When I passed by Saturday afternoon, the entrance was still obscured by the gate and black plastic, but the retail space adjacent was gaping open and this was where workmen were emerging carrying metal debris, apparently from demolishing the lobby and/or the “upstairs” theater. A front-loader or some such machine was where the last row of seats on the ground floor would have been. The lobby was dark, but beyond the machine and what appeared to be part of the supports for the upper theater I could see the ornate interior, with its own lights lighted (in contrast to the forehead lanterns and work-lights barely lighting the debris in the foreground). I tried to get a photo, but exposure was tricky with my “no frills” camera. Don’t know how well pics came out. As I stood there, a guy came up to my elbow and asked “can I help you?” I said, “no.”
Somebody with a better camera and skills might want to get one last photo of what’s left of the interior while it’s still there.
I’ve tried to peek around the edges of the black sheet, but can’t see beyond it. I suspect it’s there to hide the gutting of the interior. If that’s what they’re doing, they’re sneaking the rubble out through the adjacent construction site; gate over theater entrance stays closed.
OverCertified: “…There are not too any adult theaters in NYC left at all. This one is the only one I know of that is left in Brooklyn. It has private booths, so something can be worked out. There has always been adult play in this theater…”
Is it ENTIRELY given over to private booths? No multi-person big-screen section(s)?
“I went past the Metro and there was a sign saying it was open. Now I didnt actually go in and check. I was on the 104 heading down to Times Square after lunch at Tom’s Diner."
posted by hdtv267 on Jan 3, 2006 at 5:40am
Oh, THAT sign. That sign went up months ago so people seeing the adjacent construction scaffolding (hiding the marquee from some viewpoints) would be reassured that it was still open. Nobody bothered to climb up to tear it down when it after the theater closed.
It’s not uncommon to see closed stores along Broadway (abandoned when the landlord tried to squeeze out a few thousand dollars too much) with an “OPEN” sign still on display in the doorway.
I agree: with a good choice of films, the Metro could do well. Good potential audience in the neighborhood, and easily accessible from other neighborhoods (Broadway IRT to 96th street, M-104 bus, M-96 crosstown bus, etc.).
I’m wondering what you mean by “a few days ago”. Windows fronting on the sidewalk have been well-lighted but empty for a couple of weeks, I think. I stopped by late tonight to peer through the gate into the mostly-dark foyer (some old posters barely visible), then as I stood numbly at the ticket-window, I was approached by a “street-person” I’ve talked with before (last summer, at a sidewalk book-vendor’s table). She said “They’re going to show a movie next week”.
As for Thalia: films “already out 1 year +” is fine by me; it’s not likely I’ve seen them. Thalia (and/or the Metro) might do well to show films shown 5-10-20-30 years “out”, mixed with films NEVER “out”, i.e. some of those festival gems that somehow don’t seem profitable enough to distribute to “all the usual places”.
ziggy: “I visited this theatre on November 6 to see the screening of ‘Gone With the Wind’…”
Hey, so did I! Um, wait. I don’t think it was November. Maybe you saw a re-run. I saw that movie at the Lensic on its first run. (Admission for kids 10 cents? or was that later?)
ziggy: “…The atmospheric auditorium has had all vestiges of tile roofs and plants removed, and the atmospheric dome has been replaced by a flat ceiling from which are suspended various light bridges, catwalks, and ducts…”
Hmmm… I recall the ceiling as very mysterious. Mostly dark but with (I think it was at the Lensic, if not some later theater in Albany) something reddish glowing in the corner(s)…as if a giant apple. [Maybe it was later, because I sort of associated it with that poisoned apple in Snow White.)
Will Dunklin: “I just spent a lovely vacation week in Santa Fe and was very fortunate to be able to see Buster Keaton’s silent comedy ‘Steamboat Bill’ presented with a live 6-piece orchestra at the Lensic…”
Now I’m confused. I saw a movie about a steamboat at the Lensic, but it was a talkie: I recall a repeated refrain, guy on the bridge saying “steamboat ‘round the bend!” (Was it Wallace Beery? couple of kids beside him?)
