Metro Theater (New York City): Difference between revisions
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{{Short description| |
{{Short description|Former movie theater in Manhattan, New York}} |
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{{Use American English|date=May 2023}} |
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[[File:Metro2021.jpg|thumb|The Metro has been vacant and gutted since 2006.]] |
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{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}} |
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{{Infobox venue |
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| name = Metro Theater |
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| image = Metro2021.jpg |
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| image_size = 225px |
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| image_alt = Side view of the Metro Theater, a three-story movie theater. The main entrance is to the right, and a large rectangular marquee is located above the entrance. |
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| caption = The Metro has been vacant and gutted since 2006. |
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| address = 2626 Broadway |
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| city = [[Manhattan]], New York |
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| country = United States |
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| designation = |
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| architect = [[Boak & Paris]] |
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| owner = Broadway Metro Assoc |
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| operator = |
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| capacity = 550 (originally)<br />292 upper auditorium, 188 lower auditorium (before closure) |
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| type = Former [[movie theater]] |
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| opened = June 2, 1933 |
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| yearsactive = 1933–2005 |
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| rebuilt = 1986 (as duplex) |
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| closed = November 2005 |
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| othernames = Midtown Theater |
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| currentuse = Vacant |
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| website = |
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| coordinates = {{Coord|40|47|48.3|N|73|58|11.5|W|type:landmark_region:US-NY|display=inline,title}} |
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| embedded = {{Infobox historic site |
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| embed = yes |
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| architecture = [[Art Deco]] |
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| designation1 = NYCL |
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| designation1_date = July 11, 1989<ref name="NYCL p. 1" /> |
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| designation1_number = 1710<ref name="NYCL p. 1" >{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1989|ps=.|p=1}}</ref> |
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| designation1_free1name = Designated entity |
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| designation1_free1value = [[Facade]] |
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}} |
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}} |
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The '''Metro Theater''' |
The '''Metro Theater''' (formerly the '''Midtown Theater''' and '''Embassy's New Metro Twin''') is a defunct [[movie theater]] at 2626 [[Broadway (Manhattan)|Broadway]] on the [[Upper West Side]] of [[Manhattan]] in [[New York City]]. It was designed by architecture firm [[Boak and Paris]] and built between 1932 and 1933. The theater is designed in the [[Art Deco]] style and originally contained 550 seats. Although the theater's interior was demolished after it was closed in 2005, the original facade remains intact {{As of|2023|lc=y}} and is a [[New York City designated landmark]]. |
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The Metro Theater's facade on Broadway is about three and a half stories tall. The ground story contains an entrance, storefront windows, and ticket windows. Above the theater's main entrance is a [[Marquee (structure)|marquee]], which spans most of the theater's frontage and extends almost to the [[curb]]. The upper portion of the facade is made of terracotta and is divided vertically into three sections; the central section includes a decorative [[polychrome]]d medallion. The main auditorium originally contained a [[proscenium arch]] with niches containing statues. Originally a single auditorium, the interior had been split into two auditoriums by the early 2000s before it was demolished. |
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A.C. and H.M. Hall acquired an apartment building at 2626 Broadway in 1931 and replaced it with the Midtown Theater, which opened on June 2, 1933. The theater presented first-run films until the 1950s, when it began to show art-house films. The Midtown operated as a [[Pornographic film|porn]] theater from the 1970s and early 1980s. Dan Talbot acquired the lease to the theater in 1982 and began screening films in [[Repertory theatre|repertory]], splitting the theater into two auditoriums in 1986. Cineplex assumed the theater's lease in 1987 and sold it to [[Cablevision]], parent company of [[Clearview Cinemas]], in 1998. After a 2004 renovation by Peter H. Elson, who operated it for a year, the Metro closed permanently in November 2005 and was gutted the next year. Its owner Albert Bialek unsuccessfully attempted to lease out the theater in the late 2000s and the 2010s to [[Urban Outfitters]], Wingspan Arts, [[Alamo Drafthouse Cinema]], [[Planet Fitness]], and [[Blink Fitness]]. Alamo Drafthouse took over the theater in 2022 with plans to renovate it, but these plans were canceled in 2024. |
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== Site == |
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The Metro Theater, originally the Midtown Theater, is located at 2624–2626 [[Broadway (Manhattan)|Broadway]], on the eastern sidewalk between 99th and 100th Streets, in the [[Manhattan Valley]] and [[Upper West Side]] neighborhoods of [[Manhattan]] in [[New York City]].<ref name="NYCL p. 5"/> The [[land lot]] covers {{convert|5000|ft2|0}} and is rectangular, with a [[frontage]] of {{Convert|50|ft}} on Broadway and a depth of {{Convert|100|ft}}.<ref name="NYCL p. 5">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1989|ps=.|p=5}}</ref><ref name="ZoLa">{{Cite web |title=2626 Broadway, 10025 |url=https://zola.planning.nyc.gov/l/lot/1/1871/22 |access-date=January 1, 2021 |publisher=[[New York City Department of City Planning]]}}{{Cbignore}}</ref> The Metro Theater abuts [[St. Michael's Episcopal Church (Manhattan)|St. Michael's Episcopal Church]] and the [[New York Public Library]]'s [[Bloomingdale Library]] to the east, as well as the [[The Ariel|Ariel East]] residential tower to the north.<ref name="ZoLa" /> The [[Columbus Square (New York City)|Columbus Square]] development is one block to the east of the Metro Theater.<ref name="ZoLa" /><ref name="Satow 2011" /> |
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The section of Broadway between 59th and 110th Streets once contained 18 movie theaters, including the Metro. By 1989, only four such theaters remained on Broadway,<ref name="nyt-2004-11-22">{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=November 22, 2004 |title=Landmark Theater Held Over! 6th Big Broadway Run! |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/22/nyregion/landmark-theater-held-over-6th-big-broadway-run.html |access-date=July 17, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429070505/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/22/nyregion/landmark-theater-held-over-6th-big-broadway-run.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="NYCL p. 3">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1989|ps=.|p=3}}</ref> as these cinemas were generally smaller neighborhood theaters, which struggled to compete with larger [[Multiplex (movie theater)|multiplex]] theaters.<ref name="p278239588">{{cite news |last=Castro |first=Laura L. |date=October 15, 1990 |title=Small Theaters Looking for Revival Tough economics send independent houses reeling |page= |work=Newsday |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|278239588}}}}</ref> The Metro was the only remaining movie theater on the Upper West Side stretch of Broadway by the beginning of the 21st century.<ref name="nyt-2004-11-22" /><ref name="Observer1" /> |
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== Architecture == |
== Architecture == |
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The Metro Theater was designed in the [[Art Deco]] style by [[Boak & Paris]],<ref name="NYCL p. 3" /><ref name="Robins p. 164">{{harvnb|Robins|2017|p=164|ps=.}}</ref><ref name="nycland">{{Cite nycland|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=AwYcSFtdE_AC&dq=%22midtown+theater%22+upper+west+side+nyc&pg=PA150 150]}}</ref> composed of Russell M. Boak and Hyman F. Paris, who studied under architect [[Emery Roth]].<ref name="NYCL p. 3" /><ref name="nyt-2001-07-15">{{Cite news |last=Gray |first=Christopher |date=July 15, 2001 |title=Streetscapes/Manhattan; 2 Little-Known Architects of Distinctive Buildings |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/15/realestate/streetscapes-manhattan-2-little-known-architects-of-distinctive-buildings.html |access-date=July 17, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220416180919/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/15/realestate/streetscapes-manhattan-2-little-known-architects-of-distinctive-buildings.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The developer was A.C. and H.M. Hall.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2626 Broadway (Midtown Theater – now the Metro Theater) |url=https://www.landmarkwest.org/building/2626-broadway-midtown-theater-now-the-metro-theater/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210620125852/https://www.landmarkwest.org/building/2626-broadway-midtown-theater-now-the-metro-theater/ |archive-date=June 20, 2021 |access-date=June 20, 2021 |website=LANDMARK WEST!}}</ref> Although the theater's facade largely contains vertically oriented decorations, there are some horizontal design elements on the theater's [[Marquee (structure)|marquee]] and outermost doorways, which may be an allusion to the [[Streamline Moderne]] style.<ref name="Robins p. 164" /> |
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=== Facade === |
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The only visible facade of the Metro Theater is the primary facade on Broadway, which is about three and a half stories tall. It is divided into the ground floor entrance and the glazed-terracotta upper section.<ref name="NYCL p. 5" /> The theater's facade uses rose-colored and black [[Architectural terracotta|terracotta]], an inexpensive decorative element at the time of the Metro's construction, when funding was scarce.<ref name="NY1930">{{cite NY1930|page=264 and image p. 257}}</ref> The ground story contains a black-terracotta frame, which surrounded three glass double doors. The original ticket window was outside the theater. When the theater opened, there were two glass doors left of this entrance, which were replaced when the ticket window was moved inside in 1954. There was an aluminum-and-glass storefront, with a display window and doorway, right of the entrance. The outermost portion of the ground story contains aluminum doors with vertical grooves, flanked by horizontal gray and black bands.<ref name="NYCL p. 5" /><ref name="Robins p. 164" /> |
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Above the theater's main entrance is the marquee, which spans most of the theater's frontage and extends almost to the [[curb]].<ref name="nyt-2008-07-09">{{Cite news |last=Tarquinio |first=J. Alex |date=July 9, 2008 |title=A Landmark Theater in Need of a Sequel |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/realestate/commercial/09movie.html |access-date=July 17, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126030315/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/realestate/commercial/09movie.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The marquee is made of metal and is suspended from the upper facade via [[eyebar]]s.<ref name="NYCL p. 5" /> A series of four horizontal chrome bands wrap around the north, west, and south faces of the marquee.<ref name="NYCL p. 5" /><ref name="Robins p. 164" /><ref name="nycland" /> Similar to in the Variety Theater, Boak & Paris used lights on the underside of the marquee. When the theater was built, there were 200 lights on the marquee's underside, but this was reduced to 22 lights by the late 1980s. Above the north and south faces of the marquee are red neon letters spelling "Metro" in Art Deco-style letters, which were installed when the theater was renamed from the Midtown Theater in 1982. There are black terracotta blocks on the facade on either side of the marquee.<ref name="NYCL p. 5" /> |
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[[File:Medallion2021.jpg|thumb|The comedy and tragedy medallion signals the use of the building.]] |
[[File:Medallion2021.jpg|thumb|The comedy and tragedy medallion signals the use of the building.]] |
