Park Plaza Theatre

This webpage has a picture of the Park Plaza and information about its Wurlitzer organ. The first film on the marquee was released in 1951.

Brad, thanks for sharing that rarity, which shows a Fox connection on the side of the marquee. I believe that the Park Plaza was built by the theatre division of Universal Pictures, which sold it to William Fox before opening. Skouras took over the Fox theatres in the Bronx after Fox’s bankruptcy.

I remember the Park Plaza well, it was at the SE corner of Tremont and University Avenues, with the Marquee on University Ave. facing West. It was generally shoddy and dingy in the 1950s when I lived in the area, and not being much of a moviegoer, I only attended films there a few times. It was reputed to be a tough theater for kids to sneak into. To its south was the concrete upper schoolyard of JHS 82, as others have correctly noted. Mike Price

I just rode by today on my bike. It has been torn down. By the way, Stephen and Warren should get out on their bikes more often!

I just saw a dvd called Back to the Bronx, A View From the Stoop, about the Bronx in the fifties, and sixties. Many still pictres of old Bronx movie theaters are shown, and on the second disc there is a bonus feature on the University Ave.benches. This is basically someone’s old home movies, but you can see PS 82 and the Park Plaza in the background.The discs are available for rental through netflix.

My only comment now, Ken, is that you’re doing a good job of poaching material that doesn’t belong to you without giving proper credit. Not once have you mentioned that your recent links to Bronx theatre photos were put on the internet by Back in the Bronx.com, which spent considerable time, effort, and money in doing so.

Re: photo submitted on Jul 27
The marquee in the 1951 picture is similar to that of the WARNER in downtown Milwaukee (a.k.a. Centre, Grand). Was this a common design used in the 1940s and 1950s?

A Wurlitzer organ Opus 1683 Style H NP was installed in the Park Plaza Theater on 7/27/1927.

I also think this was open later then 1964. I used to go there a lot when I was very young. I remember seeing Jack Lemmon in How to Murder Your Wife there and that did not come out until 1965.

The Park Plaza was still open in September of 1965. They had an MGM showcase presentation of “Once a Thief”. At that time is was advertised as a Brandt Theatre.

You thought what, Stephen?

No, I never attended the Park Plaza, but I’ve seen photographs of it when it was new and it seemed quite an attractive theatre. Unfortunately, it spent much of its life under the management of the Skouras circuit, which was notorious for shoddy maintenance of most of its theatres.