United Palace
4140 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10033
4140 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10033
30 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 268 comments found
But that’s irrelevant. The New Amsterdam is still a Palace! The Hollywood is a palace! Radio City a palace! and others. Just because they weren’t built for full time presentation of films doesn’t lessen their beauty and their historical importance as Movie Palaces. For me, a theater is a theater, whether it was made exclusively for films or not and I make no real distinction between the two, but I understand that this site is called “Cinema Treasures” and not “Theater Treasures” so the theaters on this site must have had cinema at one time to be included. The criteria is not that the theater has been purpose built for cinema only. That said a great many live theaters have been included as many did show films at one point during their long career.
Most live Broadway Theatres had movie capabilities so they could sponsor premieres and travel shows. The intention was not for full-time operation.
Maybe Vito can clear this up!!! :–)
I think we can both be right. It’s quite possible that it was designed for live theater/events and as the construction progressed and the deepening depression wore on, the decision was made to add movie capability thereby enabling them to do the quick switch when their worst fears were realized.
Radio City may have been planned to be only live theater, but it never was only live theater at the beginning, as mentioned, two weeks after opening it showed it’s first movie. They had to know it would be showing film two weeks earlier…. :)
Oh, and thanks Tinseltoes for the backup. :–) Radio City was built for live theater and events, but quickly realized it wouldn’t work thereby becoming one of the greatest palaces ever to have existed!
The Mark Hellinger would never have been in danger. It would be very successful as a venue for live theater and I hope the church eventually cashes out so they can use the funds “to help the poor”. Yes, they have taken great care of the theater. It’s beautiful, but it should be used as a theater once again and, yes, live theater counts. :–)
Like its name, RCMH was intended to be a “live” music hall, but it quickly fell victim to the Depression and had to be switched to a cinema with a stage show in support. If it had shown films exclusively, it would never have survived, and might have been turned into a parking garage.
Again, even if the theaters are used as churches instead of theater (movies), it’s still better than gutted and turned into a drug store or something….or worse, torn down. As for the Hollywood Theater (Mark Hellinger), as far as I know, the theater is maintained beautifully, even if used for a church. Would you rather have seen it turned into retail, or some of the far worse things that could have been done to it? Hollywood-Mark Hellinger Theatre
As for Radio City Music Hall, it was always meant to show film, as well as live theater. It showed it’s first movie in January 1933….within two weeks of opening.
Agreed, but it is considered a palace nonetheless. Radio City was also built for theater not movies. It too, is one of our greatest palaces! :–)
LuisV, the Mark Hellinger’s original purpose was movies, not Broadway shows.
Many churches have been wonderful stewards of old theaters; others have not. Certainly in the case of theaters like Loew’s 175th Street (United Palace), the Stanley (Jersey City), Loew’s Valencia and Loew’s Metropolitan, churches have saved and preserved the theaters that might otherwise have been lost, but other churches have gutted theaters or severely damaged them. The church that purchased the Mark Hellinger theater in Manhattan has taken a stunning movie palace and removed it from the Broadway Live Theater scene. Though they have taken wonderful care of the theater I wish they would sell it back so it can be returned to its legitimate use as a home for the Broadway Stage.
Wow, that is just wonderful!!
The perfect example of why often times “churches” have “saved” a theater….and now even returning to it’s natural use, at least partly. For all those that “knock” the Tabernacle of Prayer in Jamaica (former Valencia Theater), because of the garish colors they painted….remember it’s churches like that that saved many theaters.
BIG NEWS! There is a campaign under way to buy a projector for this theater and bring regularly scheduled films back to this theater for the first time in more than 40 years. I’m giving $100! Please consider donating and watch the great clip below! This theater is already restored and already has a screen. All that is missing is the projector! http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/return-film-to-the-united-palace
Tinseltoes, Then it must have been the RKO Coliseum. I remember Broadway was blocked by the snow, it was February 1st, we took a taxi coming out of the theater, but the driver stopped in front of the Presbyterian Medical Center and told us to get off, he couldn’t go on.
Guarina, if you’re talking about the original release of “Giant” in 1956, you couldn’t have seen it at Loew’s 175th Street because it didn’t play there. If you saw it in its first run in the Washington Heights area, that would have been at the RKO Coliseum. Prior to that, you could have seen it in Manhattan only at the Roxy, where “Giant” played its exclusive NYC premiere engagement.
How depressing! I think I saw “Giant” with Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor there in an early February, there was a heavy snowfall.
Here’s a 1980s tax view of the entire block, with marquee and entrance at the right side of the photo: lunaimaging
I remember Loew’s 175th from 1951 and it was still a theater in 1957. The “Big Three” railroad-car style diner was across 175th Street, there was a photo studio across Broadway. My cousin worked as an usher there while in high school.
Thanks for the Link Tinseltoes.
Loew’s 175th Street is prominently mentioned in this Wall Street Journal article by Will Friedwald about uptown theatres that have found God: wsj.com
Yes, Tinseltoes, the Tony"s will be at the Beacon. While I am extremely disappointed that the country will not be exposed to this gem of a theater there is no better other theater to host the Tony’s than the Beacon as Alto so eloquently pointed out. The theater is actually on Broadway and was recently renovated. It will still reflect very well on New York, but it would have been very nice to have really gone outside the box for a change.
As I suspected above on 7/14/10, the deal to present the next Tony Awards at the United Palace fell through. The telecast will be held instead at the Beacon Theatre, which is about 100 blocks to the south of Washington Heights and probably seems safer and more convenient for members of the elite group that presents the Tony Awards.
Yes Al, you are correct that Radio City was not specifically built as a movie palace but a movie palace it most definitely is. That is how it was used for a majority of its life and how it is remembered by most.
I still think that the Tony committee made a brilliant move in scheduling the Tony ceremony at Loew’s 175th Street Theatre. It will focus attention on one of the nation’s most magnificent movie palaces while at the same time letting people everywhere know that not everything happens in midtown Manhattan. There is a wealth of architectural splendor throughout the boroughs and this will highlight it.
Radio City was never built as a movie palace. The Roxy (Center) was the failed movie palace. Radio City was built as a Music Hall and settled for movies when music shows failed.