Costello Theatre
23 Fort Washington Avenue,
New York,
NY
10032
23 Fort Washington Avenue,
New York,
NY
10032
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Here’s a vintage view from the LaGuardia Archives: lunaimaging
That would have been the original B&W Paramount version with Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes. “A Farewell to Arms” was later re-made in B&W by Warner Bros. as “Force of Arms” (William Holden-Nancy Olson), and still later in CinemaScope and color by David O. Selznick for 20th-Fox with Jennifer Jones and Rock Hudson.
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.
Nice mood picture.
Andrew Craig Morrison’s book “Theaters” identifies Louis A. Sheinart as the architect of the Costello Theatre.
I lived at 160th street and riverside drive and went to the Costello on Satudays (in the 40’s). You could get in for free if you had the right colored card – cards were distributed to kids every week. Otherwise, it cost 25 cents. Later on it did become a spanish movie theatre.
It was located at the very beginning of Fort Washinton Avenue (159th street).
The Costello first opened in 1914 and had Louis A. Sheinart as architect, according to Craig Morrison’s historical reference book, “Theaters.”
THEATRE PANIC AVERTED; Policemen Quietly Put Out Fire Uptown and Reassure Audience
NY Times August 9, 1937
Prompt work by the police prevented a panic among an audience of more than 400 persons in the Costello Theatre, a moving picture house at 23 Fort Washington Avenue, near 160th Street, shortly after 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon when fire broke out in several empty barrels stored in a shed in an alley adjoining the theatre.
The LOC image is apparently a print made from a nitrate negative. I’ve added some light to bring out more background detail:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/costellofix.jpg
The church is on 159th Street although the theatre sometimes advertised as being off the 157th subway stop. If you look at a map at the way Morgan Place/Riverside Drive curves upward, advertising 157th St makes perfect sense as you could probably spot the building easily from there in the 30’s and 40’s. Does anyone know if this was a German neighborhood before the war?
Thanks! The LOC data says a nitrate negative. I doubt if a print would look much different, since it’s a night scene.
The photo link above comes from the Library of Congress website. This is all of the info on the page with the photo:
Item Title
Costello Theater, Fort Washington Ave. about 160th St. Night view.
Gottscho, Samuel H. 1875-1971, (Samuel Herman), photographer.
Created/Published
1914 Nov. 7.
Subjects
Motion picture theaters.
United States—New York (State)—New York.
Nitrate negatives.
Medium
1 negative : nitrate ; 5x7 in.
Call Number
LC-G622- 00815
REPRODUCTION NUMBER
LC-G622-T01-00815 DLC (b&w film dup. neg.)
Special Terms of Use
No known restrictions on publication.
Part of
Gottscho-Schleisner Collection (Library of Congress)
Repository
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Digital ID
(intermediary roll film) gsc 5a18500
Is the photo posted on 3/08/05 a print or a negative? I can’t tell.
The Church located at this address considers this area to be Washington Heights. The post office that serves this area is:
Post Office – Audubon Station
511 West 165th Street, New York, NY 10032
Google will map this address the same whether you use Audubon, Washington Heights, or New York. It is no different than Flatbush, Brooklyn or Astoria, Queens. Use whichever name you choose for the location, but there is nothing “mythical” about it.
It appears the Costello showed German films from 1931 to 1938 until the product dried up. During the war it switched to Spanish films.
I have also now asked that this theatre be moved from the mythical city of Audubon.
Please correct the address to “New York, NY.” This theater is in upper Manhattan and should come up when searching for “New York” by city.
By the way, this theatre should be listed as being located in “New York, NY.”
And a photo of the Costello Theater is here:
View link
This is the current property report for this address. There is a Church located here. Paradise Baptist Church, 23 Fort Washington Ave.
23 Fort Washington Avenue, Audubon, New York 10032
Block & Lot #: 02136 – 0053
Building Class: Church, Synagogue, Chapel (M1)
School District: 6 map/schools
City Council District: 7
Police Precinct: 33 (Crime Statistics)
Political Contributions: search
BUILDING CHARACTERISTICS
Zoning R8
Building Size (F x D): 39.00ft x 148.00ft
Lot Size (F x D): 56.42ft x 153.42ft
Building Height: –
Total Gross Area of Building:
Year Built: 1900
Historic District?: No
Corner Lot?: No
Has Garage?: No
Number of Floors: 2
Units: 0
FAR as built: 0.93
Allowable FAR: 6.02
Upon doing a bit more digging on the web, it appears that a church is now at this address, according to theWashington Heights website. Whether it’s housed in the theater building or is a new construction, I have no idea.
The 1949 Film Daily Year Book says that the Costello Theatre was located at 23 Fort Washington Avenue and had 585 seats. Does the building still exist?