I have to admit that I haven’t been inside for several years, after enjoying it through several phases, including its porn period(s); but on the other hand I haven’t been going to other movie theaters (except Thalia a year or so ago).
I think this is an excellent idea:
“…Only four blocks away, at Broadway and 95th Street, is the Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater, part of the renovated Symphony Space complex. Isaiah Sheffer, the artistic director of Symphony Space, said the reborn Metro would be complementary rather than competitive. He wished Mr. Elson well and even imagines the Thalia and Metro cross-promoting one another’s offerings, a prospect that interests Mr. Elson, too…”
Exterior has landmark status, but interior—?!? Might it become a lobby for the high-rise (and I do mean HIGH-rise) to be built adjacent to it?
[Perhaps people noticed the front-paged news of a scaffolding collapse during Gristedes demolition across the street, a few months ago. Part of the same operation: one building to be 27 stories? the other 31? Up until now, “high-rise” in this neighborhood meant 15 stories. One of those Cheney-related corporations: revenge against the USW?]
P.S. I almost didn’t find this entry because I was searching for “Metro” (current name) and for “Midtown” (earlier name).
P.P.S. Why “midtown”? obviously, because about mid-way between where the numbered streets begin and where they end. Approximately. (North or south of them: terra incognita.)
Yes, for Pete’s sake, these are three (3) separate entities:
Originally and as “renovated” and their interiors incorporated into a new luxury high-rise, two separate entrances and (in the old days) separate marquees: Symphony on Broadway, Thalia on 95th street around the corner from it.
(1) Symphony movie theater (yes, I think I saw a movie there while it and the nearby Riviera(?) (Riverside?) (west side of broadway, 96th-97th street) were both showing movies. (Saw “Yellow Submarine” with my daughter at the now-gone theater on Broadway 96th-97th street.)
(2) The Symphony (movie theater) transformed into “Symphony Space”; same INTERIOR but deprived of a proper marquee, with a luxury apartment building complexly built on top and around it, and used exclusively for STAGE productions. Wonderful. Dance and music from all over the world, readings (e.g. Bloomsday), etc., etc. [i think the site’s http://www.symphonyspace.org ]
(3) The Thalia: “essential” part of NYC cultural life for decades as the place to see foreign films and occasional US “art” films. And then the closing and eventual reopening(s). My last sustained viewings were in 1984, I think, seeing that German serial, week after week (Potzdammer Platz?) during a difficult love affair.
Went once to double feature of excellent old (B & W) Japanese films after renovation (and 2nd new management?) and upward-slant was reassuring, but…
Might pick up again; slightly better programming now?
But yes, puh-leeeeze—separate listings for Symphony and Thalia!!
“Hi Warren. In the main auditorium they show ‘legit’ movies…In the back of the theater is where they show the gay and straight porn. They also have small booths where you can, well you get the picture. I think they change the program every Sunday and Wednesday. But that might be for the porn movies…"
[posted by cypress on Nov 18, 2004 at 5:24pm]
“Cypress….I’m confused. In your 3:42 entry yesterday, you said that the Polk did not have a balcony and that the theater needs a good cleaning. Yet at 5:42 you claim that there is a balcony, which is closed off…"
[posted by ErwinM on Nov 19, 2004 at 1:53pm]
“We are an English couple visiting New York in October and are looking to find an adult cinema where we can “play†and be watched. Would this be possible in this movie theater and is it clean and safe?
Can anyone recommend any adult movie theaters in Manhattan? Our email is "
[posted by Shirley&Mark on Aug 24, 2005 at 6:01am]]
One more question: how may one reach it by subway from Manhattan?
The place was PACKED last week (Sunday afternoon) for a couple of Marx Brothers films!
Oddly, I found the Matinee Idol tenor’s singing…moving. Stirred up something deep from my childhood, I guess.
