Even if it was restored as a club venue or something, something like how the Astor Plaza is a club/concert venue. You would think something like that would be profitable in Times Square.
It would be great if they could find someone that would restore this theater and operate it as a theater. If it can work anywhere, Times Square should be the place…
It wouldn’t be so bad if you didn’t have to make a comment in any theater you want to keep current with, but there isn’t a “watch this theater” box or anything, and I want to avoid having to make empty messages in any theater I would like to recieve notifications on. it’s a shame really that this was the only situation, as it was a wonderful way to keep track of many theaters we have interest in.
I also didn’t mind the occasional phantom email, and much prefer it to what happened, but such is life.
I understand that it was a problem with keep getting emails when they didn’t want them, but this is also quite upsetting, as the only way I would keep current with any of the comments people made in all the theaters I am interested in was through those notifications. Now no one has any idea if someone made a comment in them, without checking every theater, which is a lot for many of us. I wish there was a way to check “watch this theater” or something to that effect so that we would know when commented in a theater, and we could get on that list without just making an “empty” comment to every theater we are interested in to set the emails coming again. Either that, or perhaps a longer running list of “newest comments”, instead of just the last 10 or so theaters with new comments. That way, even if we haven’t signed into the site for a few days, or even a week, we could run through a list to see which theaters have new comments in them.
Wow, I never even heard of this theater until coming across it mentioned in the Loews Valencia. I have to remember to go here one day to see it for myself.
Warren. It is just paint. The theater could have been completely gutted inside and used as a store. It could have been ripped apart and left to rot like the RKO in Flushing. Or worse, it could have been torn down and used for a parking lot. The Valencia faired very well. Perhaps not as tasteful as the Loews 175th St also used as a church, but WAY better than most of other theaters have met their end.
Thank you Peter, please let us know how the landmarking went. It is etremely good news that the cureent owner said at least the three balcony theaters would reopen as movie theaters by July according to the NY Post article. While I am saddened they plan to make the orchestra level retail, I hope they at least preserve the lobby, and try and keep the walls of the orchestra level intact. While neglegted and perhaps partially covered when multiplexed, a lot of the interior plaster does survive, even if painted awful blue, brown and black colors.
I have to stop in there one day. I haven’t been near there since it was the Burger King. I believe just the lobby is starbucks, does anyone know if the club is still using the auditorium?
You are absolutely correct Luis. The Valencia may not be a theater, and it may be painted strange colors, but it’s beauty is all intact and still there. If this church hadn’s taken it over, it could have been actually demolished, or converted into retail, and destroyed. NOTHING is destroyed in the Valencia, and paint is just paint. The magnificent plaster work all survives.
Churches are one of the best after theater uses a theater building can get.
Is the 234 West 42nd St the old address or the new address for the Empire? I would assume the current address should be the address given above. Many theaters have had their addresses change over the years, and the current one is usually the one used. For example, many of the theaters in Queens had an old address and a new address, depending on if the theater pre-dated the renumbering of streets/addresses into the Queens numbering system.
The old Empire/Eltinge Theater fully exists in it’s entirety, and is the lobby for the AMC Empire 25 Theater. It’s irrelevant if it was moved down the street or not. The entire auditorium is used, and IS the AMC Empire, even if they don’t show movies in the old auditorium, and instead it’s the lobby of the new multiplex.
It should NOT have a page of it’s own, as the Eltinge/Empire Theater IS the AMC Empire now. The whole building is a part of the AMC Empire Theater, it doesn’t matter if they show the actual movies of the Eltinge inside the current lobby of the AMC Empire (which happens to be the auditorium of the Eltinge/Empire. You walk into the old Theater entrance, and the old theater to enter the AMC Empire. Of course they should be the same listing, as the AMC Empire IS the old Eltinge/Empire theater…., it’s just that they built the multiplex around the old building it after moving it a bit down the block. Just because the entire theater building was moved doesn’t mean that that theater shouldn’t be this page. All the history of the Eltinge/Empire theater survives within the walls of the lobby of the AMC Empire.
One of the amazing things about this photo is the lack of cars, this is such a busy location today. The block does look very similar to what it looks like today (building-wise), for the most part.
Peter, I love the Ridgewood, but the Madison blew it away in ornateness of it’s interior decor. The fact remains, I only remember the Madison when I was a kid, and the Ridgewood as one theater also as a kid. While even the Madison wouldn’t compare to a theater such as the “Loews Kings” or theaters like that, the Madison was pretty fancy for just a “neighborhood” theater, and yes, fancier and more ornate than the Ridgewood. Although, that being said, it would be nice to see a photo of the interior of the Ridgewood from when it was still one theater. It would also be quite useful now more than ever that they are trying to landmark the Ridgewood.
Absolutely. The only difference though is that Mr Rothenburg did it legally….Thomas Huang destroyed the RKO Keith’s illegally….
