I believe the address for this theatre was 202 Canal Street, New York, NY, 10013.
In 1976, it was known as the Chung Kou Theater and was showing Jaws with Chinese subtitles.
If this is, in fact, the same theatre, it appears to only have been known as the Jade (Pozin’s Jade Cinema) from 1968-1971.
Purchased by MetLife, for the aforementioned building of Stuyvesant Town, in 1943, the theatre’s address was 227-241 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009 (?).
Since the address, and indeed, the section of Avenue A upon which it rested, no longer exists, it will not map properly and I can’t be certain of the zip code.
The address for this location appears to have been 1280 (actually, 1280-1288) Lexington Avenue, New York, NY, 10028.
According to DOB records, the capacity was 861 in 1971, 887 in 1973, and 806 in the late 1980s.
Though the address is identical to that of the RKO 86th Street Theatre, the theatres are properly listed separately, since they existed in different buildings, which existed in different decades, at the same address.
An addendum to my previous comment: I’ve got no dog in this race. I was just curious about the answer to Warren’s inquiry. (In other words, I had no knowledge of the theatre’s history, other than that provided in the previous posts of others, before doing some investigation in the Times.)
The only reason I’d posted the theatre’s address earlier in the day was my frustration in conducting zip code searches on the site and failing to turn up theatres in their proper locations. I’m working on a list of exact addresses for ALL Manhattan theatres, just to avoid the embarrassment of making any more duplicate Add-A-Theatre additions (as I recently did with the Hollywood, AKA Avenue A theatre).
Vitagraphs and “vitagraphic views” are listed as part of the Victoria’s program in the New York Times at least as early as 1905.
According to the Times of 10/23/1910, Hammerstein’s Roof Garden, with an entrance separate from that of the Victoria and with installation of radiators and a moving picture screen, began a program of motion pictures interspersed with vaudeville on the previous day.
The March 4, 1913 edition of that paper makes reference to moving pictures of Scott’s South Pole expedition being exhibited as part of the Victoria’s bill.
On 1/16/1914, the paper reported, “Another moving-picture drama dealing with the white slave traffic was closed yesterday by the police. The newest film to come under the ban was "A Victim of Sin,” which has been one of the features of the programme at Hammerstein’s Victoria Theatre. The picture was withdrawn yesterday afternoon, and William Hammerstein announced last night that he would not attempt to show the picture again.“
Off-topic, but of interest (at least to me), Houdini was performing in both the Victoria and the Roof Garden in July of 1914.
From the New York Times of December 1, 1888, the day of the theatre’s opening:
“Entrance to the outer lobby is had through two large double doors. The lobby is handsomely decorated in the Romanesque style with Celtic bands. The floor is of Italian white marble tiles. The work on the walls is mainly in bronze and gold. The wainscoting is entirely of Italian mosaic marble, and the ceiling is of panels of cherry. The minor lobby is reached through three wide swinging doors, heavily carved. Here the decorations are of a greenish bronze, bordered with friezes of deep red. The ceiling is composed of numerous little disks, partially concealed by a network of leaves. It is tinted so as to present an arched appearance. Two stairways of Italian marble lead to the balcony. The auditorium entrance will be hung with heavy amber-hued portieres.
The seating capacity of the orchestra and two balconies is upward of 1,100. There are five boxes on either side, draped with sashes of rose draperies, lined with old gold. The decorations of the auditorium throughout suggest warmth, the main walls, seats, and carpets being of red. The walls begin in a deep red, over which is a pattern in lighter shades of red and gold, ending in a deep frieze under a cornice of Romanesque style. Above this is a cornice decorated richly, on which are shields bearing the names of the great musical composers and dramatic authors. The fronts of the balconies are decorated with friezes in white and gilt.
The curtain, painted by Carl Geiger for the Karl Theatre in Vienna at a cost of about $2,300, represents the triumphal entry of the muses. The house will be lighted by electricity. The ceiling is more richly decorated than any other part of the house. It is divided up into panels connected by bands and streamers. The prevailing colors are yellow, red, and greenish bronze. The proscenium arch is decorated in a similar manner. The stage is 40 feet wide and 70 feet deep, and the proscenium opening is 34 by 38 feet.â€
Originally known as the Amberg German Theatre and later just Amberg’s Theatre, the theatre was located at 118 East 15th Street, New York, NY 10003 (alternate address: 11 Irving Place). The style was Spanish-Moorish. Home to German-language legitimate productions, the names was changed to Irving Place Theatre on May 1, 1893.