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In 1931 Architects [[Boak & Paris]] designed the [[Art Deco]] Midtown (now Metro) Theater at 2626 Broadway between 99th and 100th Streets.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fletcher |first=Tom |title=Metro Theater |url=https://www.nyc-architecture.com/UWS/UWS044.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200303021815/http://www.nyc-architecture.com/UWS/UWS044.htm |archive-date=3 March 2020 |access-date=2021-06-20 |website=New York Architecture}}</ref> The developer was A.C. and H.M. Hall.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2626 Broadway (Midtown Theater – now the Metro Theater) |url=https://www.landmarkwest.org/building/2626-broadway-midtown-theater-now-the-metro-theater/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210620125852/https://www.landmarkwest.org/building/2626-broadway-midtown-theater-now-the-metro-theater/ |archive-date=2021-06-20 |access-date=2021-06-20 |website=LANDMARK WEST!}}</ref> Similar to the Variety Theater, Boak & Paris used lights on the underside of the [[Marquee (structure)|marquee]]. The [[Terracotta|terra-cotta]] wall in its facade above the marquee was described in the report designating it a landmark as "The most notable feature of the theater’s facade".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Marthey |first=Lynne |title=Midtown Theater (now Metro Theater) Designation Report, [LP-1615] |publisher=Landmarks Preservation Commission, New York, City of New York |year=1989 |location=New York City |pages=5–6}}</ref> The central part of the marquee features a [[Polychrome|polychromed]] medallion depicting the figures of [[Sock and buskin|comedy and tragedy]].<ref name="DecoMedallion">{{cite book |last1=Duncan |first1=Alastair |title=American Art Deco |date=1986 |publisher=Abrams |isbn=978-0-8109-2349-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9Xx2d2-DT1IC&q=%22midtown+theater%22+1933+new+york |language=en |access-date=2021-06-20 |archive-date=2021-06-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210620131738/https://www.google.ca/books/edition/American_Art_Deco/9Xx2d2-DT1IC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22midtown+theater%22+1933+new+york&dq=%22midtown+theater%22+1933+new+york&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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The upper portion of the facade is made of terracotta and is divided vertically into three sections.<ref name="NYCL p. 5" /> The outer sections are variously described as being pink<ref name="nyt-2004-11-22" /><ref name="NY1930" /> or "rosy beige" in color.<ref name="NYCL p. 6">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1989|ps=.|p=6}}</ref> Maroon bands divide the outer sections of the facade into L-shaped segments.<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /> The central part of the upper facade is demarcated by black [[pilaster]]s with maroon borders on either side, which protrude from the wall and curve above the roofline. The middle of the central section contains vertical aluminum bars, which taper in a triangular pattern above the roofline.<ref name="NYCL p. 5" /> These bars are interrupted by a [[polychrome]]d medallion with masks symbolizing [[Sock and buskin|comedy and tragedy]].<ref name="nycland" /><ref name="DecoMedallion">{{cite book |last1=Duncan |first1=Alastair |title=American Art Deco |date=1986 |publisher=Abrams |isbn=978-0-8109-2349-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9Xx2d2-DT1IC&q=%22midtown+theater%22+1933+new+york |language=en |access-date=June 20, 2021 |archive-date=June 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210620131738/https://www.google.ca/books/edition/American_Art_Deco/9Xx2d2-DT1IC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22midtown+theater%22+1933+new+york&dq=%22midtown+theater%22+1933+new+york&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="NYCL pp. 5–6">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1989|pp=5–6|ps=.}}</ref> The medallion has a lavender background and a horizontal yellow band with two off-white or beige figures, which appear to be holding blue and gray masks.<ref name="NYCL pp. 5–6" /><ref name="Robins p. 165">{{harvnb|Robins|2017|p=165|ps=.}}</ref> This medallion is similar in design to [[Hildreth Meière]]'s plaques on the facade of [[Radio City Music Hall]],<ref name="Robins pp. 164–165">{{harvnb|Robins|2017|pp=164–165|ps=.}}</ref><ref name="Mackin 2020 p. 86">{{cite book |last=Mackin |first=Jim |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jSkGEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA86 |title=Notable New Yorkers of Manhattan's Upper West Side: Bloomingdale–Morningside Heights |publisher=Fordham University Press |year=2020 |isbn=978-0-8232-8931-8 |page=86 |access-date=July 20, 2023 |archive-date=July 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720212021/https://books.google.com/books?id=jSkGEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA86 |url-status=live }}</ref> but Meière most likely did not create the theater's medallion.<ref name="Mackin 2020 p. 86" /> There is a maroon [[Coping (architecture)|coping]] at the top of the facade; the coping above the outer sections of the facade is flat, while the coping above the center section is wavy.<ref name="NYCL pp. 5–6" /> |
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The interior of the single screen Midtown had niches on either side of the screen containing statues of nude women holding glowing dishes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=New Metro Twin in New York, NY - Cinema Treasures |url=http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/287 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126043125/http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/287/ |archive-date=26 November 2020 |access-date=2021-06-20 |website=Cinema Treasures}}</ref> |
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===Interior=== |
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When the Metro Theater was in operation, its lobby was decorated with red glass-block columns.<ref name="p285412525">{{cite news |last=Mancini |first=John |date=May 2, 1986 |title=Screen Gems: Palaces To Multiplexes A movie lover's guide to area theaters, from soft seats and technical wizardry to chandeliers and peeling paint |page=1 |work=Newsday |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|285412525}}}}</ref> The theater originally contained 550 seats,<ref name="NYCL p. 2" /> split across two levels in a [[stadium seating]] layout.<ref name="NY1930" /> seating arrangement was changed multiple times over the years and was split into two screens in 1986: a 200-seat upper auditorium and a 325-seat lower auditorium.<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /> Toward the end of its original run in 2004, the upper auditorium contained 292 seats, while the lower auditorium contained 188 seats.<ref name="nyt-2004-11-22" /> The [[proscenium]] arch, at the front of the theater, was flanked by niches containing statues of nude women holding glowing dishes.<ref name="NY1930" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=New Metro Twin in New York, NY – Cinema Treasures |url=http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/287 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126043125/http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/287/ |archive-date=November 26, 2020 |access-date=June 20, 2021 |website=Cinema Treasures}}</ref> These niches also contained grilles.<ref name="nyt-2004-11-22" /> A band of floral ornament ran across the ceiling and side walls.<ref name="NY1930" /> The aisles were illuminated by lights in a fan pattern.<ref name="p285412525" /> |
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The entire interior was completely demolished in 2006.<ref name="nyt-2006-01-22"/> The modern-day theater building contains {{Convert|10270|ft2}} of usable space on two above-ground stories. The basement covers {{Convert|5000|ft2}} and has {{Convert|13|ft|adj=on}} ceilings.<ref name="nyt-2008-07-09" /> |
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== History == |
== History == |
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=== Development === |
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The Midtown opened in 1933.<ref name="LPCReport" /> From its opening until the 1950s, the theater presented first-run films.<ref name="RealDealNY">{{Cite news |date=2014-05-24 |title=Midtown Theater UWS {{!}} UWS Art Deco Theater |work=The Real Deal New York |url=https://therealdeal.com/2014/05/24/midtown-on-the-uws-the-decay-of-an-art-deco-cinema/ |access-date=20 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204211740/https://therealdeal.com/2014/05/24/midtown-on-the-uws-the-decay-of-an-art-deco-cinema/ |archive-date=4 December 2020}}</ref> In the 1950s and 1960s, it presented art-house films by directors such as [[Jean-Luc Godard]], [[Luis Buñuel|Louis Buñuel]] and [[Roman Polanski]].<ref name="RealDealNY" /> |
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Large [[movie palace]]s became common in the 1920s between the end of World War I and the beginning of the Great Depression.<ref name="NYCL-1338">{{Cite report |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1338.pdf |title=Mark Hellinger Theater |date=January 5, 1988 |publisher=[[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]] |pages=8–9 |access-date=July 17, 2023 |archive-date=January 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107031802/http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1338.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Hall |first=Ben M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tWIMAQAAIAAJ |title=The Best Remaining Seats: The Story of the Golden Age of the Movie Palace |publisher=C. N. Potter |year=1975 |isbn=978-0-517-02057-9 |page=12 |access-date=December 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214154802/https://books.google.com/books?id=tWIMAQAAIAAJ |archive-date=December 14, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> In the New York City area, these movie palaces often had between 2,000 and 6,000 seats.<ref name="NYCL p. 2">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1989|ps=.|p=2}}</ref> The onset of the Depression forced many theatrical operators in New York City to build smaller theaters with between 500 and 1,000 seats.<ref name="NYCL p. 2" /> As such, most of New York City's Art Deco-style theaters, built during this time period, were small-scale cinemas serving local neighborhoods.<ref name="Robins p. 164" /> |
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Just prior to the construction of what became the Midtown Theater, the site at 2624–2626 Broadway was occupied by a seven-story apartment building, which the Welton estate sold to Irving I. Lewine in November 1930. Lewine initially intended to build another structure on the site.<ref name="p1113277675">{{cite news |date=November 5, 1930 |title=Operator Buys Corner Suites On West Side: Lewine Will Alter or Raze Apartments at Broadway and Ninety-ninth Street |page=37 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1113277675}}}}</ref> The A. C. and H. M. Hall Realty Company bought the vacant apartment building in June 1931, with plans to replace it with a two-story commercial structure.<ref name="p1114181784">{{cite news |date=June 6, 1931 |title=Halls Purchase Small Building On Broadway: Will Replace Seven-Story Building With Taxpayer; Gimbels Exercise Option |page=29 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1114181784}}}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1931-06-17">{{Cite news |date=June 17, 1931 |title=Taxpayer to Replace Ninth Avenue Houses; Hall Interests Complete Deal for Fifty-eighth Street Corner-- Leaseholds Reported. Estates Leased in Nassau County. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1931/06/17/archives/taxpayer-to-replace-ninth-avenue-houses-hall-interests-complete.html |access-date=July 17, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720211939/https://www.nytimes.com/1931/06/17/archives/taxpayer-to-replace-ninth-avenue-houses-hall-interests-complete.html |url-status=live }}</ref> By that November, the site had been cleared.<ref name="NYCL p. 3" /> Boak and Paris had finalized plans for a small theater in December 1932, and Hall Realty received a [[building permit]] for the theater the next month.<ref name="NYCL p. 3" /> Brohall Realty, led, by Arlington C. Hall, leased the theater to Lee A. Ochs of Midway Theatre Inc. for 21 years beginning in March 1933, with annual rent that would gradually increase from $17,500 to $22,500.<ref name="p1221669588">{{cite news |date=March 22, 1933 |title=New Broadway Theater Leased for Long Term: playhouse To Be Built Near 99th St. Taken by Syndicate |page=26 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1221669588}}}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1933-03-22">{{Cite news |date=March 22, 1933 |title=To Build on Upper Broadway. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1933/03/22/archives/to-build-on-upper-broadway.html |access-date=July 17, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720211939/https://www.nytimes.com/1933/03/22/archives/to-build-on-upper-broadway.html |url-status=live }}</ref> J. J. Secoles was the theater's general contractor.<ref name="nyt-1933-03-22" /> |
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In the 1970s and 80s it operated as a [[Pornographic film|porn]] theater.<ref name="CrainsNYbusiness">{{Cite web |date=2018-11-21 |title=Take a peek at some of the city's oldest theaters |url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/gallery/entertainment/take-peek-some-citys-oldest-theaters |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305220836/https://www.crainsnewyork.com/gallery/entertainment/take-peek-some-citys-oldest-theaters |archive-date=5 March 2021 |access-date=2021-06-20 |website=Crain's New York Business |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Permits_Filed" /><ref name="Observer1" /> |
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=== Operation === |
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In 1982, Dan Talbot acquired the lease to the theater.<ref name="NYTTalbotLease">{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=2004-11-22 |title=Landmark Theater Held Over! 6th Big Broadway Run! |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/22/nyregion/landmark-theater-held-over-6th-big-broadway-run.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429070505/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/22/nyregion/landmark-theater-held-over-6th-big-broadway-run.html |archive-date=29 March 2021 |access-date=2021-06-20 |website=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="NYTFadeToBlack">{{Cite news |last=Hartocollis |first=Anemona |date=2003-04-06 |title=Fade to Black |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/06/nyregion/fade-to-black.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301140309/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/06/nyregion/fade-to-black.html |archive-date=1 March 2020 |access-date=2021-06-20 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> |
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==== Early years ==== |
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In 1989, [[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]] (LPC) designated the Midtown (now Metro) an individual landmark. The theater is Boak & Paris' only individually landmarked building.<ref name="LPCReport">{{Cite report |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1710.pdf |title=Designation List 218, LP-1615 |last=Marthey |first=Lynne D. |editor-last=Shockley |editor-first=Jay |date=11 July 1989 |publisher=nyc.gov |access-date=2021-06-20 |website=Landmarks Preservation Commission |archive-date=2016-12-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223171837/http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1710.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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The Midtown Theater opened on June 2, 1933, and received its [[certificate of occupancy]] five days later.<ref name="NYCL p. 4">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1989|ps=.|p=4}}</ref> Despite its name, the theater was on the Upper West Side and was not near [[Midtown Manhattan]].<ref name="Robins p. 164" /> From its opening through the 1940s, the theater presented [[First run (filmmaking)|first-run]] films, namely films that had just been released by movie studios.<ref name="RealDealNY">{{Cite news |date=May 24, 2014 |title=Midtown Theater UWS {{!}} UWS Art Deco Theater |work=The Real Deal New York |url=https://therealdeal.com/2014/05/24/midtown-on-the-uws-the-decay-of-an-art-deco-cinema/ |access-date=June 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204211740/https://therealdeal.com/2014/05/24/midtown-on-the-uws-the-decay-of-an-art-deco-cinema/ |archive-date=December 4, 2020}}</ref> Among the films screened at the Midtown were ''[[Goose Step (film)|Goose Step]]'',<ref name="p1242934145">{{cite news |date=February 1, 1940 |title=Hollywood News and New York Screen Notes: Flaherty May Return |page=14 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1242934145}}}}</ref> ''[[The Seventh Veil]]'',<ref name="nyt-1946-06-13">{{Cite news |date=June 13, 1946 |title=Liberty Films Buy Novel by Belden; George Stevens Will Produce 'Give Us This Night,' Story of Australian War Bride Of Local Origin |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1946/06/13/archives/liberty-films-buy-novel-by-belden-george-stevens-will-produce-give.html |access-date=July 20, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422032019/https://www.nytimes.com/1946/06/13/archives/liberty-films-buy-novel-by-belden-george-stevens-will-produce-give.