Ziegfeld Theatre
1341-47 6th Avenue,
New York,
NY
10105
1341-47 6th Avenue,
New York,
NY
10105
14 people
favorited this theater
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Thanks very much to all for the information. I remember the Mural as well as the theatre. I was fortunate enough to be a guest of the theatre manager, Ross Stewart for the 1st Saturday evening performance of “ANYA”. I was only 16 and was awestruck by the powerful and beautiful image I saw. The mural was like some musical fantasy in Golds and rich earth tones. Does anyone remember the 2 large Comedy and Tragedy masks that were suspended from the proscenium over the curtain? The were large and very beautiful. I wonder if they survived? I remember reading in Variety at the time that the house curtain and maybe the seats went to the Playhouse in Kennibunkport, Me.
Does anyone out there have a shot of the Ziegfeld actually with a show playing on the marquee??? A real show, not movie. This theatre housed many big hits after 1944, Brigadoon, Showboat revival, The Cleopatra’s, Porgy and Bess revival as well as Kismet. I have never come across a shot of the theatre with the marquee lit with a show and would love to have one.
Many thanks again for the sharing of all this great information.
845Frank
View link (2 photos at this link)
Other than a few architectural fragments, nothing of the Art-Deco landmark “Ziegfeld Theater” was believed to have been saved from it’s tragic demolition in 1966. That was until recently, when an immense mural called “The Joy of Life”, designed by the architect Joseph Urban for the theater, was discovered by New York City antiques dealer John Bermingham.
New York, NY (PRWEB) January 24, 2007 — In 1927, the Broadway impresario Florenz Ziegfeld opened the Ziegfeld Theater on 6th Avenue and 54th Street and changed the face of theater for decades after. Home of the famed “Ziegfeld Follies”, the theater was an Art-Deco masterpiece created by Joseph Urban, an architect known for his fanciful and imaginative design and décor. Situated well out of the theater district and featuring a unique “egg-shaped” auditorium, the Ziegfeld Theater was a landmark unto itself.
Despite public outcry at the time, the Ziegfeld Theater was demolished in 1966 to make way for an office tower that now occupies the spot. It was believed that other than a few architectural fragments, nothing remained of this lost landmark. That is, until now.
It’s a part of New York City history, theater history and design history, and it deserves to be seen and appreciated.
A rare piece of this lost American treasure has recently re-surfaced in the form of an immense section of the original painted mural “The Joy of Life” which somehow escaped the wrecking ball all those years back. The mural was painted in 1926 by Lillian Gaertner under the direction of Joseph Urban, who provided the original sketches and personally oversaw the work. Madame Gaertner had studied under the renowned Bauhaus designer Joseph Hoffman and worked with Urban on many of his theatrical projects. The recently re-discovered canvas, which originally graced the walls and ceiling of the main auditorium, measures 24 feet wide by 14 feet high and features fanciful and brightly colored depictions of characters from literature, history and mythology.
The mural is currently owned by Manhattan antiques dealer John Bermingham who located it in November 2006. Bermingham states that his interest in the work stemmed from his love for New York City history and the theater in particular. “It is a tragedy that a landmark such as the Ziegfeld Theater was allowed to be destroyed back then, before the awareness of the value of historical architecture and design. Today, thankfully, such a thing would never happen”. Bermingham added, “It is remarkable, however, that such a unique and important artifact as this mural has managed to survive and we should at least be grateful for that”. The outcry over the demolition of the Ziegfeld Theater and the original Penn Station are credited with prompting the landmark preservation movement championed by Jacqueline Onassis.
The mural will be on display at the New York Design Fair at the Park Avenue Armory at 67th Street from February 8th through the 10th. “The biggest challenge we will face will be finding it an appropriate home, considering its size,” says Bermingham. “It would be great if it could remain intact, perhaps as part of a museum collection, or featured on the wall of some fantastic New York restaurant like the Picasso mural on display at the Four Seasons.” Bermingham adds, “It’s a part of New York City history, theater history and design history, and it deserves to be seen and appreciated.”
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What stands where the Ziegfeld once was?
Here is a lawsuit concerning demolition of the theater:
http://tinyurl.com/y226sd
One of the original Ziegfeld dancers is still with us. She is 101 years old ;)
In November of 1965, just before I was drafted, as a young man of 22, I went to see “Anya” at the Ziegfeld, and sat there totally enchanted. The critics decimated this last lovely operetta, and the developers decimated this last lovely theater. Now I’m a senior citizen of 62, and we have “Mama Mia” and multiplexes. Anybody got a time machine ?
Another great photo, Warren. I guess all things are relative however, huh? You rightly point out how sad it was that such a magnificent showplace be reduced to second-run grind… I’m sure the notion would have sent Flo Ziegfeld into an apoplectic rage, but how many of us would have back that time when Loew’s ran the theater in this manner? “Reduced to subsequent-run movie ‘grinder’” is certainly more palatable than “reduced to rubble” – which describes the sad and unfortunate fate this theater ultimately met.
It’s always fascinating to view the old b/w theatre photos!
J. Foley
Why not try calling on one of the local t.v. or radio stations? I worked for radio stations and also newspapers and they usually had free passes to these events.
Or call the theatre directly..I am sure if you explain your situation with your daughter someone will come forward with the tickets. I wish I had some I would give them to you. Good luck I hope you get the tickets for your daughter.
Chickey
I am hoping some one can help me. My handicapped Daughter wants so badly to see the Premier of the new Harry Potter movie November 12th its not funny. I keep telling her we can’t get the tickets but all she does is cry. Do any of you know how I can get tickets to this premier?
