A few weeks ago when I passed by, the right half of the marquee was dark. Looks like they’ve fixed the lights behind the main panel, but the yellow border lighting on the right side still appear to be out.
Anyway… judging from the signage, looks like the official name of this theater is actually “United Artists Theatres The Lynbrook.”
Not the greatest shots, as there is no light around there but that of the marquee and I didn’t have an SLR on me. What typically bland and crappy marquee signage, eh? And the facade above the marquee is now painted royal blue. I’ll go back for a couple of day shots, but I’d love to find a vintage image of the exterior when this was a single nabe.
Sam_e… Thanks for clarifying that, but I must say that the images are very misleading because I am hard pressed to believe that a 3000 seat theater would fit into the structure I see in those photos! Did the auditorium run parallel to Main Street or did it run straight back from the street entrance with the stage wall at the rear (where the parking lot is)? Again, from those photos, the building looks too shallow for it to have run straight back – particularly when considering those interior images.
Here’s an image of a raffle ticket for a drawing held on the evening of November 3rd, 1932, at the Inwood Theater for an Essex automobile.
Not sure if it was the 1932 or 1933 model that was being offered, but, for kicks, here’s an image of the ‘32 Terraplane sedan from Essex. The model was introduced in '32 so it couldn’t have been anything older. Pretty nice giveaway for depression-era patrons, no? I wonder what the occasion was?
The image of the raffle ticket is from Michael Perlman’s collection (CT member “NativeForestHiller”)… I wonder if he has any historical information to add here regarding that evening’s drawing.
Hey all… I recelved those images from Patsy and have uploaded them on my photobucket account. I hope RJT and Patsy don’t mind that I took liberties to try and enhance the images and increase the size of some of the smaller files. Here they are:
Those last few modern day images are not dated. Perhaps Patsy can provide further info on that. Did someone post that the building was demolished entirely? From those images, looks like the office building that contained the theater entrance and lobby survived for at least some time into the 1980’s or ‘90’s. Not being familiar with Buffalo, I can only assume that the parking lot in the rear of those photos is where the auditorium was previously located.
So, the big parcel adjacent on the right of the 345 address would have most likely been the site of the Arcade auditorium.
As per this local.live.com view, there is currently a narrow one-story bulding on the 345 parcel identified in Warren’s map and a Modell’s on the spacy adjacent lot where the auditorium/airdome might have been situated. I guess only an on-site visual inspection of the exterior might determine if any elements of the old theater entrance remain. With all the passing years and history of alterations noted on the NYC site, I expect all traces have probably vanished – if indeed the structure was not at some point entirely replaced.
There are no C/O’s available to view for that address on the NYC Building Department site, but the history of filings does note Alterations as early as 1923 – which would indicate work done to a pre-existing building. The “New Building” filings are not indicated in the online history, so we have nothing conclusive. Does an alteration in 1923 make sense for an approximate time frame for this theater’s demise?
The one bit of good news, Bway, would be that Coney Island is looking up and may have a considerable amount of potential for cash return on investment. The Cyclones have already proved a big hit since they opened their first season at Key Span Park in 2001 and future development might only mean bigger and brighter days lie ahead for real estate investors. Of course, in the end, the little guy will be pushed out. I’m pretty sure Nathan’s will stay at all costs and I’m sure the Cyclone and Wonder Wheel will be entertaining the children in all of us for many years to come even if they are absorbed into some larger glitzier amusement complex of the future. Let’s just hope proprieterships like Gargiulo’s Restaurant and Totonno’s Pizza can weather the sure-to-be-increasing rents and remain profitable. And let’s also hope some person or persons of means and vision find a worthy cause in the reclamation of the Shore Theater.
I just realized that the online photo is cropped more severely than the image that went to print, so you can’t make out the recess to which I was referring. For those without the benefit of a printed edition, the cieling recess runs parallel to the stage and directly overhead of mid-center orchestra and it is painted completely white.
I saw the article yesterday as well. Too bad they had to cut that long recessed notch across the atmospheric ceiling. I assume that is for lighting? I also suppose that the notch is preferable to bolting a rig in place to hang from the cieling. I wonder if painting the recess the same shade of blue as the rest of the cieling would improve the look. In any event, it is nice to read how nicely the theater is doing. I also enjoyed the quotes and passages about Eberson discussing how he drew inspiration from the warm Floridian evenings he enjoyed while vacationing south for the winter.
