I suspect that, ultimately, if the threat of the demolition of the Loew’s Kings should arise (it isn’t landmarked, is it?), then we’ll probably see a group akin to those who’ve, as best they can, renovate and restore the Loew’s Jersey, take charge of getting the Kings up and running again. Until that day, it’ll probably continue lying in disrepair and breaking several hearts in the process.
The Worldwide, from what I was told by someone who went there regularly, did bang-up business during the weekends but was a ghost town Mondays through Thursdays. While first-run multiplexes can survive under those circumstances, it’s that much more difficult for a second-run house to hold on, especially for one that’s Manhattan-based.
Crown currently operates the New York 1 & 2 at 66th and 2nd, booking it with an odd pastiche of top-run and second-tier major studio product (with a heavy Paramount and Miramax accent), minor indie product, and move-overs from other Midtown East houses.
Five of the upstairs auditoriums at the Battery Park Stadium are being or have been converted to a DSW Shoe Warehouse outlet. United Artists had an option to surrender that space within a few years' time, an option now-UA owner Regal chose to exercise.
To me, the new ‘Thalia’ isn’t even really the Thalia. Everything which made it unique was gutted away; the Thalia, as it currently exists, is, to me, just an ordinary performance space one could find in just about any other major city around the world.
As David Freeland wrote in his article, “For once, a New York theater story with a happy ending.” What SUPER news; that truly made my Wednesday… sometimes it’s great to be proven wrong and thankfully the neighborhood – and the city – won’t be losing this valuable landmark.
The final three engagements booked into the McClurg Court Cinemas were ‘Finding Nemo’, the remake of ‘The Italian Job’, and ‘The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’.
The Fairfax briefly returned to its first-run, major studio release days after the 1994 Northridge earthquake when the movie theatres within the Beverly Center and Beverly Connection were forced to close for a time. Loews let go of the property shortly before or after its bankruptcy filing in February of 2001.
Considering Joey’s remembrances of having seen ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ there and his expedition find of an ‘Amadeus’ one-sheet, the Plaza probably closed sometime around the summer/fall of 1984…
Just out of curiousity, are there any obvious reasons (i.e., neighborhood economics, absentee landlord, etc.) why the Plaza has been sitting empty for 20 years? Based on the comments of those who’ve seen the interior in recent years, its fate seems far more likely to involve eventual demolition as opposed to any sort of renovation.
My first thought… of Ralph Kramden telling Alice he went to the Nortons' to play poker with Ed… BANG…ZOOM!!! (Oh hell, it IS a Friday afternoon and I really AM getting tired, aren’t I? ;–)
During the time City Cinemas booked it, the Quad Cinema was THE top Touchstone/Disney house in the Village, booking most of their product during that time. (City Cinemas, to this day, retains a solid relationship with Touchstone, Disney, and Miramax, as well, booking – or having booked – many of its films into the chain’s Manhattan sites, primarily the Cinema 1, 2, 3; the Sutton, before it became mostly a move-over house in its final years of operation; the East 86th Street, both as a twin and presently as a quad; the Murray Hill – or at least until the Loews Kips Bay opened its doors for business in the spring of ‘99; the Angelika; and, albeit less so in recent years, the Village East.)
William – does the new signage consist of a plastic banner over the old neon display? Is it an all-new illuminated sign? Is it the same size as the old neon display?
Those are the only operating Bronx theatres, Dave; it’s shocking that an area with so large a population could have so few movie houses (not counting the veritable boot hill of shuttered venues from the mid-‘80s into the '90s – the Paradise, the Dale, the Valentine, and the Riverdale, just to name a few).
The Crown Gotham closed in the spring of 2001; its final booking actually was the Natasha Richardson comedy ‘Blow Dry’, of which a one-sheet remained on display in one of the exterior poster cases for months following the Gotham’s closing and, if memory serves, even for a time after the space had been gutted.
The 68th Street Playhouse closed on July 28, 1996; its final offering was the Ben Stiller-Patricia Arquette, David O. Russell-helmed comedy ‘Flirting With Disaster’. It sat dormant for 3-4 years until it was converted into a branch of The Children’s Place apparel chain.
With the shuttering of the Sutton earlier this week, the ImaginAsian is now the southernmost theatre in Midtown East. (Since 1996, the neighborhood has lost the Plaza, the 68th Street Playhouse, the Manhattan Twin, the Gotham, the Baronet/Coronet, the Eastside Playhouse, and the Sutton to various forms of real estate redevelopment; Midtown West film venue shutterings during that time include the Carnegie Hall Cinemas, the Angelika 57, the Festival, the Cinema 3, the Loews Columbus Circle, and the Regency, while the former 57th Street Playhouse lives on to this day as the DGA Theatre.)
The Loews State is apparently the new Astor Plaza, at least in the eyes of distributors and Loews itself – ‘Resident Evil 2: Apocalypse’ is opening on 2 screens at the State today, concurrently with its engagement at the E-Walk on 42nd Street. (It’s also the first major studio initial-run engagement at the State since ‘The Bone Collector’ ran there for a week in November of 1999, prior to its moving to the E-Walk for that theatre’s grand opening.)
I suspect that, ultimately, if the threat of the demolition of the Loew’s Kings should arise (it isn’t landmarked, is it?), then we’ll probably see a group akin to those who’ve, as best they can, renovate and restore the Loew’s Jersey, take charge of getting the Kings up and running again. Until that day, it’ll probably continue lying in disrepair and breaking several hearts in the process.
