Criterion Theatre
1514 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
1514 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
27 people
favorited this theater
Showing 576 - 600 of 611 comments
I remember those stairwells, one of the only ways to tell this used to be a theatre. I hate to say this, but this building probably will never be used for motion picture exibition again. It would take an investor with a big dream and even deeper pockets to make this happen.
Well last week they took off the side exit metal stairwells on the north side of the building that was for the balcony.
I think the Loew’s booking office was better at getting product for their theatres during this era, I remember Loew’s almost always having the top blockbusters of the day in the 70’s and 80’s.
Seems like the glory days for the Criterion were from South Pacific to Funny Girl. Last time I was there when it was still intact was for Alien in ‘78. Went once again after it was cut in two and it broke my heart so I never went back.
Could never figure out why during the '70s it and the Rivoli got the exploitation junk and the twinned Loews State and Astor Plaza got the A Hollywood product especially when the former two in the '60s had been the top NY bookings.
Wasn’t most of this theatre totaly destroyed in the creation of that horrible Toys R Us store? Is there anything that remains inside?
I once read that most of this buildings revenue source comes from those huge billboards on top of the building.
I find it really interesting that the Criterion was demolished to make way for Toys R Us which is now condiering closing all their stores after Christmas.A great theater was lost for nothing.
O, and I thought “The Ten Commandments” was great on its giant curved VistaVision screen. Who could forget the Criterion’s bright red traveller curtain?
Warrenâ€"
Thanks for the ’36 photos of the Criterion’s debut. I wondered how they could have twinned it upstairs/downstairs in the ‘80s, since the balcony was so shallow. The pics confirmed my memory of that shelf-like space. Loew’s had a share in ownership through the late ‘40s, no? The films through the mid-‘50s were mostly mediocre. I recall as a kid seeing there “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein†and William Bendix in “The Life of Riley.†Disney favored it in the early ‘50sâ€"I remember being brought to “Snow White†(’52 revival), “Robin Hood†(the live-action one), “Alice in Wonderland.†They also showed several 3-D schlockersâ€"“Fort Ti†and “I, the Jury†(parents wouldn’t take me to “The French Line,†‘cause the Legion of Decency condemned it). As a high-school kid, I sought it out for mature fareâ€"I recall “Anatomy of a Murder†and “Advise and Consent.†My visit to “The Ten Commandments†in ’56 left me with wounds still borne today: To accommodate an extra reserved-seat showing, they ran an early-bird 9am screening that suited my teen-age wallet. I arrived at 8:59:99 and sprinted past the usher-women to find my seat (knowing where it was, thanks to Stubs). The lights were already down and Mr. DeMille’s prologue had begun. I crashed loudly into an industrial-size trash-can left in the far aisle after the previous night’s showing. A thousand eyes turned to me in the darkness, lit only by light shining from the screen. The can rolled toward the proscenium. Usher-women fanned out down the aisle on a witch-hunt. I darted into my seat, terror-stricken that I’d be ejected for causing a ruckus (not the least for being an unaccompanied 14-y.o.). I survived ejection, but limped for several weeks with what might have been a fractured shin. Shoudda sued ‘em.
The Criterion people were going to in the 1950’s was not the otiginal Criterion, but probably the New York theatre renamed. On the same block, but on the southern corner was where the original Criterion was — the one that showed the original The Ten Commandments back in the 1920’s. In the 20’s there were the two theatres on that same block.
Sorry to go off-Criterion for a minute, but here are pictures of the inside of the Hollywood Pacific theater:
View link
To get back to the Criterion, I have good memories of seeing “Tora! Tora! Tora!” “Nicholas and Alexandra” and “Alien” there. And its marquee was always prominently featured on the annual TV coverage of New Year’s Eve in Times Square.
But for right now it’s being used as a Digital Projection showcase. But some day it will happen.
I hope someday the Hollywood Pacific is restored.
Hey all. I agree about United Artists running down their theaters. There is one here in Ft. lauderdale which I haven’t been in for many years. The last time I was it was starting to get runned down and some of the theaters were so small I would hvae preferred to stay home. I am going to Asheville, NC for the next 6 months and there are 2 United Artist thetares. I know the one across from the Asheville Mall, UA Buccaneer Cinema has a broken ugly marquee out side. I can imagine what the inside looks like.
Mike
brucec, Yes both Pacific and Mann kept their theatres in good shape. But Pacific took extra good care of the Hollywood Pacific Theatre. They kept that lobby and theatre so clean and changed the bulbs in the original light fixtures and maintained a wonderful theatre.
I agree with you William on the UA Egyptian. I always noticed when I lived in LA in the 80’s and early 90’s that Pacific and Mann did a much better job maintaining there theatres compared to United Artists. Its to bad the Criterion was taken over by UA instead of another circuit after Moss stopped running the theatre.City planning should have kept one megaplex in Times Square and one on 42nd St.There will be no movies showing in Times Square which was once the Capitol of movie going.brucec
60s memories of the Criterion include roadshows such as Is Paris Burning and Patton…later memories include Rambo III on the main screen at ground level, The World According to Garp and A Cry in the Dark in Number 2 upstairs and Sharkey’s Machine and sin of sins not to have seen in first run at the Sutton Raging Bull in the smaller basement screens…the latter was notable for simultaneous translation going on behind me in Spanish…Remember in the summer of 88 trying to see Die Hard in first run here and the air conditioning being down…they closed the theatre I think that night
At least they maintained The Rivoli to the end except for hacking the exterior to prevent it from getting landmark status and booking grind films in this once proud house.
That’s why I hated going to some of their theatres. By their management cost cutting programs. The Egyptian was maintained and ran well during the 80’s, but when the 90’s hit. It all went down hill fast. During their last year open they tried, running it as a bargain house. ($1.50 or $2.00 any seat format) I went there a few more times before it closed. And it was not a pretty site to see how they let their Flagship West Coast Theatre die.
William, although not as glorious a house as The Egyptian UA outdid themselves the last few months running The Movies at Bayside. Not only was no maintenance done they did not clean the bathrooms, mop the floors and barely picked up any trash from the floors. This is a sin because the thatre sits in a nice part of town.
It was a Charity show for the Variety Children’s Network
-Holly
No, it was really there, I’ve got the tape :)
-Holly
It might have been just a rental for doing the video and concert. We have had people rent theatres for meetings, screening and filming in a theatre auditorium. Maybe since they were going to close the theatre and someone wanted to do a rental.
You should have seen the UA Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, during its last days as a United Artists Theatre. “Where the Stars See the Movies” (That was their catchline, during the 60’s)
UA’s maintenance of all their theatres is always north of non-existernt. Then they wonder why people stop coming and the theatres close.
There was talk for a time in the mid-1990s that United Artists was considering gutting the Criterion, most of the retail spaces to the theatre’s right, and converting the property into a 15-screen house. However far along those plans were I don’t know, but they were likely scuttled at the absolute latest after both Loews and AMC announced their plans to build their megaplexes on 42nd Street, a timeline that matches the point when UA’s maintenance of the Criterion slid into something just barely north of non-existent.