The Paramount had an office building (still existing) which presumably would have helped with costs whereas of course the Roxy and Capitol didn’t. Radio City was destined to go the same way but as we know was saved and still survives. I would imagine that with the huge numbers of tourists visiting the city the Roxy for instance would possibly survive today as a great attraction. Back in the days when these movie palaces were destroyed they relied almost exclusively on New Yorkers as the visitor numbers were a fraction of what they are now. I agree with vindanpar that unbelievably the Times Square area today is even worse than in the 70’s, sounds crazy but sadly it’s true I absolutely hate it.
The above article about the Paramount says the restored theatre will have a seating capacity of 1500! This is surely a mistake, how can you reduce the seating from 4.000 to 1.500 without a major alteration to the auditorium?
It would be great if RCMH still had the odd movie shows as I’m certain they would pull in the crowds if they advertised the fact of being able to see a film in a way that has disappeared now. In spite of improvements in seating comfort and sound (and that’s debatable) there is a generation out there who has simply no idea of what it was like going to the movies before the demise of the “palaces” and I’ll bet there would be some real (pleasant) surprises from the younger generation!
I take your point about location but that makes the loss of the Roxy in particular even more bizarre when you see the puny nondescript building that replaced the “Cathedral of the Motion Picture” If that was torn down tomorrow no one would even notice or even remember what was there, it’s that forgettable!
Yes it’s unfortunate for us that owners back then lacked the foresight to consider other uses as we have seen with the remaining palaces. Or maybe it was just simply the “quick buck” mentality. I still find it hard to believe that a city the size of New York could not have a viable large auditorium theatre for movies when you consider the additional amount of visitors every year. Of course the majority could not survive but a special case should have been made for the Roxy at least and also the Capitol though of course it was nothing like it’s original appearance by the time it closed.
Whether it was 1967 or 1968 is, I’m afraid, irrelevant now. The sad fact is that it’s gone at it’s like will never be seen again though the recent reopening of the Brooklyn Kings (though not for movies) is a cause for great celebration as it could have so easily gone the same way. IMO naming a multiplex box after this greatest of “palaces” is almost like an insult. It should NEVER have been demolished in the first place.
This is like a dream come true – I lament being denied seeing any of the great NYC Movie Palaces before they were scandalously ripped down but now the wonderful Loews Kings has risen again like a phoenix and I’m determined to make another trip to N.Y. just to see that beauty restored. Just hope this will be a huge success and give impetus to the much needed revival of the Chicago Uptown one of the greatest ever built and miraculously still standing though in desperate need of major restoration.
“Replaced by a black skyscraper” This would also apply to the Roxy and Capitol, three of the finest and most famous movie palaces ever built, denied to future generations through sheer greed of developers and a city administration blind to it’s unique heritage.
Like Justin Whitfield I wish I had a substantial amount of money to donate towards the restoration of what has to be one of the top 5 or 6 Movie Palaces of all time. In Australia they have managed to save the Melbourne Regent (auditorium although not as large, based on the much lamented Capitol/New York, my all time favourite) The Sydney State with one of the finest lobbies anywhere and of course the wonderful Capitol in Sydney. The loss of the Brisbane Regent was a disgrace, arguably the finest overall in the country.
Looking again at this vintage photo of the main lobby confirms my opinion that the Capitol was the finest of all the great movie palaces. No kitsch here, just the best of taste. An outrage that this beauty was not preserved for future generations to marvel at.
Well said Tinseltoes there are some great photos of the magnificent auditorium before it was “covered” that would be much more appropriate. After all, the new look only lasted for a few years anyway!
To think that the Rivoli was still in operation when I first went to NYC in 1971 makes me sad that I didn’t go there, at least I would have seen one of the legendary showcases before they were all destroyed! I know nothing stays the same in this world but I sometimes get very nostalgic for the great days of going to the movies, I’m just old enough to remember how great it was compared to today’s banality.
Thanks for the info.guys. Obviously I was wrong about the Capitol and it figures HTWWW would play there as it was an MGM film, though I think Loew’s and Metro were completly separate corporations by then.
I remember “How the West was Won” in Cinerama (3 strip) played at the Plaza Theatre, Sydney, Australia for about 2 years, a record run. Which theatre played it in NYC?
I’m guessing it was probably the Strand/Warner, I don’t think the Capitol ever had the 3 strip Cinerama process.
Of course you are right bigjoe59, when it comes to economics, the Roxy was probably losing money for years before it finally closed. What would have been needed was for it to be adapted for other uses such as happened with the Metropolitan in Boston (now Wang centre) which is also a huge theatre or the Fox in St. Louis/Detroit.