The Worldwide, from what I was told by someone who went there regularly, did bang-up business during the weekends but was a ghost town Mondays through Thursdays. While first-run multiplexes can survive under those circumstances, it’s that much more difficult for a second-run house to hold on, especially for one that’s Manhattan-based.
The Newburyport Screening Room has been in existence since 1977, having been converted from a former retail space.
Crown currently operates the New York 1 & 2 at 66th and 2nd, booking it with an odd pastiche of top-run and second-tier major studio product (with a heavy Paramount and Miramax accent), minor indie product, and move-overs from other Midtown East houses.
Five of the upstairs auditoriums at the Battery Park Stadium are being or have been converted to a DSW Shoe Warehouse outlet. United Artists had an option to surrender that space within a few years' time, an option now-UA owner Regal chose to exercise.
Are any Pussycats still in operation or has the chain/name completely disappeared from the landscape?
To me, the new ‘Thalia’ isn’t even really the Thalia. Everything which made it unique was gutted away; the Thalia, as it currently exists, is, to me, just an ordinary performance space one could find in just about any other major city around the world.
As David Freeland wrote in his article, “For once, a New York theater story with a happy ending.” What SUPER news; that truly made my Wednesday… sometimes it’s great to be proven wrong and thankfully the neighborhood – and the city – won’t be losing this valuable landmark.
The final three engagements booked into the McClurg Court Cinemas were ‘Finding Nemo’, the remake of ‘The Italian Job’, and ‘The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’.
The Fairfax briefly returned to its first-run, major studio release days after the 1994 Northridge earthquake when the movie theatres within the Beverly Center and Beverly Connection were forced to close for a time. Loews let go of the property shortly before or after its bankruptcy filing in February of 2001.
In its final years, the Westbury Theater subsisted mostly on extended runs of Paramount releases.
Considering Joey’s remembrances of having seen ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ there and his expedition find of an ‘Amadeus’ one-sheet, the Plaza probably closed sometime around the summer/fall of 1984…
Just out of curiousity, are there any obvious reasons (i.e., neighborhood economics, absentee landlord, etc.) why the Plaza has been sitting empty for 20 years? Based on the comments of those who’ve seen the interior in recent years, its fate seems far more likely to involve eventual demolition as opposed to any sort of renovation.
My first thought… of Ralph Kramden telling Alice he went to the Nortons' to play poker with Ed… BANG…ZOOM!!! (Oh hell, it IS a Friday afternoon and I really AM getting tired, aren’t I? ;–)
During the time City Cinemas booked it, the Quad Cinema was THE top Touchstone/Disney house in the Village, booking most of their product during that time. (City Cinemas, to this day, retains a solid relationship with Touchstone, Disney, and Miramax, as well, booking – or having booked – many of its films into the chain’s Manhattan sites, primarily the Cinema 1, 2, 3; the Sutton, before it became mostly a move-over house in its final years of operation; the East 86th Street, both as a twin and presently as a quad; the Murray Hill – or at least until the Loews Kips Bay opened its doors for business in the spring of ‘99; the Angelika; and, albeit less so in recent years, the Village East.)
William – does the new signage consist of a plastic banner over the old neon display? Is it an all-new illuminated sign? Is it the same size as the old neon display?
When the Universal City Cinemas opened in 1987, it had more screens than any other theatre in the U.S.
The Jackson Triplex, the Plaza 1 & 2 in Corona, and the Ridgewood are the three properties of the Queen City mini-chain of theatres.
What’s the present state of the Roosevelt/Quartet? Is it still standing or has it been converted to retail or some other use?
Those are the only operating Bronx theatres, Dave; it’s shocking that an area with so large a population could have so few movie houses (not counting the veritable boot hill of shuttered venues from the mid-‘80s into the '90s – the Paradise, the Dale, the Valentine, and the Riverdale, just to name a few).
The Crown Gotham closed in the spring of 2001; its final booking actually was the Natasha Richardson comedy ‘Blow Dry’, of which a one-sheet remained on display in one of the exterior poster cases for months following the Gotham’s closing and, if memory serves, even for a time after the space had been gutted.
The 68th Street Playhouse closed on July 28, 1996; its final offering was the Ben Stiller-Patricia Arquette, David O. Russell-helmed comedy ‘Flirting With Disaster’. It sat dormant for 3-4 years until it was converted into a branch of The Children’s Place apparel chain.
The Sutton can be briefly glimpsed towards the end of the 1997 Al Pacino-Keanu Reeves flick ‘Devil’s Advocate’.
With the shuttering of the Sutton earlier this week, the ImaginAsian is now the southernmost theatre in Midtown East. (Since 1996, the neighborhood has lost the Plaza, the 68th Street Playhouse, the Manhattan Twin, the Gotham, the Baronet/Coronet, the Eastside Playhouse, and the Sutton to various forms of real estate redevelopment; Midtown West film venue shutterings during that time include the Carnegie Hall Cinemas, the Angelika 57, the Festival, the Cinema 3, the Loews Columbus Circle, and the Regency, while the former 57th Street Playhouse lives on to this day as the DGA Theatre.)
The Loews State is apparently the new Astor Plaza, at least in the eyes of distributors and Loews itself – ‘Resident Evil 2: Apocalypse’ is opening on 2 screens at the State today, concurrently with its engagement at the E-Walk on 42nd Street. (It’s also the first major studio initial-run engagement at the State since ‘The Bone Collector’ ran there for a week in November of 1999, prior to its moving to the E-Walk for that theatre’s grand opening.)
The Biograph was a three-screen house although, having never seen a film there, I can’t attest to the layout.