Baronet and Coronet Theatre
993 3rd Avenue,
New York,
NY
10022
993 3rd Avenue,
New York,
NY
10022
17 people
favorited this theater
Showing 51 - 75 of 193 comments
Architect’s cutaway rendering of the Baronet/Coronet plan.
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I loved how all the “Bloomingdales Belt” theaters had their own unique identity/personality. It was so pronounced in most cases—particularly with Cinema 1, the Coronet, the Plaza and the Sutton—that you could almost predict where certain films would open. In the 24-screen multiplex era, that sort of thing is definitely a lost art/charm. The only remaining NY theater that still books films like they used to is the Paris. And even their most recent bookings have seemed oddly discordant (“All Good Things” versus, say, “The King’s Speech”?)
Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be, I guess.
A shot of the Arcadia marquee can be seen in the 1950 film “YOUNG MAN WITH A HORN” during the final ten minute montage of Kirk Douglas wandering around Manhattan under the third avenue El.
Al, I worked at the Baronet /Coronet until 1994, and got licenses for theatre through 2000.
It is my recollection that from 1997-2000:
the UPSTAIRS (larger) theatre was called CORONET-1, and
the DOWNSTAIRS (formerly BARONET, on the right, or north, side) was then called CORONET-2.
Newspaper ad great. Abby Hoffman a theatre manager? loved to have been at one of his employee meetings.
This building was showing movies as the Queens Theatre from 1919 to 1925.
The Arcadia from 1926 to 1951.
The Baronet from 1952 to 1996.
The Coronet-1 from 1997 to 2000.
The upstairs theatre was:
The Coronet from 1962 to 1996.
The Coronet-2 from 1997 to 2000.
I remember that one of these theaters had no doors – the front was just open no matter what the weather and the sidewalk was carpeted. There was a huge modern painting at the far end of the lobby. So sad how film exhibition changed.
RobertR, your April 17th. 2009 post shows the Astral Theatre, not the Coronet 1 & 2 Theatres.
Renewing link.
1986
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This issue of Boxoffice flagged by HowardBHaas on the Beekman page features a rare shot of the Arcadia just before it became the Baronet. Go to page 160.
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Photo I took from 1976
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Queens and Arcadia should be added as AKA names here. The site showed films under both names.
Anyone remember seeing The Night Porter here in October 1974? The movie was savaged by the critics but the theater was apparently packed for weeks.
The Baronet was the small downstairs theater, yet that’s where the World Premiere of MASH was held? (according to link on May 31).
These were exceptional venues for the release of serious films. It’s no accident that the late 60’s & 70’s are now considered a watermark in American filmmaking. Both the Rugoff and the Reade houses were expert in showcasing these specialty films. Do those films still exist and are they now relegated only to the Lincoln Plaza, the Angelica & the Sunshine? Does anyone know the whereabouts of Dean Kronos who managed the C&B in the late 60’s?
Here are ads from the NYT dated May 1969 and January 1970, respectively:
http://tinyurl.com/2794re
http://tinyurl.com/2fvf2u
I remeber seeing “Taxi Driver” at the Coronet th week it opened in February 1976. There’s a scene in the movie where Travis drives right by the very theater I was watching the film in ! How bizarre was that
I loved the B/C’s cheesy sign!
I used to work at PRNewswire, then located on 55th Street, I believe, and the nabe was my old stomping ground. Subway Lounge, still hanging on by a string, and Chimes Diner, which I loved and ate lunch in almost everyday. I think the Chimes was on the same block as the theater, perhaps the block directly south, same side of the street. Great food, and sweet waitresses who remembered you by name. Long gone as well.
I waded through a crowd of protesters outside the Sutton in order to see “The Last Temptation of Christ,” in 1985. And watched Whoopi Goldberg arrive for the premiere of “Serafina” some years later.
Cineplex Odious (and NYU!) both suck and I hold them in the highest contempt (a rank usually bestowed on the likes of Bush/Cheney) for the destruction they have wrought to NYC’s Cinema Treasures.
THE LUCK OF GINGER COFFEY at the Baronet.
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The Chelsea is ranked high because Clearview, not Cineplex, is is running the place and maintaining it.
Yes, The Chelsea complex is currently ranked very good by New Yorker magazine. I’ve had good screening prints go into that theatre and returned in fair shape. I had a print returned froma screening that the person had no business to be in the booth. They filled the a few of the reels and cut and none of the reel head and tail leaders matched. Nice work.
Nope, I never worked for them but knew plenty of people who did, I was in the business and saw what was going on there.
Dave-Bronx, you are a disguntled former employee, perhaps?
I found the C.O. theaters to be much better than the other chains. The Chelsea is currently ranked very good by New Yorker magazine. C.O. made an effort to have much bigger screens and plush interiors long before other chains did.
Yes, all that could have been done in the beginning. The point was to illustrate what a dirtbag he is. I believe Mrs. Reade was willing to pay for the painting, so why not sell it to her and make some money instead of throwing it in the trash? If this was an isolated incident it could be chalked up to miscommunication or an oversight, but it wasn’t an isolated situation – this guy went out of his way to f**k over people for sport.
And yes, they did build and renovate some good theatres, but they didn’t maintain them after they were built, with many becoming no better or worse than those of other chains, organizations he criticized for not knowing how to run a theatre.