Apollo Theatre
223 W. 42nd Street,
New York,
NY
10036
223 W. 42nd Street,
New York,
NY
10036
21 people
favorited this theater
Showing 51 - 75 of 133 comments
Hmmm… those “indecent, obscene, salacious and shocking” marquee advertisements are precisely what kept me coming back to the Duece throughout my teens and into my early twenties! And the lax age-proofing policies of those theaters was also quite appealing.
The Squire was the Cameo-Adonis 693 W. 8th Ave and the Times was at (302 W. 42nd St).Both are on CT.
Where were the Squire and Times theaters? I thought he meant the Times Square theater but that was tame action flix in the 50s-60s. Jerry K
From the NYT, February 1, 1954
PASTOR CONDEMNS TIMES SQUARE “NUDITY” IN “SHOCKING” MOVIE ADS AND BOOK SHOPS
“The tarnished tinsel and the false glamour of Times Square were condemned yesterday by Msgr. Joseph A. McCaffrey, pastor of Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church…the monsignor looked at the "crossroads of the world” and found it a hotbed of “lurid signs” and flea circuses…He was especially critical of the theatres along forty-second Street that glorify “nudity and near-nudity” and hawk their wares by “indecent, obscene, salacious and shocking” marquee advertisements…Msgr. McCaffrey criticized the Rialto, Apollo, the Squire and the Times Movie theatres."
You got me, Ed. And the imagery of Sophia Loren in a rubber suit wrecking havoc is not a bad one.
Well… technically speaking, the Godzilla films were foreign! Har har. Given what was being featured on the rest of the strip during the ‘70’s, I imagine the Apollo eventually followed suit before having a go at theatrical presentations in the very late '70’s.
When did the Apollo, of all places, switch from “art house” flics to Godzilla fare. My last CUE ends in 1970 and it was still booking foreign films.
Yes. Probably a very rare occurrence where a G-rated film played The Duece in the ‘70’s! I wonder what else was on the bill… and what the MPAA rating was for the supporting feature(s).
1977 Godzilla flicks are still playing the street.
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A pair of art films in 1958
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For the record, Street of Shadows was actually Salonique, nid d'espions, also called Mademoiselle Docteur, 1937, a French film by the acclaimed German director Georg Wilhelm Pabst. HERE’S THE FRENCH POSTER.
The only hookers in STREET OF SHADOWS (a wartime spy thriller) are in this ad. That lampost and hooker were recycled by the Apollo for many of its releases and were not part of this film’s ad campaign which consisted of a male headshot and a fully covered frilly dressed female dancer.
Great Warren: Out of the titles shown, I have Nanook of the North on dvd, and Imitation of Life———Thanks for the memories Warren and keep them coming——wish somebody had one on the old Rogers on Bway in Brooklyn…….Between you and all the other regulars, you make this site worthwhile coming to in addition to NYC Subway website———Yesterday I caught a glimpse of the old Loews Valencia there at the 168th station with BMT Standard waiting to embark to Broad St…….That station is now demolished….and there was an older theater across from the Valencia, but for the life of me I cannot remember the name of it—-On Jamiaca Ave and 167th st…………If you know the name let me know Warren and thanks again—-Joe From Florida
I remember Ed….Thanks from Joe From Florida
Below are two scanned shots I snapped of the Apollo/Times Square facade in 1993 and another from 2002:
1993 Apollo Karate Academy
1993 long shot
2002 nuetered facade
In the 1st photo, you’ll see that the last tenant in the former Apollo foyer space was the “Apollo Karate Academy” (a name that features two of the theater’s former appellations). That must have been one long and narrow dojo. In the 2nd photo, you’ll see the marquee for the Harris Theater at far left. The Harris was the last of the Duece grind houses still in operation at the time, though it did seem to be near the end with an advertisement for the soon-to-be-opened Movieplex 42 up the block.
Anyway… speaking of the Apollo foyer… here is a vintage shot of that space that I found on the theater’s page on ibdb.com:
Vintage foyer and lobby doors
I thought it might be interesting to compare the the recent photo I took of the restored foyer in my May 6th post.
Here’s a photo I snapped through the closed glass doors into the Apollo’s former entrance foyer, which was cleaned up and refurbished during the creation of the Ford Center (now Hilton Theater) complex. I took this this past Thursday night while on the Duece for a show at the New Victory:
Apollo 42nd Street entrance foyer
As far as I know, this foyer is no longer used… the main entrance to the Hilton is on the other side of the Times Square Theater through the former Lyric Theater entrance.