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and ''[[Moonlight Sonata (film)|Moonlight Sonata]]'',<ref name="nyt-1946-06-13" /> as well as revivals of films such as ''[[The Scoundrel (1935 film)|The Scoundrel]]''<ref name="nyt-1940-06-18">{{Cite news |last=Churchill |first=Douglas W. |date=June 18, 1940 |title=Screen News Here and in Hollywood; Goldwyn to Drop Production Plans for a Year, Pending Outcome of Court Case |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1940/06/18/archives/screen-news-here-and-in-hollywood-goldwyn-to-drop-production-plans.html |access-date=July 20, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720212004/https://www.nytimes.com/1940/06/18/archives/screen-news-here-and-in-hollywood-goldwyn-to-drop-production-plans.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Catherine the Great (1934 film)|''Catherine the Great'']].<ref name="nyt-1940-07-24">{{Cite news |date=July 24, 1940 |title=Screen News Here and in Hollywood; Chevalier Expected to Return to Films With Leading Role in 'No, No, Nanette' |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1940/07/24/archives/screen-news-here-and-in-hollywood-chevalier-expected-to-return-to.html |access-date=July 20, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720212606/https://www.nytimes.com/1940/07/24/archives/screen-news-here-and-in-hollywood-chevalier-expected-to-return-to.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The theater's developer, Hall Realty, owned the theater until the 1940s, after which it was sold several times.<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /> ''Crain's New York'' magazine wrote that the Midtown "showed Marx Brothers comedies and romances starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn" at the peak of its popularity.<ref name="Crain's New York Business 2018 q165">{{cite web |last=Miller |first=Stuart |date=November 21, 2018 |title=Old movie theaters are hoping for a Hollywood ending |url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/features/old-movie-theaters-are-hoping-hollywood-ending |access-date=July 20, 2023 |website=Crain's New York Business |archive-date=June 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230627174813/https://www.crainsnewyork.com/features/old-movie-theaters-are-hoping-hollywood-ending |url-status=live }}</ref> The Midtown Theater switched to showing foreign films in December 1948, starting with the French film ''Secrets of a Ballerina''.<ref name="p1327223079">{{cite news |date=December 27, 1948 |title=News of the Screen: Two Get Roles in 'Bad Girl' |page=11 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1327223079}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Masters |first=Dorothy |date=December 30, 1948 |title=Midtown Goes to First-Run Movie Policy |pages=265 |work=Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-midtown-goes-to-first-run-mov/128574081/ |access-date=July 20, 2023 |archive-date=July 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720212551/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-midtown-goes-to-first-run-mov/128574081/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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During the 1950s, the Midtown hosted foreign films such as ''[[The Blue Angel]]'',<ref name="p1291346175">{{cite news |date=February 25, 1951 |title=Stars in the Neighborhoods |page=D4 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1291346175}}}}</ref> ''[[Jofroi]]'',<ref name="p112371463">{{cite news |date=September 12, 1952 |title=Of Local Origin |page=18 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|112371463}}}}</ref> and ''[[A Day In The Country]]''.<ref name="p112371463" /> The theater also presented art-house films by directors such as [[Jean-Luc Godard]], [[Luis Buñuel|Louis Buñuel]] and [[Roman Polanski]] during the 1950s and 1960s.<ref name="RealDealNY" /> By the early 1970s, the Midtown had begun to show [[pornographic film]]s,<ref name="nyt-1972-05-29">{{Cite news |last=Darnton |first=John |date=May 29, 1972 |title=96th and Broadway Typifies Essence of a Changing City |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/05/29/archives/96th-and-broadway-typifies-essence-of-a-changing-city-96th-and.html |access-date=July 19, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720212605/https://www.nytimes.com/1972/05/29/archives/96th-and-broadway-typifies-essence-of-a-changing-city-96th-and.html |url-status=live }}</ref> a use that continued well into the next decade.<ref name="Observer1" /><ref name="Permits_Filed">{{Cite news |date=March 4, 2016 |title=Permits Filed for Historic Metro Theater to Become a Gym |website=West Side Rag |url=https://www.westsiderag.com/2016/03/04/permits-filed-for-historic-metro-theater-to-become-a-gym |url-status=live |access-date=June 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160803073106/http://www.westsiderag.com/2016/03/04/permits-filed-for-historic-metro-theater-to-become-a-gym |archive-date=August 3, 2016}}</ref><ref name="CrainsNYbusiness">{{Cite web |date=November 21, 2018 |title=Take a peek at some of the city's oldest theaters |url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/gallery/entertainment/take-peek-some-citys-oldest-theaters |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305220836/https://www.crainsnewyork.com/gallery/entertainment/take-peek-some-citys-oldest-theaters |archive-date=March 5, 2021 |access-date=June 20, 2021 |website=Crain's New York Business |language=en}}</ref> A ''New York Times'' reporter said that the theater's conversion into a porn theater of one of many "signs for the optimist and for the pessimist" in the immediate surrounding area.<ref name="nyt-1972-05-29" /> At the time, the stretch of Broadway between 96th and 110th Streets had experienced significant social decline and contained numerous [[single room occupancy]] buildings.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gutis |first=Philip S. |date=March 9, 1986 |title=Upper Upper West Side Attracting New Settlers |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/09/realestate/upper-upper-west-side-attracting-new-settlers.html |access-date=July 20, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524185903/http://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/09/realestate/upper-upper-west-side-attracting-new-settlers.html |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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The Metro was managed by [[Clearview Cinemas]] until it closed in 2003.<ref name="NYTFadeToBlack" /> Peter H. Elson then leased the theater from Albert Bialek, operating the theater as ''Embassy's New Metro Twin'' until it closed again in 2005.<ref name="Permits_Filed">{{Cite news |date=4 March 2016 |title=PERMITS FILED FOR HISTORIC METRO THEATER TO BECOME A GYM |url=https://www.westsiderag.com/2016/03/04/permits-filed-for-historic-metro-theater-to-become-a-gym |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160803073106/http://www.westsiderag.com/2016/03/04/permits-filed-for-historic-metro-theater-to-become-a-gym |archive-date=3 August 2016 |access-date=2021-06-20 |website=West Side Rag}}</ref><ref name="NYTTalbotLease" /> |
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==== Late 20th century ==== |
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The following year, in 2006, the interior of the theater was gutted. This was permitted because only the exterior was protected by landmarking.<ref name="NYTINteriorDemo">{{cite news |last1=Mindlin |first1=Alex |title=The Last Picture Show, This Time for Keeps? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/22/nyregion/thecity/the-last-picture-show-this-time-for-keeps.html |website=The New York Times |date=2006-01-22 |access-date=2021-06-20 |archive-date=2021-04-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429132422/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/22/nyregion/thecity/the-last-picture-show-this-time-for-keeps.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2007 David Dunlap wrote in the New York Times that "...the inside, visible to passers-by on a recent afternoon, has been gutted. Gone are seats and plaster and curtains and screen. Gone is a golden ceiling molding with a chain of floral bouquets. Gone are the [[sylph]]-filled niches. Gone is grille work that sprouted like corn stalks."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dunlap |first1=David W. |title=What to Make of the Metro Theater |url=https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/what-to-make-of-the-metro-theater/ |website=City Room |publisher=The New York Times |date=2007-11-14 |access-date=2021-06-19 |archive-date=2021-04-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429024516/https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/what-to-make-of-the-metro-theater/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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[[File:Metro Theater 99 Bwy jeh.JPG|thumb|The Metro Theater as seen from across Broadway]] |
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Dan Talbot, an operator of multiple cinemas on the Upper West Side, acquired the Midtown Theater in August 1982<ref name="p1438349635">{{cite magazine |last=Cohn |first=Lawrence |date=August 18, 1982 |title=Pictures: Talbot Buys Rep-Bound N.Y. Site; 'Midtown' To Emerge As 'Metro' |magazine=Variety |volume=308 |issue=3 |page=5 |id={{ProQuest|1438349635}}}}</ref> and stopped showing porn movies there.<ref name="nyt-1982-10-01">{{Cite news |last=Gelder |first=Lawrence Van |date=October 1, 1982 |title=At the Movies; From a life of Gandhi to Paine. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/01/movies/at-the-movies-from-a-life-of-gandhi-to-paine.html |access-date=July 19, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524102501/http://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/01/movies/at-the-movies-from-a-life-of-gandhi-to-paine.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Midtown was instead renovated for $300,000<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /> and began to host foreign films in a [[repertory theatre|repertory]] format.<ref name="p1438349635" /><ref name="nyt-1986-05-28">{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=May 28, 1986 |title=Developers Are Flocking to the Movies |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/05/28/nyregion/developers-are-flocking-to-the-movies.html |access-date=July 19, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524194232/http://www.nytimes.com/1986/05/28/nyregion/developers-are-flocking-to-the-movies.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="n128475997">{{Cite news |date=October 1, 1982 |title=Curtain Going Up |pages=115 |work=Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-curtain-going-up/128475997/ |access-date=July 19, 2023 |archive-date=July 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720212554/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-curtain-going-up/128475997/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Midtown reopened as the Metro on October 1, 1982; its first foreign films were a [[double bill]] of the films ''[[Aguirre, the Wrath of God]]'' and ''[[Ali: Fear Eats the Soul]]''.<ref name="nyt-1982-10-01" /> The renovated Metro Theater had 535 seats, making it the largest repertory theater in Manhattan,<ref name="p1438349635" /><ref name="Davis 2017 p. 88">{{cite book |last=Davis |first=Ben |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jcdADgAAQBAJ&pg=PA88 |title=Repertory Movie Theaters of New York City: Havens for Revivals, Indies and the Avant-Garde, 1960–1994 |publisher=McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-4766-6720-1 |page=88 |access-date=July 20, 2023 |archive-date=July 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720212558/https://books.google.com/books?id=jcdADgAAQBAJ&pg=PA88 |url-status=live }}</ref> as well as one of the largest theaters in the borough that exclusively showed revivals of old films.<ref name="n128476102">{{Cite news |last=Hinckley |first=David |date=October 22, 1982 |title=The Second Time Around |pages=338 |work=Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-the-second-time-arounddavid/128476102/ |access-date=July 19, 2023 |archive-date=July 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720213028/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-the-second-time-arounddavid/128476102/ |url-status=live }}</ref> After the renovation, [[Vincent Canby]] of ''The New York Times'' wrote: "The seats are comfortable and the long, comparatively narrow auditorium is such that I don't think it will ever be possible for anyone to 'twin it'" (i.e. convert the Metro into a two-screen theater).<ref name="nyt-1982-11-07">{{Cite news |last=Canby |first=Vincent |date=November 7, 1982 |title=Film View; a Few High Points Glimpsed on the Middle Ground |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/07/movies/film-view-a-few-high-points-glimpsed-on-the-middle-ground.html |access-date=July 20, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524104841/http://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/07/movies/film-view-a-few-high-points-glimpsed-on-the-middle-ground.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The theater began to host events such as Perspectives on French Cinema, an annual showcase of ten French films.<ref name="n128475997" /><ref name="nyt-1984-03-18">{{Cite news |last=Gelder |first=Lawrence van |date=March 18, 1984 |title=Filmmakers From France Share the New York Limelight |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/18/movies/filmmakers-from-france-share-the-new-york-limelight.html |access-date=July 19, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130171451/http://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/18/movies/filmmakers-from-france-share-the-new-york-limelight.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Metro's repertory programming was popular,<ref name="nyt-1986-03-14">{{Cite news |last=Forsberg |first=Myra |date=March 14, 1986 |title=Revival Houses: Curling Up With a Good Double Bill |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/14/movies/revival-houses-curling-up-with-a-good-double-bill.html |access-date=July 20, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524190820/http://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/14/movies/revival-houses-curling-up-with-a-good-double-bill.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and a ''Times'' article in 1984 said the Metro's audiences were "perhaps, the most serious and best behaved in the city".<ref name="nyt-1984-11-04">{{Cite news |date=November 4, 1984 |title=Arts & Entertainment; Critics' Holiday Choices |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/04/magazine/arts-entertainment-critics-holiday-choices.html |access-date=July 20, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524150810/http://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/04/magazine/arts-entertainment-critics-holiday-choices.html |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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Talbot began to show first-run films at the Metro in June 1985.