Loew's Commodore Theater
105 2nd Avenue,
New York,
NY
10003
105 2nd Avenue,
New York,
NY
10003
15 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 50 of 149 comments
“Rock was, and is, a black-eye on the soul of Western Civilization.”
LOL. I thought it was disco.
It’s those crazy kids having another of their Led Zeppelin Hootenannys.
aarfeld,
I grant you certain superficial points. That it became internationally famous is worthy of note. But it ruined a neighborhood, making it unsafe and filthy and helping destroy the purpose the neighborhood served for 100 years. That it served as an incubator for the whole Rock industry is, to me, not. Rock was, and is, a black-eye on the soul of Western Civilization. (but that’s a whole different discussion). That it served it’s neighborhood for 50 years showing films or popular entertainment that held society together, that whole families attended together, giving and reinforcing a sense of community and belonging. This is, to me, much more important. And what is this website about? I think it’s more about the celebration of tradition and a connection to the community and to the past.
The Commodore opened on September 2, 1926 as an M & S movie house.
The last films to show appear to have been “A TICKLISH AFFAIR” and “HOOTENANNY HOOT” on October 8, 1963.
Profjoe, it was as the Fillmore East that the theater became internationally famous and history was made there on many nights, and it served as an incubator for the professional development of the whole Rock concert industry that we know today. As the Commodore it was known in the neighborhood—but hardly in the rest of the city, which was filled with many such theaters, many more opulent than the Commodore.
Also,
As “The Saint,” this venerable old building became a center for the spread of AIDS. I have been told by two gay male friends who frequented the Saint, that the balcony was used for rather open sex acts. “The Saint,” was in reality a loosely organized orgy with music and some dancing. But, of course, you can’t say that. Oops. I just did.
Sadly, both of those two dear friends from long ago are gone, victims of that horrible disease.
So let’s not weep for the closing of the Saint, or romanticize its existence. For me, that location will always be where the great Commodore stood, from 1926 till the mid-sixties. That’s quite a tenure and bespeaks the stability of what was once a grand neighborhood.
But from the amount of praise and focus placed on the building’s tenure as the Fillmore East, you’d think the period of years were reversed, and it was the Fillmore for 40 years.
Ed Solero,
You asked, “the Filmore East was in existence for all of about 3 yrs (‘68 – '71)… Could it have really had such a hand in bringing down an entire neighborhood?”
Yes. I said, “helped.” I lived there from my birth in 1954 through the ugliness of the sixties and into the Seventies. I have lived in the neighborhood intermittently since.
The Fillmore was for three years, a meeting place for drug dealers, prostitutes and muggers. I was mugged several times just walking by while Dead Heads laughed.
On the day the Fillmore closed, I, and many of my neighbors, celebrated gratefully.
Please.
Great site posted by Lost Memory,went on looking for the Loews Commodore end up seeing the Doors @ Fillmore East.
I’m guessing that the photo was taken in 1972 because the marquee shows further signs of deteriation from its condition when Fillmore East Closed, Bill Graham’s name above the theater name has been painted out with black paint, and sometime in either 1972 or ‘73 the name on the marquee was changed to the name of the new venue: Village East.
Article in today’s NYTimes Arts section on the Allman Brothers annual residency at the newly refurbished Beacon. It marks their 40th year together and the 20th playing at the Beacon. Mentions of the Fillmore East as well. View link
depaul420:
Here’s a question for you, or anyone else who knows the answer: When did the theater, as The Village East, go out of business? One person from the neighborhood commented above that by 1976 he noticed that the theater was abandoned and homeless people were squattng inside. When did Village East officially fold?
Thanks, Warren…
Ah, the Canal. I still think that theater is still in cocooned behind the boraded up facade on Canal Street.
Of all of the discos that have come and gone, gay and straight, none has truly compared to The Saint. The combination of a faded movie palace with a planetarium dome over the dance floor that literally allowed you to “dance under the stars” has never been equaled and probably never will. I’m glad I had the opportunity to experience it.
