Beacon Theatre
2124 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10023
2124 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10023
24 people
favorited this theater
Showing 76 - 100 of 159 comments
Two of our fellow members, movie534 and Life’s Too Short, posted a concern about the future of the Beacon Theatre and the ways Cablevision have mismanaged several of their other properties is a source of concern. Howard, with all due respect, much as is true with you (and I’m not one to toot my own horn), I have contributed quite a bit of information which has helped enrich this site by providing a broader historical context on several of the theaters featured on this site. There are people who post on this site who abuse the mission of CinemaTreasures.org, but I can say in all introspection and honesty that I am not one of those individuals and I am confident the further you consider the context of my post from yesterday, you will concur.
Though a few people do it, THIS website isn’t a forum to rail against Cablevision’s operation of sports! or electronic stores. This website is about movie theaters.
On a more optimistic note, the Beacon would benefit from a Radio City-type restoration. It was Cablevision who wrote quite a large check for it.
The brief answer, Life’s Too Short, is the NY Knicks in their current and existing state; the NY Rangers, to a certain degree; the management of Madison Square Garden; The Wiz chain of electronic stores, which went out of business in 2002, not long after Cablevision took control of ownership; Cablevision customer service in general (and their rapidly spiraling service charges); Cablevision, in 2003, refusing to carry the YES (Yankees Entertainment and Sports) Network until the New York state government, in April of 2004, stepped in and negotiated a temporary deal, which eventually led to a long-term carriage contract. Sadly, I could go on, but all of this should give you some idea why movie534 and others who have long enjoyed and appreciated the Beacon Theatre have their fingers crossed.
I don’t know anything about them. What assets have they screwed up?
I just hope and pray that cablevision doesn’t screw this place up, like they do to everything else they get their hands on.
Thanks, Life. I must share credit with various other CT members because not all of the photos (particularly the “vintage” ones) are my own – I culled them from other collections to flesh out mine.
It appears that you did. Anyway, it is an excellent photoset. Nobody should be bothered by links to it from two different points in the Beacon conversation.
The whole collection is excellent actually. You capture well the phases of life for some of New York’s greatest theatrical sites, both famous and infamous.
Thanks, LTS… I thought I reposted that link here after I reorganized my photobucket albums. Anyway, there are a ton of newer images in the album (and many more theatres) since I first posted the links above.
Ed Solero’s excellent photoset no longer works from the links above for some reason. But it can be accessed here:
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I watched 3 DAYS OF THE CONDOR last night. There is a scene where Robert Redford runs past the entrance of the theater, circa 1975.
Today, NBC Inside Weekend, TV, showed the marquee and inside, the party for Hillary Clinton’s 60th birthday.
As been stated before the former Loew’s 175th St is the second largest theatre in Manhattan which also books many concerts and may compete with the Beacon in the future.brucec
as far as the organ goes, my boss at rcmh Rich Bishop& yhe Dolans will make a final answerto its restoration, & we willdothe job if they decide period.
I have been attended many concerts (and one wrestling match) at the Beacon since 1974. I was there last night (08/09/07) for the Crowded House concert. Sat in the upper balcony. With the upcoming $10 million renovation looming next year, I went with an eye towards what the theater may be in need of. Certainly not any renovation, but rather a refurbishment.
The artwork seems to be in good, perhaps not great shape. Some of the walls in the theater need to be repainted or resurfaced as there is some peeling. The lighting needs to be improved (within the original fixtures, of course) and the large chandelier was not turned on at all during the evening. That would be a starting point.
All in all, I would expect the place to be much brighter and newer looking when the work is done.
LM – I saw that Hall & Oates concert! I still have my tour shirt!
Other concerts I saw there include:
A couple of pictures from 2000 here :–
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This was done to maximize seating capacity on oddly shaped or small lots. The skeletons of the Roxy and the Beacon were very much the same (except that the Roxy was 4 times larger). The center line of the stage did not meet the point of the triangle, which was pretty much the shape of the stage. The Ambassador has a similar situation. The stage of the Ambassador can be seen in it’s listing in the book Broadway Theaters by William Morrison.
As has been pointed out a couple of times above, the Beacon is a theatre built on a bias: the axis of the auditorium and stage are at an angle to the facade. One Saturday morning in the 1980s I went around back to the scene loading door which was open because a concert was being loaded in. I had never been in the theatre so when I looked through the door I got disoriented— the balcony front was not where I thought it should be! The famous Roxy was also built on a bias, as is the Ambassador Theatre, the legit house on W. 49th St.
I too wonder Ed, if these people know what it is that they have. Although I am not going to discuss how I got into the RKO Hamilton, sometimes these people do listen.
As for Rev. Ike, he does know what a treasure they have. According to a church employee I spoke to years ago Rev Ike restored the paint color scheme to opening day colors.
I believe that there are people out there with huge corporate money who will listen and take the time to hear what it is they own besides a piece of real estate.
Is Rev. Ike indiscriminate about the kind of acts that are allowed to play at the theater? I wonder what the congregation would make of the traveling freak show that accompanies annual runs by the Allman Brothers Band or Phil Lesh and Friends! As a member of that crowd, I can say that I would definitely look forward to seeing shows at the old 175th! Somehow, I’m skeptical that this will ever come to pass.
I wonder if the Dolans posess sufficient cultural awareness and interest in preservation to restore the organ to full functionality. I hope the NYTOS is successful in their negotiations.
Organizer, The Wurlitzer is still in place and I think somewhat playable. The NY Theater Organ Society is trying to negotiate access to the instrument with the new operators for repair, maintainence, and hopefully to eventually have the instrument played somewhat regularly. I played the wurlitzer back in ‘71 and it has a wonderful unique sound that would be a shame to lose in it’s orignal theater. It would not sound the same anyplace else. Oh, BTW, the organ had work done before I played it and the delay in sounding was reduced considerably.
Since MSG is taking over, Ron Delsener’s concert productions will be moving uptown to a theatre near the George Washington bridge. Anyone know which theatre?
Does anyone know what happen to the organ? Is it still in the theatre? The 1st time I played the Beacon organ was back in the late 60’s. At the time, I was a student of Ashley Miller. We played it for a good part of the afternoon. As I remember(40 years ago)Ashley had a appearance coming up there. The organ did have a very delayed sound but was in excellent playing condition. The decor of the theatre I could never forget. To bad that the NY theatre scene has changed so much.