Loew's State Theatre (New York City)

Coordinates: 40°45′28″N 73°59′06″W / 40.757815°N 73.984877°W / 40.757815; -73.984877
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

40°45′28″N 73°59′06″W / 40.757815°N 73.984877°W / 40.757815; -73.984877

Photo of the theatre's interior in 1959

The Loew's State Theatre was a

MGM.[4]

For several years it was a second-run theater featuring live acts and a feature (most often an MGM film that would have premiered at the Astor Theatre before having its initial run at the Capitol, both Loew's movie houses located just a few blocks from the State), although it also had frequent personal appearances and short subjects.

Loew's became the last theater in Times Square to continue booking vaudeville acts as that medium declined in the 1930s; when it hosted its last vaudeville show on December 23, 1947, sentimental goodbyes were made from the stage in recognition of the end of an era.[5]

In March 1959 the theater completed an $850,000 remodeling that reduced the number of seats from 3,316 to 1,885 but made them wider and increased the space between rows. The proscenium arch also was eliminated and a wide-screen projector was installed to permit the showing of CinemaScope and VistaVision (but not Cinerama) motion pictures. The interior was redecorated using a beige-on-gold palette. The remodeled theater reopened with the New York premiere of Some Like It Hot, with Marilyn Monroe in attendance.[6]

The theater held several world premieres including The Three Musketeers (1948), Annie Get Your Gun (1950), Ben-Hur (1959), Becket (1964), and Doctor Dolittle (1967).[7][8]

The cinema was split into two in 1968 with the former balcony re-opening on December 18, 1968, as the State II with 1,214 seats with the U.S. premiere of

Bertelsmann Building.[14]

References

  1. ^ "Loew's State Theatre - New York City". Nycago.org. Archived from the original on 2006-02-21. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  2. ISBN 978-1-3174-2967-8
    . Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  3. Archive.org
    .
  4. ^ "Broadway Brushes Self Off". Variety. April 1, 1959. p. 5. Retrieved June 30, 2019 – via Archive.org.
  5. ISBN 978-0-4159-3853-2
    . Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  6. ^ "New Loew's State Reopens Tonight". The New York Times. March 28, 1959. p. 11.
  7. ^ a b c d "Loew's State Theatre". Cinema Treasures. Archived from the original on 11 July 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  8. ISBN 978-1-5939-3321-0
    . Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Balcony Deer Park No Longer; Loew's State Into Happy Twinhood". Variety. December 18, 1968. p. 18.
  10. ^ "'Oliver' Cops 47G At Loew's State I". Variety. December 18, 1968. p. 9.
  11. ^ "It's Everybody's 'Godfather'". Variety. March 22, 1972. p. 5.
  12. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 2022-05-28.
  13. ^ Henry, John (1986-02-22). "Loews State is sold". New York Daily News. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-05-28.
  14. OL 22741487M
    .
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