34th Street East Theatre

241 E. 34th Street,
New York, NY 10016

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Showing 51 - 64 of 64 comments

Al Alvarez
Al Alvarez on April 23, 2006 at 4:49 pm

Does anyone have any information on a “34th Street Theatre” that appears in the NY Times 1948-1949? I am not sure where on 34th Street it was.

Michael Furlinger
Michael Furlinger on February 25, 2006 at 1:53 am

the district office was in the 34th st east in the late 80s for cineplex odeon as was the Biograph booking dept.

Al Alvarez
Al Alvarez on June 25, 2005 at 2:57 am

barrygriffin, I suspect they are probably still there as Cineplex Odeon was quite un-interested in the prints. The Toronto office was dismissive of Sterling which was still operating as a service to schools and universities. I don’t know who owns these film rights today but there were some 35mm prints of high profile titles such as ROOM AT THE TOP and TEOREMA.

bgriffi
bgriffi on June 24, 2005 at 9:51 pm

Al Alvarez, I am looking for a title that would potentially have been in that basement full of Continental film prints from the Walter Reade era. Would you have any idea where they may have moved them or would you know who I could contact that may be able to help me? For more details, you can contact me

Al Alvarez
Al Alvarez on June 11, 2005 at 3:38 am

You are correct BR. It was early 1990. Cineplex was trying to save money after the Garth Drabinsky debacle and did not have to pay extra rent here.

br91975
br91975 on June 10, 2005 at 4:53 pm

Wouldn’t Cineplex Odeon have moved its offices to the 34th Street East Theatre building in the ‘80s (or maybe early '90s)? They didn’t enter the NYC marketplace – at least not formally – until 1987.

Al Alvarez
Al Alvarez on June 5, 2005 at 12:26 am

Walter Reade had its offices here until the New Ziegfeld opened when they moved there. Cineplex Odeon eventually moved their offices back here in the seventies and shut down the West 56th Street offices as well as the Ziegfeld office.

When I worked for Cineplex the basement was full of Continental Releasing film prints, Sterling Film 16mm documentaries and other relics of the Walter Reade era.

Gerald A. DeLuca
Gerald A. DeLuca on April 7, 2005 at 8:16 am

Hardbop, that was the Murray Hill Cinema. (q.v.)

hardbop
hardbop on April 7, 2005 at 5:05 am

There was a theatre on East 34th Street where part of the ceiling collapsed. I don’t think anyone was seriously injured. It was during the 1980s. I think it was this theatre. Anyone remember this?

RobertR
RobertR on April 5, 2005 at 3:31 am

This was always a class house.

rcdt55b
rcdt55b on March 7, 2005 at 1:48 am

That could be so. Cineplex had their offices there when they ran it. This theater had most of the orignal equipment in operation when it closed.

Astyanax
Astyanax on February 13, 2005 at 8:28 pm

I believe Walter Reade Organization headquarters were in offices above the theatre.

SethLewis
SethLewis on February 13, 2005 at 6:41 pm

This was a Walter Reade theatre which shifted over to Cineplex Odeon during the 1986-7 buyout…It was a pretty safe bet in the 70s to day date with an 86th St and a Broadway Loews house for a first or showcase run…

Gerald A. DeLuca
Gerald A. DeLuca on February 13, 2005 at 6:03 pm

Decades ago I used to go to this theatre from time to time when in New York. My stronget memories go back to the summer of 1965 when AFFS (the American Federation of Film Societies) had a number of special morning 35mm screenings at this then-very-spiffy place for members during one week. Among the films I saw there in those screenings were Munk’s “The Passenger,” Bertolucci’s “Before the Revolution,” Buñuel’s “Nazarin,” and Rossif’s “To Die in Madrid.” They were all revelations. The AFFS also had 16mm screenings that year in a room at the U.N. building.