Beacon Theatre
2124 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10023
2124 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10023
24 people
favorited this theater
Showing 51 - 75 of 159 comments
Nope. I get nothing. Guess I’ll have to look on someone else’s computer. Thanks for the help anyway.
EVERYONE… I forgot to mention in my 6:16am post, click FULL SCREEN … WOW!
ZIGGY… I don’t know why you have a problem, I tried it again and it still works for me, such is the mysteries of computers.
Here is another way to try and see this great photo. Go up to the post on February 12, 2009 at 3:20am, click on the New York Times article. Skip the large photo, skip the Aisle 4 Slide Show and click on the photo at Interactive Feature. You should get the same thing. Good Luck.
I don’t get a picture when I click on the link, just a paragraph about the theatre. How do I get to view the photo?
Wow the Panorama picture is AWESOME. I did notice that the stage lookes like it has been extended. In my recolection the lip of the stage was a straight line. The orchestra pit looks like it has been covered over. Not sure if it is now a permanant deal or if the decking can be removed if needed. I was told recently by someone from the NYTOS that the Organ is fully functional. The same person told me about the passing of Mel Robinson until his death about 3 years ago did the maintainance on the organ as well as many other theater organs in the NY NJ and Ct areas. He worked on many of the ones still in use in NYC including the Brooklyn Paramount which I was told is still usable/playable but there is some water damage in some of the lofts.
Any news about the organ or projection booth? About 20 years, they could still run 35mm and the organ was under the stage.
Wow – that restoration look amazing.
YOU GOTTA TAKE A LOOK AT THIS, in case you missed it! This is a really a great 360 degree CINERAMA photo of the Beacon. Move the cursor around and the photo will move from ceiling to the floor.
View link
Are photos like this available for any other theaters?
Glad to see this one back up and running. Hey LuisV, although nothing is happening now, the Ritz in Elizabeth N.J. also has been restored.
Gee Lost why should I do that when you went and done did it for me.
Also the NY Times stated that the renovation cost $16 million as oppesed to the Beacon site that says $15 Million
Another piece of interest is the Fords Theatre in Washington DC
The theater where Lincoln was assassinated is celebrating its reopening after an 18-month renovation. The $25 million facelift includes new seats, a modern lobby and new dressing rooms.
Another amazing fact:
Exxon Mobil Corp. Chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson, who led fundraising for the theater, said officials have garnered more than $49 million for the renovation and ongoing projects. Organizers expect to raise more beyond their $50 million goal, he said.
Exxon Mobil contributed $5 million to the project, and the District of Columbia government gave $10 million.
When gas prices were going up you see where where some of that money was going to. Thats why I aviod Exxon and Mobil.
A list of New York’s restored Palaces would include the following:
Radio City
Hollywood
Loews 175th Street
New Amsterdam
Beacon
Apollo
Ziegfeld
Loews Paradise
Loews Valencia
St. George
Hudson
and also the 2 Jersey City palaces (which is so close to NY that you have to include them:
Loews Jersey
Stanley
In my opinion, this bounty is the country’s best collection of RESTORED Palaces, which only Los Angeles would be able to dispute. I am aware that LA has a good number of restored beauties, but do they have them in this number and quality? That would make an interesting discussion. I listed 13 above, but, of course, there are other Broadway Legit houses that operated for decades as movie venues and, of course, there are the diamonds in the rough that await restoration like the Loews Kings, the Brookln Paramount, The RKO Keiths Flushing, RKO Keiths Richmond Hill, even the Ridgewood.
I know that LA compares in the quality of their restored palaces, but does it compare in sheer quantity?
Don’t forget the Paradise in the Bronx. Hopefully it will get into the right hands and return to entertaining the public again.
Originally, Cablevision stated it would spend “at least” $10MM for the restoration. As Warren correctly pointed out, that was not nearly enough for a true restoration, but luckily, Cablevison’s pockets were deep enough to do a job that, from what I can see and have read, is nothing short of spectacular. Kudos to Cablevision.
