New Delancey Theater
62 Delancey Street,
New York,
NY
10002
62 Delancey Street,
New York,
NY
10002
2 people
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Just to clarify some of the history on the construction of the New Delancey, the actual theater structure itself was built new on Eldridge Street. The entrance and lobby/foyer were converted from an older building at 62 Delancey Street, with offices on the 2 floors above. At the same time, a 2 story building with store and offices was erected on Allen Street, directly behind the theater. The Certificates of Occupancy for the two buildings that comprised the theater were issued March 28, 1922, while the Allen Street structure was issued April 18, 1922. Delancey Theatre Inc was the owner of all three buildings.
In 1981, the offices above the lobby were legally converted to residential apartments. In January, 1990, a complaint was filed against the property as being “vacant, open and unguarded.” A follow-up inspection found “first floor construction in progress without permits.” In early 1993, a roof collapse was reported, followed by a report that a section of the Delancey Street facade was “out of plumb” by about 4 inches and the east facade on Allen Street had cracks along the first and second floors. The building was noted as being in danger of collapsing. A 1994 unsafe building violation noted failure of the owner to maintain the roof and wall that had collapsed a year earlier.
In August, 2001, a Certificate of Occupancy was issued for a new building, constructed in the combined footprint of the three original lots. The building, which houses and is owned by the Chinese Alliance Church, appears to follow the old footprint of the New Delancey Theatre. Street views show that the Allen Street portion of the lot is being used for church parking.
…and thank you all for the pictures and memories. I remember going there as a child with my grandpa and father.
It sure was. Maybe they were aiming at the movie crowd.
Thanks for the clarification, Al. You must admit that this was the most cinematic of cafeteria signs!
That’s the Paramount Cafeteria, John.
Just wanted to add my belated thanks to Tinseltoes for posting those terrific pictures. They really convey the feel of the period. (In addition to the picture of the old New Delancey, you can also access about eight other picture pages of Delancey St., one of which features the awning of a Paramount Theater.)
I remember this theater during its Spanish days when I used to shop on Delancey St., often after walking over the Williamsburg Bridge.
The New Delancy was owned by my family Orjelick-Theaters. At its peak my grandfather owned 15 movie theatres. Many closed prior to when I was born in 1976. They were small family theaters that usually had 1-2 screens. Many of theaters included spanish films at one time. In an article I have about the Orjelick-Theatres dated June 11, 1987 it stated, “One by one, those theatres went under unable to survive the advent of the suburban multi-screen franchise cinema…By the 1980’s the Orjelick-Theatres had dwindled down to three properties to include the Art Theatre in the Bronx, the New Delancy in Manhattan and the Hoboken Twin in NJ.” The only other theater I remember that my family had owned was called the Colony Theater and was located somewhere in NY.
Thanks Tinseltoes for the vintage photos. I hadn’t realized that the original marquee was so extravagent and included the blade sign, and that that portion of DElancey St., south of Allen was so vibrant with activity. In my memory I only saw the non-descript stainess steel-yellow backdrop box.
As for any confusion with the Winston, that theatre was on Clinton St, and is listed in CT by its original name, the Palestine. The narrow lobby of this house had a large “W” set in to the inlay flooring.
The 1993 NYCLPC Landmark Designation Report for the Jaffe Theatre (now City Cinemas Village East) listed the Delancey Theatre, 62 Delancey Street, among the other Manhattan works of architect Harrison G. Wiseman. The report gives the Delancey’s build date as 1922.
Two additional Manhattan theaters by Wiseman are either not yet listed at Cinema Treasures, or are listed under later names but are missing their aka’s. These two are a nickelodeon called the Penn Theatre (1910) at 409 8th Avenue (demolished); and the Union Theatre (1913) at 505 W. 42nd Street (also demolished.)
Great pictures. Thanks for this posting.
Three views circa 1928-34 of the New Delancey Theatre, including the marquee and vertical sign, can be seen here: View link
In the mid 1920s the New Delancey was part of the M & S circuit, which changed its name to the Belle Theater Circuit sometime during the 1930s (same CEO’s).
Does anyone have pictures of the Essex Theatre
Wow… I know ‘64 Chevies are popular as lowriders, but that’s a bit too far :).
Yes, that is how I remembered it when I drove down Delancey Street. I remember the yellow background on the marquee. I say “drove” by because I never would have walked in this neighborhood back in the 70’s. I shudder to think. It’s really amazing that the hood is so nice now. My favorite Cambodian restaurant “Kampuchea” is now about 2 blocks from where this theater was.
Was this the New Delancey?
View link
The New Delancey was open in November 1987 and showing Prince’s “Sign ‘O’ the Times” first run.
Circa 1935-36, the New Delancey was considered the flagship of the Belle Theatre Circuit, which also had its business office in the building. Including the New Delancey, Belle operated 14 subsequent-run cinemas in uptown and downtown Manhattan. The others were: Bijou, 193 Avenue B; Clinton, 80 Clinton Street; Cosmo, 176 E. 116th Street; Florence, 85 East Broadway; Harlem Grand, 117 E. 125th Street; Jewel, 11 W. 116th Street; New 14th Street, 235 E. 14th Street; Orpheum, 126 Second Avenue; Palace, 2404 Second Avenue; Palestine, 11 Clinton Street; Regun, 60 West 116th Street; Ruby, 105 Rivington Street; Sunshine, 141 E. Houston Street. Elias Mayer and Charles Steiner were the CEOs of Belle Theatre Circuit, which had a telephone number of DRydock 4-1063.
This is how NYC lists this building in March of 1922. It was an existing building. 62 Delancey Street=Theater lobby with office space above. 158-62 Eldridge Street and 117-19 Allen Street=1076 seat fireproof theater (no stage). The owner is given as Delancey Theatre Inc.
Here is a tiny 1985 ad from the Spanish language publication El Diaro:
New Delancy 9/20/85
El Diario also ran a neighborhood movie guide similar to that in the Post and News that listed Spanish language cinemas as well as English language grinds in or near Latino neighborhoods:
Cartelera Cinematografica 9/20/85
If this is the theater that was a block or two off the Bowery on Delancy, it was much too small to hit the 1000+ seat mark. I’d say even the 800 seats is stretching it a bit. It was so small that, during the late fifties/ early sixties when it primarily played only Spanish language films, you could hear the film dialogue from the sidewalk even with six lanes of traffic rushing by.
The 1945 edition of the Motion Picture Theatre Directory published by the New York Film Board of Trade gives a seating capacity of 1,075. The 1954 Film Daily Year Book also says 1,075. I won’t quibble with Damien over one seat, but the 800 listed in the intro makes a considerable difference. Perhaps seats were added and/or removed over the years?
This single-level, stageless theatre opened as the New Delancey in 1922. Seating, according to the Department of Buildings, was 1076.
If the theatre had a newer look you must have been in the Essex Cinema which was not that far away.
I didn’t know until today that there were two Delancey theatres.
I was trying to pinpoint which one I went to in the 70’s.
The twinbill was “Carrie” and Taxi Driver".
I remember the theatre had a newer look, so it couldn’t have
been the one next to Ratners.
By that time the theatre had seen better days and the clientel
was as rowdy as the Commodore in WMB.