Gramercy Theatre
| Former names | Gramercy Park Theatre |
|---|---|
| Address | 127 E. 23rd St. |
| Location | New York City |
| Coordinates | 40°44′23″N 73°59′06″W / 40.739753°N 73.985001°WCoordinates: 40°44′23″N 73°59′06″W / 40.739753°N 73.985001°W |
| Owner | Live Nation Entertainment |
| Type | Theatre |
| Capacity | 499 |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1937 |
| Website | |
| www |
|
The Gramercy Theatre is a music venue in New York City. It is located in the Gramercy neighborhood of Manhattan, on 127 East 23rd Street. Originally built in 1937 as the Gramercy Park Theatre, it is now owned and operated by Live Nation as one of their two concert halls in New York City, the other being the nearby Irving Plaza.
Built in 1937 and designed by architect Charles A. Sandblom in the Streamline Moderne style, the theatre is located at 127 E. 23rd St in the historic Gramercy neighborhood.
It was originally known as the Gramercy Park Theatre to avoid confusion with the already existing Gramercy Theatre, which had 521 seats and was situated at 310 First Avenue. After the old Gramercy Theatre succumbed to TV competition in the early 1950s, the newer theatre dropped "Park" from its name.
In the 1950s, the theatre was purchased by Cinema V, an art-film presentation and distribution company. The theatre was considered an "art house" due to eclectic programming, no admittance near the end of a film (unheard of back then), and coffee served in the waiting area.
Cinema V, grew from Rugoff and Becker theaters, a chain started in 1921 by Don Rugoff's father. Rugoff gained control of the company in 1957 and began a quick expansion in the burgeoning world of art-house exhibition. The Gramercy Theatre was part of this expansion.
Some of the programming that The New York Times lists in the 50s for the Gramercy Theatre switched from single bookings to double features, a novel approach for the time. There were a mix of foreign, sub-run mainstream, Disney films, and revivals.
In the early 1970s, the Theatre was a dollar-theater, showing third run movies. In the late 1970s it showed second-run films such as The Spy Who Loved Me, New York, New York, 3 Women, and Outrageous!.
In the early 1980s, still under Cinema V, the theater showcased first-run movies. Cinema V changed to City Cinemas in the late 1980s, and did record breaking business until Cineplex Odeon opened the nine-screen Chelsea Cinemas and large audiences disappeared from Gramercy.
In 1992, City Cinemas closed the theatre after using it briefly as a Hollywood classics revival house.
...
Wikipedia