Beekman Theatre
1254 2nd Avenue,
New York,
NY
10021
1254 2nd Avenue,
New York,
NY
10021
40 people
favorited this theater
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Part of another Showbill, from March 1961.
I posted a Showbill for the opening program of the Carnegie Hall Cinema in May, 1961: Visconti’s “White Nights.” You might want to check it out:
Carnegie Hall Cinema
Thanks, Bill. I didn’t know anything about the Showbills, and it was great to actually see one. I liked the ad for “Suddenly, Last Summer” too.
Here’s a Showbill Program from the Beekman in March 1960. If you want to read the fine print, after you click on the URL you must click the image itself so that it enlarges on your screen. I’m sorry that a print-out won’t be so clear.
View link
View link
In the early ‘60’s, the twelve-to-sixteen-page Showbill was distributed in NYC’s first-run “art†houses, though somewhat inconsistently, as it was published on a shoestring tied to capricious advertising. Between Fall ’60 and Spring ’61, Peter Bogdanovich served as editor of the program section. It was distributed at the Paris, Sutton, Beekman, Fifth Avenue Cinema, Murray Hill, Fine Arts, Baronet, Guild, Normandie, Plaza, Trans-Lux 52nd Street, Little Carnegie, and 55th Street PlayhouseTheaters.
As a German Lit major in my undergrad days, I ate up this feature as one of the few current cinematic events from east of the Rhine available at the time. German film had not yet taken off with Herzog, Fassbinder, Wenders, usw., but this offering proved a big draw at the Beekman. I remember seeing it on a snowy day: a ten-inch blanket closed NYC schools, and what better way to celebrate than by taking the subway to the Beekman to see a Brechtian satire.
The person I talked to said in about two weeks. Which is the same person I talked to when I broke the news about the Astor Plaza closing.
I took a series of photographs of the Beekman’s exterior last Saturday. Unfortunately I don’t own a scanner so I can’t post them online, but if worse comes to worse at least I’ll always have those pictures – and my memories…
Last Month it was May 2005, this month it’s June 2005, but when will it be closing next month? I don’t think they really have a date on that
I visited the BEEKMAN last Monday (5/23/05). They are showing THE INTERPRETER. The theatre no longer opens and closes the curtain. About a month ago the curtain motor burned out. Since the theatre is closing at the end of June 2005, there are no plans to fix the curtain motor.
During the many years that I lived in New York, I’m happy to say that I saw many films at the Beekman Theatre. During much of that time, I lived on the East Side, so the Beekman soon became my favorite Manhattan movie house. The Beekman had some of the best sight lines that I ever encountered in a relatively small theater. In the early 1970’s, I remember that the Beekman was part of the Cinema 5 group owned by Donald Rugoff (if memory serves, that is). By the late 1980’s the theater was becoming badly run down. The once comfortable rocking chair seats were breaking down.
When the theater was renovated, I jokingly complained to the manager that I missed the rocking chair seats. The manager good naturedly told me that if the new seats were not comfortable he would refund the price of admission to me. On the way out, I told him in all truth that the new seats WERE comfortable. Going to the Beekman had become a real pleasure again! The Beekman was one of the things that I missed after I moved away from New York. Now I realize that I will miss it even more knowing that I may never see a film there again. The thought of the Beekman Theatre being demolished really saddens me.
In conversations with old friends in New York, what I have been given to understand is this: Since Michael Bloomberg became Mayor, he has created a climate that encourages real estate development and undermines the quality of life for the middle class. After all, Mayor Bloomberg is a billionaire and a real estate developer himself. Is it any wonder that the Landmark Commission is failing to fulfill its original task?
As everyone who visits this site knows, ambience is so very important to the aesthetic appreciation of the performing arts. The early Hollywood movie moguls understood that when they created their “palaces of dreams” they were not just showing movies in them, they were giving the public an indelible experience. Even small jewels like the Beekman Theatre were part of that approach to motion picture exhibition.
Today there is a serious question as to whether or not motion picture exhibition as we have known it will continue to exist for the next generation. Right now technology is making true convergence between the home computer and a home theater system possible. If Sony and Toshiba can agree on a single standard for High Definition DVD, then the sales of High Definition televisions will increase (making the price decrease in time). If you consider the average price of an RCA color television about fifty years ago (close to $500, if I remember correctly) and adjust the price for inflation you come up with a figure of aproximately $3000 (naturally, this figure is subject to correction). If a Home Theater System with a High Definition television and recordable DVD player can be developed to sell in that price range, then a lot of middle class people will consider making such an investment. People are working so hard to pay for overpriced homes; meet high educational expenses for their children; and fund their retirements, they may consider home entertainment something other than a luxury.
