another name. The address should be 316 W 125th St. I never heard of an Amor Theater in Brooklyn.
It seems like we have an exhaustive list of theaters in NYC and Brooklyn. However, I looked for the other four theaters in the Harris chain on CT and didn’t see any of them under their current or former names. I saw a Sunset Theater in Brooklyn but not NYC. There was also the Loew’s Broadway in NYC, but I wasn’t sure if that was the one that Harris was running in 1967. I’m not familiar with NY theaters, so if someone could fill me in I would appreciate it.
It explains who ran the Regun Theatre at the time, and also shows that it was related to other cinemas in the Greater New York area.
Other then the possibility of the Regun Theater being open until 1967, what does the rest of that information have to do with this theater. Maybe you can explain it to me.
My 1967 FDY has the following listing:
Harris Theaters (Agent)
251 W. 86th Street, NYC
Harry A. Harris, General Manager
Theaters (5): New York – Regun, San Juan, Sunset. Brooklyn – Amor, Broadway. If this is accurate, the Regun was still open as late as 1967.
Hilarious, Lost. Thanks for the laugh!
I did see that one. I wasn’t going to post it but since you mentioned it, I’ll post the July 12, 1923 headline. The free preview headline reads as follows:
BRINGS SHIT TO KEEP TENANTS OFF ROOF; Crowd Watching Film Show Next Door Damages Buildings, Landlord Says. 100 TO 200 GATHER NIGHTLY Supreme Court Asked for Injunction — Complaint Alleges 15 Defendants Refused to Get Off.
There must have been a typo because the full article has this headline:
BRINGS SUIT TO KEEP TENANTS OFF ROOF.
The first headline might have been the better idea. :)
“Lost Memory,” you seem to have missed a very funny story about the Regun Theatre published in The New York Times on July 12, 1923 (with a follow-up on July 13). The owner of an adjacent apartment building threatened legal action against tenants who were congregating on the roof and bringing friends (as many as 200 at a time!) to watch the movies being shown at the Regun’s open-air venue.
CROWD RAIDS THEATRE PROTESTING MOVIE; 100 From Harlem Colony See Reflection on Latin American Womanhood—Five Are Seized.
NY Times June 25, 1930
Five men, all Latin-Americans, were arrested last night and locked up in the West 123d Street station charged with disorderly conduct when they tried to storm the Regun Theatre at 60 West 116th Street following a demonstration outside against the film “Under a Texas Moon”.
In the first comment on this page, I posted the free portion of the November 10, 1936 NY Times article. Here are some of the details contained in the full article.
The roof of the building was formerly used as a summer open air theater. The outdoor projection booth collapsed and damaged the ceiling in the rear of the theater a few feet from the indoor projection booth. The license of the theater, owned by the Belle Theatre Corporation of 62 Delancey Street was suspended, but the theater may be re-opened the police said, after repairs are made.
You didn’t happen to take photos of the other side of west 116th street did you? I believe the Jewel Theater was across the street from the Regun Theater and to the east. Maybe Ed can post an aerial photo for 11 West 116th Street on the Jewel Theater page.