<ref name="nyt-1985-06-07" /><ref name="n128567400">{{Cite news |date=June 5, 1985 |title='Silent Madness': Cut-and-waste 3-D at $6-D |pages=323 |work=Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-silent-madness-cut-and-was/128567400/ |access-date=July 20, 2023 |archive-date=July 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720213009/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-silent-madness-cut-and-was/128567400/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The change in format was variously attributed to the closure of the nearby New Yorker Theater,<ref name="nyt-1985-06-07">{{Cite news |last=Maslin |first=Janet |date=June 7, 1985 |title=At the Movies |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/07/movies/at-the-movies.html |access-date=July 20, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171122031247/http://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/07/movies/at-the-movies.html |url-status=live }}</ref> the growing popularity of newer movies,<ref name="n128569432">{{Cite news |last=Tumposky |first=Ellen |date=August 2, 1985 |title=Revival Theaters Hope Customers Aren't... Gone With a VCR |pages=33 |work=Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-revival-theaters-hope-custome/128569432/ |access-date=July 20, 2023 |archive-date=July 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720213008/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-revival-theaters-hope-custome/128569432/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and the fact that the theater re-ran old films too frequently.<ref name="Davis 2017 p. 88" /> To attract patrons, Talbot added a screen and speakers to the Metro's storefront so passersby could watch.<ref name="n128569432" /> Talbot received hundreds of letters criticizing the first-run format<ref name="nyt-1986-03-14" /> and, after six months, changed the Metro back to a repertory theater.<ref name="nyt-1986-03-14" /><ref name="p1438446565">{{cite magazine |last=Gold |first=Richard |date=December 11, 1985 |title=New York Entertainment: Rep Houses Flourish Despite VCR |magazine=Variety |volume=321 |issue=7 |page=102, 118 |id={{ProQuest|1438446565}}}}</ref> Despite the increasing prevalence of [[videocassette recorder]]s in the 1980s, Talbot was optimistic that "something like video ultimately isn't going to deter people from going to places like the Metro".<ref name="nyt-1986-03-14" /> Talbot had closed the Metro by mid-1986 to replace the theater's bathrooms and [[heating, ventilation, and air conditioning]] systems. The Metro's lease was not set to expire for 75 years, amid concerns that movie theaters along Broadway could be replaced with new development.<ref name="nyt-1986-05-282">{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=May 28, 1986 |title=Developers Are Flocking to the Movies |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/05/28/nyregion/developers-are-flocking-to-the-movies.html |access-date=July 20, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524194232/http://www.nytimes.com/1986/05/28/nyregion/developers-are-flocking-to-the-movies.html |url-status=live }}</ref> By that year, the [[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]] (LPC) was considering designating the Metro Theater as a city landmark.<ref name="nyt-1986-11-17">{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=November 17, 1986 |title=West Side Sites to Be Weighed as Landmarks |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/17/nyregion/west-side-sites-to-be-weighed-as-landmarks.html |access-date=July 17, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203104917/http://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/17/nyregion/west-side-sites-to-be-weighed-as-landmarks.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=December 8, 1986 |title=Historic status for W. Side areas? |pages=95 |work=Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-historic-status-for-w-side-a/128570386/ |access-date=July 20, 2023 |archive-date=July 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720213020/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-historic-status-for-w-side-a/128570386/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The interior was split into two screens around the same time.<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /> |
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In 2009 Dunlap wrote that "When we left our story more than a year ago, the fate of the Art Deco jewel box known as the Metro Theater was up in the air. Though the building’s exterior is one of the most recognizable landmarks on upper Broadway, its interior—no longer usable as a cinema—had been gutted and no one could say for sure what kind of tenant might make use of such an idiosyncratic space, though the Winick Realty Group was searching."<ref name=CityroomUrbanOutfitters>{{cite web |last1=Dunlap |first1=David W. |title=From Metro Theater to Urban Outfitters |url=https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/from-metro-theater-to-urban-outfitters/ |website=City Room |publisher=The New York Times |date=2009-01-06 |access-date=2021-06-19 |archive-date=2021-05-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502161731/https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/from-metro-theater-to-urban-outfitters/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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Cineplex Odeon assumed the theater's lease in 1987,<ref name="nyt-2004-11-22" /> and it acquired several other theaters nearby.<ref name="nyt-1988-08-22">{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=August 22, 1988 |title=50-Year Cinematic Tradition Fades on the West Side |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/22/nyregion/50-year-cinematic-tradition-fades-on-the-west-side.html |access-date=July 20, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220104171153/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/22/nyregion/50-year-cinematic-tradition-fades-on-the-west-side.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Cineplex Odeon failed to apply for an operating license for the Metro, leading city officials to close it temporarily in May 1989.<ref name="n128569930">{{Cite news |last=Collins |first=Gail |date=May 12, 1989 |title=Theater Flickers Like Koch's City |pages=12 |work=Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-theater-flickers-like-kochs/128569930/ |access-date=July 20, 2023 |archive-date=July 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720213018/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-theater-flickers-like-kochs/128569930/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The LPC designated the Metro Theater as an individual landmark that July.<ref name="NYCL p. 1">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1989|ps=.|p=1}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1989-07-16">{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=July 16, 1989 |title=Latest Landmarks Include Scribner's, a Theater and a Clinic |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/07/16/nyregion/latest-landmarks-include-scribner-s-a-theater-and-a-clinic.html |access-date=July 20, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908175848/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/07/16/nyregion/latest-landmarks-include-scribner-s-a-theater-and-a-clinic.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Albert Bialek bought the theater the same year,<ref name="Crain's New York Business 2018 q165" /> although Cineplex Odeon continued to operate it. The Metro was known as the Cineplex Odeon Metro Twin by the early 1990s.<ref name="p278239588" /> Under Cineplex Odeon's operation, the Metro Twin sold cheaper tickets than comparable New York City cinemas that also screened first-run films.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Grimes |first=William |date=March 13, 1996 |title=Film Price Hits $8.50, But There Are Ways To Save |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/13/movies/film-price-hits-8.50-but-there-are-ways-to-save.html |access-date=July 20, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116022452/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/13/movies/film-price-hits-8.50-but-there-are-ways-to-save.html |url-status=live }}</ref> After Cineplex Odeon merged with Loews Theaters in 1998 to form [[Loews Cineplex Entertainment]], the combined firm announced that April that it would sell 14 movie theaters in Manhattan, including the Metro Theater, to comply with [[antitrust]] law.<ref name="nyt-1998-04-17">{{Cite news |last=Foderaro |first=Lisa W. |date=April 17, 1998 |title=Merger Partners to Divest Manhattan Movie Theaters |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/17/nyregion/merger-partners-to-divest-manhattan-movie-theaters.html |access-date=July 17, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527082241/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/17/nyregion/merger-partners-to-divest-manhattan-movie-theaters.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="p313662418">{{cite news |last=Furman |first=Phyllis |date=April 17, 1998 |title=Justice Scripts Merger Odeon Must Sell 13 Manhattan Theaters in Loews Deal |page=78 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |id={{ProQuest|313662418}}}}</ref> [[Cablevision]], parent company of [[Clearview Cinemas]], bought the Metro in August 1998.<ref name="nyt-1998-08-28">{{Cite news |last=Chen |first=David W. |date=August 28, 1998 |title=Cablevision to Buy 20 Movie Theaters in Region From Loews Cineplex |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/28/nyregion/cablevision-to-buy-20-movie-theaters-in-region-from-loews-cineplex.html |access-date=July 17, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527085845/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/28/nyregion/cablevision-to-buy-20-movie-theaters-in-region-from-loews-cineplex.html |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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In 2011, Julie Satow reported in the New York Times that "... the longtime owner, Albert Bialek, wrested control of the Metro, an Art Deco landmark, after a protracted legal battle with the leaseholder, John R. Souto. Mr. Souto, whose firm filed for bankruptcy protection last year, had a 49-year lease with an option to buy the property, but defaulted on the terms, Mr. Bialek said. New York City marshals evicted him from the property in January."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/18/realestate/commercial/after-legal-battle-manhattans-metro-theater-may-acquire-new-life.html|title=After Legal War, a West Side Landmark May Rise|newspaper=The New York Times|date=18 May 2011|last1=Satow|first1=Julie|access-date=19 June 2021|archive-date=29 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429224210/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/18/realestate/commercial/after-legal-battle-manhattans-metro-theater-may-acquire-new-life.html|url-status=live}}</ref> |
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==== Recent years ==== |
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In 2015,[[The New York Times]] reported that the theater would be transformed into a gym.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/17/nyregion/landmark-metro-theater-in-manhattan-to-be-reborn-as-a-planet-fitness.html|title=Landmark Metro Theater in Manhattan Will be Reborn as a Planet Fitness|newspaper=The New York Times|date=16 October 2015|last1=Satow|first1=Julie|access-date=19 June 2021|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108121358/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/17/nyregion/landmark-metro-theater-in-manhattan-to-be-reborn-as-a-planet-fitness.html|url-status=live}}</ref> |
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By the beginning of the 21st century, the theater building was owned by Broadway Metro Associates, which was headed by Albert Bialek.<ref name="Satow 2011">{{Cite news |last1=Satow |first1=Julie |date=May 18, 2011 |title=After Legal War, a West Side Landmark May Rise |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/18/realestate/commercial/after-legal-battle-manhattans-metro-theater-may-acquire-new-life.html |url-status=live |access-date=June 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429224210/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/18/realestate/commercial/after-legal-battle-manhattans-metro-theater-may-acquire-new-life.html |archive-date=April 29, 2021}}</ref> The Metro was managed by Clearview Cinemas until it closed on January 26, 2003, amid a dispute between Clearview and Bialek.<ref name="NYTFadeToBlack">{{Cite news |last=Hartocollis |first=Anemona |date=April 6, 2003 |title=Fade to Black |website=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/06/nyregion/fade-to-black.html |url-status=live |access-date=June 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301140309/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/06/nyregion/fade-to-black.html |archive-date=March 1, 2020}}</ref> The theater was known for its seats with sharp springs, as well as its extremely dirty screens.<ref name="nyt-2005-09-04">{{Cite news |last=Vandam |first=Jeff |date=September 4, 2005 |title=Braced Once More for a Last Picture Show |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/04/nyregion/thecity/braced-once-more-for-a-last-picture-show.html |access-date=July 17, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 29, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529171557/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/04/nyregion/thecity/braced-once-more-for-a-last-picture-show.html |url-status=live }}</ref> There were rumors that the theater would be converted into a [[Gristedes]] supermarket, prompting over 100 local residents to express concerns.<ref name="nyt-2004-11-22" /> During late 2004, local residents protested the closure so vehemently that Gristedes CEO [[John Catsimatidis]] printed leaflets denying his company's involvement in the theater.<ref name="nyt-2004-09-26">{{Cite news |last=Vandam |first=Jeff |date=September 26, 2004 |title=Outside a Once-Cherished Cinema, Rebels Without a Cause |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/26/nyregion/thecity/outside-a-oncecherished-cinema-rebels-without-a-cause.html |access-date=July 17, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720213545/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/26/nyregion/thecity/outside-a-oncecherished-cinema-rebels-without-a-cause.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Two additional theaters on Broadway in Upper Manhattan had also closed in recent months; according to ''The New York Times'', this "left a 10-mile swath of Broadway from 84th Street to Yonkers without a first-run movie theater for the first time in decades".<ref name="NYTFadeToBlack" /> Bialek said in September 2004 that he had leased the Metro to cinema operator Peter H. Elson.<ref name="nyt-2004-09-26" /> |
