Little Carnegie Theatre
146 W. 57th Street,
New York,
NY
10019
146 W. 57th Street,
New York,
NY
10019
10 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Walter Reade Theatres
Architects: Wolfgang Hoffman, John J. McNamara
Styles: Streamline Moderne
Previous Names: Little Carnegie Playhouse
Nearby Theaters
Opened on November 3, 1928 with “Ten Days That Shook the World”. The Little Carnegie Playhouse was for many decades one of the premiere art houses in Manhattan, along with the Paris Theatre, Beekman Theatre, Sutton Theatre, Plaza Theatre, Fine Arts Theatre and Baronet Theatre. It was designed in a ‘modern’ style by architect Wolfgang Hoffman. Located on W. 57th Street, adjacent to Carnegie Hall and the Russian Tea Room. It had a very sizable lobby and waiting area for a theatre its size, and the plush seats and everything about the theatre spelled Class…with a capital ‘C’.
It was remodeled in 1952 to the plans of architect John J. McNamara in a Streamline Moderne style. All seating was on a single sloping floor. The Little Carnegie Theatre was closed on April 8, 1982 with Burt Lancaster in “Atlantic City”. It is sorely missed.
It is not to be confused with the Carnegie Hall Cinema, which was around the corner on 7th Avenue.
Contributed by
Gerald A. DeLuca
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Recent comments (view all 76 comments)
Hello-
the last time I can remember seeing a film here
was the 40th anniversary re-issue of Disney’s
Pinocchio.
Any info on when the Walter Reade Organization began operating this theatre?
A theater that lasted until the waning days of the city when New York was New York. It is sorely missed. I remember waiting on the lines that would stretch east on 57th.
This became a Walter Reade location in October 1966.
The sidewalk canopy of this theater can be seen in the movie Tootsie during the scene where Dustin Hoffman & Sydney Pollack are standing outside of The Russian Tea Room. The film must have been shot right before the theater closed, as it was released in 1982.
The Little Carnegie theatre opened on November 3rd, 1928. Grand opening ad posted http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/6451/photos/320021
Please update, theatre open November 3, 1928 and closed April 8, 1982 with Atlantic City
I was there when the theatre closed, with Atlantic City. It was an extremely difficult day. Fortunately the WRO, keep some of it’s other locations open. To the east, the Festival and in lower Manhattan, the Bay Cinema, not to mention the Ziegfeld.
nyer13 we generally sold 550 seats. We worked together in the seventies.
miclup, we knew eachother,too.