Anco Theatre

P.S. — When I wrote my post, I hadn’t noticed that br91975’s had already given a more specific date for the demolition of the Anco. The 1997 date sounds right.

Greenpoint, the land currently directly next door to the Empire 25 was a parking lot long before the building which housed the Anco was torn down. The Anco building came down in ‘97 and I remember the parking lot being in existence as far back as '91 (and, as I know, it was there for several years before then).

Don is correct; the building which housed the Anco was demolished to make way for the new location of the Empire. According to Nicholas Van Hoogstraten’s book, ‘Lost Broadway Theatres’ (from which Bryan’s initial description above is culled from), the Anco’s interior was gutted to its bare, brick walls in 1988 to make room for the various tenants who later occupied the space.

That theatre you saw the interior of, Greenpoint, was the Liberty; it’s currently being converted into a Cipriani corporate event space. However, as is true with the Times Square Theatre, it cannot be altered to the point where it cannot again be converted into a performing arts venue.

If you were to walk down West 41st Street going from 8th Avenue to Bway- the side closer to 42nd…there is an old movie theatre…sort of in the back of the Empire monstrosity, its near a hotel.I seen the interior of the theatre one day as daylaborers were doing some sort of work and had the doors opened up…there was a stage and a lower level of seating and a small set of upper balcony seating- The seats seemed to be a dark brownish/burgundy type..I noticed some ornate plasterwork beneath the balcony section.

my spanish being bad- I could not communicate properly the need to go in and explore….

Could this be the Anco…or does anybody know what theatre that was.
there might be a clock on the facade?It has perplexed me…

According to a book on the New Amsterdam Theatre, Max Cohen, who owned the New Amsterdam as well as the Anco, named the Anco Theatre for his wife, ANn COhen.

I received an email from a gentleman whose dad managed the ANCO. Here is a composite of our correspondence. The fact that he mentions the Cinema Circuit ownership backs up my recollection of the ANCO following the bookings of the larger New Amsterdam & Harris theaters which I believe were also owned by Cinema Circuit. I smiled reading about Chris the ice cream vendor. I do remember that the theater was too small for a refreshment stand and the ice cream hawker did a great business. Here goes:

“My Dad was the manager of the Anco theater during the mid to late 1950’s. There was a robbery there in 1959 during a showing of Shootout at the OK Corral! He also managed the Prospect theater in the Bronx before that for Cinema Circuit!
As far as I can remember, the ANCO played mostly action and adventure films with some Sci-fi mixed in. It didn’t have a candy stand, just vending machines. I think it was painted pink inside!? The usher Chris sold Ice Cream from a tray during the intermission.
I looked up the ANCO at the theater site online. They are making posts trying to guess what it is named after! It was owned by Cinema Circuit. The partners were Mark I Finklestein and Max Cohen. Cohen’s daughter was ANNA COHEN! So they named it AN—CO after his daughter!”

Jerry

The Movieplex 42 was carved out of one of two Roxy Twin Theatre sites on the Deuce (this one being located to the direct right of the space the Empire formerly occupied).

Don,
The ANCO would show a double feature that had “legs” and did well the earlier two weeks at the New Amsterdam & Harris. Sometimes it worked to their advantage when the word would spread about a double feature like “Night of the Living Dead – Dr. Who & The Daleks” and they would keep it indefinitely.

I have a 1967 ad showing Doctor Zhivago at the ANCO (hard to believe, eh?)with the banner HELD OVER which means it probably followed the New Amsterdam-Harris bookings.

When a film didn’t have legs, the ANCO would put some fun action double features together and these were not advertised since the ANCO did not pay to advertise, they were only listed when the film’s distributor listed them among the other NYC theaters.

Still searching for that booking info from the 50s-60s if anyone knows where to find it, please let me know.

There is a long shot of the ANCOs marquee in Marc Eliot’s book, Down 42nd Street. It features the marquees of The Harris, Liberty, Empire & Anco. From 1966. Nice shot of the “south side”

Jerry

The Sleazoid Express book describes a frightening acount of watching movies at the Anco, including “bodily fluids” on the floor! I remember a “UA Premiere” showcase engagement at the Anco for the double bill of “Guns of the Magnificent Seven” and “Death Rides a Horse”, in 1969. The Anco was actually listed in ad for this booking in the NY Times. Are there any photos of the Anco 42nd St.?

This was my least favorite of the 42nd Street line-up, and I was not sorry to see it close. It stunk to high heaven and because of its late run bookings and rock bottom prices it seemed to attract an even lower class of patrons than the other houses, if that’s possible! When I was here there was no balcony, only a raised rear mezzanine, like at the new Ziegfeld. But that’s where the similarity ended.

Is there any way to retrieve the bookings information on the 42nd Street Theaters, back in the 50s-60s, especially the Empire, Anco, Times Sqaure, Victory, Liberty? I went through the NY Times microfiche at the library and found some mention of the more mainstream New Amsterdam, Lyric, Harris, Selwyn but nothing on the others. Thanks for any info. Jerry 42nd Street Memories

According to Sleazoid Express, a great book on old Times Square theaters, this cinema (ha-ha) showed a lot of gender-bender stuff, like Ed Wood, etc.