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The Paris Theater, Manhattan's Last Single-Screen Cinema, Closes After 71 Years
By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 30, 2019
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 30, 2019
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The Paris Theater, the last single screen movie theater in Manhattan that opened 71 years ago, has closed.
The 581-seat venue, which was located on 58th Street and Fifth Avenue, posted a sign in its window yesterday making the announcement, to the surprise of people who had come to buy tickets to Ron Howard's documentary Pavarotti, which had been playing there recently*.* The note reads: “Unfortunately, our lease has ended and the Paris Theatre is now closed. We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to all of our guests over the years. Thank you for your patronage and we regret that we cannot continue to serve you."
Deadline had reported earlier this summer that the theater, which is owned by Sheldon Solow, would close by the end of August "unless something dramatic" happened. They speculated that the theater's prime location, next to the Plaza Hotel and Berdorf Goodman, could draw higher rents from changing to retail or housing. As the Times wrote in 2008, "Because of its enviable location, and the onslaught of the multiplex, the theater’s ability to survive is one of the great mysteries of New York life."
The theater opened on September 13th, 1948, with Marlene Dietrich as the one to cut the ribbon (in the presence of the Ambassador to France) at the new institution. It originally specialized in showing French movies. It was one of the oldest art-house theaters in the entire country, and was known for being one of the few remaining theaters in the city showing first-run arthouse and foreign films.
For those looking for any sort of hopeful sign, the venue closed down once before only to reopen. Per the Times: "In the early 1990s, when [original operator] Pathé lost its lease and was replaced by Loews, the Paris briefly underwent a name change. At the time, it was feared that the landlord would convert the theater to retail space. But Loews cleared out in 1994, and when the new owner, Sheldon Solow, assumed control, the conversion didn’t materialize."
However, Jeremiah Moss reports that the Beekman Theater, also owned by Solow on the Upper East Side, has also closed. They have a similar goodbye note up today as well.
In the past two years, the city has seen a bunch of classic arthouse cinemas shutter, including the Ziegfeld, Lincoln Plaza, Landmark Sunshine, and City Cinemas 86th Street. (It's not all bad: a bright spot for cineastes has been the reopening of the Quad Cinema, now owned by real estate developer Charles Cohen, as well as the arrival of Metrograph in 2016.)
At least Cathy is happy.
Tagged
midtown
cinemas
manhattan
paris theatre
movie theaters
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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