Paris Theater (Manhattan)

The Paris Theater is a 535-seat single-screen art house movie theater, located in Manhattan in New York City.[1] It opened on September 13, 1948. It often showed art films and foreign films in their original languages. Upon the 2016 closure of the Ziegfeld, the Paris became Manhattan's sole-surviving single-screen cinema. Since November 2019, it has been operated by Netflix, playing first-run releases alongside repertory programming.

The Paris Theater
Fine Arts Theatre[1][2]
Exterior of theater (2019)
Address4 West 58th Street
Manhattan, New York City
United States
Coordinates40.7638°N 73.9743°W / 40.7638; -73.9743
OwnerStefan Soloviev[1]
OperatorNetflix (as of 2019)[3]
TypeSingle-screen movie theater[1]
Capacity535[2]
Construction
OpenedSeptember 13, 1948[1][2]
ClosedAugust 2019[4]
ReopenedNovember 6, 2019
Website
www.paristheaternyc.com

History

The theater was opened by Pathé Cinema on September 13, 1948,[1] when actress Marlene Dietrich cut the inaugural ribbon in the presence of the U.S. Ambassador to France.[2]

It was designed by the New York architectural firm of Emery Roth & Sons. It was one of the first designs produced by Richard Roth when he reorganized the firm after returning from duty in the Pacific during World War II. He later co-designed the Pan Am Building and the World Trade Center.

Located at 4 West 58th Street, just west of Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan, it has specialized in foreign (especially French language) and independent films. It is across from the Plaza Hotel.[1][5] The theater became a destination for motion pictures by directors including Federico Fellini and Franco Zeffirelli.[1]

In 1990, Pathé lost its lease.[6] Loews Theatres then took over the operation and it was known as the Fine Arts Theatre for a while.[2] In 1994 the space was purchased by Sheldon Solow, a New York City–based real-estate developer and owner.[1]

By 2009, City Cinemas was the theater's operator.[2] After the Ziegfeld closed in January 2016, the Paris became Manhattan's sole surviving single-screen cinema.[7] In August 2019, a notice of closure was posted.[4][8] In November 2019, it was announced that the cinema would reopen for a limited run of Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story (2019).[9] At that time, Netflix leased the Paris Theater to use it for Netflix-original movie debuts, special events and other screenings.[3][10] The Paris closed temporarily in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, reopening in August 2021.[11][12] During the closure, Netflix installed new seating and made other improvements to the facility, which reopened August 6, 2021.[13]

See also

References
  1. Queenan, Joe (August 30, 2008). "On 58th Street, the Keeper of the Flame". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  2. Melnick, Ross; Haas, Howard B. "Paris Theatre". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  3. "Netflix takes over its first cinema". BBC News. November 26, 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  4. Moss, Jeremiah (August 29, 2019). "Paris and Beekman". Jeremiah's Vanishing New York. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  5. Nygaard, Sandra (n.d.). "Paris Theater". New York. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  6. Yarrow, Andrew L. (September 1, 1990). "Paris Film House Loses Its 58th Street Home". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  7. Brueggemann, Tom (December 6, 2019). "Now That Netflix Saved the Paris Theatre, Here's What to Expect". IndieWire. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  8. Alsup, Blake (August 29, 2019). "Midtown's historic Paris Theatre has officially closed". New York Daily News. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  9. McClintock, Pamela (November 25, 2019). "Netflix to Keep New York's Paris Theater Open". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  10. "Netflix To Reopen Famed Paris Theatre In Manhattan". WLNY News. November 25, 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  11. Rubin, Rebecca (July 28, 2021). "New York City's Paris Theater to Reopen in August". Variety. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  12. Schulz, Dana (July 21, 2021). "Under new Netflix management, historic Paris Theater will reopen next month". 6sqft. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  13. "New York City's Legendary Paris Theater Reopens: What Film Lovers Can Expect" (Press release). Netflix. July 28, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.