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Elson renovated the theater for $240,000 and reopened it in November 2004 as the Embassy's New Metro Twin, showing [[Independent film|indie]] and [[World cinema|foreign films]] there.<ref name="nyt-2004-11-22" /> The modifications included new seats, lighting, carpets, projectors, and sound equipment, as well as larger screens.<ref name="nyt-2004-09-26" /> The change in format failed to attract patrons, even though the theater had lower ticket and concession prices than comparable cinemas showing mainstream films. By September 2005, Elson said of the local community: "They want to have a theater, but they don't want to support it."<ref name="nyt-2005-09-04" /> The New Metro Twin closed again in November 2005.<ref name="nyt-2006-01-22">{{Cite news |last=Mindlin |first=Alex |date=January 22, 2006 |title=The Last Picture Show, This Time for Keeps? |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/22/nyregion/thecity/the-last-picture-show-this-time-for-keeps.html |access-date=July 17, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429132422/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/22/nyregion/thecity/the-last-picture-show-this-time-for-keeps.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Various reasons were cited for its closure, among which (according to ''The Real Deal'' magazine) observers had cited construction noise from two neighboring apartment buildings, as well as the Metro's tendency to screen [[limited release]]s of foreign films.<ref name="Dilakian 2021 s425">{{cite web |last=Dilakian |first=Steven |date=September 29, 2021 |title=Long-Vacant UWS Theater Might Finally Have a New Tenant |url=https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2021/09/29/vacant-for-15-years-landmarked-uws-theater-holds-out-hope/ |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website=The Real Deal |archive-date=July 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720213538/https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2021/09/29/vacant-for-15-years-landmarked-uws-theater-holds-out-hope/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The theater's closure was so little noticed that construction workers at the neighboring buildings were unaware that the theater had closed until a ''New York Times'' reporter told them two months afterward.<ref name="nyt-2006-01-22" /> The ''Times'' wrote that the theater had "experienced more cliffhangers than the legendary silent ''[[The Perils of Pauline (1914 serial)|The Perils of Pauline]]''".<ref name="nyt-2006-01-22" /> |
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In 2016, the West Side Rag reported that "The Texas theater chain [[Alamo Drafthouse]] attempted to revive it, but gave up as construction costs rose."<ref name="Permits_Filed" />: |
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===Post-closure=== |
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In 2021 the UWS Patch reported: "Storefront vacancy on the [[Upper West Side]] has been a long-growing issue in the community, and there may be no greater symbol of the neighborhood's vacancy [[Urban decay|blight]] than the shuttered Metro Theater."<ref name="patch_petition">{{Cite news |date=30 March 2021 |title=Petition Started to Revive Long-Shuttered Metro Theater on UWS |url=https://patch.com/new-york/upper-west-side-nyc/petition-started-revive-long-shuttered-metro-theater-uws |access-date=19 June 2021 |archive-date=29 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429050633/https://patch.com/new-york/upper-west-side-nyc/petition-started-revive-long-shuttered-metro-theater-uws |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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== |
==== 2000s ==== |
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In 2006, the interior of the theater was gutted, as only the exterior was protected as a landmark.<ref name="nyt-2006-01-22"/> [[David W. Dunlap|David Dunlap]], writing for ''The New York Times'' in 2007, said the theater's auditorium had been demolished, saying: "Gone are seats and plaster and curtains and screen. Gone is a golden ceiling molding with a chain of floral bouquets. Gone are the [[sylph]]-filled niches. Gone is grille work that sprouted like corn stalks."<ref name="Dunlap 2007">{{cite news |last1=Dunlap |first1=David W. |title=What to Make of the Metro Theater |url=https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/what-to-make-of-the-metro-theater/ |website=City Room |publisher=The New York Times |date=November 14, 2007 |access-date=June 19, 2021 |archive-date=April 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429024516/https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/what-to-make-of-the-metro-theater/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Metro's owners Albert and Sheila Bialek had leased the theater for 49 years to John R. Souto, who was supposed to have renovated the theater for retail purposes. The terms of Souto's lease also included an [[Option (finance)|option]] to buy the theater outright at a later date.<ref name="nyt-2008-07-09" /> The LPC issued a "certificate of no effect" in October 2007, allowing interior demolition.<ref name="Dunlap 2007" /> By 2008, Souto had hired Winick Realty Group to lease the theater's interior, and he also hired Eastern Consolidated to sell the theater. To avoid confusing potential tenants, Winick Realty took down its own signs when the building was placed for sale in March 2008, even though Eastern Consolidated wanted a tenant, as it would increase the probability that the theater would be sold.<ref name="nyt-2008-07-09" /> |
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The Metro appeared in the [[Woody Allen]] film, [[Hannah and Her Sisters]] in 1986.<ref name="Observer1">{{cite news |last1=Geminder |first1=Emily |title=They Can Make No Strings Attached But They Can't Reinvent the Metro Theater? |url=https://observer.com/2011/02/they-can-make-ino-strings-attachedi-but-they-cant-reinvent-the-metro-theater/ |website=Observer |date=2011-02-01 |access-date=2021-06-20 |archive-date=2020-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924120808/https://observer.com/2011/02/they-can-make-ino-strings-attachedi-but-they-cant-reinvent-the-metro-theater/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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The structure's small floor area made it very difficult to lease out for theatrical use.<ref name="nyt-2015-10-16">{{Cite news |last=Satow |first=Julie |date=October 16, 2015 |title=Landmark Metro Theater in Manhattan Will Be Reborn as a Planet Fitness |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/17/nyregion/landmark-metro-theater-in-manhattan-to-be-reborn-as-a-planet-fitness.html |access-date=July 17, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108121358/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/17/nyregion/landmark-metro-theater-in-manhattan-to-be-reborn-as-a-planet-fitness.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The owners could not construct any more above-ground space because they had sold the theater's [[air rights]], which would have permitted the construction of additional floor area, to a neighboring landowner.<ref name="nyt-2008-07-09" /> Additionally, the facade could not be modified because of landmark regulations, and the structure's protruding marquee created a large shadow that deterred potential tenants.<ref name="nyt-2015-10-16" /> Eastern Consolidated attempted to auction off the theater building in March 2008, expecting to receive between $20 million and $25 million, but it did not receive any bids within that range.<ref name="nyt-2008-07-09" /> Winick Realty Group tentatively agreed to lease the theater to [[Urban Outfitters]] by January 2009.<ref name="CityroomUrbanOutfitters">{{cite web |last1=Dunlap |first1=David W. |date=January 6, 2009 |title=From Metro Theater to Urban Outfitters |url=https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/from-metro-theater-to-urban-outfitters/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502161731/https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/from-metro-theater-to-urban-outfitters/ |archive-date=May 2, 2021 |access-date=June 19, 2021 |website=City Room |publisher=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="Edelson Edelson 2009 s802">{{cite web |last=Edelson |first=Sharon |date=January 8, 2009 |title=Urban Outfitters Inks Lease on Broadway |url=https://wwd.com/business-news/retail/urban-outfitters-inks-lease-on-broadway-1913533/ |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website=WWD |archive-date=August 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815155332/https://wwd.com/business-news/retail/urban-outfitters-inks-lease-on-broadway-1913533/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Winick Realty's president Benjamin Fox said Urban Outfitters " fell in love with this place because of its uniqueness",<ref name="CityroomUrbanOutfitters" /> but Ted Marlowe, the CEO of Urban Outfitters, said the gutted Metro was "not the easiest space to work with".<ref name="Dilakian 2021 s425" /> Urban Outfitters ultimately leased a store across the street because the company did not want to spend money renovating the Metro.<ref name="Grinspan 2010 n620">{{cite web |last=Grinspan |first=Izzy |date=June 23, 2010 |title=Urban Outfitters Chose Faux Storefronts Over Historic Theater |url=https://ny.racked.com/2010/6/23/7795571/urban-outfitters-chose-fauxhistoric-storefronts-over-nyc-landmark |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website=Racked NY |archive-date=June 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230623155124/https://ny.racked.com/2010/6/23/7795571/urban-outfitters-chose-fauxhistoric-storefronts-over-nyc-landmark |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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The Metro appears in a video for [[Janet Jackson]]'s 1987 release, "[[Let's Wait Awhile]]".<ref name=CityroomUrbanOutfitters/> |
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==== 2010s ==== |
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Souto filed for [[Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code|Chapter 11]] bankruptcy protection in September 2010 after [[Default (finance)|defaulting]] on his lease.<ref name="Crain's New York Business 2010 n209">{{cite web |last=Fung |first=Amanda |date=September 7, 2010 |title=Former lease holder of UWS theater files Ch. 11 |url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20100907/REAL_ESTATE/100909919/former-lease-holder-of-uws-theater-files-ch-11 |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website=Crain's New York Business |archive-date=March 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330024719/https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20100907/REAL_ESTATE/100909919/former-lease-holder-of-uws-theater-files-ch-11 |url-status=live }}</ref> A local political strategist, Michael Oliva, established the Metro Theater Project in late 2010 in an effort to convert the theater building to a community center.<ref name="Observer1" /><ref name="Albrecht 2010 f545">{{cite web |last=Albrecht |first=Leslie |date=December 15, 2010 |title=Upper West Sider Dreams of Reopening Derelict Metro Theater |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20101215/upper-west-side/upper-west-sider-dreams-of-reopening-derelict-metro-theater |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website=DNAinfo New York |archive-date=December 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208224921/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20101215/upper-west-side/upper-west-sider-dreams-of-reopening-derelict-metro-theater |url-status=dead }}</ref> Oliva estimated that it would cost $10 million to buy the theater and $2 million to $4 million to renovate it; by December 2010, he had raised $2,000.<ref name="Albrecht 2010 f545" /> After Albert Bialek took over the theater building in January 2011, he wished to lease the Metro to a single tenant to "maintain [its] integrity".<ref name="Satow 2011" /> Bialek also commissioned feasibility studies on the possibility of converting the building into a cinema or performing-arts complex with three or four screens.<ref name="Satow 2011" /> In March 2011, Bialek began negotiating to lease the theater to nonprofit organization Wingspan Arts.<ref name="Satow 2011" /><ref name="The Real Deal 2011 f690">{{cite web |date=May 18, 2011 |title=UWS Metro Theater may find new tenants |url=https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2011/05/18/west-side-landmark-the-metro-may-find-new-tenants/ |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website=The Real Deal |archive-date=July 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720213701/https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2011/05/18/west-side-landmark-the-metro-may-find-new-tenants/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The proposal would have included expanding the floor area into {{Convert|30000|ft2}} by excavating {{convert|30|to|35|ft}} below ground. This would have created space for 12 rehearsal rooms, four auditoriums, a cafe, and about {{convert|3000|ft2}} of office space.<ref name="Satow 2011" /> Wingspan ultimately decided against moving to the Metro.<ref name="Albrecht 2012 t853">{{cite web |last=Albrecht |first=Leslie |date=January 3, 2012 |title=Long-Closed Metro Theater to be Reborn as Retail Space |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120103/upper-west-side/longclosed-metro-theater-be-reborn-as-retail-space |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website=DNAinfo New York |archive-date=August 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220820003342/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120103/upper-west-side/longclosed-metro-theater-be-reborn-as-retail-space/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
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[[File:Metro Theater (9271650207).jpg|thumb|The Metro Theater in 2012, when Alamo Drafthouse first considered renovating the theater]] |
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Bialek filed plans with the [[New York City Department of Buildings]] (DOB) in late 2011 to renovate the theater building into a store at a cost of $900.000.<ref name="Albrecht 2012 t853" /><ref name="Clarke 2012 z843">{{cite web |last=Clarke |first=Katherine |date=January 4, 2012 |title=UWS Metro Theater to become retail complex |url=https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2012/01/04/uws-metro-theater-to-become-retail-complex/ |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website=The Real Deal |archive-date=July 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720213534/https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2012/01/04/uws-metro-theater-to-become-retail-complex/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Movie theater chain [[Alamo Drafthouse Cinema|Alamo Drafthouse]] announced in April 2012 that it would open its first New York City cinema within the Metro Theater.<ref name="Morabito 2012 q795">{{cite web |last=Morabito |first=Greg |date=April 5, 2012 |title=Alamo Drafthouse to Open Location on Upper West Side |url=https://ny.eater.com/2012/4/5/6598593/alamo-drafthouse-to-open-location-on-upper-west-side |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website=Eater NY |archive-date=January 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230126223243/https://ny.eater.com/2012/4/5/6598593/alamo-drafthouse-to-open-location-on-upper-west-side |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="p968030286">{{cite news |last=Dollar |first=Steve |date=April 6, 2012 |title=Arts & Entertainment: Movie Chain Finds a Home In Manhattan |page=A20 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|968030286}}}}</ref> This announcement followed the passage of a law allowing some cinemas in New York state to serve alcohol.<ref name="p968030286" /> Alamo Drafthouse planned to renovate the facade and convert the interior into a five-screen multiplex with a kitchen to serve dinners to patrons.<ref name="Norwick 2012 s372">{{cite web |last=Norwick |first=Hannah |date=June 6, 2012 |title=Old Metro Theater Now the Alamo With Films and Food |url=https://ny.eater.com/2012/6/6/6579909/old-metro-theater-now-the-alamo-with-films-and-food |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website=Eater NY |archive-date=July 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720213657/https://ny.eater.com/2012/6/6/6579909/old-metro-theater-now-the-alamo-with-films-and-food |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Cameron 2012 a840">{{cite web |last=Cameron |first=Christopher |date=June 6, 2012 |title=Alamo Drafthouse |url=https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2012/06/06/famed-metro-theater-to-reopen-as-alamo-theater/ |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website=The Real Deal |archive-date=July 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720213625/https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2012/06/06/famed-metro-theater-to-reopen-as-alamo-theater/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The five screens would have contained a combined 378 seats. [[Manhattan Community Board 7]] supported the plan; its chairman said, "This could very well be a destination kind of attraction both for this neighborhood and elsewhere".