When I passed by Saturday afternoon, the entrance was still obscured by the gate and black plastic, but the retail space adjacent was gaping open and this was where workmen were emerging carrying metal debris, apparently from demolishing the lobby and/or the “upstairs” theater. A front-loader or some such machine was where the last row of seats on the ground floor would have been. The lobby was dark, but beyond the machine and what appeared to be part of the supports for the upper theater I could see the ornate interior, with its own lights lighted (in contrast to the forehead lanterns and work-lights barely lighting the debris in the foreground). I tried to get a photo, but exposure was tricky with my “no frills” camera. Don’t know how well pics came out. As I stood there, a guy came up to my elbow and asked “can I help you?” I said, “no.”
Somebody with a better camera and skills might want to get one last photo of what’s left of the interior while it’s still there.
I’ve tried to peek around the edges of the black sheet, but can’t see beyond it. I suspect it’s there to hide the gutting of the interior. If that’s what they’re doing, they’re sneaking the rubble out through the adjacent construction site; gate over theater entrance stays closed.
OverCertified: “…There are not too any adult theaters in NYC left at all. This one is the only one I know of that is left in Brooklyn. It has private booths, so something can be worked out. There has always been adult play in this theater…”
Is it ENTIRELY given over to private booths? No multi-person big-screen section(s)?
Hey! I’ve been asleep at the switch. Saw notices of comments but thought they’d be “archival” or depressing “post mortems”.
Did not close?!? still open, still showing porn?
Belatedly: what was the consensus on travel logistics (from Manhattan)?
“I went past the Metro and there was a sign saying it was open. Now I didnt actually go in and check. I was on the 104 heading down to Times Square after lunch at Tom’s Diner."
posted by hdtv267 on Jan 3, 2006 at 5:40am
Oh, THAT sign. That sign went up months ago so people seeing the adjacent construction scaffolding (hiding the marquee from some viewpoints) would be reassured that it was still open. Nobody bothered to climb up to tear it down when it after the theater closed.
It’s not uncommon to see closed stores along Broadway (abandoned when the landlord tried to squeeze out a few thousand dollars too much) with an “OPEN” sign still on display in the doorway.
I agree: with a good choice of films, the Metro could do well. Good potential audience in the neighborhood, and easily accessible from other neighborhoods (Broadway IRT to 96th street, M-104 bus, M-96 crosstown bus, etc.).
I’m wondering what you mean by “a few days ago”. Windows fronting on the sidewalk have been well-lighted but empty for a couple of weeks, I think. I stopped by late tonight to peer through the gate into the mostly-dark foyer (some old posters barely visible), then as I stood numbly at the ticket-window, I was approached by a “street-person” I’ve talked with before (last summer, at a sidewalk book-vendor’s table). She said “They’re going to show a movie next week”.
As for Thalia: films “already out 1 year +” is fine by me; it’s not likely I’ve seen them. Thalia (and/or the Metro) might do well to show films shown 5-10-20-30 years “out”, mixed with films NEVER “out”, i.e. some of those festival gems that somehow don’t seem profitable enough to distribute to “all the usual places”.
ziggy: “I visited this theatre on November 6 to see the screening of ‘Gone With the Wind’…”
Hey, so did I! Um, wait. I don’t think it was November. Maybe you saw a re-run. I saw that movie at the Lensic on its first run. (Admission for kids 10 cents? or was that later?)
ziggy: “…The atmospheric auditorium has had all vestiges of tile roofs and plants removed, and the atmospheric dome has been replaced by a flat ceiling from which are suspended various light bridges, catwalks, and ducts…”
Hmmm… I recall the ceiling as very mysterious. Mostly dark but with (I think it was at the Lensic, if not some later theater in Albany) something reddish glowing in the corner(s)…as if a giant apple. [Maybe it was later, because I sort of associated it with that poisoned apple in Snow White.)
Will Dunklin: “I just spent a lovely vacation week in Santa Fe and was very fortunate to be able to see Buster Keaton’s silent comedy ‘Steamboat Bill’ presented with a live 6-piece orchestra at the Lensic…”
Now I’m confused. I saw a movie about a steamboat at the Lensic, but it was a talkie: I recall a repeated refrain, guy on the bridge saying “steamboat ‘round the bend!” (Was it Wallace Beery? couple of kids beside him?)
