First Avenue Screening Room
1105 First Avenue,
New York,
NY
10065
1105 First Avenue,
New York,
NY
10065
4 people
favorited this theater
A small cinema that opened on First Avenue in 1973, that was programmed by Fabiano Canosa and known for presenting neglected, hard-to-market, and shelved films of merit. The New York Film Critics Circle gave Mr. Canosa an award in 1974 “for his innovative programs at the First Avenue Screening Room”.
Contributed by
Gerald A. DeLuca
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Recent comments (view all 30 comments)
This theatre was also known as the York Cinema back in 1991/1992 and played second-run films ($2.00 on weekday matinees, $3.99 at night and on weekends).
Looks like the theater is gone. I passed by a couple of days ago and they have the Running Paws Athletic Club in it’s place. I guess it was inevitable that it’s days as a theater we long gone.
In April, 1975, this was being advertised in The New Yok Times as The Byron, and described as “The East Side’s First Gay Movie Theatre.” The current feature was “Tuesday Morning Workout,” featuring “J. Brian’s Golden Boys” and “actually filmed on location in San Francisco’s most famous gym.” The Byron operated continuously from noon to 11pm, with late shows on Fridays and Saturdays.
My recollection is that this site originally opened as the York Cinema in the ‘60s and premiered the coming of age Greek language film “Young Aphrodites”.
I was here once, when it was the porno-chic Eastworld – late ‘70s I think? My only memory is of buying popcorn , then climbing a very narrow (spiral?) staircase to the small and mostly unoccupied auditorium…..
O.K.
Current occupant is the dog spa/gym as mentioned last October. Not good reviews of the spa on the web.
I’ve got the very 16mm print used for the premier of the first X rated film ever screened here, it was THE DEVIL IN MR. JONES (a gay knock-off of the classic by Gerard Damiano). I ran in early ‘75, IIRC.
New ad in photo section claims 220 seats.
I have added an ad from the 1991 incarnation as the York mentioned by KingBiscuits in September 2009.