It was all classy up there back then. My Grandfather was a Dentist, Dr. George Saron. He worked out of the apartment on 140th and Broadway until the family moved to 90th and Broadway in 1943 or 1944. Perhaps some one in your family knew him.
My mother spent part of her childhood on 140th and Broadway. My late uncle clearly remebered every business on broadway in that area. Not a movie fan for some reason, he clearly remebered the Hamilton. I’ll bet anything that he would have remebered the store you speak of.
I am not sure what it is that you mean. Are you saying that the structure was not a newly constructed theater in 1912? I know that some theaters were constructed out of existing structures, like The Winter Garden (which was a stable)or the Nemo which had been a beer garden.
I could probably find out who the actual owner is if you want. The property manager for the theater seemed to be clueless about a great many things concerning this theater.
Loew’s Paradise in the Bronx, Loew’s 175th in upper Manhattan and The Times Square Church which was the old Warner’s Hollywood (51rst between Broadway and 8th Avenue)are absolute musts. Loew’s Jersey is worth the trip and a tour of Radio City Music Hall is worth the money, especially after the Christmas show closes (this way you can see the house).
It does look like a house designed by the great Thomas Lamb. The boxes on the orchestra floor remind me of The RKO Hamilton as well as the Capitol, both in New York City. This is a recent photo, is it not?
There was a theater on Fort Washington Avenue, right at the begining of the Avenue. It was practically right behind the Rio. It is still there as a church. I have forgotten the name. Do you remember?
This was done to maximize seating capacity on oddly shaped or small lots. The skeletons of the Roxy and the Beacon were very much the same (except that the Roxy was 4 times larger). The center line of the stage did not meet the point of the triangle, which was pretty much the shape of the stage. The Ambassador has a similar situation. The stage of the Ambassador can be seen in it’s listing in the book Broadway Theaters by William Morrison.
I too wonder Ed, if these people know what it is that they have. Although I am not going to discuss how I got into the RKO Hamilton, sometimes these people do listen.
As for Rev. Ike, he does know what a treasure they have. According to a church employee I spoke to years ago Rev Ike restored the paint color scheme to opening day colors.
I believe that there are people out there with huge corporate money who will listen and take the time to hear what it is they own besides a piece of real estate.
According to Bette Davis, she performed at, as she put it, “the ‘Shubert’s Riviera’, well at least it was a Shubert” in the bio “Girl Who Walked Home Alone”.
I do not mind that you brightened the photos. I did not originally post the darkest pictures as I too felt there was no sense. If someone wants to alter it, fine with me. Again I am sharing this with all of you CT memebers who have posted such wonderful pictures and comments over the years. I have enjoyed them so much that this was the least I could do and offer. So if someone wants to brighten these images, if it makes a CT member happy or whatever to do that, go ahead.
This was, however, the way I saw the theatre when I walked in. Although I am a novice with the Photo Bucket thing I know that I could have brightened them or cropped them with Canon software, I am amazed though at what the camera was able to see that I could not.
Some of the pictures do not have captions and were not posted above only because they were either repetitive or too dark. The space was badly lit which explains why the fire exit doors were opened. I also felt like a kid in a candy store and just kept shooting. Some of these photos I had no idea what they would look like as I was shooting into total darkness at various points. Enjoy.
This space is totally salvagable as an entertainment venue. It has to be remembered by anyone involved with this space that Thomas Lamb majored in acoustics (and mechanical drawing)at Cooper Union so the sound in there is probably great. It was built for live entertainment back in the pre-amplified days. Singers had to reach the last row of the balcony while competeing with an orchestra.
Again, there is very little in the way of water damage. Loew’s Kings which is over 20 years younger is in much worse shape due to water damage. Neglect does not help but water is not helpful either.
I cannot tell what, if anything, the Skouras people did to it. The property manager did not know a great deal about the theatre, including turning on the lights. There is a great deal of detail and ornamentation left. There is a row of light bulbs just above the upstage side of the proscenium arch that must have illuminated the house curtain. This must have been beautiful. There are no curtains of any kind left on stage.
