Loew's State Theatre
1540 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
1540 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
27 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 594 comments found
Tinseltoes, your Boxoffice magazine is such a joy to read. Thanks.
“Easter Parade” breaking boxoffice records: Boxoffice
Reserved seat engagements were so common in 1968 that here’s an advance order form for a movie before its theater had even been booked. It wound up being the opening attraction at Loew’s State 2.
Seeing “Some Like It Hot” at Loew’s Lexington on the East Side was an even more unforgettable experience. It was a combination press screening and “sneak prevue,” with Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Miller occupying seats in the center section of the orchestra floor.
The original Loew’s State became nothing but rubble and dust in 1987. The newly built, subterranean State, to which you refer, has its own page right here. That latter theater opened nearly 10 years after the original’s demolition – and bore absolutely no resemblance to its earlier, more famous incarnation.
I actually began to return to State when it became a second-run house under Virgin Mega Store. That was the opposite experience, always spookily quiet. I caught quite a few discount shows there though the price kept increasing. The Weather Man was probably my last visit.
With that beautiful shot of the revamped auditorium, I try to picture myself in there watching the premiere attraction of Some Like it Hot.
Must have been an unforgettable experiencce..
I didn’t care what the audience did or did not do. There is nothing like seeing a major motion picture in a major movie palace. A first-run movie at Radio City Music Hall with a stage show/organ and all the hoopla can never be equaled, ever……
SeaBassTian… audience participation is precisely what brought me back to the theaters of Times Square time and again – that and the cheap admissions. Of course, I was a teen at the time. I’ve grown much more conservative in my expectations for movie-going etiquette as the years have passed.
You always send the most interesting items..Thanks. Just before being sold, Loews always ran an ad in the NYTimes telling the features playing in their theaters.
This 1940 newspaper ad lists a majority of the Loew’s circuit theatres in the Greater New York area at the time: Boxoffice
By the time, I had the displeasure of finding about this theater in ‘87, it was already in decline. Granted, the film was The Blob but the audience was under impression that participation was required with hisses, boos, etc. I think I avoided all Times Square theaters after that.
P.S. The opening date in the first sentence of the listing’s introduction is incorrect and should be changed to August 29th, 1921.
Tonight (August 29th) marks the 91st anniversary of the grand opening of Loew’s State, which was the 104th theatre in the circuit so far. The project was in preparation for more than three years, with the first two used solely to purchase all the property required for the theatre and its adjacent 16-story office building. The State was the first theatre that Marcus Loew actually built in the midtown entertainment district, though he’d long leased facilities there such as the New York Theatre and the American Theatre.
The bronze memorial tablet to Marcus Loew was first installed in the lobbies of Loew’s theatres on May 7th, 1929, which would have been his 59th birthday: Boxoffice
The six-day total of $223,679 at the two States would be equal to about $1.23 million in 2012.
“Unprecedented Boxoffice!” in March, 1972: Boxoffice
I think the “grand staircase” photo on the right is actually of the Loew’s Capitol and not the Loew’s State, as captioned. Nevertheless, an absorbing read, indeed.
Pictured in this absorbing 1960 trade article about changes in first-run practices in Manhattan: Boxoffice
Bobby, you should be able to find plenty of details about the Cinemiracle fiasco at the Roxy’s listing. It was a wide-screen process that debuted with a feature documentary entitled “Windjammer.” The Roxy was extensively renovated and reduced in seating capacity to accomodate it.
That explains it. What was the Cinemiracle fiasco? Sorta Todd-Ao like?
After the Cinemiracle fiasco, the Roxy resumed stage shows, but on a very modest scale due to the removal or destruction of many of its facilities. They were more like nightclub revues, with house band on stage behind the performers. And none of the entertainers were what you would call “big names.” The budget wouldn’t permit it. Some were rising recording artists who did it just for the exposure and the prestige of a Roxy booking.
Tinseltoes, As I said before, this is one great publication you found. Enjoyed reading. Didn’t realize the Roxy continued to put on complete stage shows in the last year of its life.
More modernization photos and description start here, soon followed by a multi-page article: boxoffice
Auditorium pictured in trade ad for Eastern Seating at bottom of this page: boxoffice