From May 1918 until 1921, the theatre was home to Maurice Schwartz’s Yiddish Art Theatre Players. A 1920s burlesque house, the theatre was showing motion pictures in the 1930s. It was allegedly the first U.S. theatre to host a film festival when, in 1942, the operator programmed a series of films originating in the Allied nations of Russia and France. Still showing film at least as late as 1952, the theatre was converted to a warehouse in 1962 before finally being demolished and replaced by the Zeckendorf Tower in 1985.
Like the Rialto which was later built upon its site, this theatre should be listed with an address of 1481 Broadway, New York, NY 10036. (The full address was 1473-1481 Broadway and this site is now alternatively known as “1 Times Square.”)
Though it won’t really map properly, I believe the address should be listed as 33 Grand Central Terminal (Main Concourse, opposite Track 17), New York, NY 10017.
According to a 5/10/1963 NY Times article, double-decked playhouses were to open at this address in September, 1963. The basement theatre was to be known as the Baby Broadway Theatre, with seating for 204 and devoted to variety acts and cabaret, while the upper theatre, called the Little Broadway, would seat 299, feature a proscenium stage, and host both legitimate theatre and art-house film fare. Irving Kay was the architect. By the time of its opening, the main theatre had been re-dubbed the Little Fox Theatre. In the autumn of 1964, it became known, for a brief time, as the Nickelodeon Theatre, before becoming the Garrick in November of that year.
Also, perhaps elimination of the photo displays in the “favorites” area and elimination of the poll might be better ways to improve the site’s performance.
(Personally, I come here for the comments much more than to discover if 10 people think Herbie is the best all-time movie car.)
Call me crazy, but for quite a while it’s been my belief that, in order to restore the “Add a photo” feature and improve the site’s overall performance, Mr. Melnick and Mr. Crowley should tell the members (if not all users) how much it would cost to do so and request donations for that purpose.
The theatre first opened on 9/2/1926. It was a movie theatre.
It was said to have been built at a cost of $2 million and to have contained seating for 4000. It was part of the Mayer & Schneider circuit.
The 1931 Certificate of Occupancy for the facility showed a total seating capacity of 556 (411 floor and 146 balcony, plus a small allowance for standing room!).
It was also known as the World Theater for a time.
Loew’s was still operating this theatre as late as 1953. A NY Times display ad for 2/26/1953 shows that they were playing the Doris Day film, “April in Paris.”
I believe the theatre actually opened a few days later, on June 1, 1964, and that the seating capacity was only 492.
Demolished in 1992, the site is now home to the Glory China Tower office building.
Opened as a home to both Yiddish vaudeville and motion pictures in 1911, the Florence Theatre, the exact address of which was 75-85 East Broadway, ended its existence as the Sun Sing in 1993.
A renovation in 1938 took the theatre’s capacity from 980 to 916 seats (and reports from the 1920s seem to indicate that, during that decade, it may have accommodated as many as twice that number).
By 1942, the theatre had been rechristened the New Canton Theatre and featured performances of Chinese opera and variety acts. In 1950, the facility was again re-dubbed, this time as the Sun Sing Theatre, and took to exhibiting Chinese language films, sometimes with English subtitles.
In 1960, the theatre was scheduled for demolition when faced with the addition of an upper deck to the Manhattan Bridge far above. However, city engineers were able to save the theatre and the adjoining retail space, through the use of innovative bridge supports which only caused the theatre’s seat count to be reduced, this time to 676.
In 1972, the theatre began to feature a mixed program of film and stage performances. It finally closed in 1993.
I believe the address for this theatre was 202 Canal Street, New York, NY, 10013.
In 1976, it was known as the Chung Kou Theater and was showing Jaws with Chinese subtitles.
If this is, in fact, the same theatre, it appears to only have been known as the Jade (Pozin’s Jade Cinema) from 1968-1971.