Of course this is the case with Radio City Music Hall so whether NYC could accomodate another huge space like that is open to question. Of course this is all hypothetical now as it’s gone and to quote the late Bob Hope “Once it’s gone it’s gone!”
For me, the great movie palaces were New York, the Capitol and Roxy being the finest. The city lost it’s soul when these wonderful places of mass entertainment were demolished and it’s never been the same since.
No other city on earth could boast so many of the best, yet only the Beacon and Hollywood remain in Manhattan.
Great photo of the most beautiful movie palace of them all. The Capitol was Thomas Lamb’s finest achievement, in my opinion better than the San Francisco Fox as wonderful as that was.
I have to admit to a life long obsession with the legendary New York Roxy ever since,, as a young man I bought a copy of “The best remaining seats” by Ben M. Hall, which was a celebration of the famous theatre just after its unforgivable destruction. I never saw the Roxy and it remains to this day one of my greatest regrets. I’m sure this will be an interesting book.
“The city and the movie palaces have never been the same” quotation from the above description of the Roxy says it all! N.Y.C. had a unique position in the pantheon of world cities and they could not wait to destroy it’s character for just another bland version of glass and steel boxes seen in and 2nd rate place on earth. Just look what is on the site of the legendary movie palace now, a building that could just as well be in a third world country and could disappear overnight without a single word of complaint,such is the banality of what we have today. As long as I live I shall NEVER forgive the perpetrators of such vandalism no matter what the circumstances.
The Stoll was London’s greatest theatre loss especially considering it was unique in being housed in such an outstanding building worthy of protection status even without the theatre inside! London never possessed any really great movie theatres on a par with say the N.Y. Roxy or Capitol but this was it’s finest live theatre.
Just been looking (again) at the photos of the incredible Roxy, makes me so very ANGRY that my and future generations were denied the chance to experience the greatest movie theatre ever built. I would like to personally lynch those responsible but they are probably gone now (to eternal hell, hopefully). New York City lost it’s soul when the great theatres were torn down and it will never be the same again, I’m so depressed that this was allowed to happen.
The restoration of the Rialto is to be applauded but in no way does that “palace” compare to the Uptown, not just in size but in quality of design. Even more important reason to restore the greatest surviving example,(probably) in the world.
Sorry I can’t scan the photo because I’m away from my home (where it’s kept) until next year.
If you can get hold of a copy there’s a great photo of the magnificent original proscenium in Robert A.M. Stern’s book, “New York 1930”.
The Paramount had an office building (still existing) which presumably would have helped with costs whereas of course the Roxy and Capitol didn’t. Radio City was destined to go the same way but as we know was saved and still survives. I would imagine that with the huge numbers of tourists visiting the city the Roxy for instance would possibly survive today as a great attraction. Back in the days when these movie palaces were destroyed they relied almost exclusively on New Yorkers as the visitor numbers were a fraction of what they are now. I agree with vindanpar that unbelievably the Times Square area today is even worse than in the 70’s, sounds crazy but sadly it’s true I absolutely hate it.
The above article about the Paramount says the restored theatre will have a seating capacity of 1500! This is surely a mistake, how can you reduce the seating from 4.000 to 1.500 without a major alteration to the auditorium?
Apologies for going somewhat “off topic” as this is a site for the “Capitol” not RCMH !!
It would be great if RCMH still had the odd movie shows as I’m certain they would pull in the crowds if they advertised the fact of being able to see a film in a way that has disappeared now. In spite of improvements in seating comfort and sound (and that’s debatable) there is a generation out there who has simply no idea of what it was like going to the movies before the demise of the “palaces” and I’ll bet there would be some real (pleasant) surprises from the younger generation!
I take your point about location but that makes the loss of the Roxy in particular even more bizarre when you see the puny nondescript building that replaced the “Cathedral of the Motion Picture” If that was torn down tomorrow no one would even notice or even remember what was there, it’s that forgettable!
Yes it’s unfortunate for us that owners back then lacked the foresight to consider other uses as we have seen with the remaining palaces. Or maybe it was just simply the “quick buck” mentality. I still find it hard to believe that a city the size of New York could not have a viable large auditorium theatre for movies when you consider the additional amount of visitors every year. Of course the majority could not survive but a special case should have been made for the Roxy at least and also the Capitol though of course it was nothing like it’s original appearance by the time it closed.
Whether it was 1967 or 1968 is, I’m afraid, irrelevant now. The sad fact is that it’s gone at it’s like will never be seen again though the recent reopening of the Brooklyn Kings (though not for movies) is a cause for great celebration as it could have so easily gone the same way. IMO naming a multiplex box after this greatest of “palaces” is almost like an insult. It should NEVER have been demolished in the first place.
