Loew's Paradise Theatre
2413 Grand Concourse,
Bronx,
NY
10468
2413 Grand Concourse,
Bronx,
NY
10468
63 people
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so, have any of you shutterbugs out there snapped any pictures of the restored exterior of the Paradise yet?
Bill wanted me to write something on the lowees, so here it is:
The Paradise was the the place to go for thousands of Bronxites who could sit in the comfort of cushy seats watching a new flick or pick a makeout corner up in a corner of the balcony. I wonder how many boys, girls stole their first kiss up in the Loews Paradis balcony under the glistening stars.
Opened in 1929, during the time of the “atmospheric” cinemas created by the designer John Eberson, it transported New Yorkers into a Baroque Italian garden, decorated with marble pillars, statues, tapestries, even a goldfish pool and a night sky with twinkling stars and moving clouds.
The Lowees as real New Yawkers cawled it was not just for movies. It brough some of the top stars into the old neighborhood. Bob Hope and George Burns and others performed on its stage, and NYC high schools and colleges held their graduations there. The Loews Paradise was just a few blocks from University Avenue, the original home of NYU and was equal distance to the the Rose Hill, the home of Fordham University
Many a arguement would ensue between the students at Fordham University and NYU on who was the superior school with the betetr team. I heard stories of heartbreak when a Fordham gal would sneak away into the Balcony with an NYU Guy, or vice versa.
The Loews was in the heart of academia and only one mile North of the House That Ruth Built, Yankee stadium
The Paradise was on teh Grand Concourse and crossed the turf of the Fordham Baldies, The Golden Guineas, and many other notorius youth gangs. This spot became a DMZ zone as the elders of the community
and the powers that be kept a watchful eye over the gangs. Preserving the peace and safety of the neighborhood.
I remember one so called “made man” saying. You guys go enjoy da movie, no roufgh stuff, you will bring da bulls around, fer dat dere will be consequences, then he threw out about $20 in quarters, silver dolalrs, etc.
Its where Joey took Maria on his last night in town and they cried
together into a bag of popcorn. It was january 1943, Joey gave Maria a ring, While the Loews movie reel news showed the horrors of Adolph Hitler, the Bombing of Pearl Harbor, She broke out in tears as she ran home to tell her family the news, they celebrated to the break of dawn. Joey then took off to Germany to defend our nation, he left Maria with the memories of thier last night at the
Lowees
There are differant memories for difefrant people.
I Found This Information:
PARADISE THEATER OVERVIEW
LOCATION: Grand Concourse & 187th Street
Bronx, NY
SEATING CAPACITY: 3855 total seats in the theater, with approximately
2300 seats in the orchestra section. The theater will have two VIP sections in the lower orchestra and loge comparable to club seating at Madison Square Garden. These lucky patrons will be served by wait staff and will be able to order concessions from a menu they will find in their seat.
OPENING: Late September/ early October.
OVERVIEW: The PARADISE THEATER is the grandest and
Most ornate of all the Loews theaters that were designed in the twenties and thirties by the famed architect John Eberson.
The theater originally opened in 1929 to a sold out audience and was a movie and vaudeville house for many years. In response to the needs of the largely Latino Community surrounding this site and the needs of the entertainment industry for a large venue for major productions, the Paradise will reopen as a major concert hall and special events venue this fall.
The ?Loews Paradise Theater? is being refurbished through the joint efforts of First Paradise Theater Corp. which owns the premises and whose parent company is a major real estate developer in the tri-state area and Paradise Theater Productions, Inc., which company will run the day to day aspects of the theater. Each of the foregoing businesses and their principals has vast experience in entertainment, hospitality, restaurants, food and beverage and real estate development.
One hundred shows based on booking each Friday and Saturday for the fifty-two weeks of the year. Our goal is to exceed (150) annual bookings by the second year. Of these first
One hundred shows, we anticipate 65-70%
Latin Music Headliners.
