Victoria Theatre
1547 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
1547 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
8 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 94 comments
1964 photo that will enlarge within Flickr link.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/33216291@N08/5517282238/in/photolist-9pxvMQ-8rGu1e-eDxdAn-b7wVxF-bJav9g-7DYT5c-7DMoFb-8guC8K-dMPHgK-ecjmcA-7DHxyc-9pxvLA-8rKz7b-7E3h2y-7DYyya-9pxvJN-8mTiYX-8rKztC-8mWsCf-fwJp79-eiD1gv-dRShLi-dXzgZB-8mWt2o-8mWt17-8mWsMG-8mWsZ7-8mTj6Z-8mWsK5-8mTj3P-dWpEsa-aFT5rz-edjBhE-dtaG5Z-eenh3v-8b2we7-8t875q-dW9d3r-cd3EkC-e9c1ct-eiJJzw-eiJQww-fdLXLS-fd1ivu-frCW7R-fcPKyi-fdbgDd-ehRCdt-cd3EX5-92u4VD-ehXmqh
Shorpy link with a 1949 photo. Be sure to click on View Full Size.
http://www.shorpy.com/node/23240
1955 photo added via Al Ponte’s Time Machine-New York Facebook page.
Funny but the proscenium in this theater was larger than what it appears in that photo. I saw Lady and the Tramp here. The other film was some Disney glacial or artic adventure of which I can’t remember the title nor did I want to see it
Anyway it was in 1.85 aspect ratio and when Lady started the borders of course had not been changed and the image was playing on the borders on the sides. Surprise.
There wasn’t a peep out of the audience and of course I went to an usher to complain. He looked at me in astonishment and said nobody had said anything before. They changed it and it was a nice sized Cinemascope screen.
That photo does seem to show the orchestra sloping upwards at the front.
Reminds me of the seating at the Thalia…
There is an interior photo on page six.
Due to its central location in Times Square, there are hundreds (thousands?) of photos of the exterior, but it seems there are scant representations of the interior…
I started going to the Victoria in the late ‘60s, and I recall that it had an unusual auditorium. The rear of the orchestra started high and then sloped downward (similar, in a way, to today’s “stadium seating”), but then raked upward again as it got the front rows, which was bizarre. Does anyone else remember the Victoria this way?
1964 photo added courtesy of Ralph Fidelman‎.
New Years Eve 1936 photo as Minsky’s Gayety added, courtesy of Al Ponte’s Time Machine – New York Facebook page.
1947 photo added courtesy of the Hemmings Motor News Facebook page.
1954 photo added. Photographer unknown. Via Al Ponte’s Time Machine – New York Facebook page.
“Formal” premiere meant that guests were expected to dress “formally,”— men in tuxedos, women in evening gowns.
There were two in 1943, Robboehm.
It’s indicated this was once the Laffmovie. Is that correct? I remember the Laffmovie as being on 42nd Street where the Empire 25 now is.
1963 photo added courtesy of Richard Thurbin.
1944 photo added courtesy of the IM STILL SO NYC Facebook page.
Pic of 1948 Ad for World Premiere “Joan of Arc” added to Photo Section
FYI. Just uploaded a 1929 theatre program for John Ford’s “the Black Watch” to the Photos section. It includes a small floor plan diagram. Photo courtesy of Decaying Hollywood Mansions FB page.
Boxoffice “deplored” the type of ballyhoo used to sell this doc. Ha! If they could only see what lay down the road…
Love those crowds in the picture :)
A September 7, 1943 article in the New York Times explains how this location became an outlet for Russian films in 1943-1944.
Maurice Maurer, owner of the lease for several Times Square theatres including the Victoria, sold his lease to the Stanley, which had been an established outlet for Russian films since 1941. He then competed with the sucessful Stanley by programming first-run films from Russia (or about Russia) at the Victoria for almost a year.
Just prior to this it had been the Laffmovie and the often raided Gaiety Burlesque.
Nice link Tinseltoes.
Here is a photo circa 1965:
http://tinyurl.com/yz6kr8r
Here is a 1967 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/ydynovo