Roxy Theatre
153 W. 50th Street,
New York,
NY
10020
153 W. 50th Street,
New York,
NY
10020
83 people
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Showing 476 - 500 of 1,213 comments
Hi Richard, You’re welcome for the photos. I was happy to find them myself. Since I never had the good fortune to see the Roxy, photographs are the only way I can experience it (until someone discovers how to time travel). I’m jealous of you because you actually got to see this place live and in person.
Ziggy – thanx – at last a picture of the Roxy rotunda that includes the concession stand where I worked as a teenager, age 16. It was 1950-1952. Of course the concession stand is not there yet, as you say the photo was taken just after the theater was built – in 1928? But many years later, when I came along, it was just to the right of that staircase, which led to the manager’s office. Further to the right can be seen the entrance to the restrooms below.
Have wanted for a long time to see a picture of that area of the rotunda. Brings back many youthful memories.
Thanx.
Richard
View link
Here’s a view of the rotunda ceiling.
View link
This link takes you to a photo of the staircase to the loges, where it opened into the rotunda
Of all the Manhattan moviehouses I never got to visit, this is the one I most mind having missed. When I accompanied my folks to New York starting in 1955, we always went to whatever was playing at Radio City Music Hall, starting with “Mr. Roberts.” But despite the awareness that the Roxy was nearby, we somehow never got there. Damn!
Warren: Thanks for the photo!
In a book entitled Lucille Ball: A to Z by Michael Karol (page 296) it reads in part: “The chauffeur, who was one of the witnesses, drove them back to New York in time for Desi to appear for the second show at the Roxy Theater. It was the first marriage for both.”
Fascinating. Thanks for all the great research Warren, it is very much appreciated!
Ken and Warren:..thanks for the references but I have had the Center bookmarked for a long time. What I have been looking for specifically is more photos of the interior. I have seen the one that ken mc posted here but that is the only photo I have come across in the last few years.
Here’s another:
http://www.nyc-architecture.com/MID/MID061.htm
Does anyone know if the NEW ROXY was the theater formally known as the CENTER THEATER located within the Radio City comlex at about 6th Ave and 49th St. I saw an ice show there once as a kid about 1949 and it also was the theater where American Ballet Theatre made its debut in 1940 I believe. Around during the early 50s, Kate Smith, a popular singer of that period famous for “God Bless America” – did her weekly TV show from there. I’m curious why a NEW Roxy when the REAL Roxy was still present.
Richard
The New RKO Roxy/RKO Center Theatre/Center Theatre has its own page here:
/theaters/564/
I wish there was more stuff around on the New Roxy/Center. Looks like a wonderful theatre. Makes you wonder what they were thinking when they built Radio City Music Hall and the New Roxy so close to each other…during the Depression.
When I first saw the original ads for “King Kong” in the early ‘70’s, that always confused me. I just assumed that the movie played in both Radio City and the Roxy at the same time. I didn’t know anything about the “New Roxy”. I wonder if that confused New York moviegoers back then, too.
…also known as the “New Roxy” when it was first built.
Just wondering why the link was posted on this site.
ken mcc…isn’t that the Center…the second movie theatre at Radio City?
Here is a 1932 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/5jp5es
Vito:
Thanks for the extra information on presentation…..makes me feel much better! And no, you were not anal about the non-sync stuff. We did the same thing.
We only had one full time projectionist (Chief) and the rest of us were part-time. However he instilled presentation into us from day one. If anything was not right it wasn’t just our Chief…but the manager too….who would be chewing us out.
Thats why I cringed reading your post about the lack of proper masking. Even after being away from all that for 47 years, I still shake my head at the complete lack of presentation at the multiplexes.
Well Sam, some of us would avoid the noise of the needle hitting the record by killing the volume at the end of the song and raising it again after the record was changed and the needle was safely on the next record.
That’s how anal we were about that :)
I remember well that 78rpm pre-show, intermission music to this day, complete with hiss, pops and scratches and other assorted surface noise. Even with theatre sound systems that de-emphasized high frequencies it was still noticeable. For that matter with the sometimes careless handling of vinyl, the LP’s and 45’s weren’t always any better.
I forgot,33 and one third records, which were also very popular in the booth.
One more very important thing about pre show music (non sync)
NO VOCALS! music only.
You boys have great memories of the early scope days. We sure had fun in the booth putting on a show. Yes,it ws policy with some circuits to never show the masking move. As a matter of fact Century theatres insisted on Delux presentsations at all their theatres. Delux meaning closing the curtains between shorts, trailers etc, as well as bringing uo the stage lights, then opening the curtain and lowering the lights at the start of the feature. Another rule was “Never Cut a Record”, that meant you never faded a song out or cut it half way through to start the show. We would always wait for a song to finish, sometimes if there ws only a minute or so before showtime we would simply stop the music then and not allow another song to start. By the way, we played 78 RPM records, later we had
45 RPM and then tape.
I am surprised that even at some of today’s multiplexes they have masking that change — but they only widen.
Wow !! I sure do remember those early days of scope. Our Fox and other theatres did the same thing. After the previews, cartoon, news on the regular size screen, the main curtain would close and instantly the projector would switch to the scope film and the curtains would open to reaveal the full screen. Obviously as the main curtain closed the masking unseen to the audience would open. The contrast from the smaller format to the wide format was something to behold. It was especially effective with those old Fox films with that fanfare and logo. The good old days..Nothin' like em'. Of course, everyone, including myself just took all that showmenship for granted. Good-bye to yesterday!!
When I was a trainee projectionist in 1960 I worked at a small 390 seat theatre. We had motor-driven masking and..in the true spirit of showmanship…were not allowed let the audience see the masking change. With a Cinemascope feature we would close up the travellers after the previews, open the masking from the booth once they were covered by the closing curtains and open back up right away with the wide scope image on the curtains and screen…with the stage lights also being dimmed. Preferably with the Fox fanfare cranked up a couple of notches! This sure provided a contrast for the audience between the normal wide screen and Cinemascope.Now if this was the situation in a small theatre in a small town why were others so cheap?
And Bob Endres….thanks for the great Music Hall stories. Keep ‘em coming!
Yes Peter it sure does.
Or as they say, ya gotta do what ya gotta do :))