<ref name="Frost 2012 b744">{{cite web |last=Frost |first=Emily |date=October 11, 2012 |title=Alamo Drafthouse Receives Go Ahead from Enthusiastic CB7 Committee |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20121011/upper-west-side/alamo-drafthouse-receives-go-ahead-from-enthusiastic-cb7-committee |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website=DNAinfo New York |archive-date=September 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927035358/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20121011/upper-west-side/alamo-drafthouse-receives-go-ahead-from-enthusiastic-cb7-committee/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Some construction work had taken place by early 2013,<ref name="Sider 2013 l892">{{cite web |date=April 8, 2013 |title=Here's a First Peek at the Transformation of the Old Metro Theater |url=https://www.westsiderag.com/2013/04/08/heres-a-first-peek-at-the-transformation-of-the-old-metro-theater |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website=West Side Rag |archive-date=March 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330114443/https://www.westsiderag.com/2013/04/08/heres-a-first-peek-at-the-transformation-of-the-old-metro-theater |url-status=live }}</ref> and local blog West Side Rag had interviewed Alamo Drafthouse's CEO in advance of the planned conversion.<ref name="Dilakian 2021 s425" /> Alamo Drafthouse canceled its plans to renovate the Metro Theater in October 2013, citing high costs and the [[effects of Hurricane Sandy in New York]];<ref name="Carlson 2013 d328">{{cite web |last=Carlson |first=Jen |date=October 1, 2013 |title=Alamo Drafthouse No Longer Coming To Upper West Side |url=https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/alamo-drafthouse-no-longer-coming-to-upper-west-side |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website=Gothamist |archive-date=June 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230622005838/https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/alamo-drafthouse-no-longer-coming-to-upper-west-side |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Itzkoff 2013 v245">{{cite web |last=Itzkoff |first=Dave |date=October 1, 2013 |title=Alamo Drafthouse Scraps Plan for Upper West Side Movie Theater |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/01/alamo-drafthouse-scraps-plan-for-upper-west-side-movie-theater/ |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website=ArtsBeat |archive-date=July 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720213603/https://archive.nytimes.com/artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/01/alamo-drafthouse-scraps-plan-for-upper-west-side-movie-theater/ |url-status=live }}</ref> they instead opened a location in [[Downtown Brooklyn]].<ref name="Bedolla 2015 o837">{{cite web |last=Bedolla |first=Daise |date=October 16, 2015 |title=Planet Fitness Is Taking Over the Upper West Side's Old Metro Theater |url=https://ny.racked.com/2015/10/16/9550367/metro-theater-planet-fitness-upper-west-side-nyc |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website=Racked NY |archive-date=September 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927044102/https://ny.racked.com/2015/10/16/9550367/metro-theater-planet-fitness-upper-west-side-nyc |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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After the failure of the Alamo Drafthouse plan, Bialek spent more than a year negotiating to lease the theater to [[Planet Fitness]].<ref name="nyt-2015-10-16" /> The chain had indicated its intention to lease the space in early 2015, but the lease negotiations fell through just before Planet Fitness was supposed to lease the space.<ref name="Sider 2015 r353">{{cite web |date=July 18, 2015 |title='Fitness Outfit' Coming to the Historic Metro Theater? |url=https://www.westsiderag.com/2015/07/18/fitness-outfit-coming-to-the-historic-metro-theater |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website=West Side Rag |archive-date=December 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206215605/https://www.westsiderag.com/2015/07/18/fitness-outfit-coming-to-the-historic-metro-theater |url-status=live }}</ref> Planet Fitness then announced in October 2015 that it had leased the building for 15 years.<ref name="nyt-2015-10-16" /><ref name="Bedolla 2015 o837" /> Renovation architects Stelco Restoration and Technology filed renovation plans for the Metro Theater in March 2016.<ref name="New York YIMBY 2016 k597">{{cite web |date=March 3, 2016 |title=Retail Conversion Moves Forward for Landmarked Upper West Side Theater at 2626 Broadway |url=https://newyorkyimby.com/2016/03/retail-conversion-moves-forward-for-landmarked-harlem-theater-at-2626-broadway.html |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website=New York YIMBY |archive-date=February 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208033533/https://newyorkyimby.com/2016/03/retail-conversion-moves-forward-for-landmarked-harlem-theater-at-2626-broadway.html |url-status=live }}</ref> By that November, Planet Fitness had withdrawn from the project, and [[Blink Fitness]] had indicated that it would lease the building instead.<ref name="Frost 2016 x586">{{cite web |last=Frost |first=Emily |date=November 16, 2016 |title=Blink Fitness Coming to Metro Theater Space, Councilman Says |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20161116/upper-west-side/blink-fitness-metro-theater |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website=DNAinfo New York |archive-date=November 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171113034654/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20161116/upper-west-side/blink-fitness-metro-theater |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Blink Fitness plan also did not proceed, In 2018, a local resident raised $4.000 through [[GoFundMe]] to study a possible restoration of the theater.<ref name="Yakas 2022 n502">{{cite web |last=Yakas |first=Ben |date=March 23, 2022 |title=UWS Metro Theater being revived as multi-screen cinema with dining service |url=https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/uws-metro-theater-being-revived-as-multi-screen-cinema-with-dining-service |access-date=June 21, 2023 |website=Gothamist |archive-date=June 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230621211232/https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/uws-metro-theater-being-revived-as-multi-screen-cinema-with-dining-service |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Saltonstall 2021 w843">{{cite web |last=Saltonstall |first=Gus |date=March 30, 2021 |title=Petition Started To Revive Long-Shuttered Metro Theater On UWS |url=https://patch.com/new-york/upper-west-side-nyc/petition-started-revive-long-shuttered-metro-theater-uws |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website=Upper West Side, NY Patch |archive-date=April 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429050633/https://patch.com/new-york/upper-west-side-nyc/petition-started-revive-long-shuttered-metro-theater-uws |url-status=live }}</ref> The resident returned the donors' money the next year, as there was not enough funding to pay for an engineer's appraisal.<ref name="Saltonstall 2021 w843" /><ref name="Mishkin 2021 y986">{{cite web |last=Mishkin |first=Mike |date=March 30, 2021 |title=A New Petition to Revive the Metro Theater |url=https://ilovetheupperwestside.com/a-new-petition-to-revive-the-metro-theater/ |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website=iLovetheUpperWestSide.com |archive-date=June 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230623123958/https://ilovetheupperwestside.com/a-new-petition-to-revive-the-metro-theater/ |url-status=live }}</ref> By then, Bialek said he was prepared to lease the building to a nonprofit.<ref name="Crain's New York Business 2018 q165" /> Residents, who were upset that multiple plans for the Metro had fallen through, claimed that Bialek was "greedy and unreliable".<ref name="Crain's New York Business 2018 q165" /> |
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==== 2020s ==== |
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Bialek had filed revised plans with the DOB in June 2020, which called for the renovation of the Metro Theater into a retail space.<ref name="Cohen 2020 p574">{{cite web |last=Cohen |first=Jason |date=June 29, 2020 |title=Metro Theater to be Turned into Retail |url=https://www.westsidespirit.com/news/metro-theater-to-be-turned-into-retail-HB1210988 |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website=West Side Spirit |archive-date=October 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001233013/http://www.westsidespirit.com/news/metro-theater-to-be-turned-into-retail-HB1210988 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Yakas 2022 n502" /> The DOB rejected the plans, which would have added {{Convert|10000|ft2}} at a cost of $1.2 million.<ref name="Dilakian 2021 s425" /> In 2021, local residents formed a group known as the Friends of Metro Theater to advocate for the restoration of the Metro.<ref name="Saltonstall 2021 w843" /> The group launched a petition on [[Change.org]] to advocate for the theater's restoration;<ref name="patch_petition">{{Cite news |date=March 30, 2021 |title=Petition Started to Revive Long-Shuttered Metro Theater on UWS |work=Patch |url=https://patch.com/new-york/upper-west-side-nyc/petition-started-revive-long-shuttered-metro-theater-uws |url-status=live |access-date=June 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429050633/https://patch.com/new-york/upper-west-side-nyc/petition-started-revive-long-shuttered-metro-theater-uws |archive-date=April 29, 2021}}</ref> by November 2021, the petition had received 3,000 signatures.<ref name="Robinson 2021 z592">{{cite web |last=Robinson |first=Edric |date=November 4, 2021 |title=Community petitions to restore historic Metro Theater on Upper West Side |url=https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2021/11/03/community-petitions-to-restore-historic-metro-theater-on-upper-west-side |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website=Spectrum News NY1 |archive-date=November 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129141829/https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2021/11/03/community-petitions-to-restore-historic-metro-theater-on-upper-west-side |url-status=live }}</ref> At the time, Bialek indicated that he was in the process of leasing the theater building to another tenant.<ref name="Dilakian 2021 s425" /><ref name="Robinson 2021 z592" /> Bialek announced in March 2022 that he had leased the theater to an unspecified theatrical chain.<ref name="Yakas 2022 n502" /><ref name="Tara 2022 d1262">{{cite web |last=Tara |first=Serena |date=March 25, 2022 |title=This Landmark Upper West Side Theater Will Be Reborn as a Dine-In Cinema |url=https://www.thrillist.com/news/new-york/historic-metro-theater-reopens-dine-in-cinema |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website=Thrillist |archive-date=June 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230622005838/https://www.thrillist.com/news/new-york/historic-metro-theater-reopens-dine-in-cinema |url-status=live }}</ref> Media sources indicated that the Metro had been sold to a California-based company<ref name="Ginsburg 2022 i491">{{cite web |last=Ginsburg |first=Aaron |date=March 23, 2022 |title=Abandoned Art Deco gem Metro Theater to return to the UWS as multi-screen cinema |url=https://www.6sqft.com/abandoned-art-deco-gem-metro-theater-to-return-to-the-uws-as-multi-screen-cinema/ |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website=6sqft |archive-date=March 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327223328/https://www.6sqft.com/abandoned-art-deco-gem-metro-theater-to-return-to-the-uws-as-multi-screen-cinema/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and would become a dine-in theater.<ref name="Tara 2022 d1262" /> |
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In September 2022, Alamo Drafthouse announced that it would reopen the Metro as a dinner theater.<ref name="Weaver 2022 p047">{{cite web | last=Weaver | first=Shaye | title=The Upper West Side's old Metro Theater will reopen as a high-end dinner theater | website=Time Out New York | date=September 15, 2022 | url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/the-long-closed-metro-theater-will-reopen-as-a-high-end-dinner-theater-091522 | access-date=June 21, 2023 | archive-date=June 21, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230621211232/https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/the-long-closed-metro-theater-will-reopen-as-a-high-end-dinner-theater-091522 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Saltonstall 2022 d881">{{cite web |last=Saltonstall |first=Gus |date=September 15, 2022 |title=UWS Metro Theater Is Officially Becoming A Multi-Screen Theater |url=https://patch.com/new-york/upper-west-side-nyc/uws-metro-theater-officially-becoming-multi-screen-theater |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website=Upper West Side, NY Patch |archive-date=December 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221214182527/https://patch.com/new-york/upper-west-side-nyc/uws-metro-theater-officially-becoming-multi-screen-theater |url-status=live }}</ref> According to Alamo Drafthouse founder Tim League, the renovation would be "largely funded by Alamo, we're trying to establish a little bit higher-end brand. Alamo is pizza and salads, Metro will have some of those, but will also have more full entrees, a really nice wine list, and a small bar."<ref name="Rag 2022 q038">{{cite web | title=Metro Theater to Reopen as Multi-Screen, Dinner-Theater | website=West Side Rag | date=September 14, 2022 | url=https://www.westsiderag.com/2022/09/14/metro-theater-to-reopen-as-multiple-sceen-dinner-theater | access-date=June 21, 2023 | archive-date=June 21, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230621182730/https://www.westsiderag.com/2022/09/14/metro-theater-to-reopen-as-multiple-sceen-dinner-theater | url-status=live }}</ref> The same month, Alamo Drafthouse applied for a liquor license for the theater.<ref name="Rag 2022 r623">{{cite web |date=September 8, 2022 |title=Metro Theater Reopening Proceeds With Liquor License Ask; Public Hearing September 14 |url=https://www.westsiderag.com/2022/09/08/metro-theater-reopening-proceeds-with-liquor-license-ask |access-date=July 17, 2023 |website=West Side Rag |archive-date=February 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203063845/https://www.westsiderag.com/2022/09/08/metro-theater-reopening-proceeds-with-liquor-license-ask |url-status=live }}</ref> Officials approved renovations to the building in August 2023, and the theater received a liquor license shortly afterward. Bialek died in late 2023, and plans for the Alamo Drafthouse location at the Metro Theater were canceled in April 2024. Manhattan Borough President [[Mark Levine (New York politician)|Mark Levine]] cited Alamo Drafthouse's financial troubles, a claim that an Alamo Drafthouse spokesperson denied.<ref name="Senzamici 2024 v656">{{cite web | last=Senzamici | first=Peter | title=Plans To Revive Landmarked UWS Theater Are Toast, Says Manhattan Pres | website=Upper West Side, NY Patch | date=April 5, 2024 | url=https://patch.com/new-york/upper-west-side-nyc/plans-revive-landmarked-uws-theater-are-toast-says-manhattan-pres | access-date=April 6, 2024}}</ref> |