There was an article in yesterday’s NY Times Real Estate section about “Living In Coney Island”. No mention of the Shore, but the article does say that a gentleman by the last name of Sitt owns a number of parcels in the amusement park area that he plans on clearing for a multi-purpose amusement facility and possible condo/hotel complex. I wonder where the Shore fits in relation to those plans. Of course, a number of folks have announced big amusement park plans for Coney Island over the years, only to see nothing come of them.
Anyone know what the immediate future holds for the former theater? The last permit activity noted on the NYC Building Dept site is a permit from earlier this year to erect the construction shedding that now surrounds the ground floor. According to the permit, the shedding is for “remedial repairs” with no change to occupancy or ingress/egress proposed.
The final C/O for this theater is dated July 15th, 1926 (a full year after its opening) and states “theater seating 2421 people” – I only point that out because C/O’s usually cite maximum capacity per fire codes rather than seat counts. This information is handwritten and may also include standing room and allowances for staff, despite inclusion of the word “seating.” The C/O also lists a ballroom on the 2nd floor with offices in the upper floors.
A subsequent C/O, issued August 8th, 1967, breaks the building down to “theater portion” and “business portion.” The theater occupancy is cited as follows:
The “theater lobby” is also noted on the 1st floor of the “business portion” of the building. All floors above are now offices (no ballroom), a nursery for the “head start” New York City program and a janitor’s apartment on the penthouse level.
Finally, on March 2nd, 1973, another C/O shows the orchestra level as a “banquet hall (bingo)” with capacity of 850 persons, the mezzanine for “accessory storage” and toilets and the balcony “to remain vacant.”
It seems the opening of the new Ecko Unlimited outlet here has been pushed back a bit. The huge sign that drapes the front of the Times Square Theater now reads “Coming Spring 2007.” Walking by the theater, I could glimpse up into the space below the scaffolding behind the sign and above the sidewalk level construction shed and see that the facade has been blasted clean to a near-white color. I’m anxious to see how the interior is adapted to its new utility… but I guess that’ll have to wait at least 5 or 6 months more.
Archives… I’m intrigued by your comments on the “specialy versions” of these titles – particularly the “reconstructed” CE3K. To what purpose were these versions created and why were they withheld from public exhibition? And how, if I may ask, did you come to attend these screenings?
As a fast food place in the 1980’s, this space was occupied by a Popeye’s Chicken and later a Mexican take out joint called Fresco Tortilla (a common name among Mexican take outs in NYC – not sure if it’s a true franchise).
Movie Place… You can go to photobucket.com and sign up for a free account. Then you upload the photos and create links here to each photo or to your photo album (in which case folks will have to scroll through the album for each photo).
I already have a photobucket account that has a ton of space, so I’d be glad to host your photos for you and post them here since I’ve done quite a lot of that with my own photos as well as those of other CT users who have taken me up on the offer. However you wish to go is fine by me. There’s a link to my emai on my profile page (which you can access by clicking my name below). Either way you go… I look forward to seeing those photos posted here!
Yes… I meant to come back here and post that. This building and all the adjacent parcels along 42nd Street and 43rd Street east to Sixth Avenue have been gobbled up for the enormous Bank of America tower that is now being constructed. These lots included the Henry Miller around the corner on 43rd, of which only the facade remains – heavily shored and awaiting re-use as the facade to a NEW theater to be included as part of the B of A project.
So, status should be changed to “closed/demolished” and seats can be entered as “222”.
At some point (probably the late ‘70’s or early '80’s), the Pix became known as Peep-O-Rama, home of coin operated private video booths. I’m not sure what sort of changes were made to the interior, or if movies were still exhibited on screen in the original auditorium at all.
In July of 2002, Peep-O-Rama became the very last porn establishment on 42nd Street to close. The space was taken over by the non-profit avant-garde art project known as Chashama and converted to gallery/performance space (as were several other properties on the block including the fomer Herman’s at 135 W. 42nd and former Avon-on-Love theater at 125 W. 42nd). Chashama is run by Anita Durst, daughter of Durst Organization CEO Douglas Durst. All of these properties were owned by the Durst Organization and provided free of rent to Chashama until 2004 when the lots and all adjoining parcels on 42nd and 43rd Street to 6th Avenue were sold and demolished to make way for the new Bank of America tower now under construction.
