Elysee Theatre
202 West 58th Street,
New York,
NY
10019
202 West 58th Street,
New York,
NY
10019
1 person
favorited this theater
Actor-turned-playwright John Golden was a former architecture student and designed the layout for his self-named theater himself in 1926, although the main designs were by architect Harrison G. Wisemean. Built across the street from Jolson’s Theatre, on 58th Street, the Golden’s facade was almost severely plain-looking but inside, it was something out of Old Spain.
The 885-seat theater included a balcony, a very narrow, unadorned lobby, a full orchestra, and a square-shaped proscenium. The general color theme of the auditorium was originally olive and gold, and contained wrought-iron chandeliers and the house curtain was decorated with an illustration of a Spanish galleon.
After nearly a decade of legitimate theater, Golden was forced to sell off his theater due to the Depression, and in 1935, it was taken over by John Cort, who renamed it Cort’s 58th Street Theatre, and featured mostly stage comedies.
However, within a year, Cort gave up the theater, and it began to screen foreign movies, under the name of the Filmarte, and shortly thereafter, as the Fine Arts.
In 1942, it was renamed yet again, as the Concert Theatre, and presented its first live act in seven years, a comedy called “Of V We Sing”, which played very briefly. A year later, the theater became a house of worship, as the Rock Church, and seating was increased to over 1,000.
However, by 1946, the church was gone, and it was named Cort’s 58th Street once again. However, rather than a return to legitimate theater, as was planned, it was instead leased by the ABC network as a radio studio for a number of years, before again returning to foreign feature films in the late-1940’s, this time under the name the Elysee Theatre.
In 1955, ABC returned and used it as a television studio until it closed in 1985. It was demolished a few months later.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater
Recent comments (view all 29 comments)
The $10K,$25K,$20K and $50K Pyramid shows were taped here. As a college student,I spent the better part of Winter 1981 attending tapings of $50,000 Pyramid here- the last Pyramid to be taped in NYC. By then The Elysee was a bit shopworn…but I have fond memories of those Pyramid tapings. I believe the short lived Blankety Blanks, with Bill Cullen was taped here as well. You would often hear fire truck sirens from the fire house across the street from The Elysee on both shows.
Yes, Blankety Blanks was taped at the Elysee Theatre, more correctly referred to as ABC Studio TV-15 by that time. The pilot was shot Monday Feb 10, 1975. The series itself only lasted 10 weeks though.
Stopped showing movies in May 1949 with the classic “Carnival In Flanders”
The first run of “Carnival In Flanders” was also the opening film when it became a cinema in 1936.
I believe a small part of the Elysee Theater is still standing and integrated into the Choir School. It appears to be the “narrow, unadorned lobby” referred to in the main description, since it looks very old with a possibly Moorish design of the original building. As I recall, the lobby was on the right hand side of the theater. I attended a taping of “The Dick Cavett Show” here in about 1970, when I was a college student. 15 years later, I had the good fortune to work as a writer for Mr. Cavett on his short-lived USA Network series in 1985.
– Richard Wilson
Regarding Mr. Wilson’s post: my recollection of the Elysee’s site was one of complete demolition. I worked for ABC-TV at the time and curiously passed by one afternoon to ‘say good-bye’ to what was our stalwart Studio TV-15. There was nothing left. I would love to believe there is extant Elysee architecture still occupying 202 W 58 St., but I think it unlikely. Oh! How I would love to be proved wrong! I also attended Mr. Cavett’s show there and later on made many visits during “The $20,000 Pyramid” era. How lucky you were to have worked with Mr. Cavett!! A brilliant writer.
I was the manager of the Elysee Theatre for about a year in 1952. A major show then was “Stop the Music,” and they had some very fine guest singers. I’ll never forget sitting in my office and hearing an angel’s voice from outside and below. I rushed out to hear Sarah Vaughan singing “Tenderly.” But my most memorable moment was a benefit for Adlai Stevenson, especially after the show when Tallulah Bankhead rushed into his body declaring, “Darling, I’ve been working my bones off for you.” I’ve never seen a more startled gentleman. (Eisenhower also did a tape there.)
The theatre was totally demolished and replaced by a multi-story building that is the Choir School of St. Thomas Episcopal Church. I corrected the view to show that.
Status needs to be changed from “Closed” to “Demolished.” Explosives were used for the demolition, to a level of two stories below street level.
Why was this theater re-named, for the second time from “Cort’s 58th Street Theatre” to “The Elysee Theatre” in the late 1940s? Does anyone know this?
Did the theater owner)s) of that time have some affinity for the Elysee Palace in France and/or did the architecture of the building in any way resemble the French palace? Or did the owner(s) just think that a good name for a venue showing foreign films?