Normandie Theatre
51 East 53rd Street,
New York,
NY
10022
51 East 53rd Street,
New York,
NY
10022
1 person
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The Normandie Theatre, demolished in the 1950s, was one of New York’s first art houses. Some information on it was posted in the listing for the Directors' Guild of America Theatre/57th Street Normandie. The address would place it about a block away from the Museum of Modern Art on West 53rd Street.
Contributed by
Gerald A. DeLuca
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Recent comments (view all 26 comments)
Phil Smith of Boston, mentioned in the previous post, was the founder of Midwest Drive-In Co. and Smith Management Co., predecessor companies of General Cinema Corp. Smith opened his first 2 drive-ins in 1938 in Cleveland and Detroit and then concentrated efforts on development of more drive-ins. They retained several indoor theatres that they were already operating, but abandoned development of more indoors until about 1951 when they developed the suburban shopping center cinema concept.
Whenever I catch a showing of Hitchcock’s the Rope, I imagine this theater and the Manhattan location of that particular period frequented by the so-called “carriage trade”.
Renewing link.
Opening day ad:
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The opening day ad had incredible snob appeal. Nonetheless I regret that this theater was not around long enough for my adult enjoyment. I pass Lever House with some frequency, and there is occasionally a tinge of resentment that this landmark replaced the original Normandie.
My Dad, David Nolan was the theater manager at the Normandie for many years. Each week they published a hand bill outlining the upcoming films for the week along with local advertising and a commentary written by the manager. I have loads of these publications and I enjoy reading about days gone by and what Dad had to say about the films. I have not been able to find any photos of the Normandie Theater and would love if anyone knows where to find one.
Geri, if you contact me privately, I can point you in the right direction:
Posting additional photos on site would be appreciated.
Geri,
There is a photo on Mark Rivest’s site here;
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Thanks Al. Quite a treasure trove. Will spend hours going through it.