Essex Theatre
375 Grand Street,
New York,
NY
10002
375 Grand Street,
New York,
NY
10002
6 people
favorited this theater
Opened on November 20 1962 with Frank Sinatra in “The Manchurian Candidate”. It was part of the Essex Street apartment complex. This 598-seat single screen initially played arthouse and foreign movies, but later turned to action, horror and kung fu movies. The bookings were usually first run and almost always had a second feature thrown in. The heyday of the Essex Theatre was the late-1970’s and early-1980’s, when Cannon was churning out Charles Bronson films like “Death Wish II”. They also played a lot of New Line and indie slasher flicks.
In 2019 the building is in use as the Center Light Medical Center.
Contributed by
RobertR
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.
Recent comments (view all 29 comments)
Saw the 1969 Rene Clement flick, Riders in the Rain, here as part of a double feature. Don’t recall the other half of the bill. Help, anyone?
How about “Stiletto” or if you saw them in 1972, “Carnal Knowledge”.
Opening ad;
View link
Awesome ad!!!
If anyone else has photos of the old Essex Theater- please please please post.
1980’s tax photo, terrible quality, but you can just barely make out the marquee.
http://nycma.lunaimaging.com/luna/servlet/detail/RECORDSPHOTOUNITMAN~2~2~509109~182504:dof_1_00311_0013?sort=Identifier%2CBorough%2CBlock%2CLot&qvq=q:grand%2Bstreet;sort:Identifier%2CBorough%2CBlock%2CLot;lc:RECORDSPHOTOUNITMAN~2~2&mi=105&trs=191
The Essex opened in the early 1960s. There was a “contest” for the naming of the theater and we couldn’t believe that they didn’t come up with anything more creative than Essex. I saw too many movies there to remember. In the 1960s, the theater was in good shape and well kept, and the movies were generally family fare, first and second run. No martial arts, horror movies, or porn—and no rats. I remember Chicken Delight, too. For fast food, it was a treat! It’s amazing that there are no good photos of the theater. Bowery Boogie ran an article about the theater not long ago, but the image of the theater and marquee turned out to be photoshopped.
When it opened in the 60’s the Essex filled the gap as the sole neighborhood theatre that was once served by movie palaces like the Loews Canal, the Loews Delancey as well as the Apollo, the Winston, the Ruby and even the New Delancey. All those theatres gave the LES its unique character.
This was one of my favorite theaters. I went there for the first time in 1981, I believe, for a double bill of DRESSED TO KILL and BLOW OUT. I saw many double features there, especially horror and action films. DON’T OPEN TIL CHRISTMAS, EXTERMINATOR II, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, TERROR IN THE AISLES, HOUSE OF EXORCISM, SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT and so many more!
Hello fellow movie theater lovers,
I’m doing a project for my photojournalism class at NYU about closed down independent movie theaters in New York. I hope to gain information about people’s past experiences at these movie theaters, recollections of favorite memories or not so great experiences, perhaps economical insight, contacts with owners/managers, etc. On a larger level, I hope my project is able to show the significance of the role that these establishments play in our city and the importance of keeping them afloat.
If anyone would be willing to answer a few questions via email about your personal memories at the theater, please let me know! It could be as simple as recounting a favorite movie you remember seeing back when it was open. I would greatly appreciate your insight.
You can contact me at:
Thanks,
Gabi
The opening night was by invitation only.