The address of this theatre was 220 East 59th Street, New York, NY, 10022.
Purchased by MetLife, for the aforementioned building of Stuyvesant Town, in 1943, the theatre’s address was 227-241 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009 (?).
Since the address, and indeed, the section of Avenue A upon which it rested, no longer exists, it will not map properly and I can’t be certain of the zip code.
The address for this location appears to have been 1280 (actually, 1280-1288) Lexington Avenue, New York, NY, 10028.
According to DOB records, the capacity was 861 in 1971, 887 in 1973, and 806 in the late 1980s.
Though the address is identical to that of the RKO 86th Street Theatre, the theatres are properly listed separately, since they existed in different buildings, which existed in different decades, at the same address.
An addendum to my previous comment: I’ve got no dog in this race. I was just curious about the answer to Warren’s inquiry. (In other words, I had no knowledge of the theatre’s history, other than that provided in the previous posts of others, before doing some investigation in the Times.)
The only reason I’d posted the theatre’s address earlier in the day was my frustration in conducting zip code searches on the site and failing to turn up theatres in their proper locations. I’m working on a list of exact addresses for ALL Manhattan theatres, just to avoid the embarrassment of making any more duplicate Add-A-Theatre additions (as I recently did with the Hollywood, AKA Avenue A theatre).
Vitagraphs and “vitagraphic views” are listed as part of the Victoria’s program in the New York Times at least as early as 1905.
According to the Times of 10/23/1910, Hammerstein’s Roof Garden, with an entrance separate from that of the Victoria and with installation of radiators and a moving picture screen, began a program of motion pictures interspersed with vaudeville on the previous day.
The March 4, 1913 edition of that paper makes reference to moving pictures of Scott’s South Pole expedition being exhibited as part of the Victoria’s bill.
On 1/16/1914, the paper reported, “Another moving-picture drama dealing with the white slave traffic was closed yesterday by the police. The newest film to come under the ban was "A Victim of Sin,” which has been one of the features of the programme at Hammerstein’s Victoria Theatre. The picture was withdrawn yesterday afternoon, and William Hammerstein announced last night that he would not attempt to show the picture again.“
Off-topic, but of interest (at least to me), Houdini was performing in both the Victoria and the Roof Garden in July of 1914.
From the New York Times of December 1, 1888, the day of the theatre’s opening:
“Entrance to the outer lobby is had through two large double doors. The lobby is handsomely decorated in the Romanesque style with Celtic bands. The floor is of Italian white marble tiles. The work on the walls is mainly in bronze and gold. The wainscoting is entirely of Italian mosaic marble, and the ceiling is of panels of cherry. The minor lobby is reached through three wide swinging doors, heavily carved. Here the decorations are of a greenish bronze, bordered with friezes of deep red. The ceiling is composed of numerous little disks, partially concealed by a network of leaves. It is tinted so as to present an arched appearance. Two stairways of Italian marble lead to the balcony. The auditorium entrance will be hung with heavy amber-hued portieres.
The seating capacity of the orchestra and two balconies is upward of 1,100. There are five boxes on either side, draped with sashes of rose draperies, lined with old gold. The decorations of the auditorium throughout suggest warmth, the main walls, seats, and carpets being of red. The walls begin in a deep red, over which is a pattern in lighter shades of red and gold, ending in a deep frieze under a cornice of Romanesque style. Above this is a cornice decorated richly, on which are shields bearing the names of the great musical composers and dramatic authors. The fronts of the balconies are decorated with friezes in white and gilt.
The curtain, painted by Carl Geiger for the Karl Theatre in Vienna at a cost of about $2,300, represents the triumphal entry of the muses. The house will be lighted by electricity. The ceiling is more richly decorated than any other part of the house. It is divided up into panels connected by bands and streamers. The prevailing colors are yellow, red, and greenish bronze. The proscenium arch is decorated in a similar manner. The stage is 40 feet wide and 70 feet deep, and the proscenium opening is 34 by 38 feet.â€
Originally known as the Amberg German Theatre and later just Amberg’s Theatre, the theatre was located at 118 East 15th Street, New York, NY 10003 (alternate address: 11 Irving Place). The style was Spanish-Moorish. Home to German-language legitimate productions, the names was changed to Irving Place Theatre on May 1, 1893.