Doesn’t make it any better though, as if the theater survived a little longer, it may have been saved. As beautiful as the Ridgewood Theater is and was, the Madison Theater was the superior building.
Lost Memory, you are correct. And yes, Rothenburg was the one that altered the building for retail use, and who leveled the floor, etc.
With consumers, only the outer lobby was the store area open to the public. It was only a very small space, about the size the outer lobby was, and that’s all that was open to the public. I was in there a few times when it was Consumers. And all it was was a small area, with a few tables where you looked at catalogs. You then when to a counter that was enclosed in a wall, gave the clerk your slip with what you wanted, and they went and brought it to you.
All that stuff was stored in the auditorium area, and I am sure that nothing was changed in there, except perhaps the seats ripped out.
When it was odd lot, also not too much changed, although more of the building was opened up. I believe then the Odd lot store only occupied the area under the balcony, and the inner and outer lobbies. There was a wall at the edge of the balcony if I am not mistaken. I believe even the floor was still sloped, but you didn’t notice it much, as the lobby areas always had even floors, and only the area under the balcony was used.
It was after Odd Lot that most of the damage occured, and that was around 1990.
Life’s too short, that may have been the case prior to the Busy Bee Flea Market taking over around 1990. The renovations before that store were quite extreme, and that is when most of the damage was done to the building. When it was first converted to Consumers, the first store to occupy it after the conversion, the building was “attacked”, but the auditorium probably remained intact, and was the warehouse. The lobby area became the retail area, and it is highly likely it was only false walls placed in front of the original walls.
Most of the features also probably remained even into the Odd Lot days, but the Busy Bee conversion did jackhammer much of the orchestra level of the theater up. What is now the furniture area of Liberty is actually built right through the old two story inner lobby. Busy Bee even took over the area that was once the stage area. The damage was already done when the short lived Busy Bee Flea Market closed, and Liberty moved in.
I have seen some of these multiplexes converted into stadium seating within the old auditoriums. It would probably be a lot cheaper than trying to build a new theater building.
Did anyone add the new theater at the Tanger Outlet to the site here yet?
Even if it was restored as a club venue or something, something like how the Astor Plaza is a club/concert venue. You would think something like that would be profitable in Times Square.
It would be great if they could find someone that would restore this theater and operate it as a theater. If it can work anywhere, Times Square should be the place…
It wouldn’t be so bad if you didn’t have to make a comment in any theater you want to keep current with, but there isn’t a “watch this theater” box or anything, and I want to avoid having to make empty messages in any theater I would like to recieve notifications on. it’s a shame really that this was the only situation, as it was a wonderful way to keep track of many theaters we have interest in.
I also didn’t mind the occasional phantom email, and much prefer it to what happened, but such is life.
Just making a message to turn back on the email notification system for this theater.
I understand that it was a problem with keep getting emails when they didn’t want them, but this is also quite upsetting, as the only way I would keep current with any of the comments people made in all the theaters I am interested in was through those notifications. Now no one has any idea if someone made a comment in them, without checking every theater, which is a lot for many of us. I wish there was a way to check “watch this theater” or something to that effect so that we would know when commented in a theater, and we could get on that list without just making an “empty” comment to every theater we are interested in to set the emails coming again. Either that, or perhaps a longer running list of “newest comments”, instead of just the last 10 or so theaters with new comments. That way, even if we haven’t signed into the site for a few days, or even a week, we could run through a list to see which theaters have new comments in them.
Wow, I never even heard of this theater until coming across it mentioned in the Loews Valencia. I have to remember to go here one day to see it for myself.
Warren. It is just paint. The theater could have been completely gutted inside and used as a store. It could have been ripped apart and left to rot like the RKO in Flushing. Or worse, it could have been torn down and used for a parking lot. The Valencia faired very well. Perhaps not as tasteful as the Loews 175th St also used as a church, but WAY better than most of other theaters have met their end.
Here’s another article from the NY Post which gives a little more information:
View link
Thank you Peter, please let us know how the landmarking went. It is etremely good news that the cureent owner said at least the three balcony theaters would reopen as movie theaters by July according to the NY Post article. While I am saddened they plan to make the orchestra level retail, I hope they at least preserve the lobby, and try and keep the walls of the orchestra level intact. While neglegted and perhaps partially covered when multiplexed, a lot of the interior plaster does survive, even if painted awful blue, brown and black colors.
That is an interesting photo. Thank you.
I have to stop in there one day. I haven’t been near there since it was the Burger King. I believe just the lobby is starbucks, does anyone know if the club is still using the auditorium?
You are absolutely correct Luis. The Valencia may not be a theater, and it may be painted strange colors, but it’s beauty is all intact and still there. If this church hadn’s taken it over, it could have been actually demolished, or converted into retail, and destroyed. NOTHING is destroyed in the Valencia, and paint is just paint. The magnificent plaster work all survives.