:–)
From the opening remarks: “The building was used spasmodically for a couple of years for live events…”
Were the walls shaking? Maybe it’s a good thing they tore it own…
Unless, of course, they were only shaking sporadically.
Hey Warren… or anyone…
I’m working on a book about the history of the various Fillmores (FAuditorium and FWest in SF, FEast, and more recent places to carry the name)and I’m very thankful for the info I’ve gotten from this site (as well as from some interviews I’ve done). The one fact I want that I haven’t been able to nail down definitively is the year that the Commodore changed hands from M&S control to Loew’s…
Also, when did the “Village” name start being used? ‘63 or '65?
To aarfeld….
No..unfortunately I personally do not….
but….
there was a fellow electrician there, Albert ( the guy got me the job there) and he was a phptographer and i’m sure he took hundreds of photos….
I havent been able to track him down for years and hope this convo comes up in a google search…rotf….( and if he’s still alive)
I spent some of the best years of my youth at the Fillmore East. I later moved to San Francisco and ended up working as a freelance photographer in the music industry. I shot many shows for Bill Graham in the ‘70s and early 80s.
Thanks to some of you in earlier posts, I discovered the video on YouTube that WNET broadcast from 9/23/70. Does anyone know
know if this is available for sale in DVD or VHS (even if someone recorded if off the air)?
Great momentos! Have you got any photographs of the theater as the N.F.E.?
aarfeld….
It was amazing just being on the same stage that Jimi Hendrix performed on..lol
The atmosphere was incredible. Even tho' I was there to work, it was a party.
I found some stuff..( I also have the “artifacts 13” newspaper clipping.
I will post another program later.
In the mean time, here is another newspaper clipping and the First Day Program.
P.S.
It appears that a man named Dick Morgenstern bought the theater from Graham first in June 1972, but quickly realized that he was in over his head and put it back on the market before even hosting the first show. See article at: http://www.fillmore-east.com/artifacts10.htm
Here is a link to an article about Mr. Stuart’s purchase of the theater, with his plans to continue its use as a concert venue: http://www.fillmore-east.com/artifacts13.htm
Hi depaul420,
What was the atmosphere like working there in the early ‘70s? After having been such a storied venue, what was the place like in the wake of the Graham years? Did they still present shows with a light show? Was the staff still comprised largely of students from neighboring arts and technical college; is it NYU? I’m not remembering at the moment.
Hey aarfeld
I was a house electrician there when Barry Stuart re-opened it as NFE.
I worked for “Shadow” who was Barry’s personal assistant and my personal friend.
Jonn Wire was the head electrician….
I was not really privvy to why it failed as a venue, but it was one of my most memorable experiences along with McSorleys and Club 82 in
that area.
I have some clippings and other stuff buried in a box of memories in the attic….
Is one able to post images here or links to them?
I will scan them when I find them
Did any of you out there work for either incarnation of the theater as a Rock concert hall after Bill Graham closed the Fillmore East? First it was called the N.F.E. Theater—much to Bill Graham’s chagrin—perhaps in operation from late ‘71 on into '72, then it was called The Village East, of which a photo can be seen of it above in '73. Witnesses from the neighborhood describe above that by '76 it was closed, the theater was abandoned, and homeless people were squatting in it and trashing the interior. So my question is: Why did it fail as a concert venue when Graham and company had made it such a success? The Capital Theater over in Pasaic, N.J., was a successful concert venue of similar size from 1971-'84, and even managed to attract some of the very bands that Graham thought he could no longer get now that they could play the Garden. So what went wrong for this lovely old concert hall? Did subsequent owners not have Graham’s flair for business and concert promotion?
I went to The Saint for the first time in 1988. The dome was still there and I distinctly remember entering at a side door on 6th Street. The Saint closed and then reopened for a couple of years for special events. I went to several of those and the entrance for those events was always at the main entrance on 2nd Avenue through the original theater entrance (as it always should have been).
I’m only saying that the one time I went while the dome was still up, we entered via 6th Street.
p.s. Very Best Disco……EVER!