Grand Central Theatre
89 E. 42nd Street,
New York,
NY
10017
89 E. 42nd Street,
New York,
NY
10017
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Is it the only theatre/cinema inside a train station?
Is the clock still there?
This was showing Plaza Suite in 1971
Weird that I came across leafing through NYT ads last night
Was a newsreel theatre before that
I passed by it many times but never went in. (In the early 1970’s, when I was going to college and Amtrak trains on the old New York Central lines were still leaving from Grand Central, I had to change stations in New York.) I distinctly recall that on one occasion, oe of the last times I saw the theater in operation, the program was the 1971 documentary “The Hellstrom Chronicle”, so the end must have come around 1973 or thereabouts.
Another thing: it probably was an inspiration for a strip in the comic series “Julis Knipl: Real Estate Photographer”, which takes place in such a theater.
The April 1, 1937, issue of Motion Picture Daily said that the opening of the newsreel theater being built inside Grand Central Station had been set for May 3.
a short video of people going into the grand central theater is on the video VHS titled: “The winning of world war 2” “The road to victory – ratling the saber” 1990 mbi/ulanoff distributed by publishers choice videos. hosted with personal commentary by John s. d. elsenhower. I own this video.
bill gilbert
.ny.us
Though it won’t really map properly, I believe the address should be listed as 33 Grand Central Terminal (Main Concourse, opposite Track 17), New York, NY 10017.
Hi Joe Clark & my other theater enthusiast friends!!! Every so often, you can find a Grand Central Theatre postcard on Ebay.
Some other newsreel and short subject cinemas located in train stations:
South Station Theatre, Boston
Newsreel Theatre, Cincinnati
Victoria Station News Theatre, London
When I was a regular customer in the early ‘50s, they changed the program twice a week (to run current news in that pre-TV era). Since the change-over came in the middle of the day, and if you timed it right, you could catch two programs (a two-hour show) for a single admission ($1).
Where can I get a better copy of this postcard? I would like to use it in my research
I think I remember reading that later on it screened second run fims.
the site is now home of a wine store, and if you go inside you can see—fully restored—the star-filled arched ceiling of the theater’s lobby.