Loew's 42nd Street Theatre
132 East 42nd Street,
New York,
NY
10017
132 East 42nd Street,
New York,
NY
10017
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Status needs to be changed from “Closed” to “Demolished.”
Good photos.
Here’s another view of Loew’s 42nd Street, with the marquee and entrance to the left of the corner building with the white sign. The overall view looks south down Lexington Avenue: View link
In the lower left foreground of this vintage photo is an ultra-rare view of the marquee and entrance to Loew’s 42nd Street, which had a long, one-story lobby connecting to an auditorium that ran parallel to 42nd Street: View link
Cool find, LM!
A 1904 image of the Murray Hill Theater is on this website. Click on the photo to expand it.
A poster for Loew’s 42nd Street Theatre can be seen in the left background of this famous Rudy Burckhardt photograph of a Manhattan newsstand:
View link
I believe that William Morris was running the Murray Hill at the time Marcus Loew took over. Morris opted to become a talent agent instead of theatre owner and probably died even richer than Loew…One of countless movies to be shown at Loew’s 42nd Street was MGM’s “Grand Central Murder” (1942), which took place in the giant station but was filmed in Hollywood, using some “stock footage” of the interior and exterior.
The old Murray Hill Theatre is listed in the 1897-98 edition of the Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide. The manager was Frank Murtha, and ticket prices ranged from 25 cents to $1. It had 1,319 seats. The proscenium opening was 32 feet wide x 32 feet high, and the stage was 40 feet deep. The theatre auditorium was on the first floor. There is a note that the theatre is new and presents “combination shows at popular prices.”