Times Square Theatre
217 W. 42nd Street,
New York,
NY
10036
217 W. 42nd Street,
New York,
NY
10036
26 people
favorited this theater
Showing 76 - 100 of 202 comments
Hey brucec, I responded to your comment on The New Amsterdam page before seeing your comment here. We’re totally on the same page!
It all boils down to money. While I do think that a single screen theater would do well on 42nd Street the problem is the amount of money it would cost to restore the theater and bring it up to today’s standards. If you have to pay that money back, the economics of a movie theater doesn’t work. They would need to rely on grants, tax incentives and even sweat equity (as the Loews Jersey has successfully done) to bring this theater back to its original purpose, but I doubt the city would go along with this right now.
They’ve done their theater good deed of the decade with the generous subsidy of the Loews Kings restoration in Brooklyn. If the city were ready to subsidize a second theater, I would actually prefer that it go to the resoration of the Loews Canal which I think is a spectacular gem that has been hiding in plain site for decades and was a true palace by every definition of the word; certainly better than the Times Square.
To bad the Times Square couldn’t be turned into a restaurant/classic film venue.I due feel that at least one theatre should have been saved for film in one form or another.brucec
The theater continues to be marketed as a retail space. We probably will not hear more about the restoration of this theater until someone rents it and they decide how the retail concept will mesh with any theatrical restoration. I wish that they would turn it back to a movie theater that would play “special event” movies, opening nights, corporate events, etc.
Any progress on this theatre’s restoration?
Cool vintage photos.
ken mc: Great shot! where did you locate this photo? would be interested to see more from that era and area!
Here is a photo circa 1940s:
http://tinyurl.com/yfarvad
The New 42nd Street Project would be a start.
http://www.new42.org/about_history_times.cfm
Can anyone tell me if this property is for sale/lease? If so, whom might the real estate agent/broker contact be?
With landmark status, can’t the original entrance of the Liberty be reclaimed, as well as lobby space and fire exits?
Yeah, but didnt the Liberty lose its entrance when the hotel was built? How would people get in there? That’s another option, I guess if they could figure that out……..
I agree TJ. Unfortunately, the question is who will pay for the restoration. Personally, I would love to see at least one of the old palaces restored to to show classic films, premieres, festivals and occasional first run films in a Times Square setting. But would it be profitable? Who’s going to put the money in? I love the Ziegfeld, but that theater is a totall different style the the theaters of the golden era. It’s also (kind of) out of the way. I think a more centrally located restored palace in Times Square would get much more traffic than the Ziegfeld.
But if that’s not possible, I also agree that a club is preferable to nothing. New York has not one remaining theater/night club remining from the glory days. Xenon/Miller Theater, Studio 54/Gallo Opera House, Palladium/Academy of Music, Club USA/Forum, Bond’s Intl Casino/Interantional Casino, The Saint/Loews Commodore. The best clubs in New York history were virtually all in historic theaters. At least Studio 54 is still with us as a legit playhouse. Sadly, all of the rest are lost.
p.s. I also think the Liberty (directly across the Street from the Times Square theater) and cocooned within the Hilton Hotel could also be converted into a club if a restoration as a theater is not possible. Instead, it is just sitting in silence.
Here is a 1935 photo from the LAPL:
http://tinyurl.com/nkpfhh
It’s too bad this couldnt be refurbished as a single screen theater again. I know the odds are against it. Does anyone know if the auditorium is wide enough to be refitted with a 70mm screen? It could be used for premieres as someone said; special bookings; film festivals etc. It has such a distinctive facade on the outside. Even a nightclub would be better than it just sitting there.
Here is a 1984 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/ksau99
Here is a 1952 photo from Life Magazine:
http://tinyurl.com/ntj5dj
Wow, I agree with Bway! The 42nd Street at the time of that photo (and for many years prior) was one of absolute desolation, danger and despair. I clearly don’t understand how anyone could want a return to that. I could only hope that Woody would be the first mugging victim. We’ll see if he might change his mind then. I truly don’t wish Woody harm but you must realize that when you say you want 42nd to get back it’s grit you are saying that you want a return to the crime, murder and mayhem that made 42nd street the most dangerous street in the city for many years.
If that’s what you’re looking for, please move to Detroit. You’ll get all the “grit” you desire.
Sorry, but while it still had a glow of it’s former life in a rough look. No way I would want to go back to the dump 42nd St was in the 80’s and early 90’s.
found this photo going through some old boxes, from 1992 (scanned so a bit grainey)
cant help wishing 42nd street still looked like this
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/3508141592/
This photo is currently being advertised on eBay. Not sure if it has been posted already.
http://tinyurl.com/c5498t
Thanks Warren.
Nice photos. Yeah, I have been very slowly making comments in some of the theaters I want the email alerts to come on, but have been doing it very very slowly as not to flood the site. I also trying to keep those comments to relevant comments, but it’s hard sometimes, but there’s no way to reactivate the emails coming on theaters I want to get the alerts on but to make a comment. I am slowly working up my list which very thankfully is still attached to our handle accounts, so at least I know what theaters I want to be attached to. if not for that I wouldn’t know where to start!
Anyway, great photos.
I totally agree Bway. I’m not quite sure why the Liberty or the Times Square couldn’t be turned into a nite club or relatively small performance venue like BB Kings. How could it NOT do well in Times Square? The answer, of course, always lies with the amount of money that it would take to get it to that point. That is the $64K question.
Even if it was restored as a club venue or something, something like how the Astor Plaza is a club/concert venue. You would think something like that would be profitable in Times Square.
I’ve heard conflicting comments about the DeMille so I’m not sure that the auditorium itself has been gutted.
Like you, I am not counting on any of these three to return as actual movie theaters,however, I would like to see them preserved for future generations. The Hudson Theater on W. 44th Street is beautifully restored though it operates as a confernece center/event space. I’m happy to see that it is still with us.
Comments on the Demille (Embassy 1, 2, 3) theater page reported it had been gutted.
I also would prefer to see theaters as theaters. I just don’t count on reopening closed theaters as single screen movie theaters.