I do not know if you can tell from the pictures but the stage is enormous, not Radio City big but still large and there is ample wing space. I talked my way back stage at Loew’s 83rd and though it’s stage was large, this one felt larger.
Although the space had been vandalized over the years, it is obviously still beautiful. I believe that it will be used as an entertainment venue of some kind.
No, only the ramp up to the stage, the rolling metal gate in the fire curtain and the beer and cigarette ads are all that is left. I was told that the people who owned the beverage place used to let people sleep in there which explains the matresses. No one is living in there now.
Yes. There are (or should be) 2 pictures taken in there. One is through a portal looking down towards the stage the other is a DC amp meter. Although it is the original projection booth, it is not original to the theatre.
These are my photos of my journey into the RKO Hamilton. As I stated in my earlier post the building manager could not turn on the lights for some reason so the only lights I had was the flash from the camera. The pictures are in an order. Enjoy them and I will answer almost any question you may have. Thank you all for your pictures and stories over the years. Thank you especially to Ed Solero for his help.
the club that you are refering to was on Broadway between 95th and 96th streets. The Riverside was demolished around 1973, after Amercian graffiti played there for 6 months.
I was in the RKO Hamilton last Thursday. I took a great deal of pictures. There was very little light in there as the property mamager had trouble with the electics. I am amazed at how well the flash works on my wife’s digital camera. I will post these pictures as soon as I figure it out. Or if someone wants to tell me that’s fine too.
The theater is very intact. It has suffered from some vandalism but is in excellent shape for a long neglected 1912 theatre. Don’t get me wrong, the place is filthy. After I left I felt as if I had just smoked 2 packs of cigarettes. What I saw however, was beautiful and very salvageable, even with a concrete ramp running up to the stage. There is not a lot of water damage surprisingly (a new roof in 1998). There is a great deal of detail left. There are 3 floors of dressing rooms were one can see the scars of the makeup tables that used to be there. The stage is enormous. The old dimmer board is still there. The fly loft still has a pin rail. There are some strange contrasts such as an art deco light fixture in an Adamsesque ladies smoking room.
All the stain glass exit signs are gone, just the niches were the bulbs that lit these signs are there. Any thing brass or copper is gone, no wall mounted staircase bannisters are there. There is a hole in a wall on the house left side that leads up to were I am guessing the organ pipes were. This hole is just upstage of the boxes (that are suprisingly intact). According to the property manager there are no remains of any of the organ installations.
The balcony is the only part of the space that has seats. In fact it has all of them. The seats at the front sides of the balcony are angled in such a way that watching a movie from these seats, or the boxes for that matter must have been horrible in terms of sight lines. For live theatre this would not have been such an issue. As I have read in the Marquee and at the begining of this listing it is pointed out that this theatre was built for Vaudeville, not movies. The projection booth was clearly added later.
The orchestra floor is still raked. The orchestra pit is covered, but with what I could not tell. I did not want to stand on what ever was covering the pit however.
Please let me know what I should do or can do with these pictures. I truly want to share them with all of you CT members who have shared so much over the years.
oh my gosh, where did you get the picture? It is fantastic. I have an earlier view and a later view taken from practically the same spot. Do you have any interior shots? I have one vintage shot of the interior and a bunch of color slides from the THSOA. Did the Skouras people remodel the Riverside?
how do you happen to come by this information. I am, you may have noticed, alittle obsessed with the Riverside and Riviera theaters. Is there some source that I have missed?
Does anyone know who the architect was of this theater?
Does anyone know the architect of this theatre?
It was all classy up there back then. My Grandfather was a Dentist, Dr. George Saron. He worked out of the apartment on 140th and Broadway until the family moved to 90th and Broadway in 1943 or 1944. Perhaps some one in your family knew him.