Manhattan now has 5 of the most beautifully restored Palaces ever built in America:
Radio City
Hollywood
Loews 175th Street
New Amsterdam
Beacon
Now, if we coud only find a Corporate parent for the Loews Kings in Brooklyn!!!!!
Feb 13th is an exciting day for all of us interested in the preservation of movie palaces from the great days of Hollywood.
Only wish I could be there to see this wonderful old “palace” brought back to life again. It’s the closest we will ever get to experiencing the now legendary New York Roxy, although quite different in many ways, (and of course smaller) I think it may be the only survivor of the architect Walter Ahlschlager’s contribution to the movie palace phenomenom.
Also from the Beacon home page it self. So what they say conflicts with the Intro at the top for landmark status as well as the seating information in the NY Times article. The Becon site says it is 2894 but at the same time it says 2600 as shown below.
http://www.beacontheatre.com/about/history.html
•In 1979, the historic venue was designated a national landmark and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
•A 1986 proposal to convert the 2,600-seat, three-tiered theatre into a disco was blocked when a judge ruled the change would irreparably damage the building’s architecture
The original number of 3154 seats may have been reduced possibly by the instalation of wider seats. That would make it a loss of 325 seats. I have not been there in years but from the new seating chart there are 80 wheel chair accseable spaces and another 16 for aodio and lighting consoles. Although when I did shows there back in 1975 I was under the impression the seating was under 3000. May have been one of the reason Ron Delsener decided to move downtown to the Academy of Music and rename it the Palladium a 3500 seat venue and no conflict with other shows at the Beacon he did not promote.
View link
As per the NY Times article, it appears that the current seating at the Beacon is 2,829.
NYT article on the re-opening.
View link
Post-renovation grand reopening…
(news item condensed from the Beacon Theatre NYC Offical Web Site)
TWO NEW YORK ICONS — ONE HISTORIC MOMENT
Paul Simon will “reopen” Manhattan’s historic Beacon Theatre with two concerts next month.
The February 13-14th performances follow a seven-month, $15 million restoration.
The 2,800-seat landmark theater was built in 1928 in the art deco style. Then Warner Bros. purchased the venue and gave it Moroccan and Greek influences.
MSG Entertainment acquired it in November 2006.
Simon first performed at the Beacon in 1990 alongside Paul McCartney and returned for a three-night run in December 2000. He also appeared there in 2003 for Willie Nelson’s nationally televised 70th birthday celebration.
Event URL: View link
Check out the New York Times metro section for 9/9/08 for a comprehensive story on the current renovation project and some excellent photos of the process.
beacon reno starts in august
Beautiful shot of the Beacon. I never saw one of those old marquees but they were definately designed to give a a feeling of excitement before you entered the theater. They really must have been something at night especially when you had one after the other.
By the way I wonder how many of you have seen all that remains of the 1rst Goldiggers movie playing there. I saw the technicolor finale once at the Film Forum and it was great. Though shot pretty much head on it is wonderfully designed and staged(I’d like to know who the brilliant person was who designed that amazing set.) This is the kind of spectacle that I wish could be staged at the Music Hall.
You can see it on You Tube but of course it has none of the impact of seeing it in 35mm on a screen.
Very impressive marquee, Warren. Never saw that one, so I gather it was replaced quite a number of years ago. The last time I walked past the Beacon, it still had a relatively interesting marquee by today’s lower (trim and dull and/or electronic) standards.
Still kicking myself that I never headed for the Beacon when it was a moviehouse.
Opening this Friday on IMAX and regular 35mm screens around the country will be Martin Scorsese’s “Shine a Light” concert film of the Rolling Stones shot at the Beacon Theatre.
I have to agree with br91975. While no one wants to see this site become a forum for unfounded trash talk (as it has flirted with on several occasions), I believe movie534 and Life’s Too Short raise legitimate concerns regarding the well being of the Beacon Theatre and other theatrical properties under the stewardship of Cablevision. Should such discussions be kept in reserve until after a theatre has been lost to neglect? I’m not saying that the Beacon is in any imminent danger, but surely to raise the issue would fall within the scope of reasonable discussion on a site whose motto is “Discover. Preserve. Protect.”