There was also a nearby Avon on Love Theater (which I’ve seen alternately advertised simply as the Love Theater) just a few doors to the east from the Avon 42. Avon also ran porn at the formerly legit Hudson Theater on 44th Street as well as the Henry Miller Theater on 43rd. They also had an outlet on Seventh Avenue called the Avon 7.
A C/O for the Avon 42 seems to have been issued in mid-1971 with a maximum capacity of 222 persons all on the ground floor with projection booth at mezzanine level and toilets and lounge in the basement. A previous C/O indicates the theater was carved from the offices of a “loan brokers establishment” that had occupied from at least 1940. By 1981, a new C/O shows the place converted to a restaurant with offices above.
While the C/O capacity of 222 does not necessarily refer to number of seats, I think that’s a pretty fair estimate to enter at the top of this page.
The usual trade-off… a lavish restoration in exchange for a new name that will either prove to be an exercise in vanity (the “Charles F. Dolan Theater”) or corporate advertisement (“Anheuser-Busch Auditorium”). I hope they keep the Beacon name, but I’ll accept the trade for a loving restoration job.
Don’t waste your money, mike. Unless you have one of those “all region” players, you will not be able to play the DVD on your player. Of course, there’s always the chance you bought the player in a Region 2 country, but then you’d have problems with most DVD’s purchased in the U.S.
Archives… What exactly does “test” screening mean? A test of the Library’s 70mm equipment? A test of the print’s quality? Is it a vintage print that has been cleaned up or a newly struck print from restored elements? My curiosity is piqued.
Not sure the theater closed in ‘73, Lost. While an eviction date was set for March 28th of that year, a Times article from July of '73 indicates that both theaters were still in operation when a State Supreme Court Judge issued an restraining order in favor of Ellwest Stereo Theaters against the police sergeant that had been aggressively conducting raids on adult establishments in the area. Perhaps this was still the Ellwest in '74 when the C/O was issued.
Here are couple of night shots I took recently:
The Lynbrook – long shot
The Lynbrook – tight shot
A few weeks ago when I passed by, the right half of the marquee was dark. Looks like they’ve fixed the lights behind the main panel, but the yellow border lighting on the right side still appear to be out.
Anyway… judging from the signage, looks like the official name of this theater is actually “United Artists Theatres The Lynbrook.”
I was in the area tonight and snapped these two evening shots of the illuminated marquee:
Franklin Square night 1
Franklin Square night 2
Not the greatest shots, as there is no light around there but that of the marquee and I didn’t have an SLR on me. What typically bland and crappy marquee signage, eh? And the facade above the marquee is now painted royal blue. I’ll go back for a couple of day shots, but I’d love to find a vintage image of the exterior when this was a single nabe.
Sam_e… Thanks for clarifying that, but I must say that the images are very misleading because I am hard pressed to believe that a 3000 seat theater would fit into the structure I see in those photos! Did the auditorium run parallel to Main Street or did it run straight back from the street entrance with the stage wall at the rear (where the parking lot is)? Again, from those photos, the building looks too shallow for it to have run straight back – particularly when considering those interior images.
Here’s an image of a raffle ticket for a drawing held on the evening of November 3rd, 1932, at the Inwood Theater for an Essex automobile.
Not sure if it was the 1932 or 1933 model that was being offered, but, for kicks, here’s an image of the ‘32 Terraplane sedan from Essex. The model was introduced in '32 so it couldn’t have been anything older. Pretty nice giveaway for depression-era patrons, no? I wonder what the occasion was?
The image of the raffle ticket is from Michael Perlman’s collection (CT member “NativeForestHiller”)… I wonder if he has any historical information to add here regarding that evening’s drawing.
Hey all… I recelved those images from Patsy and have uploaded them on my photobucket account. I hope RJT and Patsy don’t mind that I took liberties to try and enhance the images and increase the size of some of the smaller files. Here they are:
Fox Great Lakes exterior illustration 1927
Side Box house left 1927
Mezzanine Foyer 1927
House view from stage 1930
Alt House view from stage 1930’s
Paramount exterior 1957
Post-Paramount exterior view
Post-Paramount view 2
Post-Paramount rear view
Those last few modern day images are not dated. Perhaps Patsy can provide further info on that. Did someone post that the building was demolished entirely? From those images, looks like the office building that contained the theater entrance and lobby survived for at least some time into the 1980’s or ‘90’s. Not being familiar with Buffalo, I can only assume that the parking lot in the rear of those photos is where the auditorium was previously located.