Thanks, KenRoe! That was quick!
Now, what about subway directions for Fair theater and for Cinema Kings Highway?
I have to admit that I haven’t been inside for several years, after enjoying it through several phases, including its porn period(s); but on the other hand I haven’t been going to other movie theaters (except Thalia a year or so ago).
I think this is an excellent idea:
“…Only four blocks away, at Broadway and 95th Street, is the Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater, part of the renovated Symphony Space complex. Isaiah Sheffer, the artistic director of Symphony Space, said the reborn Metro would be complementary rather than competitive. He wished Mr. Elson well and even imagines the Thalia and Metro cross-promoting one another’s offerings, a prospect that interests Mr. Elson, too…”
Exterior has landmark status, but interior—?!? Might it become a lobby for the high-rise (and I do mean HIGH-rise) to be built adjacent to it?
[Perhaps people noticed the front-paged news of a scaffolding collapse during Gristedes demolition across the street, a few months ago. Part of the same operation: one building to be 27 stories? the other 31? Up until now, “high-rise” in this neighborhood meant 15 stories. One of those Cheney-related corporations: revenge against the USW?]
P.S. I almost didn’t find this entry because I was searching for “Metro” (current name) and for “Midtown” (earlier name).
P.P.S. Why “midtown”? obviously, because about mid-way between where the numbered streets begin and where they end. Approximately. (North or south of them: terra incognita.)
Yes, for Pete’s sake, these are three (3) separate entities:
Originally and as “renovated” and their interiors incorporated into a new luxury high-rise, two separate entrances and (in the old days) separate marquees: Symphony on Broadway, Thalia on 95th street around the corner from it.
(1) Symphony movie theater (yes, I think I saw a movie there while it and the nearby Riviera(?) (Riverside?) (west side of broadway, 96th-97th street) were both showing movies. (Saw “Yellow Submarine” with my daughter at the now-gone theater on Broadway 96th-97th street.)
(2) The Symphony (movie theater) transformed into “Symphony Space”; same INTERIOR but deprived of a proper marquee, with a luxury apartment building complexly built on top and around it, and used exclusively for STAGE productions. Wonderful. Dance and music from all over the world, readings (e.g. Bloomsday), etc., etc. [i think the site’s http://www.symphonyspace.org ]
(3) The Thalia: “essential” part of NYC cultural life for decades as the place to see foreign films and occasional US “art” films. And then the closing and eventual reopening(s). My last sustained viewings were in 1984, I think, seeing that German serial, week after week (Potzdammer Platz?) during a difficult love affair.
Went once to double feature of excellent old (B & W) Japanese films after renovation (and 2nd new management?) and upward-slant was reassuring, but…
Might pick up again; slightly better programming now?
But yes, puh-leeeeze—separate listings for Symphony and Thalia!!
“OK to bring a ladyfriend here who likes to ‘watch’?"
[posted by Furburger on Jun 19, 2005 at 7:41pm]
“does anyone know of any other actual porn theaters in the NYC area?”
[posted by “E” on Jul 20, 2005 at 12:32am]
I’m curious also (blue, not yellow).
I have all these same questions, plus one more:
“Hi Warren. In the main auditorium they show ‘legit’ movies…In the back of the theater is where they show the gay and straight porn. They also have small booths where you can, well you get the picture. I think they change the program every Sunday and Wednesday. But that might be for the porn movies…"
[posted by cypress on Nov 18, 2004 at 5:24pm]
“Cypress….I’m confused. In your 3:42 entry yesterday, you said that the Polk did not have a balcony and that the theater needs a good cleaning. Yet at 5:42 you claim that there is a balcony, which is closed off…"
[posted by ErwinM on Nov 19, 2004 at 1:53pm]
“We are an English couple visiting New York in October and are looking to find an adult cinema where we can “play†and be watched. Would this be possible in this movie theater and is it clean and safe?
Can anyone recommend any adult movie theaters in Manhattan? Our email is "
[posted by Shirley&Mark on Aug 24, 2005 at 6:01am]]
One more question: how may one reach it by subway from Manhattan?