Roxy Theatre
153 W. 50th Street,
New York,
NY
10020
153 W. 50th Street,
New York,
NY
10020
69 people
favorited this theater
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then one look at photos of this palatial movie palace is worth about a million. Often cited as the most impressive movie palace ever built, the Roxy Theatre was called “The Cathedral of the Motion Picture” by its creator and namesake, Samuel ‘Roxy’ Rothafel. Roxy was arguably the greatest showmen of his time and he built a theater that has seemingly outlasted his own legend.
With its nearly 6,000 seats and multi-tiered balconies, the Roxy Theatre was the showplace of New York City and of the nation. Erected in 1927 and designed by architect W.W. Ahlschlager of Chicago (who also designed New York’s Beacon Theatre), its rather modest entrance at the Taft Hotel disguised one of the most cavernous lobbies ever built and a magnificent auditorium that has lived on in its patrons' imagination. Whatever adjectives can be used for the Roxy Theatre, they all fail to signify the theatre’s achievement.
Sadly, the decline in attendance that had begun in the 1950’s spilled over into the early-1960’s and the Roxy Theatre, despite numerous protests, was razed in 1961. In its place sits a non-descript and unremarkable office building. The neighboring Taft Hotel survives to this day (now the Michangelo Hotel) and is the only evidence that this epic structure was ever here. A TGI Friday’s restaurant occupies the theatres' original entrance.
The legacy of the Roxy Theatre is almost as impressive as the theater itself once was. The name ‘Roxy’ has since adorned movie theaters, nightclubs, restaurants and a host of other establishments around the world all attempting to give to their patrons what Roxy always brought to his own: entertainment.
The end of the Roxy Theatre signified the beginning of the end for thousands of movie palaces across the country. With its destruction, New York City began to destroy its past for urban renewal and the city, and movie palaces, have never been the same.
Contributed by
Cinema Treasures
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Recent comments (view all 1,303 comments)
In the IMDb site it says Tunnel of Love is in color, yet a comment by a viewer says, like Tinseltoes above who in my opinion knows what he is talking about, that it is in black and white. Anyone knows how to correct an IMDb entry?
Also should be noted that “The Tunnel of Love” was one of Gene Kelly’s directorial efforts.
I have no exlanation as to why that link takes you to that awful picture. It should have gone to movie posters. I have written and complained to the website If you have not used that link please do not. My aplogies to those of you who have.
Thanks Mark I dont know why I did not just do that. Appperently the image hosting site I used hosts pornographic material as well as he more family suitable images, I was not aware of that till now and will of course never use it again. I still do no understand how the link went that image instead of the movie poster I put up, a very sick joke if you ask me My aplogies once again to those of you who clicked on that link. Meanwhile yes indeed “Tunnel Of Love” was shot in CinemaScope and Black & White
Thanks! No worries, the internet can be a very dicey place. Best wishes.
Just been looking (again) at the photos of the incredible Roxy, makes me so very ANGRY that my and future generations were denied the chance to experience the greatest movie theatre ever built. I would like to personally lynch those responsible but they are probably gone now (to eternal hell, hopefully). New York City lost it’s soul when the great theatres were torn down and it will never be the same again, I’m so depressed that this was allowed to happen.
Yes it’s a criminal loss. The early 1960s was s time when the past seemed immaterial and nothing mattered but the future. The loss of Pennsylvania Station and the Metropolitan Opera House followed closely on the disappearance if the Roxy. The only bright side is that these horrendous losses opened some minds and spurred some to action. Today we do have a restored Grand Central Terminal, Radio City Music Hall and a landmarked Broadway theatre district because of it. But what a heavy price to pay.
In some fairness to the folks who were around at that time, it’s important to remember that the movie palaces were seen as commercial venues, much like today’s big multiplexes. They were places to exhibit movies and make a lot of money. When the movies, and the people that watched them, moved to the suburbs, it just seemed that the movie palaces' day was done. That they were also architectural masterpieces (some of them) and venues capable of being retrofitted for a future as arts centers and community treasures was never thought of, except by a very few. It took another generation to make this discovery, by which time so many of them were gone.
Mark and Paul, I agree wholeheartedly with your comments about the Roxy, as well as our other criminally destroyed landmarks. AGRoura, any IMDB member can update and correct, simply by going choosing the update option. I do it frequently.
Thanks, Ed Miller.