Here is the point: When affordable home theater converges with high speed online delivery of programming (copyright issues aside for the moment) and High Definition DVD redefines the DVD market, what happens to motion picture exhibition as we have known it? The only answer that I can come up with is to look at the era following the Second World War. After 1946 (a peak year for box office grosses), attendence began to taper off. The generation that fought the Second World War got busy begatting the Baby Boom Generation. By the early 1950’s, the impact of television was enormous (the great American baby sitter for Baby Boomers). Add to that the effect of the Federal Court’s Consent Decree, requiring the movie studios to divest themselves of their interest in exhibition, and the impact was even greater. As most of us know, thousands of movie theaters closed across the country in the years that followed.
So, there may be a rough parallel to the era we are approaching to that time 50 to 60 years ago. If I see a ray of hope in movie exhibition it is because of complexes like Los Angeles' The Bridge Cinema Deluxe at the the Howard Huges Center just off the 405 Expressway. It features 14 screens of diferent sizes, all with stadium seating. There is even an IMAX theater, as well as ultra comfortable, wide, leather upholstered seats in the Directors Halls (at a premium price, but who cares?). The point is that people may go out to the movies if they can have a quality experience.
To paraphrase one of the last lines from Sam Peckinpah’s THE WILD BUNCH (1969): “It ain’t like it used to be, but it’ll do!”
The above line should read I was talking to someone about the old Murray Hill Theatre deal, he said the company made about $34 million dollars on that deal.
Sorry about the mistake.
They said the Cinema 1-2-3 is in the same boat.
It looks like the Beekman, only has about two weeks left. Because its all about the money the company or landlord is going to make on the deal about the land. I was talking to the old Murray Hill Theatre deal, he said the company made about 34 Million on the deal.
I sent the following e-mail yesterday to Lou Lumenick, a NY Post film critic who wrote articles on consecutive days this past winter, discussing the demolition threats looming over the Beekman and the Cinema 1-2-3; I’ll post his response as soon as it arrives in my inbox.
Dear Mr. Lumenick,
During the winter, you wrote two excellent articles, bringing to the public’s attention the threat of demolition looming over the Beekman and Cinema 1-2-3. While that threat seems to have temporarily subsided in the case of the Cinema 1-2-3 (the deal for a high-rise to be built on the property having temporaily fallen through, giving the Cinema 1-2-3 an apparent reprieve of a few years, at least), the Beekman is still in imminent danger (word has it that the Beekman is scheduled to close sometime in June). Meanwhile, little or no news has come about efforts to preserve either of these theatres and to spare them from the wrecking ball. As you well know, we’ve lost too many valuable cinemas and/or past or present filmgoing venues over the last few years (the Sutton, the Art Greenwich, the Murray Hill, the Gotham, and, as I type these words, the Variety, downtown on 3rd Avenue near 14th) and too few people seem to care or are aware of the character this city is losing when one of these theatres closes its doors for good.
Anything further you can do (i.e., perhaps in writing another article, somehow spreading the word otherwise, or maybe contacting Harvey Weinstein again as a follow-up; his passion and his influence can truly go a long way towards saving the Beekman and Cinema 1-2-3) would be much appreciated.
Keep up the great work and thank you for your time.
savethesutton;
I know that you are interested in saving theaters. I don’t know if you were to its section of this site, but I am involved with the rescue of a theater in Brooklyn, New York. The url for the section is cinematreasures.org/theater/1360 and its called the Loew’s Kings. If you would like to help another theater like you are doing the Beekman and Sutton this may be of interest to you.
.ny.us is the address I meant. I was never to the Beekman, but if an old building is in good condition it’s worth saving.
Which adress? I’m going to try to get as many as I can to send an email.
WHOOPS, I meant BEEKMAN. I sent an E-Mail about the BEEKMAN
I may have never been to the Beacon, and my argument may have been weak, but I sent an E-Mail to above address.
Is May 31, 2005 the closing date for THE BEEKMAN?
