American Theater
1450 East Avenue,
Bronx,
NY
10462
1450 East Avenue,
Bronx,
NY
10462
7 people
favorited this theater
Built in 1939 for the once-thriving Parkchester neighborhood of the Bronx, the American Theater eventually fell on hard times.
After years of neglect, the theater was purchased by Stewart Epstein, who turned the dilapidated movie house into a 1,400-seat multiplex.
The current layout is as follows:
The orchestra level has a dividing wall right down the middle. In each of the two auditoriums, the back quarter has been walled off creating two more, totaling four downstairs. Two seat approximately 380 each; two seat approximately 80 each. The balcony was also twinned – one side seats approximately 250. The other side was divided again creating two auditoriums, each seating 105.
The renovated theater won’t solve the Bronx’s ongoing financial woes, but for now, it has brought the movies back to Parkchester. It was taken over by Bow Tie Cinemas in April 2008 and further renovations were carried out.
Contributed by
Ross Melnick
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Recent comments (view all 73 comments)
Films that have played here 6 weeks since 1995 (longevity list not updated since May 2008).
Forever Batman 1995
Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls 1995
Jumanji 1995
Muppet Treasure Island 1996
Twister 1996
Independence Day 1996
Liar, Liar 1997
Money Talks 1997
Soul Food 1997
Flubber 1997
Titanic 1998 (came here in its 20th week of release)
Deep Impact 1998
Godzilla 1998
Lethal Weapon 4 1998
How Stella Got Her Groove Back 1998
Blade 1998
The Faculty 1998
Patch Adams 1998
She’s All That 1999
Doug’s First Movie 1999
Life 1999
Blue Streak 1999
Double Jeopardy 1999
Bone Collector 1999
Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo 1999
Next Friday 2000
Pitch Black 2000
Road to El Dorado 2000
Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps 2000
Original Kings of Comedy 2000
Art of War 2000
Unbreakable 2000
Save the Last Dance 2001
Hannibal 2001
Recess: School’s Out 2001
Along Came a Spider 2001
Mummy Returns 2001
Shrek 2001
Atlantis: The Lost Empire 2001
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider 2001
Dr. Dolittle 2 2001
Princess Diaries 2001
Training Day 2001
The One 2001
Not Another Teen Movie 2001
How High 2001
Snow Dogs 2002
Blade 2 2002
Changing Lanes 2002
Barbershop 2002
Santa Clause 2 2002
Burning Down the House 2003
X2: X-Men United 2003
Finding Nemo 2003
Bad Boys 2 2003
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over 2003
Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat 2003
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King 2003
My Baby’s Daddy 2004
Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed 2004
Spiderman 2 2004
Shark Tale 2004
Ray 2004
Are We There Yet? 2005
Hitch: The Cure for the Common Man 2005
Fantastic Four 2005
Sky High 2005
Four Brothers 2005
Chicken Little 2005
Curious George 2006
Pink Panther 2006
Cars 2006
Open Season 2006
The Departed 2006
Norbit 2007
Bridge to Terabitha 2007
Meet the Robinsons 2007
Disturbia 2007
Spiderman 3 2007
Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married 2007
Bee Movie 2007
Iron Man (after Bow Tie took over)
Hancock 2008
Space Chimps 2008
Dark Knight 2008
High School Musical 3: Senior Year 2008
Madagasgar: Escape 2 Africa 2008
Coraline 2009
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen 2009
That’s through August 19, 2009
I believe no film has played at the American 7 weeks or more since Bow Tie took over.
Regarding my post way above, regarding the terra-cotta statues on the rear wall of the Lowe’s American, here’s a link to some very good pictures of them:
View link
Named “Best Nostalgic Cinema” in the Bronx by the Daily News. Curiously, the article doesn’t mention the Paradise in any entertainment category: View link
Cool photo of the LOEWS AMERICAN.
a lil ad for the American
View link
Thanks Fred,pretty cool new seats and conncessions good to see it still going.
Next December 26th will mark the 70th anniversary of the grand opening of Loew’s American, with MGM’s “Escape” & UA’s Technicolored “Over the Moon” on screen. At the time, the rival RKO circuit announced intention to build a theatre in Parkchester, but nothing ever came of the proposal. Programs at the American were day-and-date in the Bronx with Loew’s Boulevard, Burland, Burnside, Fairmount, 167th Street, Grand, National, and Post Road, but two weeks behind Loew’s Paradise, the circuit’s leader in that borough.
Here’s an article on the grand opening of Loew’s American in a 1941 trade journal: boxofficemagazine
Thanks for this link also Tinseltoes.
I posted the grand opening ad in the photo section for this theatre.