Beekman Theatre
1254 2nd Avenue,
New York,
NY
10021
1254 2nd Avenue,
New York,
NY
10021
40 people
favorited this theater
Showing 176 - 200 of 399 comments
:–)
Thanks, Bob! I’ll continue posting for you.
-DB
davebazooka , IMHO keep on posting the photos. Most of us don’t have the ability to pass the Beekman site every day and its important to remind everyone what’s happening. Your photos provide more info then can be expressed in words.
It’s also important to document the death of a theater as much we document its life. Calling attention to the current situation of the Beekman may give people incentive to work harder in those communities where a building may be facing a similar fate.
If you don’t want to view the photo, just don’t click on the link.
Sorry for offending your sensibilities, Astyanax. You didn’t have to click on the links and view the images, but in order to avoid any further offenses against your refined tastes, I will post no more. Enjoy your day.
I’ve seen enough autopsy photos of the Beekman. I’d rather see photos of the theatre in its heyday, either of the marquee or of the interior. We love movies and the theatres because of the unique way in which they transport us and expand the way we see the world. A des-truction site can be seen anywhere. Let’s move on.
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It’s a word-for-word rehash of one of Clearview’s press releases regarding the Beekman closing…about the landlord exercising the lease option, etc.
In those photos, the right poster case has a sign with Clearview Cinemas at the top. What does it say?
Gustavelifting:
What information do you have on that theater in Brooklyn?
Gustavelifting:
What information do you have on that theater in Brooklyn?
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Registered for class at Hunter College today, walked the few blocks to the Beekman, took these pics.
They are already installed as stated several comments before. If you want to see them, I will tour the theatre on Sunday, September 11, 2005. See the Lindenhurst Theatre on this site for information.
Luis;
I can’t take you personally, but I know that myself and the rest of the town will be glad to see you.
Orlando;
When will they be installed at the Babylon? I live on Long Island.
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I went to the Beekman on the hazy, sweltering morning of Saturday, August 13 to take these pics. The marquee is gone. Note the severed steel I-bars. :–(
Re: Gustavelifting: Thank you very much. I think I`ll be there by 2006. In the meantime, I hope not a single one more movie theater will be closed!
The Glunch minimovie is touching. Great drawings!
The seats of the Beekman Theatre are now installed in the Clearview Babylon Theatre which we will be touring Sunday, September 11, 2005.
(See Lindenhurst Theatre site on this website for info.
Two Beekman tribute sites, posted and created by the same individual and both worth visiting:
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Come to New York, Luis, if you like old movie houses there are plenty, and some of the best like Radio City Music Hall. You are right, though, it’s sad to see great old buildings go.
Authentic Disaster. It’s probably 20 years now that I last visited New york, and never went to the Beekman. But here in Guadalajara, México, there are theater “deaths” as unfortunate as this, one each year. Recently one rather smallish and not too ineresting building was razed: named “Reforma”, a parking lot is in its place. In México City, another landmark by the name of “Arcadia” (incidentally had more or less the same age as the Beekman)has been recently demolished.
I realize that your Beekman was both interesting as a building, historically relevant, and a good place to watch excellent movies, unlike other poor movie houses doing porno in order to survive.
To me the Beekman was worth saving, Cinema 1-2-3 are unrecognizable from the days they were the Eastsides premiere houses.
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I found this online…scroll down to the bottom of the page for a photo of the Beekman script logo being removed from the marquee. Powerful image, puts my pics to shame!
Old Bos was merely a product of his time. He was instrumental in promoting foreign films in the 60’s and when he retired thought that he would devote his time to concentrating on Indian cinema. He fell out of favor when he lambasted “Bonnie & Clyde”, leading to his being rushed off to pasture. No surprise that he would enjoy the Modernist design of the Beekman, and discount the ornate movie palaces that preceded it. Although I cannot recall what his stance was regarding the demolition of the old Penn Station, it was in keeping with the sense of tear down the “old” and bring in the “new”. No one will lament the MSG complex that replaced Penn Sta. when it finally meets its fate. From his reference to “people of better taste” one gets the distinct sense of elitism. Clearly the old movie palaces were large enough to appear more egalitarian, and served as a symbol of neighborhood identity. Nonetheless, the Beekman will be sorely missed!
