Loew's Victoria Theatre
233 West 125th Street,
New York,
NY
10027
233 West 125th Street,
New York,
NY
10027
4 people
favorited this theater
The Loew’s Victoria Theatre opened in 1917, adjacent to the east of the famed Apollo Theatre in New York’s Harlem neighborhood. It closed as a Loew’s house in 1978.
In 1986 it was reopened as a five-plex and renamed the Movie Center 5. It was only open for a little over four years, closing in 1990. Someone did screen some African-American art films occasionally in 1992 in one of the auditoriums and it was known as the Harlem Victoria 5, but these had ceased by 1994.
The theater was sometimes used for church services for a time, but in recent years, it has sat unused. Several plans have been put forward for reuse, but have not been met with sympathetic ears so far.
The exterior is still in good shape; the marquee still says ‘Movie Center 5’ and the building sports a new roof. The Apoll Theatre’s auditorium goes off to the right of the lobby, and the Victoria Theatre’s auditorium goes off to the left of its lobby, so the back ends of their respective stage houses back up against each other. Several buildings down, near the eastern end of the block is the site of the now demolished Harlem Opera House.
Contributed by
RobertR, William Gabel, Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 81 comments)
does anyone know if they ever presented stage shows?If so what performers
Josephine Baker performed here in 1973.
Josephine Baker gave only a single performance at the Victoria Theatre in 1973 as a benefit for the Harlem division of the Police Athletic League (PAL)…Loew’s Victoria had a limited connection with vaudeville due to intense competition from other theatres in the area. Further details can be found here: http://www.villageviews.org/victoria.pdf
Thank you guys or girls VERY much
In March, 1948, Loew’s Victoria presented the world premiere engagement of “The Fight Never Ends,” a B&W melodrama starring boxing champion Joe Louis and Ruby Dee, simultaneously with three other Loew’s theatres in African-American neighborhoods. At Loew’s Victoria and Loew’s 116th Street in Manhattan, the independently-produced film was supported by Columbia’s Ginger Rogers-Cornel Wilde starrer, “It Had To Be You.” At Loew’s Burland in the Bronx, MGM’s Technicolor musical, “Good News,” was the second feature. Bottom of the bill at Loew’s Brevoort in Brooklyn was 20th-Fox’s “Daisy Kenyon,” starring Joan Crawford.
This theater will get a make-over and reopen for live entertainment. See today’s New York Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/31/realestate/commercial/along-harlems-125th-street-redevelopment-projects-advance.html
When is this revamped website bringing back automatic activation of links to other websites? Mr. Jackson’s welcome contribution doesn’t connect in its present form. One can only do it manually by enclosing the name of the website in brackets [nytimes] and then enclosing the rest in parentheses.
According to the article, the facade will be preserved, but it looks like the theater’s interior will be gutted, with certain architectural elements – chandeliers, a fountain and a grand staircase – to be incorporated into the new space. When completed, there will be two small theaters – one seating 199 and the other only 99 patrons.
You beat me to it Ed! This was always something of a long shot for preservation and I’m not quite sure how much was there to preserve, but at least some of it will live on. Of course we wish we could save them all, but we can’t. We need to dedicate our efforts where the true potentials are: The Loew’s Canal is foremost on my mind as our best hope for bringing back a faded beauty in Manhattan. We have succeeded in saving stunners like Radio City, The New Amsterdam, The Hollywood, all five Wonder Theaters, The Saint George, The Beacon and, of course, the Apollo. I fear for the RKO Keiths Richmond Hill. However, I do have hope for the Brooklyn Paramount and The Jackson in Queens. As for the Victoria, we will still keep the dignified exterior though I hope with that hideous marquee removed and perhaps a period marquee in its place. I hope they make good use of the chandeliers and grand stairs.
Seventy years ago today, Loew’s Victoria and Loew’s 116th Street opened the exclusive NYC premiere engagement of “Lucky Ghost,” with wide-eyed comedian Mantan Moreland and an “All-Star Colored Cast.” The low-budget Dixie National production was released by indie distributor Ted Toddy, but received top billing at the Victoria and 116th Street over MGM’s Edward G. Robinson melodrama, “Unholy Partners.” But at the rest of the Loew’s NYC neighborhood houses, “Unholy Partners” topped the bill, and with MGM’s Gracie Allen comedy, “Mr. & Mrs. North,” in support.