From May 1918 until 1921, the theatre was home to Maurice Schwartz’s Yiddish Art Theatre Players. A 1920s burlesque house, the theatre was showing motion pictures in the 1930s. It was allegedly the first U.S. theatre to host a film festival when, in 1942, the operator programmed a series of films originating in the Allied nations of Russia and France. Still showing film at least as late as 1952, the theatre was converted to a warehouse in 1962 before finally being demolished and replaced by the Zeckendorf Tower in 1985.
Like the Rialto which was later built upon its site, this theatre should be listed with an address of 1481 Broadway, New York, NY 10036. (The full address was 1473-1481 Broadway and this site is now alternatively known as “1 Times Square.”)
Though it won’t really map properly, I believe the address should be listed as 33 Grand Central Terminal (Main Concourse, opposite Track 17), New York, NY 10017.
I suppose that, for the sake of proper mapping, the address of this theatre should be listed as 881 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019.
According to a 5/10/1963 NY Times article, double-decked playhouses were to open at this address in September, 1963. The basement theatre was to be known as the Baby Broadway Theatre, with seating for 204 and devoted to variety acts and cabaret, while the upper theatre, called the Little Broadway, would seat 299, feature a proscenium stage, and host both legitimate theatre and art-house film fare. Irving Kay was the architect. By the time of its opening, the main theatre had been re-dubbed the Little Fox Theatre. In the autumn of 1964, it became known, for a brief time, as the Nickelodeon Theatre, before becoming the Garrick in November of that year.
Also, perhaps elimination of the photo displays in the “favorites” area and elimination of the poll might be better ways to improve the site’s performance.
(Personally, I come here for the comments much more than to discover if 10 people think Herbie is the best all-time movie car.)
Call me crazy, but for quite a while it’s been my belief that, in order to restore the “Add a photo” feature and improve the site’s overall performance, Mr. Melnick and Mr. Crowley should tell the members (if not all users) how much it would cost to do so and request donations for that purpose.
I’ve now found references to the theatre, as a motion picture exhibitor, as early as 1923.
The theatre, as the Miracle, was open and showing films by at least 1921.
The theatre first opened on 9/2/1926. It was a movie theatre.
It was said to have been built at a cost of $2 million and to have contained seating for 4000. It was part of the Mayer & Schneider circuit.
In 1930, it resumed Yiddish performances after years of exclusively exhibiting films.
The 1931 Certificate of Occupancy for the facility showed a total seating capacity of 556 (411 floor and 146 balcony, plus a small allowance for standing room!).
It was also known as the World Theater for a time.
The theatre was closed by May, 1954.
Loew’s was still operating this theatre as late as 1953. A NY Times display ad for 2/26/1953 shows that they were playing the Doris Day film, “April in Paris.”
I believe the theatre actually opened a few days later, on June 1, 1964, and that the seating capacity was only 492.
Demolished in 1992, the site is now home to the Glory China Tower office building.
Opened as a home to both Yiddish vaudeville and motion pictures in 1911, the Florence Theatre, the exact address of which was 75-85 East Broadway, ended its existence as the Sun Sing in 1993.
A renovation in 1938 took the theatre’s capacity from 980 to 916 seats (and reports from the 1920s seem to indicate that, during that decade, it may have accommodated as many as twice that number).
By 1942, the theatre had been rechristened the New Canton Theatre and featured performances of Chinese opera and variety acts. In 1950, the facility was again re-dubbed, this time as the Sun Sing Theatre, and took to exhibiting Chinese language films, sometimes with English subtitles.
In 1960, the theatre was scheduled for demolition when faced with the addition of an upper deck to the Manhattan Bridge far above. However, city engineers were able to save the theatre and the adjoining retail space, through the use of innovative bridge supports which only caused the theatre’s seat count to be reduced, this time to 676.
In 1972, the theatre began to feature a mixed program of film and stage performances. It finally closed in 1993.
By the way, this theatre should be listed as being located in “New York, NY.”
This single-level, stageless theatre opened as the New Delancey in 1922. Seating, according to the Department of Buildings, was 1076.
The theatre was still in operation in 1937.