The Sun Sing closed in either late ‘93 or 94. It was a nice theatre, compared to the Music Palace on the Bowery. They showed Hong Kong movies, all with English subtitles as well as Chinese subtitles for speakers of other dialects. All day double feature was $5, I believe.
The big stage was still there, from the theatre’s vaudeville days, and the Sun Sing would occasionally have live performances of Chinese opera. It was the only one of the Chinatown theatres to do that.
The balcony of the Music Palace was pretty rough. A lot of the Chinese gang kids would hang out there, drinking beer and smoking. There were fights pretty regularly, and one guy got shot while I was there.
They mainly played kung fu movies, although they’d sometimes show Honk Kong comedies and romances, and an occasional ‘Category 3’ (porno) flick. All the movies were (poorly) subtitled in English, as well as in Chinese for speakers of dialects other than Cantonese.
The small concession stand sold packets of dried shrimp and shit like that.
Yeah the Rosemary is now a huge Buddhist temple, around the corner near the Manhattan Bridge.
The Music Palace was the seediest of the three big Chinatown theatres that were still in operation through most of the 90s.
Everyone smoked cigarettes during the movies, although they did have a black security guard who would occasionally walk the aisles, halfheartedly saying “no smoking” in English and Cantonese.
The Rosemary was one of three theatres in NY Chinatown that were still oeprating through most of the 90’s.
It had less of a seedy atmosphere than the Music Palace, around the corner on the Bowery (less cigarette smoking and gang activity). But as someone mentioned, they did show a lot of Category III (porno) movies. They’d alternate weekly between kung fu flicks and porn. I got the impression most of their revenue came from the porn.
And ironically, it’s now the largest Buddhist temple in NYC.
The Sun Sing closed in either late ‘93 or 94. It was a nice theatre, compared to the Music Palace on the Bowery. They showed Hong Kong movies, all with English subtitles as well as Chinese subtitles for speakers of other dialects. All day double feature was $5, I believe.
The big stage was still there, from the theatre’s vaudeville days, and the Sun Sing would occasionally have live performances of Chinese opera. It was the only one of the Chinatown theatres to do that.
The balcony of the Music Palace was pretty rough. A lot of the Chinese gang kids would hang out there, drinking beer and smoking. There were fights pretty regularly, and one guy got shot while I was there.
They mainly played kung fu movies, although they’d sometimes show Honk Kong comedies and romances, and an occasional ‘Category 3’ (porno) flick. All the movies were (poorly) subtitled in English, as well as in Chinese for speakers of dialects other than Cantonese.
The small concession stand sold packets of dried shrimp and shit like that.
Yeah the Rosemary is now a huge Buddhist temple, around the corner near the Manhattan Bridge.
The Music Palace was the seediest of the three big Chinatown theatres that were still in operation through most of the 90s.
Everyone smoked cigarettes during the movies, although they did have a black security guard who would occasionally walk the aisles, halfheartedly saying “no smoking” in English and Cantonese.
The Rosemary was one of three theatres in NY Chinatown that were still oeprating through most of the 90’s.
It had less of a seedy atmosphere than the Music Palace, around the corner on the Bowery (less cigarette smoking and gang activity). But as someone mentioned, they did show a lot of Category III (porno) movies. They’d alternate weekly between kung fu flicks and porn. I got the impression most of their revenue came from the porn.
And ironically, it’s now the largest Buddhist temple in NYC.