Movie Place NYC
My mother spent part of her childhood on 140th and Broadway. My late uncle clearly remebered every business on broadway in that area. Not a movie fan for some reason, he clearly remebered the Hamilton. I’ll bet anything that he would have remebered the store you speak of.
Movie Place NYC
Dear Joanna,
I am not sure what it is that you mean. Are you saying that the structure was not a newly constructed theater in 1912? I know that some theaters were constructed out of existing structures, like The Winter Garden (which was a stable)or the Nemo which had been a beer garden.
I could probably find out who the actual owner is if you want. The property manager for the theater seemed to be clueless about a great many things concerning this theater.
Movie Place NYC
Loew’s Paradise in the Bronx, Loew’s 175th in upper Manhattan and The Times Square Church which was the old Warner’s Hollywood (51rst between Broadway and 8th Avenue)are absolute musts. Loew’s Jersey is worth the trip and a tour of Radio City Music Hall is worth the money, especially after the Christmas show closes (this way you can see the house).
It does look like a house designed by the great Thomas Lamb. The boxes on the orchestra floor remind me of The RKO Hamilton as well as the Capitol, both in New York City. This is a recent photo, is it not?
Which part was mentioned by Bob Hope?
Thank you Lost Memory for the name, it was driving me crazy.
Movieplace
There was a theater on Fort Washington Avenue, right at the begining of the Avenue. It was practically right behind the Rio. It is still there as a church. I have forgotten the name. Do you remember?
Thanks,
Movieplace
This was done to maximize seating capacity on oddly shaped or small lots. The skeletons of the Roxy and the Beacon were very much the same (except that the Roxy was 4 times larger). The center line of the stage did not meet the point of the triangle, which was pretty much the shape of the stage. The Ambassador has a similar situation. The stage of the Ambassador can be seen in it’s listing in the book Broadway Theaters by William Morrison.
I too wonder Ed, if these people know what it is that they have. Although I am not going to discuss how I got into the RKO Hamilton, sometimes these people do listen.
As for Rev. Ike, he does know what a treasure they have. According to a church employee I spoke to years ago Rev Ike restored the paint color scheme to opening day colors.
I believe that there are people out there with huge corporate money who will listen and take the time to hear what it is they own besides a piece of real estate.
According to Bette Davis, she performed at, as she put it, “the ‘Shubert’s Riviera’, well at least it was a Shubert” in the bio “Girl Who Walked Home Alone”.
I do not mind that you brightened the photos. I did not originally post the darkest pictures as I too felt there was no sense. If someone wants to alter it, fine with me. Again I am sharing this with all of you CT memebers who have posted such wonderful pictures and comments over the years. I have enjoyed them so much that this was the least I could do and offer. So if someone wants to brighten these images, if it makes a CT member happy or whatever to do that, go ahead.
This was, however, the way I saw the theatre when I walked in. Although I am a novice with the Photo Bucket thing I know that I could have brightened them or cropped them with Canon software, I am amazed though at what the camera was able to see that I could not.
Some of the pictures do not have captions and were not posted above only because they were either repetitive or too dark. The space was badly lit which explains why the fire exit doors were opened. I also felt like a kid in a candy store and just kept shooting. Some of these photos I had no idea what they would look like as I was shooting into total darkness at various points. Enjoy.
This space is totally salvagable as an entertainment venue. It has to be remembered by anyone involved with this space that Thomas Lamb majored in acoustics (and mechanical drawing)at Cooper Union so the sound in there is probably great. It was built for live entertainment back in the pre-amplified days. Singers had to reach the last row of the balcony while competeing with an orchestra.
Again, there is very little in the way of water damage. Loew’s Kings which is over 20 years younger is in much worse shape due to water damage. Neglect does not help but water is not helpful either.
I cannot tell what, if anything, the Skouras people did to it. The property manager did not know a great deal about the theatre, including turning on the lights. There is a great deal of detail and ornamentation left. There is a row of light bulbs just above the upstage side of the proscenium arch that must have illuminated the house curtain. This must have been beautiful. There are no curtains of any kind left on stage.