Jerry, my head just exploded in delight when I saw that flyer advertising Brandt’s 42nd Street theaters. I’d been to all those theaters from about 1974 until they closed. What lost treasures, and what a delight to see them so well promoted.
Great find, Jerry. I love it! You might want to check out the local papers and bulletin boards for antique books and ephemera shows. They usually set up for a two-day weekend at a local school or church rec hall. There was one in nearby Garden City last weekend and someone was negotiating with one of the booksellers for a vintage program from the George M. Cohan Theater circa 1919. The program had been neatly stapled through the center binding and taped along the spine as well as having been hole-punched for inclusion in some two-ring binder at some point. It sounds worse than it was, for the pages themselves were in excellent shape. The seller wanted $35. I had to move on before their haggling was concluded.
Here’s a flyer that apparently was mailed to advertise all of the Brandt theaters on the Deuce. This one for the Apollo in 1952. Anyone know during what period this was done and where I can find more? jerry
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Cheebs… I had the the same experience waiting outside to see Santana at the Academy as you did with Duran. It came down cats and dogs. Lining up early paid off, however, as my friend and I were right at the lip of the stage for the show and Vernon Reid showed up to jam w/ Carlos. That was probably ‘94? That was the last General Admission concert I ever attended. Standing in the rain all that time and then having to stand for the concert in a soaking wet shirt did not exactly do wonders for my back. Nowadays, in my dotage, I prefer the more genteel arrangement of reserved seating!
I miss the honky tonk of 42nd as well. The Grand Luncheonette under the Selwyn marquee. The phony ID hawkers and pot dealers tucked into every other door way. The billboards and display cases filled with stills advertising the lurid fare in each of the grindhouses outer vestibules. Those were the good ole bad ole days…
My only memories of this venue are from its days as Academy:
It hurts to know that it’s truly gone – the last time I was in the area Academy was still operating – but just as much to know what was lost before that. And dammit, I LIKED the sleaze on the other side, I spent most of my free time between the ages of 18 and 21 there. I mean, where else could one find hamburgers for a dollar, then go down the street and get a fake id for 10?
Yes, saps, theatergoers enter the Hilton through the former Lyric entrance on 42nd Street. The 42nd Street facade of the Lyric was beautifully restored, but I’m not entirely sure that the entry lobby is the original or if it – like the rest of the theater – was designed with a nod to the past. I’ve only seen one show at the Hilton (the musical “42nd Street” aptly enough) and I can’t recollect the details of the lobby space clearly enough. I seem to retain the impression that it has a more modern feel to it, albeit with vintage elements – like the theater itself.
The Apollo’s 42nd Street facade was basically non-existent, as the theater entrance was incorporated into the neo-classical facade of the adjacent Times Square Theater (which the Hilton now wraps around). But, from what I can see peering through the glass doors on 42nd Street, the old entry foyer does appear to be restored to original specifications.
I think that the 42nd Steet entrance to the “Hilton” (ugh) is the lobby/entrance of the Lyric. There is another entrance further west that used to be the Apollo entrance, but that is not presently used as an entrance; perhaps it is still used as an exit.
Ugh. My math is faulty. Obviously that’s more like a 300-350% increase for movie tickets.
The listing for this theater in that 1981 Playbill for the play “Fifth of July” is for the “New Apollo Theatre” using 234 W. 43rd Street as its address. I assume the Duece wasn’t cleaned up quite enough at the time to have made for an inviting entrance for theatergoers. During the creation of the Ford Center, it appears that the original Apollo entrance hall on 42nd Street was restored, even though the formal entrance to the new theater is down the block through the former lobby space of the Lyric. Can anyone confirm if the Apollo entrance foyer is original or was this space also gutted and merely made to look vintage? I had never seen a film here, but I did attend a Santana concert while it was The Academy in the mid 1990’s, entering from the 43rd street side.
Just a quick note on ticket prices… top dollar for “Fifth of July” was $25 on a Saturday evening performance. Seats in the upper balcony could be had for as little as $12.50 for a Wednesday matinee. “A Chorus Line” commanded top dollar on the rialto then, with top Saturday evening tickets going for $30. Looking back on the 1978 Playbill, “A Chorus Line” was selling its top Saturday night tickets for $20!!! Imagine that – a 33% hike in prices over the course of less than 3 years. Today we have $100 seats representing a 500% increase over 27 years. And that’s not taking into account these premium seating policies at some productions (“The Producers” started this trend in 2001) where choice seats are sold for $480 – that’s WITHOUT a ticket broker! By comparison, movie theater tickets (which were probably $3-$4 in Manhattan around 1980 and are now $10.75) remain a genuine bargain, having only gone up about 40% over the same time period of time.