Paris Theater (Manhattan)
.jpg) Exterior of theater (2019) | |
 | |
| Address | 4 West 58th Street Manhattan, New York City United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°45′50″N 73°58′27″W / 40.7638°N 73.9743°W |
| Owner | Stefan Soloviev[1] |
| Operator | Netflix (as of 2019)[3] |
| Type | Single-screen movie theater[1] |
| Capacity | 535[2] |
| Construction | |
| Opened | September 13, 1948[1][2] |
| Closed | August 2019[4] |
| Reopened | November 6, 2019 |
| Website | |
| www | |
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.
History[edit]
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[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Queenan, Joe (August 30, 2008). "On 58th Street, the Keeper of the Flame". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f Melnick, Ross; Haas, Howard B. "Paris Theatre". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
- ^ a b "Netflix takes over its first cinema". BBC News. November 26, 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
- ^ a b Moss, Jeremiah (August 29, 2019). "Paris and Beekman". Jeremiah's Vanishing New York. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
- ^ Nygaard, Sandra (n.d.). "Paris Theater". New York. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Brueggemann, Tom (December 6, 2019). "Now That Netflix Saved the Paris Theatre, Here's What to Expect". IndieWire. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
- ^ Alsup, Blake (August 29, 2019). "Midtown's historic Paris Theatre has officially closed". New York Daily News. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
- ^ McClintock, Pamela (November 25, 2019). "Netflix to Keep New York's Paris Theater Open". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
- ^ "Netflix To Reopen Famed Paris Theatre In Manhattan". WLNY News. November 25, 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
- ^ Rubin, Rebecca (July 28, 2021). "New York City's Paris Theater to Reopen in August". Variety. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
- ^ Schulz, Dana (July 21, 2021). "Under new Netflix management, historic Paris Theater will reopen next month". 6sqft. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
- ^ "New York City's Legendary Paris Theater Reopens: What Film Lovers Can Expect" (Press release). Netflix. July 28, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2022.