Beekman Theatre
1254 Second Avenue,
New York,
NY
10021
1254 Second Avenue,
New York,
NY
10021
33 people
favorited this theater
The Beekman Theatre, located on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, was a single-screen ‘art house’ movie house which drew large audiences ever since it opened in 1952. It was built for the Rugoff & Becker chain.
The theater’s exterior (including its signature marquee, with its name in cursive-style) was modern but stylish. Inside, the Beekman Theatre featured high-backed plush seats, rich carpeting, and wood-panelled walls.
The audience entered the auditorium from the side, in between two levels of seating. This seating layout, similar to the Ziegfeld Theatre, was the true precursor of stadium-style seating.
Until the end, the theatre opened and closed the curtains before the beginning of every film. Films buffs will recognize the Beekman’s cameo in the Woody Allen film “Annie Hall”.
The historic Beekman Theatre closed in late-June of 2005 with “The Interpreter” being the final film shown on its screen, after its landlord, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, decided not to renew Clearview Cinemas' lease.
The Beekman Theatre was demolished in November/December 2005, to make way for a new breast cancer research center. The Beekman name was moved to Clearview’s New York One & Two across the street, which was renamed the Beekman One & Two, and from October 2008 became the Beekman Theatre.
Contributed by
Ross Melnick
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Recent comments (view all 410 comments)
New York City has to be the only place in the world where residential tenants have more rights to a property than the property owner. Anywhere else a tenants right to occupy a particular property ends with expiration of the lease for the demised premises. Upon the expiration of said lease, the property owner may offer a renewal but is not obligated to do so.
Google search exactly
Boxoffice November 22, 1952
and insert 162 and 170 for photos of Beekman foyer, including 1st from inside the auditorium!
Many other theaters have photos in this section, which I’m not posting but other people may wish to.
Renewing link.
A 1986 image.
View link
Great image of the Beekman!
Woody Allen loved this theatre as most people know. He had most of his Premiers there!
Here is a three page article about the Beekman, with several photos, in Boxoffice, June 7, 1952.
Compare the Beekman interior photos to the lobbies and waiting areas of today’s multiplexes, all junked up with video-game decor. Does someone want to make the case we’re more sophisticated today, other than electronically?
We are definitely declining when it comes to taste and education about the arts and the past. While the video-game junk decor serves a purpose, it woud still be wonderful to see a multplex constructed to resemble the great movie palaces that are mostly lost…even if this construction were limited to the lobby and foyer areas. Imagine a new multiplex with a foyer like the landmarked foyer of the RKO Flushing, or a trim, sleek art deco/art moderne lobby like the Beekman’s original interior. Cost, cost, cost will be the objection to creating such a showplace. I am sure there would be ways around high costs…for example, a contest for the creation of a showplace lobby or foyer for a multiplex, the competitors being architecture and art students from local colleges and universities who would create a permanent grand space in return for college credit, or a smaller fee than an established firm would charge. However, the results might be lost on current generations who do not have appreciation for arts or history. Also, builders of multiplexes would not want a grand permanent interior because of the expense of maintaining it, demolishing it, or future battles over landmarking. It is easier and cheaper to build for obsolescence. SIGH
I remember the Beekman very well. What a wonderful theatre. I went there to see most of the Ingmar Bergman movies. The first was Wild Strawberries. I, and a few others, had arrived late to attend a concert at Lewisohn Stadium, and it had started raining. So we went to the Beekman instead. On other occasions, I saw Through a Glass Darkly and Winter Light – two of the Bergman classics.