Liberty Theatre

Hey saps. Sorry to disappoint, but I have not been able to do so yet. I’ll comment in more detail over on that page.

I’m surprised that there is no mention in the introductory remarks regarding the NYC premiere and reserved-seat engagement of D.W. Griffith’s controversial epic “Birth of a Nation.” I know it’s been referred to in the comments section – and I believe an image of the opening ad was once provided – but seems that this is a significant enough bit of history for the theater (and, indeed, the history of cinema!) to warrant inclusion in the introduction.

While the film had already been exhibited the previous month in Los Angeles, the Liberty was secured for its NYC premiere on March 3rd, 1915, according to most sources. The top ticket price (in the loge) for evening showings was $2.00 – astronomical for the time. That price was reduced to $1.00 for matinees.

An article from the NY Times, dated January 2nd, 1916, notes that the film’s engagement at the Liberty was scheduled to conclude with that evening’s showing, after an unprecedented run of 45 weeks. The passage about the film reads as follows (all dates, numbers AND punctuations per the original publication):

“After two showings today Griffith’s picture, ‘The Birth of a Nation,’ will end an engagement in the Liberty Theatre that has never been approached in filmland. The picture was first shown there on March 2 of last year, and the man whose business it is to get things in the paper about it has assembled these interesting figures. The run lasted 45 weeks, with a total of 620 consecutive exhibitions. Simultaneously the pitcure was shown in outlying theatres 6266 times. In round numbers 616,000 persons saw the film at the Liberty, while adding those who witnessed it in other metropolitan playhouses brought the figure up to 872,000. This is about one-seventh of the population of New York, and, computing the admission average at 75 cents, $600,000 was paid by New Yorkers for the privilege. Simultaneously the picture was being shown in the larger cities of the country, and it is estimated 5,000,000 have already seen it.”

The Times' calculations don’t quite add up – 872,000 patrons at an average of .75 cents would tally to $654,000 paid admissions for the NY metropolitan area. Also appears they botched the date of the premiere as March 2nd, rather than March 3rd. If the numbers for the Liberty are to be believed (616,000 patrons over 620 showings), then the average attendance per show would have been near capactity at over 990 persons. Of course, coming from what appears to have been a publicist for the theater, I believe these figures should be taken with the proverbial grain of salt.

Wow!!!! I was not aware of the DeMille occupancy. I have to poke my head in there when I go to see Follies in Times Sqaure on Saturday. Thanks for the link!

Well, the Liberty Theatre will finally be put back into use, though not as a theater. It will become a restaurant. It was announced in this morning’s NY Post as per below. I am hopeful that the interior has, in fact been restored. If anyone gets in please report back. I will do so if I have the opportunity. Thanks!

NY Post Article below:

In the midst of the holiday bustle, Famous Dave’s BBQ has opened a second location — in Times Square at 234 W. 42nd St. The new 600-seat restaurant takes up the entire 25,000-square-foot landmarked former Liberty Box Theater, which is part of Forest City’s 42nd St. Entertainment Center retail project. Famous Dave’s can accommodate up to 1,500 people for parties, when not everyone is seated. This is the first tenant for the theater since it became part of the redevelopment of Times Square, and it can be found near Madame Tussauds and the eateries Dave & Busters and Applebee’s.

Negotiations for the space, with a blended asking rent of $200 a square foot started in 2007 when Famous Dave’s had already opened a spread on West 47th Street. The pact was finally struck in 2009, but it took all this time to open due to the painstaking historic installation and various required permissions. “It was the longest deal you could ever imagine, because it was a net-lease with both Forest City and the 42nd Street Redevelopment Corp., which is run by the state,” said Andrew A. Pittel of his eponymous company, which represented the Benmoha Restaurant Group in the deal. “Every ‘i’ had to be looked at and every ‘t’ had to be crossed, and they had to hire certain architects and engineers because it was under the jurisdiction of Landmarks.”

Times Square theaters were virtually totally destroyed. If the Roman Colisseum were in NY. it would have been torn down years ago for a parking lot or office building.

Thanks Ed.. great page and glad to be here. The last time I got a peek at the TS theater, a crew was inside and had already removed the arches/wings of the stage and were ripping up rows of seats. My jaw dropped and I grabbed the nearest contractor to ask what was happening to the theater. If I recall correctly, he said it was a being turned into an Ecko retail store and that most everything was coming out. (no idea what state it’s in now) The signage for the chain was put up on the street shortly thereafter, but as is common with these old theaters, nothing came of it. I wish I would have had a camera that day- the original box office and concession stand were still there and had prices posted from the 80’s. Corporate greed killed another beautiful building. That one was in excellent shape and completely intact, right down to carpet and light fixtures.
As a sidenote, I lived in Vegas from 93-95 and in that time witnessed the demolition of the Landmark, the Sands, the Desert Inn, etc. These were gorgeous, historical monuments to the glory days of the Strip and yet were ripped down like trash, rather than integrated into the new casinos (or parking lots) that were built in their place. I know I’m ranting here, but it’s infuriating that this country has so little interest in preserving architectural history…

I’m new to this site but glad I found it. I was the Marketing Mgr then Facilities Mgr for the Empire 25 from 2001-2005 and was fortunate enough to have been given access to the Liberty on several occasions. One day I dragged in two light stand and shot a few rolls of film with my girlfriend. We crawled up ancient stairs to the boxes and found newspapers scattered around dating from the early 80’s. It’s a shame to know that it was never utilized, but given all the setbacks over the years, I knew it was only a matter of time. She was a treasure. The Times Square was another Gem. I snuck in one day before they gutted her.. it was heartbreaking to see. Not sure if you guys are aware of this, but there’s an amazing documentary out there called “Soul of an Empire” that chronicles the physical move of the Empire but also dives into the history and renovation of the entire block. There’s some amazing footage in it and anyone that’s a fan of old theaters and/or Times Square should see this. The director contacted us one day about a screening and she ended up running it at the Anthology Film Archives (AMC, in their typical corporate fashion) wanted to charge her full price to rent a house. They should have let her screen it for FREE and paid her to run the footage in the lobbies. But that’s another battle story. Anyhoo, she and I became friends and I actually have a dub on VHS somewhere. This site has made me want to dig it up and watch it again.. those days working on the “Deuce” were life-changing for me and those theaters will always have a special place in my heart & mind.

Chris… Not sure what you see as the other rear facades on 41st St, but if you mean the two sets of caged fire escapes that seem to be separated by a building between them, both of those belong to the New Amseterdam. In fact, “Mary Poppins” banners fly from both sets of escapes. The wider set closest to 7th Avenue is near the back of the house (serving the balcony and mezzanine as well as the rooftop theatre and gardens) while the narrower to the west probably served the stage fly area and rooftop spaces. The site where the Harris Theatre’s 41st Street facade was located is now occupied by a tall building with an ugly and windowless green facade, sandwiched between the narrow back end of the Candler Building (where the rear entrance of the 42nd Street McDonalds is) and the back of the Hilton Hotel structure that frames the Liberty Theatre facade.

was the auditorium of the nearby Candler/Harris Theater completely
torn down or is it locked up behind Madame’s Tussaud’s Wax Museum?
the reason i ask is that there seems to be the rear facades of 3
theaters on the north side of 41 St. if two are the Liberty and
the New Amsterdam what’s the third one?

There is already a Tim Horton’s directly across the street.

??

Possibly, saps… but due to the angle, it’s impossible to read what’s being advertised on the front board of the Victory’s marquee.

The Liberty became a full time cinema in 1933.