We use Latin Music to cover the entire spectrum, not just Tropical Music. The rest of the shows will likely fall in other genres such as R&B, POP, GOSPEL, and some ROCK. The Loews Paradise will also be available for other specials events, including Boxing with HBO and Telefutura, and entertainment premieres, political events and televised shows.
a large oval bar serving the orchestra section in the grand foyer, 24?x14? and a large rectangular bar and concession stand in the mezzanine of the grand foyer, 21?x11?. A third bar is located in the balcony section10?x10?. We anticipate using other space in the theater for non-permanent concession areas depending on how busy we get.
service kitchen and will have a separate restaurant
and lounge area in the grand foyer and mezzanine
sections. Additionally, a party room for (100)
persons will be available for special events and
booking for interested persons.
SIGNAGE: Electronic Signage, Bar Signage, Menus, etc.
EXCLUSIVE MARKETING CO.: R. PANIAGUA, INC.
OPPORTUNITY:
You have been invited to join us at the PARADISE THEATER as the exclusive products to be served. [(350,000 projected attendance (year 1)/ 500,000 (year2)]
I believe that the opening will b a plus for the Fordham section of the Bronx. There really are no movie theatres in the neighborhood anymore.
It will probably attract many differant types of people. I hope it will be treated with the respect it deserves.
I wonder if the have a web page or a place to get information.
to me it will always be the lowees!
After seeing this message board last week I drove passed the theater.
It is being RENOVATED!
As you read this there are people working in there.
I could see the lobby from the street and it was awesome.
I saw the grand staircase was fully restored.
I B.S.ed them and told them I was a reporter but they were all too busy and couldn’t let me in.
From afar I could see the front lights were on but not all of them. So it read L EW’S PARAD.
The facade seemed untouched really. Well I can’t wait to see it reopened.
The stars were actually a series of twinkling light bulbs.
I have been inside the Loews Paradise quite recently and am pleased to report that it looks amazing. One really cannot tell that the theater had been quadded at one time.
What can I say, that has not already been said about this wonderful movie house. I was in awe by the magnificant structure and especially enjoyed the glow in the dark stars painted on the ceiling of the theatre.
I was in the Bronx in 2000 and at the time it was going through renovation. As A Bronx boy, we caleld it the Lowees Paradise!
Has anyone taken any pictures of the restored sign yet? I have some spare webspace if someone needs a place to post them….
Hello
Any news on when the Paradise will open? The RESTORED RED sign looks stunning especially at night.I know they hopeed to open in April.
Bwayniteowl,
There happen to be local opera companies, The Bronx Symphony Orchestra and other high profile artists that have filled Madison Square Garden that currently perform at the nearby Lehman Center for the Performing Arts. Although this building sits on the lovely Lehman College campus, it is a modern, unadorned eyesore that has absoutely no architectural appeal. However performances frequently sell out in this common theater. If it is possible for Lehman Center to be a successful venue, people should watch out for the reopening of the Paradise!
Hello, I’m a volunteer with the Friend’s of the Loews. On the Loew’s Jersey’s naming… the then owners of the Loew’s Jersey in 1986, Hartz Mountain Industries (the ones that purchased the theatre from the Loew’s Corp. never took “Loew’s Jersey” off the building. Loew’s didn’t remove it, because the theatre was scheduled for demolition. Why bother with the expense. Hartz Mountain didn’t bother with paying for the removal of the lettering either for the same reason. Why bother if the building is meeting the wrecking ball… but… Friends of the Loew’s saved the theatre, and convinced the City of Jersey City to purchase the theatre, which they did. Guess what was still on the theatre when we took over? The name Loew’s Jersey.
There’s a little known law that states something to the effect that, upon transfer of ownership of a building, the previous owners must remove the name off the building, or the new owners may continue to use the name. We’re the new owners… We’re the Loew’s Jersey.
You’ll notice some of the other Wonder Theatres have had their names removed… 175th, Kings…
Loew’s absolutely knows us. They recently donated 70mm projectors to us from a theatre they were closing in Washington D.C. We’ve got a display in our lobby with our dismantled projectors (until we can carry everything up to the projection booth… no elevator in the Jersey…).