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==Impact== |
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When the Metro Theater was being considered for landmark designation in 1986, [[David W. Dunlap]] of ''The New York Times'' wrote that the theater "makes a startling impression with its streamlined facade in beige, black, red and lavender and its circular medallion containing allegorical figures of comedy and tragedy".<ref name="nyt-1986-11-17" /> The same year, ''Newsday'' wrote that the theater was "the architectural king" of art-house movie theaters, characterizing it as "Art Deco restored with a vengeance".<ref name="p285412525" /> [[Robert A. M. Stern]] wrote in his 1987 book ''New York 1930'' that the theater was "stylishly Modernist",<ref name="NY1930" /> while [[Andrew Dolkart]] wrote in 2012 that "the Art Deco Midtown has one of the finest theater facades in New York".<ref name="nycland" /> ''The Real Deal'' magazine wrote in 2021 that "the theater's tri-colored, terra cotta facade is 'one of the finest facades of its type', according to city historians."<ref name="Dilakian 2021 s425" /> |
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The Metro appeared in the [[Woody Allen]] film ''[[Hannah and Her Sisters]]'' in 1986,<ref name="Observer1">{{cite news |last1=Geminder |first1=Emily |title=They Can Make No Strings Attached But They Can't Reinvent the Metro Theater? |url=https://observer.com/2011/02/they-can-make-ino-strings-attachedi-but-they-cant-reinvent-the-metro-theater/ |website=Observer |date=February 1, 2011 |access-date=June 20, 2021 |archive-date=September 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924120808/https://observer.com/2011/02/they-can-make-ino-strings-attachedi-but-they-cant-reinvent-the-metro-theater/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and it also appeared in a video for [[Janet Jackson]]'s 1987 release, "[[Let's Wait Awhile]]".<ref name=CityroomUrbanOutfitters/> |
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== See also == |
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* [[Art Deco architecture of New York City]] |
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* [[List of buildings and structures on Broadway in Manhattan]] |
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* [[List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 59th to 110th Streets]] |
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== References == |
== References == |
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{{notelist}} |
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===Citations=== |
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{{Reflist}} |
{{Reflist}} |
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===Sources=== |
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* {{cite report|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1710.pdf|title=Midtown Theater|date=July 11, 1989|publisher=[[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]]|ref={{Harvid|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1989}}}} |
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* {{cite book |last=Robins |first=Anthony W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cnC6DgAAQBAJ |title=New York Art Deco: A Guide to Gotham's Jazz Age Architecture |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-4384-6396-4 |series=Excelsior Editions |oclc=953576510}} |
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{{Upper West Side}} |
{{Upper West Side}} |
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{{Broadway (Manhattan)}} |
{{Broadway (Manhattan)}} |
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[[Category:1933 establishments in New York City]] |
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{{Coord|40|47|48.3|N|73|58|11.5|W|type:landmark_region:US-NY|display=title}} |
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[[Category:2005 disestablishments in New York (state)]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Art Deco architecture in Manhattan]] |
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[[Category:Art Deco cinemas and movie theaters]] |
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[[Category:Broadway (Manhattan)]] |
[[Category:Broadway (Manhattan)]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Cinemas and movie theaters in Manhattan]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan]] |
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[[Category:Theatres completed in 1933]] |
[[Category:Theatres completed in 1933]] |
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[[Category:Art Deco architecture in Manhattan]] |
Revision as of 22:43, 22 May 2024
Midtown Theater | |
![]() The Metro has been vacant and gutted since 2006. | |
![]() | |
Address | 2626 Broadway Manhattan, New York United States |
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Coordinates | 40°47′48.3″N 73°58′11.5″W / 40.796750°N 73.969861°W |
Owner | Broadway Metro Assoc |
Type | Former movie theater |
Capacity | 550 (originally) 292 upper auditorium, 188 lower auditorium (before closure) |
Current use | Vacant |
Construction | |
Opened | June 2, 1933 |
Closed | November 2005 |
Rebuilt | 1986 (as duplex) |
Years active | 1933–2005 |
Architect | Boak & Paris |
Architectural style(s) | Art Deco |
Designated | July 11, 1989[1] |
Reference no. | 1710[1] |
Designated entity | Facade |
The Metro Theater (formerly the Midtown Theater and Embassy's New Metro Twin) is a defunct movie theater at 2626 Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was designed by architecture firm Boak and Paris and built between 1932 and 1933. The theater is designed in the Art Deco style and originally contained 550 seats. Although the theater's interior was demolished after it was closed in 2005, the original facade remains intact as of 2023[update] and is a New York City designated landmark.
The Metro Theater's facade on Broadway is about three and a half stories tall. The ground story contains an entrance, storefront windows, and ticket windows. Above the theater's main entrance is a marquee, which spans most of the theater's frontage and extends almost to the curb. The upper portion of the facade is made of terracotta and is divided vertically into three sections; the central section includes a decorative polychromed medallion. The main auditorium originally contained a proscenium arch with niches containing statues. Originally a single auditorium, the interior had been split into two auditoriums by the early 2000s before it was demolished.
A.C. and H.M. Hall acquired an apartment building at 2626 Broadway in 1931 and replaced it with the Midtown Theater, which opened on June 2, 1933. The theater presented first-run films until the 1950s, when it began to show art-house films. The Midtown operated as a porn theater from the 1970s and early 1980s. Dan Talbot acquired the lease to the theater in 1982 and began screening films in repertory, splitting the theater into two auditoriums in 1986. Cineplex assumed the theater's lease in 1987 and sold it to Cablevision, parent company of Clearview Cinemas, in 1998. After a 2004 renovation by Peter H. Elson, who operated it for a year, the Metro closed permanently in November 2005 and was gutted the next year. Its owner Albert Bialek unsuccessfully attempted to lease out the theater in the late 2000s and the 2010s to Urban Outfitters, Wingspan Arts, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, Planet Fitness, and Blink Fitness. Alamo Drafthouse took over the theater in 2022 with plans to renovate it, but these plans were canceled in 2024.
Site
The Metro Theater, originally the Midtown Theater, is located at 2624–2626 Broadway, on the eastern sidewalk between 99th and 100th Streets, in the Manhattan Valley and Upper West Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City.[2] The land lot covers 5,000 square feet (465 m2) and is rectangular, with a frontage of 50 feet (15 m) on Broadway and a depth of 100 feet (30 m).[2][3] The Metro Theater abuts St. Michael's Episcopal Church and the New York Public Library's Bloomingdale Library to the east, as well as the Ariel East residential tower to the north.[3] The Columbus Square development is one block to the east of the Metro Theater.[3][4]
The section of Broadway between 59th and 110th Streets once contained 18 movie theaters, including the Metro. By 1989, only four such theaters remained on Broadway,[5][6] as these cinemas were generally smaller neighborhood theaters, which struggled to compete with larger multiplex theaters.[7] The Metro was the only remaining movie theater on the Upper West Side stretch of Broadway by the beginning of the 21st century.[5][8]
Architecture
The Metro Theater was designed in the Art Deco style by Boak & Paris,[6][9][10] composed of Russell M. Boak and Hyman F. Paris, who studied under architect Emery Roth.[6][11] The developer was A.C. and H.M. Hall.[12] Although the theater's facade largely contains vertically oriented decorations, there are some horizontal design elements on the theater's marquee and outermost doorways, which may be an allusion to the Streamline Moderne style.[9]
Facade
The only visible facade of the Metro Theater is the primary facade on Broadway, which is about three and a half stories tall. It is divided into the ground floor entrance and the glazed-terracotta upper section.[2] The theater's facade uses rose-colored and black terracotta, an inexpensive decorative element at the time of the Metro's construction, when funding was scarce.[13] The ground story contains a black-terracotta frame, which surrounded three glass double doors. The original ticket window was outside the theater. When the theater opened, there were two glass doors left of this entrance, which were replaced when the ticket window was moved inside in 1954. There was an aluminum-and-glass storefront, with a display window and doorway, right of the entrance. The outermost portion of the ground story contains aluminum doors with vertical grooves, flanked by horizontal gray and black bands.[2][9]
Above the theater's main entrance is the marquee, which spans most of the theater's frontage and extends almost to the curb.[14] The marquee is made of metal and is suspended from the upper facade via eyebars.[2] A series of four horizontal chrome bands wrap around the north, west, and south faces of the marquee.[2][9][10] Similar to in the Variety Theater, Boak & Paris used lights on the underside of the marquee. When the theater was built, there were 200 lights on the marquee's underside, but this was reduced to 22 lights by the late 1980s. Above the north and south faces of the marquee are red neon letters spelling "Metro" in Art Deco-style letters, which were installed when the theater was renamed from the Midtown Theater in 1982. There are black terracotta blocks on the facade on either side of the marquee.[2]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/Medallion2021.jpg/220px-Medallion2021.jpg)
The upper portion of the facade is made of terracotta and is divided vertically into three sections.[2] The outer sections are variously described as being pink[5][13] or "rosy beige" in color.[15] Maroon bands divide the outer sections of the facade into L-shaped segments.[15] The central part of the upper facade is demarcated by black pilasters with maroon borders on either side, which protrude from the wall and curve above the roofline. The middle of the central section contains vertical aluminum bars, which taper in a triangular pattern above the roofline.[2] These bars are interrupted by a polychromed medallion with masks symbolizing comedy and tragedy.[10][16][17] The medallion has a lavender background and a horizontal yellow band with two off-white or beige figures, which appear to be holding blue and gray masks.[17][18] This medallion is similar in design to Hildreth Meière's plaques on the facade of Radio City Music Hall,[19][20] but Meière most likely did not create the theater's medallion.[20] There is a maroon coping at the top of the facade; the coping above the outer sections of the facade is flat, while the coping above the center section is wavy.[17]
Interior
When the Metro Theater was in operation, its lobby was decorated with red glass-block columns.[21] The theater originally contained 550 seats,[22] split across two levels in a stadium seating layout.[13] seating arrangement was changed multiple times over the years and was split into two screens in 1986: a 200-seat upper auditorium and a 325-seat lower auditorium.[15] Toward the end of its original run in 2004, the upper auditorium contained 292 seats, while the lower auditorium contained 188 seats.[5] The proscenium arch, at the front of the theater, was flanked by niches containing statues of nude women holding glowing dishes.[13][23] These niches also contained grilles.[5] A band of floral ornament ran across the ceiling and side walls.[13] The aisles were illuminated by lights in a fan pattern.[21]
The entire interior was completely demolished in 2006.[24] The modern-day theater building contains 10,270 square feet (954 m2) of usable space on two above-ground stories. The basement covers 5,000 square feet (460 m2) and has 13-foot (4.0 m) ceilings.[14]
History
Development
Large movie palaces became common in the 1920s between the end of World War I and the beginning of the Great Depression.[25][26] In the New York City area, these movie palaces often had between 2,000 and 6,000 seats.[22] The onset of the Depression forced many theatrical operators in New York City to build smaller theaters with between 500 and 1,000 seats.[22] As such, most of New York City's Art Deco-style theaters, built during this time period, were small-scale cinemas serving local neighborhoods.[9]
Just prior to the construction of what became the Midtown Theater, the site at 2624–2626 Broadway was occupied by a seven-story apartment building, which the Welton estate sold to Irving I. Lewine in November 1930. Lewine initially intended to build another structure on the site.[27] The A. C. and H. M. Hall Realty Company bought the vacant apartment building in June 1931, with plans to replace it with a two-story commercial structure.[28][29] By that November, the site had been cleared.[6] Boak and Paris had finalized plans for a small theater in December 1932, and Hall Realty received a building permit for the theater the next month.[6] Brohall Realty, led, by Arlington C. Hall, leased the theater to Lee A. Ochs of Midway Theatre Inc. for 21 years beginning in March 1933, with annual rent that would gradually increase from $17,500 to $22,500.[30][31] J. J. Secoles was the theater's general contractor.[31]
Operation
Early years
The Midtown Theater opened on June 2, 1933, and received its certificate of occupancy five days later.[32] Despite its name, the theater was on the Upper West Side and was not near Midtown Manhattan.[9] From its opening through the 1940s, the theater presented first-run films, namely films that had just been released by movie studios.[33] Among the films screened at the Midtown were Goose Step,[34] The Seventh Veil,[35] and Moonlight Sonata,[35] as well as revivals of films such as The Scoundrel[36] and Catherine the Great.[37] The theater's developer, Hall Realty, owned the theater until the 1940s, after which it was sold several times.[15] Crain's New York magazine wrote that the Midtown "showed Marx Brothers comedies and romances starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn" at the peak of its popularity.[38] The Midtown Theater switched to showing foreign films in December 1948, starting with the French film Secrets of a Ballerina.[39][40]
