Costello Theatre

23 Fort Washington Avenue,
New York, NY 10032

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Additional Info

Architects: Louis A. Sheinart

Functions: Church

Nearby Theaters

Costello Theatre

The Costello Theatre opened in 1914. It was located on Fort Washington Avenue near 160th Street and today is home to the Paradise Baptist Church. The building has a new façade.

Contributed by Bryan

Recent comments (view all 16 comments)

Smittysf
Smittysf on July 12, 2011 at 8:20 pm

My mom remembers going go the theatre with her friend Ruth schwartzman in 1932. They were thrown out of A Farewell to Arms and apparently a few others due to crying too much.

bigjoe59
bigjoe59 on December 13, 2012 at 10:34 am

Hello-

i was looking at back issues of Moving Picture World on archive.org and happened upon a May issue which gave the opening date of the theater as May 20, 1914. it was built to honor star Maurice Costello. also the article gave a different address than the own stated at the top of this page.

guarina
guarina on April 11, 2018 at 4:47 pm

Al Alvarez, Ed Solero, I’m writing a novel set around West 72nd Street in 1959 and ‘60. Can you tell me what movie showed at the Loew’s Lincoln Square Friday, December 18, 1959? I said “Anatomy of a Murder”, but don’t really know. I published “Love Letters in the Sand”, where I mention another area of New York. Thanks a lot!

Al Alvarez
Al Alvarez on April 11, 2018 at 4:52 pm

Guarina, the Loews 72nd street was showing “LIBEL” with Olivia de Havilland and Dirk Bogarde plus “THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN HAWKS” with Robert Taylor.

Al Alvarez
Al Alvarez on April 11, 2018 at 5:02 pm

By the way, “ANATOMY OF A MURDER” was playing on Friday, November 27 with a featurette called THE WONDERS OF PUERTO RICO". The Loews 72nd street is listed here but the search feature does not appear to work.

Al Alvarez
Al Alvarez on April 11, 2018 at 6:55 pm

And, Guarina, the Loew’s 72nd street was on the East Side.

guarina
guarina on April 11, 2018 at 6:57 pm

Al, the Lincoln 72nd Street was at 180 East 72nd Street. Thank you again. I need one on the West side, the Embassy 72nd Street on Broadway, the Regency on B'way & 67th or the Lincoln Square on B'way and 66th.

Al Alvarez
Al Alvarez on April 11, 2018 at 7:25 pm

The Embassy 72nd street was open in 1959, as was the Alden (later Regency), Studio (later Cinema Studio), Beacon, Loews 83rd Street, Colon, and Colony right up to the Yorktown on 89th Street (later the New Yorker). The Loews 83rd Street played “ANATOMY” in late November.

kidblast1
kidblast1 on May 3, 2018 at 2:39 am

The Costello Theater ceased existence in 1949 when an Orthodox schul (synagogue), Ahavath Torah, opened at 23 Fort Washington Avenue led by its Big Kahuna, Rabbi Zimmer. The Theater also figured prominently in a murder committed at the Grimmell Apartments at 800 Riverside Drive in 1933 when the accused unsuccessfully used the Theater as part of her alibi for her whereabouts at the time of the murder. She was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.

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