I do not know if you can tell from the pictures but the stage is enormous, not Radio City big but still large and there is ample wing space. I talked my way back stage at Loew’s 83rd and though it’s stage was large, this one felt larger.
Although the space had been vandalized over the years, it is obviously still beautiful. I believe that it will be used as an entertainment venue of some kind.
No, only the ramp up to the stage, the rolling metal gate in the fire curtain and the beer and cigarette ads are all that is left. I was told that the people who owned the beverage place used to let people sleep in there which explains the matresses. No one is living in there now.
Yes. There are (or should be) 2 pictures taken in there. One is through a portal looking down towards the stage the other is a DC amp meter. Although it is the original projection booth, it is not original to the theatre.
These are my photos of my journey into the RKO Hamilton. As I stated in my earlier post the building manager could not turn on the lights for some reason so the only lights I had was the flash from the camera. The pictures are in an order. Enjoy them and I will answer almost any question you may have. Thank you all for your pictures and stories over the years. Thank you especially to Ed Solero for his help.
Movie Place NYC
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q24/movieplace/IMG_0129_31_1.jpg
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
Ed,
the club that you are refering to was on Broadway between 95th and 96th streets. The Riverside was demolished around 1973, after Amercian graffiti played there for 6 months.
RobertR,
I saw that movie in that theatre.
Movie Place NYC
I was in the RKO Hamilton last Thursday. I took a great deal of pictures. There was very little light in there as the property mamager had trouble with the electics. I am amazed at how well the flash works on my wife’s digital camera. I will post these pictures as soon as I figure it out. Or if someone wants to tell me that’s fine too.
The theater is very intact. It has suffered from some vandalism but is in excellent shape for a long neglected 1912 theatre. Don’t get me wrong, the place is filthy. After I left I felt as if I had just smoked 2 packs of cigarettes. What I saw however, was beautiful and very salvageable, even with a concrete ramp running up to the stage. There is not a lot of water damage surprisingly (a new roof in 1998). There is a great deal of detail left. There are 3 floors of dressing rooms were one can see the scars of the makeup tables that used to be there. The stage is enormous. The old dimmer board is still there. The fly loft still has a pin rail. There are some strange contrasts such as an art deco light fixture in an Adamsesque ladies smoking room.
All the stain glass exit signs are gone, just the niches were the bulbs that lit these signs are there. Any thing brass or copper is gone, no wall mounted staircase bannisters are there. There is a hole in a wall on the house left side that leads up to were I am guessing the organ pipes were. This hole is just upstage of the boxes (that are suprisingly intact). According to the property manager there are no remains of any of the organ installations.
The balcony is the only part of the space that has seats. In fact it has all of them. The seats at the front sides of the balcony are angled in such a way that watching a movie from these seats, or the boxes for that matter must have been horrible in terms of sight lines. For live theatre this would not have been such an issue. As I have read in the Marquee and at the begining of this listing it is pointed out that this theatre was built for Vaudeville, not movies. The projection booth was clearly added later.
The orchestra floor is still raked. The orchestra pit is covered, but with what I could not tell. I did not want to stand on what ever was covering the pit however.
Please let me know what I should do or can do with these pictures. I truly want to share them with all of you CT members who have shared so much over the years.
Movie Place NYC
Warren,
oh my gosh, where did you get the picture? It is fantastic. I have an earlier view and a later view taken from practically the same spot. Do you have any interior shots? I have one vintage shot of the interior and a bunch of color slides from the THSOA. Did the Skouras people remodel the Riverside?
nycmovieplace
Dear Lost Memory,
how do you happen to come by this information. I am, you may have noticed, alittle obsessed with the Riverside and Riviera theaters. Is there some source that I have missed?
nycmovieplace
Are there any photos of the Riviera in the Shubert Archives?
I had been to that theater several times in the very early 80’s. Does anyone have interior pictures of the Avalon?