This is like a dream come true – I lament being denied seeing any of the great NYC Movie Palaces before they were scandalously ripped down but now the wonderful Loews Kings has risen again like a phoenix and I’m determined to make another trip to N.Y. just to see that beauty restored. Just hope this will be a huge success and give impetus to the much needed revival of the Chicago Uptown one of the greatest ever built and miraculously still standing though in desperate need of major restoration.
“Replaced by a black skyscraper” This would also apply to the Roxy and Capitol, three of the finest and most famous movie palaces ever built, denied to future generations through sheer greed of developers and a city administration blind to it’s unique heritage.
Like Justin Whitfield I wish I had a substantial amount of money to donate towards the restoration of what has to be one of the top 5 or 6 Movie Palaces of all time. In Australia they have managed to save the Melbourne Regent (auditorium although not as large, based on the much lamented Capitol/New York, my all time favourite) The Sydney State with one of the finest lobbies anywhere and of course the wonderful Capitol in Sydney. The loss of the Brisbane Regent was a disgrace, arguably the finest overall in the country.
Looking again at this vintage photo of the main lobby confirms my opinion that the Capitol was the finest of all the great movie palaces. No kitsch here, just the best of taste. An outrage that this beauty was not preserved for future generations to marvel at.
Well said Tinseltoes there are some great photos of the magnificent auditorium before it was “covered” that would be much more appropriate. After all, the new look only lasted for a few years anyway!
To think that the Rivoli was still in operation when I first went to NYC in 1971 makes me sad that I didn’t go there, at least I would have seen one of the legendary showcases before they were all destroyed! I know nothing stays the same in this world but I sometimes get very nostalgic for the great days of going to the movies, I’m just old enough to remember how great it was compared to today’s banality.
Thanks for the info.guys. Obviously I was wrong about the Capitol and it figures HTWWW would play there as it was an MGM film, though I think Loew’s and Metro were completly separate corporations by then.
I remember “How the West was Won” in Cinerama (3 strip) played at the Plaza Theatre, Sydney, Australia for about 2 years, a record run. Which theatre played it in NYC? I’m guessing it was probably the Strand/Warner, I don’t think the Capitol ever had the 3 strip Cinerama process.
Of course you are right bigjoe59, when it comes to economics, the Roxy was probably losing money for years before it finally closed. What would have been needed was for it to be adapted for other uses such as happened with the Metropolitan in Boston (now Wang centre) which is also a huge theatre or the Fox in St. Louis/Detroit. Of course this is the case with Radio City Music Hall so whether NYC could accomodate another huge space like that is open to question. Of course this is all hypothetical now as it’s gone and to quote the late Bob Hope “Once it’s gone it’s gone!”
For me, the great movie palaces were New York, the Capitol and Roxy being the finest. The city lost it’s soul when these wonderful places of mass entertainment were demolished and it’s never been the same since. No other city on earth could boast so many of the best, yet only the Beacon and Hollywood remain in Manhattan.
Great photo of the most beautiful movie palace of them all. The Capitol was Thomas Lamb’s finest achievement, in my opinion better than the San Francisco Fox as wonderful as that was.
I have to admit to a life long obsession with the legendary New York Roxy ever since,, as a young man I bought a copy of “The best remaining seats” by Ben M. Hall, which was a celebration of the famous theatre just after its unforgivable destruction. I never saw the Roxy and it remains to this day one of my greatest regrets. I’m sure this will be an interesting book.
“The city and the movie palaces have never been the same” quotation from the above description of the Roxy says it all! N.Y.C. had a unique position in the pantheon of world cities and they could not wait to destroy it’s character for just another bland version of glass and steel boxes seen in and 2nd rate place on earth. Just look what is on the site of the legendary movie palace now, a building that could just as well be in a third world country and could disappear overnight without a single word of complaint,such is the banality of what we have today. As long as I live I shall NEVER forgive the perpetrators of such vandalism no matter what the circumstances.
The Stoll was London’s greatest theatre loss especially considering it was unique in being housed in such an outstanding building worthy of protection status even without the theatre inside! London never possessed any really great movie theatres on a par with say the N.Y. Roxy or Capitol but this was it’s finest live theatre.
Just been looking (again) at the photos of the incredible Roxy, makes me so very ANGRY that my and future generations were denied the chance to experience the greatest movie theatre ever built. I would like to personally lynch those responsible but they are probably gone now (to eternal hell, hopefully). New York City lost it’s soul when the great theatres were torn down and it will never be the same again, I’m so depressed that this was allowed to happen.
The restoration of the Rialto is to be applauded but in no way does that “palace” compare to the Uptown, not just in size but in quality of design. Even more important reason to restore the greatest surviving example,(probably) in the world.