Loew's Rio Theatre
3837 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10032
3837 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10032
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The Rio Theatre was already a thriving vaudeville-movie theatre when Loew’s took over in the early-1920’s, but I have no information about its architectural style or what the name signified. But I some how doubt that it related to anything Brazilian. Due to its location so far uptown at Broadway and 160th Street, the Rio Theatre was probably patronized only by residents of the area.
After the opening of Loew’s 175th Street in 1930, the Rio Theatre was reduced to playing the same programs, but two weeks later. Loew’s Rio Theatre closed in March 1957, and became a supermarket for the next 50 years. In 2011, it was in multiple store use as ‘Plaza de Las Americas’.
Contributed by
Warren G. Harris
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Recent comments (view all 16 comments)
I think the obvious reason for naming this, and other theatres, the Rio is simply that Rio de Janeiro was considered to be a world class sophisticated city in the early decades of the previous century. It was frequently referred to simply as “Rio”, as in the movie title “Flying Down to Rio”. To name a theatre the Rio was to conjure up a romantic getaway type of image, similar to Rialto, Tivoli or Rivoli.
The location of the Loews Rio Theater on Broadway is by 160th St. In the Film Daily Yearbook, 1930 a seating capacity of 6,603 is given.
Sorry, thats a typo, the seating capacity given in 1930 is for 2,603.
A Hall organ Size 3/16 was installed in the Rio Theater in 1920.
Three views of the former Loew’s Rio Theatre taken in July 2003:
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/142274860/
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/142275376/
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/142275926/
Still looks like a theatre.
The movie palaces of Washington Heights and Inwood.
View link
The Rio closed in March 1957. The last movies were “Abandon Ship!‘ and "The Strange One”.
Loews Rio was at 159th Street and Broadway, not 160th Street. I grew up on Riverside Drive and 159th Street and regularly attended Loews as a kid.
Here’s a 1980s tax view of the building from the Municipal Archives: lunaimaging