So, the big parcel adjacent on the right of the 345 address would have most likely been the site of the Arcade auditorium.
As per this local.live.com view, there is currently a narrow one-story bulding on the 345 parcel identified in Warren’s map and a Modell’s on the spacy adjacent lot where the auditorium/airdome might have been situated. I guess only an on-site visual inspection of the exterior might determine if any elements of the old theater entrance remain. With all the passing years and history of alterations noted on the NYC site, I expect all traces have probably vanished – if indeed the structure was not at some point entirely replaced.
There are no C/O’s available to view for that address on the NYC Building Department site, but the history of filings does note Alterations as early as 1923 – which would indicate work done to a pre-existing building. The “New Building” filings are not indicated in the online history, so we have nothing conclusive. Does an alteration in 1923 make sense for an approximate time frame for this theater’s demise?
The one bit of good news, Bway, would be that Coney Island is looking up and may have a considerable amount of potential for cash return on investment. The Cyclones have already proved a big hit since they opened their first season at Key Span Park in 2001 and future development might only mean bigger and brighter days lie ahead for real estate investors. Of course, in the end, the little guy will be pushed out. I’m pretty sure Nathan’s will stay at all costs and I’m sure the Cyclone and Wonder Wheel will be entertaining the children in all of us for many years to come even if they are absorbed into some larger glitzier amusement complex of the future. Let’s just hope proprieterships like Gargiulo’s Restaurant and Totonno’s Pizza can weather the sure-to-be-increasing rents and remain profitable. And let’s also hope some person or persons of means and vision find a worthy cause in the reclamation of the Shore Theater.
I just realized that the online photo is cropped more severely than the image that went to print, so you can’t make out the recess to which I was referring. For those without the benefit of a printed edition, the cieling recess runs parallel to the stage and directly overhead of mid-center orchestra and it is painted completely white.
I saw the article yesterday as well. Too bad they had to cut that long recessed notch across the atmospheric ceiling. I assume that is for lighting? I also suppose that the notch is preferable to bolting a rig in place to hang from the cieling. I wonder if painting the recess the same shade of blue as the rest of the cieling would improve the look. In any event, it is nice to read how nicely the theater is doing. I also enjoyed the quotes and passages about Eberson discussing how he drew inspiration from the warm Floridian evenings he enjoyed while vacationing south for the winter.
There was an article in yesterday’s NY Times Real Estate section about “Living In Coney Island”. No mention of the Shore, but the article does say that a gentleman by the last name of Sitt owns a number of parcels in the amusement park area that he plans on clearing for a multi-purpose amusement facility and possible condo/hotel complex. I wonder where the Shore fits in relation to those plans. Of course, a number of folks have announced big amusement park plans for Coney Island over the years, only to see nothing come of them.
Anyone know what the immediate future holds for the former theater? The last permit activity noted on the NYC Building Dept site is a permit from earlier this year to erect the construction shedding that now surrounds the ground floor. According to the permit, the shedding is for “remedial repairs” with no change to occupancy or ingress/egress proposed.
The final C/O for this theater is dated July 15th, 1926 (a full year after its opening) and states “theater seating 2421 people” – I only point that out because C/O’s usually cite maximum capacity per fire codes rather than seat counts. This information is handwritten and may also include standing room and allowances for staff, despite inclusion of the word “seating.” The C/O also lists a ballroom on the 2nd floor with offices in the upper floors.
A subsequent C/O, issued August 8th, 1967, breaks the building down to “theater portion” and “business portion.” The theater occupancy is cited as follows:
Orchestra 1314 seats, stores, lobby, stage, dressing rooms.
Mezzanine 336 seats, lounge, toilets, dressing rooms.
Balcony 650 seats, projection booth, dressing room.
The “theater lobby” is also noted on the 1st floor of the “business portion” of the building. All floors above are now offices (no ballroom), a nursery for the “head start” New York City program and a janitor’s apartment on the penthouse level.
Finally, on March 2nd, 1973, another C/O shows the orchestra level as a “banquet hall (bingo)” with capacity of 850 persons, the mezzanine for “accessory storage” and toilets and the balcony “to remain vacant.”
It seems the opening of the new Ecko Unlimited outlet here has been pushed back a bit. The huge sign that drapes the front of the Times Square Theater now reads “Coming Spring 2007.” Walking by the theater, I could glimpse up into the space below the scaffolding behind the sign and above the sidewalk level construction shed and see that the facade has been blasted clean to a near-white color. I’m anxious to see how the interior is adapted to its new utility… but I guess that’ll have to wait at least 5 or 6 months more.
