Cosmo Theatre
176 E. 116th Street,
New York,
NY
10029
176 E. 116th Street,
New York,
NY
10029
4 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Blinderman-Steiner Circuit, Meyer & Schneider
Functions: Supermarket
Previous Names: Teatro Cosmo
Nearby Theaters
The Cosmo Theatre opened in 1922 by Steinman & Greenberg. It was equipped with a Smith 2 manual 8 ranks organ. By 1926 it was operated by the Meyer & Schneider circuit. In the 1960’s it was playing Spanish language movies and was known as the Teatro Cosmo. This neighborhood house played out its last years with double feature action flicks. An occasional Cannon or New Line film would open here first run. It closed around 1983.
Contributed by
RobertR
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Recent comments (view all 17 comments)
Registering
My God! Blast from the past! I grew up in Spanish Harlem in the 70s and 80s when La Marqueta was still functioning. I vividly remember our family’s weekly outings to the Cosmo Thearter! My mother, father, brother and I! I can still smell the popcorn! The beautiful marble floors and staircases, the old fashioned bathrooms and the long velvet drapes that hung from ceiling to floor in the screening room itself! What a beautiful time to grow up in and what a beautiful community with such flavor and sense of family! The best time of my life! What a great memory and an even greater loss! Those times in Spanish Harlem with my family will live in my heart forever! Que viva El Barrio y las jentes latinas que se vivieron y suigen viviendo en esa communidad tan especial!
great story joot29. i lived up there for 8 years in late 1990s-2000’s and remember the blackout if 2003(or was it 04)…different times
Does anybody have some current exterior or interior photos of the Cosmo? What store(s) is/are occupying the building now, and how much of the theatre interior is still intact?
According to “The Encyclopedia of the American Theatre Organ” by Mr. David L. Junchen, pg. 630, the Cosmo Theatre in New York City, New York had a 2 manual, 8 rank Smith organ (with a Kramer nameplate) installed in 1921. This organ had a 3 horsepower Kinetic blower, serial #J415, which produced 10" of static wind.
Does anybody know where this organ (or its parts) is/are today?
Are the organ chambers still intact in the building?
If so, what is currently in them, and would the owner(s) allow me to take pictures of the chambers (and the building) if/when I come visit the East Coast?
This is for my Smith theatre pipe organ history webpage. Thanks a lot!
Originally opened in 1922 and was run by Steinman and Greenberg. Seating was listed as 1,200. Ran 100% Universal Pictures when it opened.
Hello-
traveling west along 116 St. just before you get to 3rd Ave. one sees that the auditorium section still exits. has it been gutted or simply covered over for retail use?
new pics
The former Cosmo is a supermarket nowadays although the top part of its building facade still has a movie theater look to it as seen on February 9, 2022 as seen in my photos in the Photos section herein.
Hello-
does the supermarket occupy just the entrance and lobby areas or does it occupy the entire auditorium section as well?
Thanks for all your memories…my dad was a projectionist at the Cosmo for over 30 years; I spent many a Saturday sitting on a stool in the projection booth, wearing aviator headphones and peering through a porthole window to watch the movie of the week.
Wish I could find the photo of my dad getting ready to switch reels on one of their three 35mm carbon arc protectors; and really wish I was smart enough to have saved the currently showing film posters which were thrown away after the last Saturday night showing, to be replaced by the next week’s feature!!!