Loew's Paradise Theatre
2413 Grand Concourse,
Bronx,
NY
10468
2413 Grand Concourse,
Bronx,
NY
10468
63 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 50 of 671 comments
DaveM, thats different than the way they did the Jersey in Jersey City. There, they dropped the wall down from the balcony cutting off the front part of the orchestra. They split the area under the balcony for cinema 2 & 3, and the balcony became cinema 1. All the seats in the front orchestra were removed.
I don’t know how the theater was quadded — I do recall the triplex which preceded it, which was quite tastefully done. They dropped a wall toward the front of the balcony and left the entire orchestra section, including the dome and stars in front of the wall, intact as theater 1. Unless you were sitting right up front and craned your head back, you didn’t see the wall, and the atmospheric effect was intact. The balcony was split right down the middle for theaters 2 and 3. I can’t remember if they dropped a false ceiling or used the original ceiling in theaters 2 and 3. So I would usually pick whatever was playing in theater 1. Loews took pretty good care of the place in the 70s.
Yes, the theater was in fact multiplexed before closing. I had seen photos of it online, when they were taking the walls down before the restoration, but unfortunately, that was a long while ago, and don’t know where. If you scroll through all the comments, it may have been a link here on this site, and perhaps the link still works.
How did Loew’s originally cut this place up into a Quad? It must have been quite an undertaking to do the restoration work on it after it was all chopped up.
A lot of these restorations are bogged down in bureaucracy. A lot of money was put into the restoration of the Paramount in Stapleton, Staten Island before red tape shut it down.
So much money spent and then nothing, I was thinking about it since the King’s reopening
The church website still lists the address and hours for services. I was there in August 2013, and they were quite nice about us looking around (although a pre-service prayer session started as soon as the doors opened, so we were discreet and didn’t wander too far forward in the orchestra.) The place looked good, although they wouldn’t let us up in the balcony, which is where the fire had been. I didn’t see any signs of water damage. First visit since 1979.
Is this closed totally or is the church having services here? What a damn shame after all the renovations that it could not sustain itself.
Regional demographics are a major influence and cannot be denied. If the product doesn’t appeal to the neighborhood, or if the neighborhood is not friendly to the exhibitor that’s it. Look at the CT stats. Only ¼ of the theaters are open, and not, necessarily showing movies. Why so few? TV and other options, the economy, the age factor and, demographics.
Comments about crime statistics in city neighborhoods seem to me to be not-so-subtle racist attacks, and really don’t belong on these message boards, which are devoted to movie palaces, and not the changes in regional demographics. I find the comments offensive. If you don’t feel safe in Brooklyn or the Bronx, stevebob, don’t go there, and post your comments someplace more appropriate. I used to live in Flatbush, and I walked through the entire area recently, and I’ve lived to talk about it.
I went to the Paradise a few weeks ago, while on a walking tour of the Concourse, photographing the Art Deco apartment buildings. I asked the woman who was sitting in the erstwhile boxoffice if I could go in and take some photos, and I got an abrupt “No”. I asked why, and her answer was, again abruptly, “Security reasons”. By this time, my New York blood was pumping, and I said to her, “You’re turning me away from the House of God?” The reply was “Uh-huh”. It got even worse later that day, when the super of one of the apartment buildings, who had all the earmarks of a major criminal, threw me out of the lobby. “Trespassing” he said in fractured English. Ah, the glory that WAS the Concourse! Things were VERY different when I went to the Valencia last fall. The pastor and members of the congregation were more than gracious, and I was let loose inside with my camera, without so much as an escort. Same thing when I went to what used to be Loew’s 46th Street, in Brooklyn. It’s now a furniture factory/showroom, but the theater is more or less intact. The owner let me roam around and take as many photos as I wanted, again without an escort.
Regarding the claim that Loew’s Kings “is by far a better location than the Paradise”, I would vigorously disagree. I don’t have crime statistics to compare directly Fordham to Flatbush, but I definitely know where I would feel safer – and it’s not Flatbush.
The guy running the church looks like a real piece of work:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2012/06/megachurch-pastor-creflo-dollar-charged-with-attacking-his-daughter/1#.UypGD4XYXQo
Apparently now being used as a nightclub three nights a week:
http://newyork.backpage.com/Bars/paradise-theater-will-now-also-be-paradise-super-club/28498344
The Lowes Paradise was a magnificent theater, I have vivid memories of how beautiful the colored neon lights reflected on the Grand concourse on rainy days. Among the films I saw there were, “Papa’s Delicate Condition” with Jackie Gleason in 1963, and once when my parents were shopping they dropped me off on my own, to see the double feature, “The Fly” and “Space Master X-7” (1958)I was ten the time, Wow! I watched from the second balcony.
Can anyone go to church services at the Paradise? I would love to go there on a Sunday morning. I have been to 175th Loews and felt welcomed during a service. I would “close my eyes” and imagine I was there when it was a movie palace.
Amen Bway! I’m an atheist so i don’t like churches but I don’t deny that they have saved a great many palaces; some better than others. Not all churches do a great job. Many have butchered the palaces they took over but I believe the majority have benefitted from their divine users. I wish them well.
I never understand all the mocking that takes place in regard to the Loews Valencia. Sure, it would be nicer if it was a theater again, and it is “sad” that it’s a church instead of such, but this church has saved the Valencia. While yes, the colors they painted the interior are garish at best, what would you rather have, the interior gutted into a drug store or something instead? or worse, leveled? The Valencia is completely intact, maintained, and good shape. Who cares if the colors are garish….all that beautiful plasterwork could be gone instead, and prescriptions sold there instead.
Most people don’t want to go to the Bronx and there’s limited parking.
Agreed Ed, the Loews 175th has been quite successful as a concert venue. It has been so for decades though it is not the primary purpose of the space. The Kings is by far a better location than the Paradise. I have no doubt that the Kings has a much better chance at success. In addition, the owners of the Paradise were terrible managers. The people in charge of the Kings are very experienced.
Tinseltoes, the only advantage I would give to the Kings over the Paradise is that of location. While the Kings isn’t exactly in the prime downtown area, seems to me that Brooklyn on the whole has a better reputation as a destination for cultural activities than the Bronx. And this is not to denigrate the Bronx, which is the borough from which my parents and grandparents hail, but I just don’t think it has the same appeal as Brooklyn. And the United Palace is first and foremost a church. I think a deal was arranged for concerts there, primarily as a temporary replacement for the Beacon, while the latter was undergoing its extensive renovations. While sporadic bookings have continued, I don’t think it was ever seriously positioned as a competitor of the Beacon’s and other downtown venues.
Though I despise churches, there are many examples where they prove to be great stewards of our glorious palaces. The Hollywood in midtown, the Loews 175th Street in Washington Heights and the Stanley in Jersey City but just a few excellent examples. That said, I am saddened that this theater is becoming a church. Of course, it is a successful church. They bought an old Christ Scientist church on W. 96th and Central Park West that was also a landmark and have respected that architecture. This particular church worships money so in theory they will not skimp on their infrastructure. They need to project affluence to get it.
Bah Hum Bug
Uh oh! According to today’s Daily News (12-2-12) the Paradise has been leased to The World Changers Church of New York. At least it’s a televangelist church so us theatre lovers can get glimpses of this majestic house on TV. Here is a link to the article: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx/world-changers-church-new-york-occupy-paradise-article-1.1211185
A fire apparently started by welding going on at the Paradise on November caused at least some smoke damage. View article