Churches are one of the best after theater uses a theater building can get.
Is the 234 West 42nd St the old address or the new address for the Empire? I would assume the current address should be the address given above. Many theaters have had their addresses change over the years, and the current one is usually the one used. For example, many of the theaters in Queens had an old address and a new address, depending on if the theater pre-dated the renumbering of streets/addresses into the Queens numbering system.
The old Empire/Eltinge Theater fully exists in it’s entirety, and is the lobby for the AMC Empire 25 Theater. It’s irrelevant if it was moved down the street or not. The entire auditorium is used, and IS the AMC Empire, even if they don’t show movies in the old auditorium, and instead it’s the lobby of the new multiplex.
It should NOT have a page of it’s own, as the Eltinge/Empire Theater IS the AMC Empire now. The whole building is a part of the AMC Empire Theater, it doesn’t matter if they show the actual movies of the Eltinge inside the current lobby of the AMC Empire (which happens to be the auditorium of the Eltinge/Empire. You walk into the old Theater entrance, and the old theater to enter the AMC Empire. Of course they should be the same listing, as the AMC Empire IS the old Eltinge/Empire theater…., it’s just that they built the multiplex around the old building it after moving it a bit down the block. Just because the entire theater building was moved doesn’t mean that that theater shouldn’t be this page. All the history of the Eltinge/Empire theater survives within the walls of the lobby of the AMC Empire.
That was excactly my point Warren…it’s a strange sight because of the lack of cars. Obviously it was a different era.
One of the amazing things about this photo is the lack of cars, this is such a busy location today. The block does look very similar to what it looks like today (building-wise), for the most part.
Great photos….but there’s that ridiculous tree again!
Great photos in all the Hollywood theaters sections. Thanks.
Is the Pacific a church now? It says churchinhollywood.com on the marquee.
Peter, I love the Ridgewood, but the Madison blew it away in ornateness of it’s interior decor. The fact remains, I only remember the Madison when I was a kid, and the Ridgewood as one theater also as a kid. While even the Madison wouldn’t compare to a theater such as the “Loews Kings” or theaters like that, the Madison was pretty fancy for just a “neighborhood” theater, and yes, fancier and more ornate than the Ridgewood. Although, that being said, it would be nice to see a photo of the interior of the Ridgewood from when it was still one theater. It would also be quite useful now more than ever that they are trying to landmark the Ridgewood.
Absolutely. The only difference though is that Mr Rothenburg did it legally….Thomas Huang destroyed the RKO Keith’s illegally….
Doesn’t make it any better though, as if the theater survived a little longer, it may have been saved. As beautiful as the Ridgewood Theater is and was, the Madison Theater was the superior building.
Lost Memory, you are correct. And yes, Rothenburg was the one that altered the building for retail use, and who leveled the floor, etc.
With consumers, only the outer lobby was the store area open to the public. It was only a very small space, about the size the outer lobby was, and that’s all that was open to the public. I was in there a few times when it was Consumers. And all it was was a small area, with a few tables where you looked at catalogs. You then when to a counter that was enclosed in a wall, gave the clerk your slip with what you wanted, and they went and brought it to you.
All that stuff was stored in the auditorium area, and I am sure that nothing was changed in there, except perhaps the seats ripped out.
When it was odd lot, also not too much changed, although more of the building was opened up. I believe then the Odd lot store only occupied the area under the balcony, and the inner and outer lobbies. There was a wall at the edge of the balcony if I am not mistaken. I believe even the floor was still sloped, but you didn’t notice it much, as the lobby areas always had even floors, and only the area under the balcony was used.
It was after Odd Lot that most of the damage occured, and that was around 1990.
Life’s too short, that may have been the case prior to the Busy Bee Flea Market taking over around 1990. The renovations before that store were quite extreme, and that is when most of the damage was done to the building. When it was first converted to Consumers, the first store to occupy it after the conversion, the building was “attacked”, but the auditorium probably remained intact, and was the warehouse. The lobby area became the retail area, and it is highly likely it was only false walls placed in front of the original walls.
Most of the features also probably remained even into the Odd Lot days, but the Busy Bee conversion did jackhammer much of the orchestra level of the theater up. What is now the furniture area of Liberty is actually built right through the old two story inner lobby. Busy Bee even took over the area that was once the stage area. The damage was already done when the short lived Busy Bee Flea Market closed, and Liberty moved in.
I have seen some of these multiplexes converted into stadium seating within the old auditoriums. It would probably be a lot cheaper than trying to build a new theater building.
Did anyone add the new theater at the Tanger Outlet to the site here yet?
Thanks so much! That is a great article, we will have to keep our fingers crossed…
It’s probably highly doubtful that the Grand Staircase is there, there’s no room where it was.