Broadway Theatre
1681 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10019
1681 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10019
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Note the CINE ROMA verticle sign at the far near corner of the marquee. This name and concept moved around between the Ambassador, Piccadilly and Broadway in the late thirties.
“Steamboat Willie” opened at this Colony. The 79th Street was not named Colony until 1937.
I’ve found some websites that say that “Steamboat Willie” premiered at the Broadway Theatre in 1928 when it was the Colony and other websites that say it premiered at the 79th Street Theatre which later was renamed the Colony. I am curious to know which is correct.
In addition to the renovations mentioned in the opening the Broadway “suffered” a major modification when Candide played there. Basically it was converted to an arena with a large portion of the orchestra seating replaced by the stage.
Great photos on that site! Thanks for sharing, CWalczak! I love the surreptitious shots of the screen during the film… Really gives an idea as to how overwhelming the image must have been, particularly to those who had until that time been used to standard Academy ratio for so long!
The page for the Broadway Theatre in Roland Lataille’s database of Cinerama theaters has a picture of the ground floor booths for Cinerama at the Broadway. Considering that the center booth shows only a single projection port, my guess would be that the high booth was used for the prologue. See http://cinerama.topcities.com/ctbroadway.htm
Back on Feb 19, 2010, Ret. AKC(NAC) Bob Jensen answered a question regarding Cinerama presentation that I had posed 4 years earlier. I would now like to take this opportunity, more than a year AFTER that response, to say “Many thanks, Sir!”
And re-register for notifications on this page, while I’m at it.
Sixty-four years ago tonight, Charles Chaplin’s “Monsieur Verdoux” opened its world premiere engagement at the Broadway Theatre. The opening night performance was by invitation only, with continuous performances at “popular prices” starting the next day. Tickets could also be purchased in advance for the Broadway’s 250-seat mezzanine section for $1.80 during the day and $2.50 at night. The B&W United Artists release was a radical departure for Chaplin, who discarded his traditional baggypants character to portray a contemporary Bluebeard who marries and murders for money. Critics and public were generally hostile to the “black comedy,” which became Chaplin’s first financial failure.
This photograph of the B.S. Moss Broadway Theatre was taken in 1931 by George Mann of the comedy dance team, Barto and Mann.
Tonight (10/23) will mark the 69th anniversary of the gala world premiere of Walt Disney’s “Dumbo” at the Broadway Theatre. Public performances started the next day at 9:30 am, with prices starting at 35 cents until 1pm. Children’s tickets were 25 cents at all times. The Broadway Theatre had previously enjoyed a long run with Disney’s “Fantasia” as a reserved-seat roadshow. For “Dumbo,” mezzaine seats could be reserved at a slight additional charge. Both films were distributed by RKO Radio.
On this day in 1926, “One Minute to Play,” starring football’s great Red Grange in his acting debut, started its world premiere engagement at the B.S. Moss Colony Theatre, with support from a stage presentation topped by Roger Wolfe Kahn and His Grange Collegians' Band. On opening day only, Red Grange also appeared in person on stage at every performance. The movie was released by FBO, headed by Joseph P. Kennedy, father of a future President of the USA.
Here’s the link:
View link
Here’s a very early photo of the Colony Theater
“Fantasia”, longest run in the history of talking pictures:
View link
Neat ad, Al, but posted at the wrong listing. It’s for the Colony on the Upper East Side aka 79th Street Theatre: /theaters/1402/
Interior & exterior photos, including historic ones:
http://www.ibdb.com/venueimages.php?id=1496
Ed Solero-
I don’t think your question of Jan 10, 2006 was ever answered.
“for the CINERAMA exhibition, did they use the high projection booth? Or did they build a booth at the rear of the orchestra?”
Here’s the answer, over 4 years later!
They actually built 3 booths at the rear of the orchestra.
This causes me to want to know, did they use the high projection booth for the black and white, standard film, Lowell Thomas Prologue or the Bravo Booth?
I’m with AGR on this. In 1996 a Dayton, Ohio theater installed Cinerama for what was supposed to be a two-week run. It wound up running for more than three years (weekends only). I realize NYC has more tourist attractions than Dayton, but still … :) And Cinerama still draws crowds in LA whenever it is shown there.
I think that NYC already has more tourist attractions than it can handle, with many going begging. A revival of Cinerama would have a quick death.
It’s a shame NYC does not have a Cinerama theater like LA and Seattle. It would be a big tourism attraction.
A few more details on CINERAMA at the Broadway.
This, of course, was a 3-strip CINERAMA location.
It had a 146 degree LOUVERED, 78 ft by 26 ft, screen!
The first CINERAMA movie, THIS IS CINERAMA, had it’s World Premiere at the Broadway on Tuesday, September 30, 1952. It ran for 35 weeks, till Thursday, June, 4 1953!
THIS IS CINERAMA then transfered to the Warner Theater, on Friday, June 5, 1953 and ran for another 88 weeks!
This means THIS IS CINERAMA had a 123 week run (THAT’S ALMOST 2 YEARS AND 5 MONTHS!), the longest running movie engagement in the history on New York City!
“Ladies and Gentlemen, THIS IS CINERAMA!” Lowell Thomas, September 30, 1952
Skinner Organ Company of Boston, Massachusetts installed a pipe organ in the Broadway/Colony Theater in 1924. It was Opus 485, a 4 Manual/32 Rank with 2,153 pipes. I know it was played by George Brock in 1927 and that’s the last thing I can find out about the organ. Anyone know what happened to this organ after that?
On Christmas Day, the theatre will celebrate the 85th anniversary of its grand opening by B.S. Moss on 12/25/24 as the Colony. Details of the Colony’s first program can be found in the introduction.
Oops, forgot to mention a date: c 1926
My grandmother “performed” as a lingerie model/dancer? in a/the Parisian Lingerie Revue. The first production was presented before the movie “Devil’s Island” with Pauline Frederick, and the second edition of the revue played before a production of “Oh Baby”, a play with Graham McNamee, a few weeks later. I’m writing about her experiences on Broadway and am looking for more info on this time period and these particular performances. If anyone’s interested, I can post playbill and ads for these shows.