Metropolitan Theatre

kencmcintyre on April 19, 2008 at 8:31 pm

Here is a photo of a theater on E. 14th in 1916. Unfortunately the theater is not identified.
http://tinyurl.com/5wdplw

jflundy on January 6, 2008 at 10:50 am

Warren, although this photo is on Brooklyn oriented web photo collection, it from a section, new to the site, that covers Manhattan

zouave114 on October 20, 2007 at 1:35 pm

Hi,

I’m the great-great-grandson of Lorenz Weiher. I’ve been trying to find any additional info on his life and professional career as a builder. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, died in the flu epidemic of 1918. Here is a photo of him in the late 1800’s.

View link

Paul Noble on December 20, 2006 at 7:11 pm

The Metropolitan was a Spanish-language theater in 1953. Our high school class went for a visit to see a comedy with Tin-Tan, a Mexican comedian, and a Donald Duck cartoon. I didn’t know that Clarence “Ducky” Nash could do duck-talk in Spanish!

Bwayniteowl on December 19, 2006 at 1:48 pm

This theatre has a much richer past than would be indicated here. It was home to Tony Pastor’s New Fourteenth St Theatre, the home of vaudeville in NYC.

http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/research/fa/pastor.html

In 1881 Pastor leased the Germania Theatre and renamed it Tony Pastor’s New Fourteenth Street Theatre, announcing that it would be “catering to the ladies, and presenting for the amusement of the cultivated and aesthetic Pure Music and Comedy, Burlesque, and Farce.” Tony Pastor’s, as it came to be known, played variety shows until 1908. It was the most popular New York theatre of the 1880s, paving the way for the theatrical ventures of the impresarios B. F. Keith and Oscar Hammerstein, but by the first years of the twentieth century theatergoers had gone northward to venues in Times Square. In 1908 the Fourteenth Street Theatre became a motion picture theater; the same year, Pastor decided not to renew the lease.

Also from the website.

1875 when he took over the Metropolitan Theatre at 585 Broadway. It was here that he worked to perfect the form of entertainment known as legitimate vaudeville, variety which was suitable for women and children as well as the traditional male audience.

Although not a movie house that I am aware of, perhaps we could restore the Metropolitian entry at that address until more research can be done. And we could add Germania as an entry to this address.

Although I was never inside, I can remember the thrill I got when walking on 14th St in the late 70’s, I came across a slab of sidewalk that had “Tony Pastor’s” inset in white tiles. I never saw it again and had since wondered where it was but even at the time, I knew I was somewhere historic.

acmorrison on July 19, 2006 at 3:35 am

This indeed prolific architect always used both names and two middle initials—Lorenz F. J. Weiher. Note the spelling correction of his last name.

philipgoldberg on July 19, 2004 at 2:15 pm

A sliver-sized apartment building now occupies the site.