I have very fond memories of the Loew’s Paradise, my grandmother worked there as a usherette, during the 1960’s and got me a job at
the candy stand for a summer job for 3 years. I enjoyed working there and seeing a lot of free movies. The interior lobby was and still is in my mind as absolutely fabulous. The twinkling stars was
a sight to see in the ceiling, you felt very relaxed at the Paradise.
To bad they don’t make beautiful theaters like that anymore. It’s a
bygone era now, and progress has taken over, but I will never forget
the exciting Loew’s Paradise. It will stay in my mind forever!!!
Many of us had hoped for films. I wonder if the Paradise will ever have its silver screen revived again?
Doing an ACRIS search of city records reveals the the corporate name of the new owners of tax block 3165, lot 44 is First Paradise Theatres Corp. They could call the building anything they want, including selling the naming rights, ala the Cadillac WinterGarden or the Hilton (formerly American Airlines) on 42nd St. The Grand Concourse Paradise isn’t really poetry while the Bronx Paradise seems a little better. Will it be a mixed road hall, Latin, Rap, Rock? All tough on the facilties. The Apollo is getting a little beat up. Will it do more culturely oriented productions? Tough to fill 3500 seats with ballet. Look for media cross promotion, satillite radio broadcasts, webcasts, pay per view. The owners will look to recoupe quickly. A lot of liquor promotions. Could be a very “event” oriented place like some of the hotter clubs downtown. Is there a projected opening date yet with a bill? Any list of acts for the following weeks. That will tell you a lot about whats going on.
Saps,
The Letters on the roof disappeared many years ago. The contraption that held them up is still mounted on the roof. I believe that it was because of saturation releases that most movie palaces were plexed.
I had to laugh at the image posted on 6/24/04 of 1970’s “Husbands” playing there, which today would be considered an art picture. In a 3800 seat theater I’d be surprised if there were 38 people in the audience! No wonder they twinned this wonder theatre. With bookings like that you’d need about a dozen screens just to break even.
>>For the first time in many years The bright red letters spelling Loew’s Paradise Theatre have been illuminated with red neon light.
Do you mean the letters on the facade or the ones on the roof?
I don’t think that any changes should come to the face of this glorious beauty. Passing this movie palace reminds us that she has stood proudly up against the test of time. Her exterior reminds passers by of the glory days, the bad days, the multiplex days and the sad day that her brass doors closed leaving us all to wonder whether or not we would ever be able descend gracefully down her magnificent staircase again. Looking at that sign can unlock the door to such wonderful memories for many different people. If it’s name is altered it might remind people that change isn’t always a good thing. When I look that sign, I remember the sweet smell of popcorn in the grand lobby. I remember the haunting sound of the music from sleeping beauty bouncing off of the darkened statues and intricate carvings and how I felt overwhelmed yet fascinated, wandering this unique place as a child.
“Leow’s Paradise”(?) [pronounced “lee-ou[t]-s]
OR
“Meow’s Paradise”(?) [like a cat’s meow]
Oops! stevebob beat me to it!
Glad you like the idea. But it just came to me that this is not without risk either: it might ruffle the feathers of the people at those big Lowe’s home improvement stores…. LOL!
But then wouldn’t “Lowe’s Paradise” open the door for the Lowe’s chain of home improvement stores to have issues with the name? (I’m kidding … well, half-kidding anyway.)
That’s it! “Lowe’s” Paradise is brilliant!!! So clever — and so economical!
I’d love to see them do that whether or not the Loews Corporation ever puts up a fuss. What great PR! (And so cheap to do!) It would be such a delightful contribution to the folklore of the Bronx.
It reminds me a bit of Damon Runyon renaming “Lindy’s” as “Mindy’s” in his short stories. Even if he never really “had” to do it (one supposes Leo “Lindy” Linderman would have loved the publicity), the fact that he changed it just enough to make it a bit of a “mystery” — but not enough to make the mystery the least bit difficult to solve — made it a lot of fun for everyone involved.
Also, while the sign on the building may remain as “Loew’s Paradise Theatre”, any other advertising will probably just refer to it as “The Paradise Theatre”.