Thank you for your help>
J. Foley
Come by the RCMH site as a couple of posters have really been talking about their RCMH memories…good, bad and otherwise.
Patsy- sorry for delay in responding – While I have been to RCMH, I have never been to the Christmas Show there – I didn’t grow up in NYC and therefore never was taken there as a kid, as were most kids who did grow up here – as an adult I’ve never gotten around to it.
Patsy,
Yes the page on Radio City Music Hall in Cinema Treasure has many posts and I have certainly contributed quite a few as I am crazy about this building(worked there during Robin and Marian) and grieve over the way it has been wasted in recent years.
Leonidoff was the stage show producer who Roxy brought from the his original theater on 7th Av to Rockefeller Center(literally a block away.)
Leonidoff along with greats like Russel Markert and Florence Rogge created the stage shows for which the Music Hall became famous and was responsible for the religious portions of both the Christmas and Easter shows. His Nativity was a Renaissance pagaent stressing color, spectacle, movement and tableau as imagined by a Medici.
Vincent: Thanks so much for your honesty in regards to segments other than the Rockettes. I’m sure you are probably right about the Nativity scene and it looking like it was produced by a “midwestern Christian Fundamentalist”. LOL! Times have certainly changed and not for the better, it seems. Enlighten me on who Leonidoff was in connection to RCMH. Thanks. And where do I find this “Hall” page? Would your comments in regards to the RCMH be on the Cinema Treasures page of listed architects?
I’ve posted my thoughts on the RCMH Christmas show on the Hall page.
The Rockettes are great. Everything else is a bad joke. But then I remember the show from the late 60’s and early 70’s when it was still pretty wonderful.
The midgets are emabarassing and the Nativity is downright offensive(I am not a PC person but this seems to have been produced by a midwestern christian fundamentalist,Leonidoff has to be spinning in his grave.)
However mine seems to be a minority opinion.
I would imagine anyone posting on the old Zieg is probably from NYC or living in the NYC area so if anyone can give me their personal RCMH thoughts including the Christmas Spectacular that would be great! Thanks. :–)
Dave-Bronx: I have to ask you….since you live in the Bronx-NYC have you ever gone to see the RCMH Christmas Spectacular? I’m still waiting to go someday even though it may not be at RCMH. It came to the Shea’s in Buffalo this year, but I wasn’t able to attend. :–( RCMH has to be right up there with some of the most spectacular movie palaces in the country. I can say, though, that I’ve seen the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, GA. It is an ‘atmospheric’ theatre with an organ as so many of today’s theatre’s don’t have their original organs or any organ! :–(
The Ziegfeld Theatre on Sixth Ave. only had 1660 seats?? I think that seat figure has to be incorrect… from photos I’ve seen in the book “Lost Broadway Theatres” by Nicholas VanHoogstraten it has to have somewhere in the neighborhood of three or four thousand seats, however the book doesn’t list seating capacity. Other major theatres of the era like Loew’s State, The Strand, Capitol and Roxy had huge capacities. Consider that the late Loews Astor Plaza (opened in 1971) that we are all familiar with, had 1528 seats at opening – and the old Zieg had only 132 seats more? Can’t be. Does anyone from the THSA on this site have a more realistic seat count?
I have read that Joseph (seen it as Josef) Urban was also involved in the Paramount Theatre in Palm Beach FL.
Does anyone remember that the site of The Ziegfeld used to house a Public Elementary School? P.S. 69 – I attended that school in 1964-1965 and fought hard to have the little red brick schoolhouse saved. Save Our School signs were made and we were featured on ABC NEWS.
My teachers were Mrs. Rattien and Mrs. Shapiro and the Prinicipal was Mr. Horowitz. I am researching to find a yearbook from 1965, the last year the school was in session. I remember my classmates were Jamie, Vanessa, Jody, Scott, Bernard C., Marvin (who lived in the Park Vendome) just to name a few. I am Marion R. – I would love to get some info or touch base with old classmates…
I do love the Ziegfeld theatre although it has been quite some time since I have visited.
Walter Read ran this theater in its hayday and ran it well , the second floor has one large office that the president of Walter Read used then later by the district managers of CINEPLEX ODEON. What an office full bar master bath and an office size not seen in Manhatten.
You folks who are talking about “Troy” are confusing this long-demolished Ziegfeld on 6th Avenue with the newer namesake on West 54th Street. The other newer one is currently listed under “The Ziegfeld.”
My memory of the Ziegfeld theater was on May 10th at the premiere of Troy. It was me and my two other friends. We came all the way from Philly, and we skipped school (shhh!) to go to this premiere. We had the chance to meet Brad Pitt and Eric Bana. We were sort of disappointed because the main reason why we went to the premiere was to meet Orlando Bloom but it turned out that he was in Morocco Spain filming another one of his movies. It wasn’t at all a bad experience. There was alot of people there for Orlando and it was devastating that he wasn’t there but it was still a great experience. Everyone looked so good! It was my first time at the Ziegfeld and it was a great time!
Dar
Can you please tell me how to buy tickets to the “Troy” premiere and the time for the premiere. Please reply to my e-mail which is Please. :(
Who in the world today would know that it was once the RKO Radio City except for those few of us who are into this kind of thing(I personally fantasize about seeing RKO classics at the Music Hall but is this normal?)I hope that this wonderful site is used as well by the more general movie lover who remembers the single screen theater. The only reason the old Ziegfield is here is because it was once a Loew’s. Otherwise it belongs on a site called Broadway Treasures.