Roxy Theatre
153 W. 50th Street,
New York,
NY
10020
153 W. 50th Street,
New York,
NY
10020
83 people
favorited this theater
Showing 426 - 450 of 1,225 comments
Yes Ricka, you may be right about the rug. Perhaps it was replaced later during 1950s. I have photos of the rotunda taken in 1956 and the oval rug is gone. A wall-to-to wall carpet is in its place.
Yes, this photo does date from 1940s. The oval rug was replaced during late 1940s by a wall-to-wall version. The original oval rug wore out. The scaffolding must be related to a maintence/cleaning effort at the time.
Thanks Joseph. Yes, I agree with you about the period of 1940s and the reason for scaffolding. But I do remember the oval rug still there in 1950 when I worked there because I had to walk around the edge of it on the marble flooring every day to my job on the concession stand. (we were not allowed to walk ON it)!
RE: “This photo puzzles me as well because there is scaffolding there which doesn’t seem to belong if the theater was open. Yet the style of clothes people are wearing plus the military men signify it must have been during the mid 1940s. Any other suggestions?”
Yes, this photo does date from 1940s. The oval rug was replaced during late 1940s by a wall-to-wall version. The original oval rug wore out. The scaffolding must be related to a maintence/cleaning effort at the time.
Warren:
Thanks for the ad.
Couldn’t have been said much better.
Thanks Warren, You depressed the hell out of me. My only regret is that I was out of the country during that time and couldn’t get inside, take photos and steal anything that wasn’t nailed down. I do have a bricks from the Loew’s Grand Atlanta, Helen Hayes and Morosco Theaters.
This photo puzzles me as well because there is scaffolding there which doesn’t seem to belong if the theater was open. Yet the style of clothes people are wearing plus the military men signify it must have been during the mid 1940s. Any other suggestions?
This link worked. Awesome, Glorious, tragic, and thank you Lost Memory. The one photo that still puzzles me (I seen it before) is the one with the huge crowd that appears to be running in the rotunda. It looks like a crush of people coming in from the outer lobby and not an orderly line of people entering theater after waiting for seats. Any guesses what this could be? It almost looks like an evacuation, except that they are heading in the wrong direction.
Hate to be more dense than anyone else here but….how do I get the Roxy demolition photos. I clicked on the only link I saw below but that didn’t seem to do it.
Here are some Roxy related photos. Link is courtesy of “misterboo”.
posted by Lost Memory on Nov 21, 2008 at 1:20pm
Lost Memory:
Let me also say thanks for providing us with the Life magazine link on this page.
I would likely never have seen the demolition pictures without it.
Ben Hall’s book shows some construction pictures so now I have a record of the beginning and the end of a one-of-a-kind movie theatre.
These photos are really tragic reminders, especially to those of us who were a part of the Roxy as youngsters. I didn’t know any such photos existed and it is both wonderful and yet sad to have them to view. They went straight into my documents to view again and again. They show exact spots in the theater that I can still remember from the period of 1950-51 when I worked there. I wonder how long did the destruction go on as it was a massive pile. Thankyou lost memory.
I first saw the Gloria Swanson Roxy photo as a little kid. Little did I know that the demolition of the beautiful Roxy would be repeated hundreds of times in the years to come, in theaters all over the country.
Yes. Especially when one has read the account of the Roxy’s opening night in “The Best Remaining Seats”, and then you see how it all ultimately ended. Unfortunately, the demolition photos are the only photos I’ve seen of the Roxy in color. It makes the theatre seem more real, which also makes the tragedy of its destruction more real also.
The photos of the demolition men working inside the darkened Roxy are the most heart rending photos I’ve seen on CT yet.
I don’t know much about projectionists but having been in theater all my life as a performer, I would assume there would be intercommunication between backstage and the projection booth. Backstage is always supervised by the stage manager, with his or her crew of stage hands. The Roxy would have had a full compliment of backstage personel.
Richka
simon, frank and richk:
Its good to hear your recollections of working at the Roxy.
What do you remember about the projection booth? How many projectionists worked on a shift.Did they just operate the projection equipment or did they look after the curtains and lighting too? If there was a separate stage crew how did they co-ordinate the stage show, curtains etc with the projectionists?
Any information would be appreciated.
Hi Frank,
I also worked at the Roxy at the same time as you, 1950/51. Not as an usher but on the concession stand in the Rotunda. Also, sometimes at the smaller candy stand in the balcony foyer. Perhaps you remember me. We no doubt have many memories to share of those youthful days.
Richard
Hi Simon…just went back and read some of your other comments…and remembered having the job of selling tickets at the bottom of the Loge stairs…it seems also that the worst job (apart from picking up the seats after the last show, you know how many that is, and turning in all the lost items) was the Coat Check Room in the lower lounge…or maybe they had turned that into something else…Did they still have the really cool job of giving you a pass to all the other theaters to check their “house numbers”…I did tend to linger at the Paramount. Our favorite hangout after hours was the “Gaslight” on 6th ave and the Greek resturant opposite the stage doorr
From one former Roxy usher (1956 – 57 seasons) to another: Hey Frank, It’s great to hear your recollections. Since I have already shared so many of my memories on this site, I won’t bore the contributors with a recap. But the back stage elevator assignment always filled me with terror as we had to level with the floor manually being careful not to create a step for the skaters. I wonder how many of us are left (standing)? I do remember taking Louis Armstrong up and down numerous times (I believe the film was Boy on a Dolphin). I hope I’m remembering correctly.
I worked as an usher at the Roxy Theater in 1950/1951. I have many memories I thought I would share some. The staff entrance was on 50th street and we shared the elevator with the people from 20th century fox that had an office on the 5th floor, then inspection outside the balcony elevator by Captains (Banovich or Carpenter). The best job…running the backstage elevator and the Rainbow Ice Stage skaters, Jack Allen, Phil Romane, Caty Steele…but watch out for the Balls after the “Walking Ball” number…Mindy Carso singing in the fake snow at the Christmas show…my friend Stan Dymick and I getting suspended for that wild party we had in the Taft Hotel. But most of all the Theater itself…
Great stuff, Warren.
Thank you Warren, I live in Southern California but I’ll keep the information in case we make a trip out there. I really appreciate your response and time.
My mother was a roxyette in 1959 at the original theater before it was torn down. I am wondering if anyone may know how to obtain video footage or old still photographs from that time at the Roxy. I would love to find anything with her in it. I don’t even know where to begin so any ideas would be welcomed.
Great patch of detailed data, Warren. Thanks very much.
What a wonderful quote, and so true!
As Stepal2 wrote above:
Three years later, after Pennsylvania Station was demolished, The New York Times printed an editorial which might also be applied the destruction of the Roxy,.
“…..we will probably be judged not by the monuments we build, but by those we have destroyed.”