During the 1950s, the Midtown hosted foreign films such as The Blue Angel,[41] Jofroi,[42] and A Day In The Country.[42] The theater also presented art-house films by directors such as Jean-Luc Godard, Louis Buñuel and Roman Polanski during the 1950s and 1960s.[33] By the early 1970s, the Midtown had begun to show pornographic films,[43] a use that continued well into the next decade.[8][44][45] A New York Times reporter said that the theater's conversion into a porn theater of one of many "signs for the optimist and for the pessimist" in the immediate surrounding area.[43] At the time, the stretch of Broadway between 96th and 110th Streets had experienced significant social decline and contained numerous single room occupancy buildings.[46]
Late 20th century
Dan Talbot, an operator of multiple cinemas on the Upper West Side, acquired the Midtown Theater in August 1982[47] and stopped showing porn movies there.[48] The Midtown was instead renovated for $300,000[15] and began to host foreign films in a repertory format.[47][49][50] The Midtown reopened as the Metro on October 1, 1982; its first foreign films were a double bill of the films Aguirre, the Wrath of God and Ali: Fear Eats the Soul.[48] The renovated Metro Theater had 535 seats, making it the largest repertory theater in Manhattan,[47][51] as well as one of the largest theaters in the borough that exclusively showed revivals of old films.[52] After the renovation, Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote: "The seats are comfortable and the long, comparatively narrow auditorium is such that I don't think it will ever be possible for anyone to 'twin it'" (i.e. convert the Metro into a two-screen theater).[53] The theater began to host events such as Perspectives on French Cinema, an annual showcase of ten French films.[50][54] The Metro's repertory programming was popular,[55] and a Times article in 1984 said the Metro's audiences were "perhaps, the most serious and best behaved in the city".[56]
Talbot began to show first-run films at the Metro in June 1985.[57][58] The change in format was variously attributed to the closure of the nearby New Yorker Theater,[57] the growing popularity of newer movies,[59] and the fact that the theater re-ran old films too frequently.[51] To attract patrons, Talbot added a screen and speakers to the Metro's storefront so passersby could watch.[59] Talbot received hundreds of letters criticizing the first-run format[55] and, after six months, changed the Metro back to a repertory theater.[55][60] Despite the increasing prevalence of videocassette recorders in the 1980s, Talbot was optimistic that "something like video ultimately isn't going to deter people from going to places like the Metro".[55] Talbot had closed the Metro by mid-1986 to replace the theater's bathrooms and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. The Metro's lease was not set to expire for 75 years, amid concerns that movie theaters along Broadway could be replaced with new development.[61] By that year, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) was considering designating the Metro Theater as a city landmark.[62][63] The interior was split into two screens around the same time.[15]
Cineplex Odeon assumed the theater's lease in 1987,[5] and it acquired several other theaters nearby.[64] Cineplex Odeon failed to apply for an operating license for the Metro, leading city officials to close it temporarily in May 1989.[65] The LPC designated the Metro Theater as an individual landmark that July.[1][66] Albert Bialek bought the theater the same year,[38] although Cineplex Odeon continued to operate it. The Metro was known as the Cineplex Odeon Metro Twin by the early 1990s.[7] Under Cineplex Odeon's operation, the Metro Twin sold cheaper tickets than comparable New York City cinemas that also screened first-run films.[67] After Cineplex Odeon merged with Loews Theaters in 1998 to form Loews Cineplex Entertainment, the combined firm announced that April that it would sell 14 movie theaters in Manhattan, including the Metro Theater, to comply with antitrust law.[68][69] Cablevision, parent company of Clearview Cinemas, bought the Metro in August 1998.[70]
Recent years
By the beginning of the 21st century, the theater building was owned by Broadway Metro Associates, which was headed by Albert Bialek.[4] The Metro was managed by Clearview Cinemas until it closed on January 26, 2003, amid a dispute between Clearview and Bialek.[71] The theater was known for its seats with sharp springs, as well as its extremely dirty screens.[72] There were rumors that the theater would be converted into a Gristedes supermarket, prompting over 100 local residents to express concerns.[5] During late 2004, local residents protested the closure so vehemently that Gristedes CEO John Catsimatidis printed leaflets denying his company's involvement in the theater.[73] Two additional theaters on Broadway in Upper Manhattan had also closed in recent months; according to The New York Times, this "left a 10-mile swath of Broadway from 84th Street to Yonkers without a first-run movie theater for the first time in decades".[71] Bialek said in September 2004 that he had leased the Metro to cinema operator Peter H. Elson.[73]
Elson renovated the theater for $240,000 and reopened it in November 2004 as the Embassy's New Metro Twin, showing indie and foreign films there.[5] The modifications included new seats, lighting, carpets, projectors, and sound equipment, as well as larger screens.[73] The change in format failed to attract patrons, even though the theater had lower ticket and concession prices than comparable cinemas showing mainstream films. By September 2005, Elson said of the local community: "They want to have a theater, but they don't want to support it."[72] The New Metro Twin closed again in November 2005.[24] Various reasons were cited for its closure, among which (according to The Real Deal magazine) observers had cited construction noise from two neighboring apartment buildings, as well as the Metro's tendency to screen limited releases of foreign films.[74] The theater's closure was so little noticed that construction workers at the neighboring buildings were unaware that the theater had closed until a New York Times reporter told them two months afterward.[24] The Times wrote that the theater had "experienced more cliffhangers than the legendary silent The Perils of Pauline".[24]
Post-closure
2000s
In 2006, the interior of the theater was gutted, as only the exterior was protected as a landmark.[24] David Dunlap, writing for The New York Times in 2007, said the theater's auditorium had been demolished, saying: "Gone are seats and plaster and curtains and screen. Gone is a golden ceiling molding with a chain of floral bouquets. Gone are the sylph-filled niches. Gone is grille work that sprouted like corn stalks."[75] The Metro's owners Albert and Sheila Bialek had leased the theater for 49 years to John R. Souto, who was supposed to have renovated the theater for retail purposes. The terms of Souto's lease also included an option to buy the theater outright at a later date.[14] The LPC issued a "certificate of no effect" in October 2007, allowing interior demolition.[75] By 2008, Souto had hired Winick Realty Group to lease the theater's interior, and he also hired Eastern Consolidated to sell the theater. To avoid confusing potential tenants, Winick Realty took down its own signs when the building was placed for sale in March 2008, even though Eastern Consolidated wanted a tenant, as it would increase the probability that the theater would be sold.[14]
The structure's small floor area made it very difficult to lease out for theatrical use.[76] The owners could not construct any more above-ground space because they had sold the theater's air rights, which would have permitted the construction of additional floor area, to a neighboring landowner.[14] Additionally, the facade could not be modified because of landmark regulations, and the structure's protruding marquee created a large shadow that deterred potential tenants.[76] Eastern Consolidated attempted to auction off the theater building in March 2008, expecting to receive between $20 million and $25 million, but it did not receive any bids within that range.[14] Winick Realty Group tentatively agreed to lease the theater to Urban Outfitters by January 2009.[77][78] Winick Realty's president Benjamin Fox said Urban Outfitters " fell in love with this place because of its uniqueness",[77] but Ted Marlowe, the CEO of Urban Outfitters, said the gutted Metro was "not the easiest space to work with".[74] Urban Outfitters ultimately leased a store across the street because the company did not want to spend money renovating the Metro.[79]
2010s
Souto filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 2010 after defaulting on his lease.[80] A local political strategist, Michael Oliva, established the Metro Theater Project in late 2010 in an effort to convert the theater building to a community center.[8][81] Oliva estimated that it would cost $10 million to buy the theater and $2 million to $4 million to renovate it; by December 2010, he had raised $2,000.[81] After Albert Bialek took over the theater building in January 2011, he wished to lease the Metro to a single tenant to "maintain [its] integrity".[4] Bialek also commissioned feasibility studies on the possibility of converting the building into a cinema or performing-arts complex with three or four screens.[4] In March 2011, Bialek began negotiating to lease the theater to nonprofit organization Wingspan Arts.[4][82] The proposal would have included expanding the floor area into 30,000 square feet (2,800 m2) by excavating 30 to 35 feet (9.1 to 10.7 m) below ground. This would have created space for 12 rehearsal rooms, four auditoriums, a cafe, and about 3,000 square feet (280 m2) of office space.[4] Wingspan ultimately decided against moving to the Metro.[83]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f5/Metro_Theater_%289271650207%29.jpg/220px-Metro_Theater_%289271650207%29.jpg)
Bialek filed plans with the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) in late 2011 to renovate the theater building into a store at a cost of $900.000.[83][84] Movie theater chain Alamo Drafthouse announced in April 2012 that it would open its first New York City cinema within the Metro Theater.[85][86] This announcement followed the passage of a law allowing some cinemas in New York state to serve alcohol.[86] Alamo Drafthouse planned to renovate the facade and convert the interior into a five-screen multiplex with a kitchen to serve dinners to patrons.[87][88] The five screens would have contained a combined 378 seats. Manhattan Community Board 7 supported the plan; its chairman said, "This could very well be a destination kind of attraction both for this neighborhood and elsewhere".[89] Some construction work had taken place by early 2013,[90] and local blog West Side Rag had interviewed Alamo Drafthouse's CEO in advance of the planned conversion.[74] Alamo Drafthouse canceled its plans to renovate the Metro Theater in October 2013, citing high costs and the effects of Hurricane Sandy in New York;[91][92] they instead opened a location in Downtown Brooklyn.[93]
After the failure of the Alamo Drafthouse plan, Bialek spent more than a year negotiating to lease the theater to Planet Fitness.[76] The chain had indicated its intention to lease the space in early 2015, but the lease negotiations fell through just before Planet Fitness was supposed to lease the space.[94] Planet Fitness then announced in October 2015 that it had leased the building for 15 years.[76][93] Renovation architects Stelco Restoration and Technology filed renovation plans for the Metro Theater in March 2016.[95] By that November, Planet Fitness had withdrawn from the project, and Blink Fitness had indicated that it would lease the building instead.[96] The Blink Fitness plan also did not proceed, In 2018, a local resident raised $4.000 through GoFundMe to study a possible restoration of the theater.[97][98] The resident returned the donors' money the next year, as there was not enough funding to pay for an engineer's appraisal.[98][99] By then, Bialek said he was prepared to lease the building to a nonprofit.[38] Residents, who were upset that multiple plans for the Metro had fallen through, claimed that Bialek was "greedy and unreliable".[38]
2020s
Bialek had filed revised plans with the DOB in June 2020, which called for the renovation of the Metro Theater into a retail space.[100][97] The DOB rejected the plans, which would have added 10,000 square feet (930 m2) at a cost of $1.2 million.[74] In 2021, local residents formed a group known as the Friends of Metro Theater to advocate for the restoration of the Metro.[98] The group launched a petition on Change.org to advocate for the theater's restoration;[101] by November 2021, the petition had received 3,000 signatures.[102] At the time, Bialek indicated that he was in the process of leasing the theater building to another tenant.[74][102] Bialek announced in March 2022 that he had leased the theater to an unspecified theatrical chain.[97][103] Media sources indicated that the Metro had been sold to a California-based company[104] and would become a dine-in theater.[103]
In September 2022, Alamo Drafthouse announced that it would reopen the Metro as a dinner theater.[105][106] According to Alamo Drafthouse founder Tim League, the renovation would be "largely funded by Alamo, we're trying to establish a little bit higher-end brand. Alamo is pizza and salads, Metro will have some of those, but will also have more full entrees, a really nice wine list, and a small bar."[107] The same month, Alamo Drafthouse applied for a liquor license for the theater.[108] Officials approved renovations to the building in August 2023, and the theater received a liquor license shortly afterward. Bialek died in late 2023, and plans for the Alamo Drafthouse location at the Metro Theater were canceled in April 2024. Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine cited Alamo Drafthouse's financial troubles, a claim that an Alamo Drafthouse spokesperson denied.[109]
Impact
When the Metro Theater was being considered for landmark designation in 1986, David W. Dunlap of The New York Times wrote that the theater "makes a startling impression with its streamlined facade in beige, black, red and lavender and its circular medallion containing allegorical figures of comedy and tragedy".[62] The same year, Newsday wrote that the theater was "the architectural king" of art-house movie theaters, characterizing it as "Art Deco restored with a vengeance".[21] Robert A. M. Stern wrote in his 1987 book New York 1930 that the theater was "stylishly Modernist",[13] while Andrew Dolkart wrote in 2012 that "the Art Deco Midtown has one of the finest theater facades in New York".[10] The Real Deal magazine wrote in 2021 that "the theater's tri-colored, terra cotta facade is 'one of the finest facades of its type', according to city historians."[74]
The Metro appeared in the Woody Allen film Hannah and Her Sisters in 1986,[8] and it also appeared in a video for Janet Jackson's 1987 release, "Let's Wait Awhile".[77]
See also
- Art Deco architecture of New York City
- List of buildings and structures on Broadway in Manhattan
- List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 59th to 110th Streets
References
Citations
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