Archives… I’m intrigued by your comments on the “specialy versions” of these titles – particularly the “reconstructed” CE3K. To what purpose were these versions created and why were they withheld from public exhibition? And how, if I may ask, did you come to attend these screenings?
As a fast food place in the 1980’s, this space was occupied by a Popeye’s Chicken and later a Mexican take out joint called Fresco Tortilla (a common name among Mexican take outs in NYC – not sure if it’s a true franchise).
Movie Place… You can go to photobucket.com and sign up for a free account. Then you upload the photos and create links here to each photo or to your photo album (in which case folks will have to scroll through the album for each photo).
I already have a photobucket account that has a ton of space, so I’d be glad to host your photos for you and post them here since I’ve done quite a lot of that with my own photos as well as those of other CT users who have taken me up on the offer. However you wish to go is fine by me. There’s a link to my emai on my profile page (which you can access by clicking my name below). Either way you go… I look forward to seeing those photos posted here!
BIll… was this the same print the Ziegfeld ran back in Feb or March?
Yes… I meant to come back here and post that. This building and all the adjacent parcels along 42nd Street and 43rd Street east to Sixth Avenue have been gobbled up for the enormous Bank of America tower that is now being constructed. These lots included the Henry Miller around the corner on 43rd, of which only the facade remains – heavily shored and awaiting re-use as the facade to a NEW theater to be included as part of the B of A project.
So, status should be changed to “closed/demolished” and seats can be entered as “222”.
At some point (probably the late ‘70’s or early '80’s), the Pix became known as Peep-O-Rama, home of coin operated private video booths. I’m not sure what sort of changes were made to the interior, or if movies were still exhibited on screen in the original auditorium at all.
In July of 2002, Peep-O-Rama became the very last porn establishment on 42nd Street to close. The space was taken over by the non-profit avant-garde art project known as Chashama and converted to gallery/performance space (as were several other properties on the block including the fomer Herman’s at 135 W. 42nd and former Avon-on-Love theater at 125 W. 42nd). Chashama is run by Anita Durst, daughter of Durst Organization CEO Douglas Durst. All of these properties were owned by the Durst Organization and provided free of rent to Chashama until 2004 when the lots and all adjoining parcels on 42nd and 43rd Street to 6th Avenue were sold and demolished to make way for the new Bank of America tower now under construction.
Status should be updated to “closed/demolished”
There was also a nearby Avon on Love Theater (which I’ve seen alternately advertised simply as the Love Theater) just a few doors to the east from the Avon 42. Avon also ran porn at the formerly legit Hudson Theater on 44th Street as well as the Henry Miller Theater on 43rd. They also had an outlet on Seventh Avenue called the Avon 7.
A C/O for the Avon 42 seems to have been issued in mid-1971 with a maximum capacity of 222 persons all on the ground floor with projection booth at mezzanine level and toilets and lounge in the basement. A previous C/O indicates the theater was carved from the offices of a “loan brokers establishment” that had occupied from at least 1940. By 1981, a new C/O shows the place converted to a restaurant with offices above.
While the C/O capacity of 222 does not necessarily refer to number of seats, I think that’s a pretty fair estimate to enter at the top of this page.
The usual trade-off… a lavish restoration in exchange for a new name that will either prove to be an exercise in vanity (the “Charles F. Dolan Theater”) or corporate advertisement (“Anheuser-Busch Auditorium”). I hope they keep the Beacon name, but I’ll accept the trade for a loving restoration job.
Don’t waste your money, mike. Unless you have one of those “all region” players, you will not be able to play the DVD on your player. Of course, there’s always the chance you bought the player in a Region 2 country, but then you’d have problems with most DVD’s purchased in the U.S.
Agreed.
Archives… What exactly does “test” screening mean? A test of the Library’s 70mm equipment? A test of the print’s quality? Is it a vintage print that has been cleaned up or a newly struck print from restored elements? My curiosity is piqued.
Not sure the theater closed in ‘73, Lost. While an eviction date was set for March 28th of that year, a Times article from July of '73 indicates that both theaters were still in operation when a State Supreme Court Judge issued an restraining order in favor of Ellwest Stereo Theaters against the police sergeant that had been aggressively conducting raids on adult establishments in the area. Perhaps this was still the Ellwest in '74 when the C/O was issued.