Regent Theatre
1912 Seventh Avenue,
New York,
NY
10026
1912 Seventh Avenue,
New York,
NY
10026
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On Thursday 8 February 1951, Bela “Dracula” Lugosi presented his in person Horror and Magic Stage show at RKO Regent. Currently I am conducting research on all things Lugosi; if anyone out there actually saw this show and/or has memorabilia (poster, handbill, photos) related to this show, please contact Bill at Thanks in advance for any assistance!
in regards to AL A.’s comment of 11/15/10. the info in the intro at top is no mistake. the film “Pandora’s Box” which opened the Regent starred John Bunny and co-starred Lillian Walker as the person the title refers to.
This spent much of its cinematic lifetime as the RKO Regent, but that name doesn’t turn up in a search. Shouldn’t it be listed as an alternate name on this page?
Described in this 1913 trade article: archive
was the Regent the first movie palace built in the U.S. or
simply the first movie palace built in NYC?
Some recent exterior photos in the first and second parts of this new article about 116th Street: http://www.forgotten-ny.com/WALKS/116th/116th.html
im sure they meant first movie palace…
Hmmm.
It also appears to have managed to open the 1929 film “Pandora’s Box” in 1913.
This NYT article and slide show describes the Regent as “the first movie theater in New York City.” What utter nonsense!
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interior!!! View link
The Regent re-opened and was still showing movies in 1964.
The Regent stopped showing movies in 1963.
Photos of the First Corinthian Baptist Church can be seen at this website.
Here is another vintage photo of the Regent Theater.
THEATRE IN HARLEM IS LEASED TO R.K.O.; The Regent, at 7th Av. and 116th St., Was Built Twenty Years Ago for “Movies.”
NY Times December 7, 1932
The outstanding Manhattan leasehold deal yesterday was for the Regent Theatre, at the southwest corner of the junction of Seventh and St. Nicholas Avenues and West 116th Street, said to have been the first theatrical enterprise in this city of S.L. (Roxy) Rothafel. It was leased by the Seventh and St. Nicholas Avenue Realty Corporation, Arthur W. Little, president, to the Pansy Amusement Company. Harold B. Franklin of the Radio-Keith-Orpheum Corporation is the president of the leasing company. The theatre has a seating capacity of about 1,900 and was erected nearly twenty years ago from plans by Thomas W. Lamb.
In 1941, Harlem moviegoers seemed to prefer westerns to bedroom farce: www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/rkoregent.jpg
To promote his new film “The Ladies Man,” Jerry Lewis appeared on stage at this theater on July 12, 1961.
These are photos of the former Regent Theater taken by Joe Schumacher. This is photo one and here is photo two.
There is a picture of this theater in Entertainment Weekly issue 833, as the first movie palace. (This issue also has a lot of other theater info that would interest members of this site)
There is a picture of this theater when it was called the B. S. Moss Regent Theater here:
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The theatre is currently known as the First Corinthian Baptist Church. According to an article by David Freeland in the April 21-27 issue of New York Press (page 25), the building’s colorful terra cotta exterior is currently being restored thanks to a financial grant from the Upper Manhattan Historic Preservation Fund. Most of the work is being done on the loggia and arches that make up the facade’s first story. The contractor is Boston Valley Terra Cotta of upstate New York, which the article claims is “one of the few companies with the patience and skill to handle such delicate work. Boston Valley loves the rich, multi-hued exterior so much that it is donating terra cotta molds for the bottom sections of the arches' columns, which were replaced with concrete blocks at some point during the building’s history.”