Re the Bosley Crowther quote: I wish I could see one of those vast ornate barn-like picture palaces he refers to. I have only seen them in photos. On this site there is a page for the RKO Proctor located on Third Avenue and 58th. From the description it must have been something to see!! I wish there was at least one of these left to us.
Hi dave-bronx, you’re welcome for the pics. I hope no one is having trouble viewing them, I rezzed them down and the photobucket album views shows the complete image, but sometimes only half the image loads.
In the second sentence of the “New York 1960” excerpt I posted before, “beanck” is supposed to be “branch.” Horrible typo. How embarrassing! Please excuse the other typos too, and the double post…I spazzed out big time.
One block uptown from the “New Beekman” 1&2, there is a sign in a store window announcing that it is soon to be the location of a new branch of North Fork Bank. Perhaps the bank next door to the true Beekman will be moving there.
I saw one of the old Beekman photos from its opening in 1952…so weird to see the cobblestoned Second Avenue! It brought back memories, at 43 I still recall quite a number of streets on the Upper East Side being similarly paved…or unpaved. I am sure they have all been tarred over by now.
If anyone wants high-resolution files of any of the images I have posted here, let me know and I will email them to you. Each is about 1.1 megabytes. They might take some time to travel through cyberland.
From Lou Lumenick’s NY Post this past January 6th, primarily discussing the closure threat looming over the Cinema 1-2-3:
“Miramax honcho Harvey Weinstein said he will fight to keep the theaters open.
“‘I spent my formative years as a teenager haunting these movie theaters (the Beekman and the Cinema 1-2-3),” Weinstein told The Post from Paris, where he was attending the European premiere of 'The Aviator.’
“‘I used to take the train from my home in Flushing when movies like 'Raging Bull,’ ‘Rocky,’ and ‘Midnight Cowboy’ would open exclusively at the Cinema 1.'
“Weinstein vowed to do ‘whatever I have to do, including financially’ to save the endangered theaters.”
So… what exactly happened, Harvey to your vow to do “whatever I have to do, including financially” to save, for immediate starters, the Beekman? Sure, you’ve been occupied with negotiating the terms of your and your brother Bob’s divorce from Disney and laying the groundwork for your new film company, but the same was true in January, when the danger the Beekman was facing became public news. You’re one of the few New Yorkers who has the financial clout AND the name which could have ensured the Beekman being saved and your words at the time left little room for interpretation… so what’s the story, Harvey?
What an insult that would be, if the North Folk Bank is preserved as the Beekman is demolished. There are, what, some 100-150 North Folk Bank branch locations, but only one Beekman (no matter the re-named New York One and Two across the street)…
Speaking of the New York/Beekman One and Two, newspaper display ads and movie clock listings are still referring to it by its old name. I wonder if Clearview is waiting for some sort of ‘grand opening’ before making the name change formal, despite the recently installed and unobscured new signage…
Thanks, davebazooka, for the additional photos. I’m beginning to wonder if the building will be demolished with the bank section left in place and incorporated into the new structure. The scaffolding is probably going to be installed around the building as a sidewalk-shed, to protect passers-by from any falling debris during the demolition. The clue will be if they don’t install it around the bank, then the bank will be retained.
The “free-form, undulating bank of seating” referred to in the comments of Mr. Crowther in davebazooka’s post above, was last seen in the lower lounge area of the Gramercy Theatre on 23rd St. I don’t know if it’s still there or not.
I should have known better than to hope that Clearview/Solow would do the right thing and install one of those Beekman signatures on the twin across the street. At the very least they could have used that style of lettering on the existing sign instead of a plain sans-serif type style.