Ziegfeld Theatre
141 W. 54th Street,
New York,
NY
10019
141 W. 54th Street,
New York,
NY
10019
131 people
favorited this theater
Showing 451 - 475 of 4,511 comments
YAY! The Fishers are loaded too. Hopefully, they have a heart and will work to save this special piece of New York’s cultural and cinematic architectural history.
Ah, had some time to ID the owners- http://nypost.com/2013/07/17/fisher-bros-take-a-stake/ not mobsters, a leading NYC family
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_Brothers
The Ziegfeld is owned by a conglomerate descendant of Kinney Parking that is tied to Time Warner and a myriad of mobsters.
Solow owns the Paris & does want to keep it as a cinema, though note that he’s in his 80s & I don’t know what happens after him. When years ago, I looked online for Ziegfeld owner, it is someone else, another individual who is a successful owner of Manhattan real estate.
So, way back when I remember reading that Sheldon Solow, a Billionaire, owns the Ziegfeld AND the Paris Theatres and wanted to keep them as theaters. I was able to find proof that he definitely owns the Paris (he purchased it in the 90’s) but was not able to confirm that the owns the Ziegfeld. Wikipedia says that Cablesvision owns the Ziegfeld Building but I think that is incorrect. They just lease the property and they subleased it to Bow Tie for the remainder of their lease. What I don’t understand is why there is not a big movement to LANDMARK the Ziegfeld! It is old enough, it is architecturally and culturally important and is the land of the Movie Palaces to be constructed in the city. What more do we need?
http://nypost.com/2015/04/09/whats-next-for-the-endangered-ziegfeld-theatre/
http://vanishingnewyork.blogspot.com/2015/04/ziegfeld-museum.html
http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2015/04/14/ziegfeld_theatre_icon_of_follies_and_red_carpets_may_close.php
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/new-yorks-ziegfeld-theatre-danger-786922
Hello Again-
I hope markp’s comment is true. considering its beloved place in NYC moviegoing I can’t see this theater being torn down or repurposed. so again I wish posters would stop continuing to mention the theater’s eminent demise unless they have rock solid proof not some vague rumor.
I heard many years ago, and perhaps someone here can confirm it, that the owners of the building want a movie theatre here and years ago wouldnt let Cineplex (I believe) twin it or alter it. If this is the case, then theres hope another chain or operator will come along.
Hello Again-
as did xbs2034 I found the projection and audio first rate. I have friends who have never been here and highly recommend they visit it.
now every so often a poster on this page mentions the Ziegfeld’s “eminent closing”. unless a poster has rock solid reliable uncontestable info as to this theater’s “eminent closing” please don’t get fans of this theater worried about the theater’s demise with just vague oft repeated rumors.
Correct Al
Cablevision owns the theatre lease, not the building.
This theater is still owned by Cablevison and operated by Bowtie. Once Cablevision able to find a buyer for the building the theater will ceased operation.
I went to Mission Impossible here as well (also saw Ant-Man a couple weeks back as I want to go here as much as possible if it is indeed closing soon). And actually, not only was the presentation quality great as usual, but at that showing (7:30 PM Friday) there was a decent crowd of a couple hundred people- not nearly sold out but more than I usually see there.
Scroll back or google “Ziegfeld may close” as the prior operator Cablevision (Cleaview)is losing money paying the rent. BowTie is operating it under that arrangement.
Hello-
I went to the first screening of Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation which was 10:45 a.m. yesterday Sun. 8/2. and I agree with Howard H. that the projection and sound were A+. but I was saddene to see that at most there were 25? people in the audience. there were a lot more people buying tickets for the next showing.
also what is all this talk about the eminent closing of this theater? I read all three NYC papers and lots on the web but have not come across anything that recent. are there links to these rather recent articles about the alleged eminent closing of the Ziegfeld?
I don’t speak for Bow Tie but I will say Bow Tie is still operating the Ziegfeld. Walter Reade’s return is only the historic nameplate.
Did Bow Tie take their sign down? I know Walter Reade Theaters have been long sold off but it would be great if their family restarted the company by taking over this wonderful gem.
I saw the new Mission Impossible movie at the Ziegfeld yesterday, with great projection & surround sound. As has been the pattern for some time, the curtain isn’t used for regular movies but I was told by someone in charge (not on scene) that it works just fine! On the theater marquee can be seen A Walter Reade Theater, for the 1st time since in years since before the current operator BowTie put their nameplate there, Clearview covered it up with their own nameplate. This year’s news reports have indicated that the Ziegfeld’s future is endangered, so visit & enjoy while open!
It would be great if they fixed the curtain and used it for all screenings. But when we know the theater loses a lot of money and may be closing soon (obviously nobody knows outside of Cablevision/BowTie but I wouldn’t be shocked if they close the theater after the summer movie season as that usually is a slow time for the Ziegfeld), I don’t think they are looking to spend even a couple thousand on a fix which is not necessary for the theater to operate normally.
They really should fix the curtain I don’t think it’ll be much spent a couple thousand at most. What is the point of having a nice thick Curtian that doesn’t open and close!! It just hangs there sadly
Yes Mike (saps) I use to open and close the curtain and raise and lower the lights.
I am sure the theater will still be open and showing movies on the Dec 19th 2015 when Star Wars opens
The last time I went to the Ziegfeld to see the second best exotic Marigold Hotel. I spoke to some of the employees to inquire why the curtain is not being used anymore. As I know they used it during interstellar. To boil it down they basically said that the mechanism had broken during one showing of interstellar. To boil it down they basically said that the mechanism was broken and it needed to be fixed but they weren’t sure if bowtie Was going to invest the money to fix it.
And how to push the button to close the frikkin curtain…
You can learn anything on the internet these days. But if you were like me, then you actually worked with the different formats. During my 39 years as a projectionist, I worked with 16, 35, and 70MM film, 15/70 IMAX, Digital. Aspect ratios of 1.37, 1.66, 1.75, 1.85, 2.25, 2.35, 2.55. Thats about all you need to know back then to put on a good show.