Times Square Theatre
217 W. 42nd Street,
New York,
NY
10036
217 W. 42nd Street,
New York,
NY
10036
27 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 204 comments
Problem with the Times Square is it couldn’t resume since it no longer was up to code re loading.
As of 2024 the auditorium of the theater has been almost entirely gutted.
I remember the sixties and the seventies at the theater. It was managed by a handsome man, who dressed impeccably in silk suits and French cuff. He brought a lot of class to the theater.
Can’t speak for the 70’s but the programming of the Times Square theatre in the 60’s was revivals of action movies that were more than 3-4 years old. Not 1st run.
The Times Square Theater, was a first run picture house, part of a chain of 10 to 12 theaters owned by Brandt Theaters. I remember going there in the sixties and seventies. I remember that the balcony was usually closed off.
Some people and/or historians tend the ignore or downplay the five-decade history of successful motion picture exhibition at the 42d Street theaters.
For example, even on this site the description of the New Amsterdam contains the misinformation that the New Amsterdam was a second run theater, when it is well documented that it showed first-run double features for most of its cinematic history.
So I’m not surprised that the Disney book glossed over or omitted the years between 1937 and its re-opening back as a legitimate theater.
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speaking of the old 42 St. theaters. Disney published a beautiful book on the Mew Amsterdam across the street following its reopening in 1997. while the book contains photos of the interior literally right before the renovation began it oddly contains no photos of the interior when it was still a functioning movie theater in the mid-late 80s.
There are so many theaters that, in retrospect, I wish I had gone into, no matter what was playing, because now I will never have the opportunity again.
Luckily, I was a steady habitué of all the 42nd St theaters, so at least I have those memories.
As a boy, I thought of the Met Opera House as a very glamorous and beautiful theatre. When I went into it around 1952 I was shocked at how shabby it was inside. Near it, the old Empire Theatre was still open but I never went into it. We used to go to NY on weekends because a trip there (from Boston) was so inexpensive even a school kid could afford it.
I remember seeing the scenery on, as you point out, Seventh Avenue, and walking past the entrance on Broadway when I became a theatre goer in the late 1950s and a Long Island commuter in the 1960s. The only time I was in the old Met was for a children’s matinee of Carmen with Irra Petina as part of a 7th grade trip. Before I retired I did, however, attend many performances at Lincoln Center.
robboehm- How well I remember the old Met Opera House and the scenery out on the sidewalk! But not on 39th Street; it was to the rear- on Seventh Ave?? There was a large scene door at stage-left with an old dark brown canvas curtain over it. During the day all through the opera season if you walked by you would see rolled-up backdrops on the sidewalk, plus lots of scenery “flats” stacked up against the wall near the door.They didn’t seem to have space to store these items inside So they had to remove one set of scenery before they could load the new set. Rob- do you know where the Stage Door for performers, musicians and stage hands was located? I guess it was on the side of the building, either on the north wall, or the south wall.
Remember the old Metropolitan Opera House where the scenery was actually stored outside the building on 39th Street?
I’m curious about that too. I’m going to guess that back in the ‘20’s that ordinance was not yet enacted, and load ins were done from 42nd Street. The stage doors would have been at the far right of the theater, adjacent to the Lyric entrance. As it reads in the intro, soon after the Times Square was converted to a cinema, the stage was demolished and the area (including backstage) was converted to retail space.
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to markp- thanks for the info. speaking of which what happened to the loading dock it had when it was a legitimate theater?
bigjoe59, it does not have loading dock access on 43rd st. A city ordanance prevents loading and unloading on 42nd st.
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I was wondering what in God’s name was going on with this theater since its been in a state of “renovation” for like 20 years. I don’t know why it can’t be renovated into some sort of entertainment complex. do we really need more retail space?
Interesting photos in this 2018 Wall Street Jorunal article:
https://a78886d0-43a9-478a-b8b2-feb53b7af10c.filesusr.com/ugd/a53b87_3378e38bbf054bbeb9b9e615cca5d112.pdf
It looks like one of the previous attempts to renovate the theatre was already partly underway when the attempt was abandoned - the plasterwork had already received a white primer coat and some restoration was completed even back then. The new plans will change a lot of this of course.
The theater’s Wikipedia article has a May 2021 photo stating the theater was ubnder construction at the time, and it certainly looks like something is definitely going on inside the building. Hopefully it will finally reopen before long.
Beautiful venue. Shame it can’t be recommissioned.
1981 photo added
Yes Mike, it is the issue with loading and such. There are new standards in place and, apparently, the old can’t be grandfathered.
I think there is also an issue that the stage house entrance is on 42nd St. itself, which would make it awkward to load scenery in and out on such a busy thoroughfare
Bigjoe, I think the size of the theater and space for facilities (which were converted to retail decades ago) are too small, by today’s standards, for serious consideration. And it is completely boxed in by the new Lyric and Selwyn theaters, so no room to expand.
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since they’re spending a truckload of $$$ why not just renovate back into a legitimate theater?
Here’s a link to the developer’s website about the theatre – lots of info and renderings.
https://www.timessquaretheater42.com/
Some details of the project from the linked article. Looks like major construction to start fall 2020 with the building opening in 2021.
The decorative plaster elements would be cut into pieces and stored in a warehouse temporarily until it undergoes a restoration process.
While the historical elements are being restored, the developers will be cutting out the façade of the building and hydraulically jacking it up. The process will make room for the third and fourth floors, while also letting SDI create a 23-foot-tall glass enclosure on the second floor that cantilevers over 42nd Street to allow visitors to feel like they’re floating above the streets of Times Square.
Once completed, a spiral staircase will lead visitors up to the third and fourth floors, that feature the historic dome directly above the staircase and the proscenium arch that acts as a gateway to the event space that is fit for a restaurant or food hall, Boyajian said.
“All these elements will come back and be fully restored and placed up there as a reminder to the historic nature of this place,” Boyajian said.
The new five-floor 50,000 s/f space will feature more than 100 feet of retail frontage on 42nd Street, a rooftop space with room for a food/beverage or entertainment tenant, and LED billboards.
Boyajian said he expects the restoration and façade lifting to go from summer to fall and the demolition and excavation to start in 2020 for an early 2021 completion. Colliers International will be in charge of leasing the space.
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is there any chance this theater will be anything
anytime soon?