Embassy 1,2,3 Theatre
707 7th Avenue,
New York,
NY
10036
707 7th Avenue,
New York,
NY
10036
39 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1,076 - 1,094 of 1,094 comments
Mike as a boy I saw My Fair Lady at the Criterion during its first run and then in ‘76 as a teenager I saw 2001 at the Rivoli. Talk about your religious experiences!
Vincent
I was in the old Criterion once before they twined it. Isaw Bette Midler’s Divine Madness in 70mm. I was there a few times after they cut the original theater in two. I saw thew opening film upstairs when they reopened, 9-5 in 1980. I rememebr sitting in the balcony to see Divine Madness. That was a strange movie though to be filmed in 70mm. I loved the Rivoli. I saw The Island with Michael Caine there in 70 mm. After they twinned that theater I saw On Golden Pond in the upstairs theater. I saw American Graffiti 2 in the downstairs theater. Before it was twinned I rememebr seeing Airport 1979 there.
So who is this guy saps? I’ve been writing the same stuff for months now on the Ziegfeld and Astor sites. This is somebody after my own heart. This is a classic NY house not the Astor Plaza which is nothing but a 70’s warehouse. This should be a great NY house and the place for major premieres and used as a 70mm Todd AO amd Cinerama revival house. Where is this guy Scorcese and his rich friends? I thought they loved movies. Lets make a widescreen house happen! With the paycheck from just one movie they could make this a reality.
By the way Mike from Oakland the loss of the Criterion still makes me sick. I can barely go past the block. God what a great movie theater. It was probably the most coveted road show house in NY. Even more than the Rivoli which was pretty magnificent itself.
United Artists should have leased or purchased the theater when they let the Criterion go. When I was last in NYC, OCt 2000 it was just sitting there empty.
I passed this theater again today. It is a shame that the only surviving Times Square movie house is shuttered. As the last of a breed it should be treasured, and by more than just us. I wonder if anyone could make a go of a single screen theatre nowadays…look at the trouble filling the Astor Plaza and the Ziegfeld. But those two are really new houses, not classics. Since the Mayfair (the DeMille? anything but Embassy 2-3-4!!!) is the only movie house directly on Times Square, with that wraparound sign above it still is use, it seems a perfect spot for premieres, exclusives, maybe even a spot for the much-desired Cinerama revival, a wish that seems to crop up on many of these message boards. We have this possible treasure just sitting there. What’s a fanatic to do?
I photographed the Theatre back in 1980, both the downstairs and right side balcony.I have good photos whenever somebody can put them on a site. The whole interior is gold.
This house was different in that the orchestra rear starts where the balcony ends.Coming into the theatre even at the orchestra rear seems to put you very close to the stage. The first 70mm I saw here was “LAFAYETTE” around Easter of 1963.
Does anyone know from Warren’s description how much of this still exists and is there a vintage photo of the original interior or even from its day as a roadshow house? All I have is a seating chart from an old Stubs.
I saw The Egyptian during its sad UA days, and shortly after American Cinemategue opened it. I agree that most of the things that made the theatre special are gone. I dont know what they were thinking, but am glad the theatre did not wind up a Rite-Aid.
I saw “How Thw West Was Won” in the Cinerama Dome. It was my first time seeing anything Cinerama. That week, I saw the movie twice and saw 6 3-D movies at the Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. Even though American Cinemateque operates the venue, the 3-D Festival rented the space. The courtyard of the theatre is stunning but all the exterior shops that line it were closed (empty). The restoration of the interior is a disgrace and that is why American Cinematique is struggling with it. If they had remained faithful to the building, they might have had a chance. It is just a bland black box with some vestiges of the old theatre and of course the ceiling which is more visible to the balcony audience. It is simply not wonderful on the inside. I doubt American Cinemateque will have any interest in a Times Square venue since they can’t handle the west coast holding that they have.
Warren,
I thought I explained the purpose in my comment. New York needs a film museum that is a real theater like the Met opera house or the BAM in Brooklyn. Millions of dollars are poured into these institutions every year for the proper exhibition of extinct art forms(I mean French baroque opera? Come on. Rameau’s “Les Boreades” at BAM was wonderful by the way.)
So why not an American Cinemateque here? And New York could get right what California got wrong(so I’ve read) at the Egyption.
New York never seems to benefit from anything like an American Cinemateque. I want to see “This is Cinerama” so bad, I will try to coordinate a trip to The Dome when they show it again.
As a boy I remember seeing some of the great signs outside this theater like Magnificent Men, Hawaii and Shoes of the Fisheman. Is the theater intact inside? I mean, if they took down the dividers would it be pretty much the same as it was in the 60’s? If so it would be the only roadshow house left in the tri-state area. How about an American Cinemateque here? It would be the only repertory house actually designed for showing movies as movies(here in New York we could see real 70mm and TODD AO again!!) and not just as screening room curiosities.
Martin Scorcese could you find the money for this?
Okay, you’re right, I didn’t mean to ruffle your feathers.
I’m surprised with all the knowledgeable theatre people that have made their comments on the Mayfair that no one has stated that the Mayfair opened as the Columbia Theatre, a one time burlesque house in Times Square. RKO never opened this house. They operated it and when they opened the Radio City Music Hall and RKO Roxy they let this one go. Check Variety during this time frame and you will see that this is the sequence of events regarding this theatre.
Is the whole auditorium there? I was only in this theatre once and it happened to be one of those horrible balcony theatres. It was so steep and the screen was off to one side and so far away. I thought I rmember hearing part of the orchestra had been converted to retail space but I could be wrong. That would leave this the last remaining Broadway movie house still standing from the glory days.
The Embassy 2,3,4 has been empty since the engagement of “Enemy of the State” (1998). The street address is 707 7th Ave.. As of last year the company that holds the lease to this theatre wanted around million a year in rent.
This theater still sits vacant and boarded up with a “for lease” sign on the marquee. I have a photo of it’s exterior that I will try to upload to this site if I can get a good scan.
Have fond memories of this theater as the DeMille seeing roadshows like Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines and later two great music pictures with my dad – Soul to Soul and The Concert for Bengla Desh…
Before it became the Embassy 2/¾ it had a short life as the Mark ½/3 and had the distinction of having Apocalypse Now on all 3 screens after its debut at the Ziegfeld
I survived a view visits in its later years seeing Airplane and Roger Rabbit in ¾ and Bright Lights Big City in 2
When theatre was multiplexed,all they did was divide balcony into left and right thirds. Center portion was left open to downstairs house to permit original projection booth to service the big screen. Theatre could be returned to original condition with minimal work.