I think it’s a mistake to discount the effectiveness of established landmark preservation and “neighborhood groups” — especially those from the Upper East Side of Manhattan!!! Not only do the people in these groups know what’s been going on all along (where the pressure points are, etc.) but the people in these groups tend to be “in the know” kind of people to begin with. Actually, if anyone has Harvey Weinstein’s phone number, it’s likely to be someone in one of these groups (although I doubt they are going to be giving it out to any newcomers, though).
Why try and reinvent the wheel? Judging from the “Our Town” article mentioned in my 2/21/05 post, the “Friends of the Upper East Side Hitoric Districts” would probably be a good group to start out with to see how one could help.
By the way, on Monday there is going to be a City Council hearing about the Landmark Preservation Commission — which, as I’ve posted before, a lot of preservationists are unhappy with. I can’t make it to the hearing, but I found out from the leader of Landmarks West! whom to submit mailed-in testimony to. Although my main concern is 2 Columbus Circle, I think I will mention the failure of the LPC to schedule a hearing on the Beekman in my mailed-in testimony also.
Here’s a copy of the e-mail I received from Landmarks West!:
Re: The City Council Oversight Hearing on the Landmarks Preservation Commission
Dear Benjamin:
Thanks for taking action. You can just send your testimony to Council Member Bill Perkins, who is the chair of the Government Operations Committee, which is holding this particular hearing.
His mailing address is: 163 West 125 St. 7th Floor, NYC 10027. And/or you can email it to .ny.us
Iâ€\d love to have a copy as well.
Best,
Kate
——-Original Message——–
Okay, here it is…Reprinted from the New York Times, Thursday, May 12, Arts Section.
“AN ARCHITECT’S BRICKBATS,"
Robin Pogrebin
The architect Robert A. M. Stern [Dean of the Yale School of Architecture] challenged the chairman of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday night to explain why he did not hold a hearing on 2 Columbus Circle, designed by Edward Durell Stone as Huntington Hartford’s Gallery of Modern Art but never designated a landmark. The building is to be reconstructed as the Museum of Arts and Design. “Not to preserve the building is shocking, but not to hear it is criminal,” Mr. Stern said during a panel discussion at the 92nd Street Y, addressing Robert B. Tierney, the chairman. Mr. Tierney did not directly respond except to say that the commission had decided in 1996 not to hold a hearing on the building and that he had chosen not to revisit the decision. The panel, which discussed the effects of 40 years of landmarks regulation on architecture in New York, also included the architects Hugh Hardy and James Stewart Polshek.
AND DONâ€\T FORGET…
City Council Oversight Hearing on the Landmarks Preservation Commission
When: Monday, May 16, 10:00 A.M.
Where: City Hall, Committee Room, adjacent to large Council Chamber on second floor
Even if you testified at previous LPC oversight hearings in October and November 2004, please plan to attend and testify in support of meaningful improvements to the Landmarks process!
REMEMBER
· There is a 2- to 3-minute time limit for testimony.
· Please bring at least 10 copies of your written testimony to distribute to the Committee members.
It’s an admitted longshot, but does anyone know how to get in touch with Harvey Weinstein? After all, he was the most vocal and best-known proponent of saving the Beekman and Cinema 1-2-3 when their demolition threats were announced this past winter, stating he’d do everything in his power to save them. Neighborhood groups are helpful but, at times, can only do so much. Where is Harvey Weinstein right about now and the other New Yorkers – the ones with clout where it matters, the ones with NAMES – who can make the most influence and save these theatres? In the meantime, I’m going to leave a voice message with Lou Lumenick at the Post this weekend – the paper’s lead film critic who brought the news of what these theatres were facing to the public at-large – and see if he can run a follow-up or get involved to a further degree.
In retrospect, maybe I should’ve added to the note before that you guys seem to be putting up a real fight for the Beekman. Kudos
Savethesutton;
If there aren’t I can find you another theater to help. I’m part of the group that wants to reopen one in Brooklyn. I can give you information on that. No offense to the Beekman People, but it’s larger.
Who can I send demails to? This theater deserves a chance and all should try their best to save it. It will be a crime to se it go. Fight for it to be saved. Are tehre any groups or protests scheduled?
Damn, I won’t be able to see it! Too bad for me.
According to a posting by ‘savingtheboyd’ from this past April 18th, Gustavelifting, the final day of the Beekman will be May 31st. It seems likely to go out with ‘The Interpreter’, but who knows? Maybe Clearview will assemble a retro festival of some of the Beekman’s more notable engagements over the years.