RKO 23rd Street Theatre
265 Eighth Avenue,
New York,
NY
10011
265 Eighth Avenue,
New York,
NY
10011
4 people
favorited this theater
This RKO 23rd Street Theatre was on the NW corner with Eighth Avenue and had the address of 265 Eighth Avenue. It was the second RKO 23rd Street Theatre. The first one was the original Proctor’s 23rd Street Theatre, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues, at 139 West 23rd Street, built in 1888. That Proctor’s 23rd Street Theatre had become outmoded, so RKO purchased the larger and better situated Grand Opera House (formerly Pike’s Opera House, built in 1868) and had architect Thomas Lamb Associates convert it into an ultramodern theatre. Much of the ornamentation on the exterior of the building was removed for the new RKO theatre.
The theatre opened August 4, 1938 with “Having a Wonderful Time” and “Sky Giant”
The theatre closed June 15, 1960, to be demolished for another building. It was destroyed by a fire on June 29, 1960. Later, RKO built what become the third RKO 23rd Street theatre further west on 23rd Street.
Contributed by
William Gabel
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater
Recent comments (view all 65 comments)
According to the front of the Grand Opera House marquee, the double feature playing on September 3, 1937, the date the photo was taken, was displayed as…
MARRIED BEFORE BREAKFAST with
ROBT YOUNG & FLORENCE RICE
BANK ALARM with CONRAD NAGEL
Both were released in mid June of 1937.
Here is another 1937 photo by Berenice Abbott:
http://tinyurl.com/mexc7m
Jerry: The scan is a bit blurry, but Boxoffice Magazine of October 15, 1938, ran an article about the conversion of the Grand Opera House into the RKO 23rd Street, and it has a pair of before-and-after photos showing the foyer and the auditorium.
Here’s a 1935 view as Grand Opera House with double bill of “We’re In The Money” and “Without Regret”:
View link
Here’s another photo from that same engagement of “We’re In The Money” and “Without Regret”:
View link
Joe:
A belated thank you. Great pix. Funny how I remembered the color of the carpeting. The place meant a lot to us. Jerry
I am doing some research on the theater from the Grand Opera House days to the RKO 23rd St. If you’d like to share some information or memories please post or email me. Thanks. Jerry
A two-page article with photos of the conversion of the Grand Opera House into the RKO 23rd Street can be found in this 1938 trade journal starting here. A previous link appears to have expired: boxofficemagazine
I grew up in the Chelsea area of NYC. There was the RKO on the corner of 23ST. &8th Ave. There was also the Chelsea between 8th & 9th Ave. on 23rd St. I saw MEn of the Fighting Lady at the Chelsea. The RTko was beautiful. To me as a child it was liking going to a palace.
Oldtimer, I grew up around the corner from the old RKO, my dad was an usher there in the 40s. It truly was beautiful. I remember The Chelsea from the outside but don’t remember going inside. We also went to The Terrace on 23rd Street. When did you attend the old RKO?
The ad shown here should really be under the newer RKO 23rd Street that opened in the 60s.