Adonis Theatre

Thanks for the great posts. I have fond memories of this place and the great times spent there in the ‘80s and I definitely cherish my copy of “A Night at the Adonis”. Another view of the infamous balcony can be seen in a 'B’ movie titled Times Square starring Trini Alvarado as a runaway in NYC.

While vacationing in the 70’s we passed by this theater and it was showing a movie called The Other Side of Joey. My friend who was with me just divorced her husband named Joey and I joked with her that maybe it was him. She laughs and says lets find out! So we had the taxi turn around and drop us off there. I never saw a all male film before, and the guy that sold us the tickets warned us of it. What an experience it was. The movie stopped like two different times, the screen would show colors all running into one another for a few minutes, then the movie started back up. I had to use the bathroom, and one of the employees took me to the restroom and had me wait while he went inside, kicking out about 5 guys that were in there. The door had a sign on it saying “closed” but I guess it was being used for other things. The bathroom was filthy and I couldn’t use it, after seeing wads of tissue all over the floor and other things. When we walked out afterwards, we bumped into a couple of police officers walking by, and they took us to lunch at a vendomat, and the first thing I did was use the restroom and it was clean.

Although the theater was opened as the Adonis with a fresh coat of blue paint for its “Greek” interior, the building seemed to receive almost no maintenance after that. Seats were never repaired when they broke. Broken seaats were simply removed, leaving unsightly gaps which grew to large voids over the years. They had only one working projector and when they needed to change reels, they projected a disk of colored oils on screen which oozed around as the disk was rotated. The oils eventually bleached out and dried over the years but they kept on using it until they switched to video projection towards the very end. The building became badly run down and I began to think that the city would shut it down, although that never happened. Notwithstanding the actions by Worldwide Plaza and Mr. Zeckendorf, the fate of the Adonis was probably sealed by a sustained lack of maintenance.

The intro needs to be adjusted. This Adonis was closed in 1994 and demolished and 1995. By 1996 the Adonis concept have moved down to the Cameo, /theaters/7531/

In 1976 or 77, my parents brought me to NYC to look at colleges (Cooper Union and Columbia). One night after dinner, they let me go out alone to visit “record stores”. My real plan was to go to the Adonis, which I’d either seen or read about. I walked from the Tudor Hotel (42nd and 1st), no short jaunt. I sat down in the middle of the main floor to watch the movie (which, I swear to God, involved a guy doing things to himself with produce). Couldn’t figure out why everybody kept walking around and changing seats while the movie was playing. (OK, I was 16 or 17.) Don’t remember much about the theater, or how long I stayed. Mostly remember how freaked out my parents were when I got back to the hotel hours later (man, that walk back was looong!).
Moved to NYC in ‘77, and visited the Adonis many times. I vividly remember the oval cutout in the upper lobby, and I think there were urns at each end of it with plastic flowers. Could be wrong. Also recall the Mens room, down a couple of steps from the main floor. It was really big, with intricate tile work and dim lighting. I think the Ladies room was reserved for the staff.
What an incredible theater. What a sad loss.

Does anyone know the name of the black and white porn movie that was being watched in the orgially movie? it was hott..i would like to know the name of it…my emal addy is if anybody wants to help me out…thanks

I surprised that I have never commented on this theater prior to now. Had this theater survived into the new century, I believe it could have been saved and restored; probably into a legit house.

I say this because I have to admit that I did visit this theater once. I was in my mid twenties and still very much in the closet and the facade of this theater was so impressive and I wanted to see what it looked like inside. Well that, I I was curious about what a gay theater would be like. I believe it was the mid 80’s and as others have posted above, I remember being impressed with the beauty of the lobby and I could tell that at one time it had been a beautiful theater. I do believe that its history as a gay porno house has diminished what what lost when this theater was demolished.

Posted above was a comment from Zechendorf about how ugly the Adonis was and that he hoped to put up a more attractive building in keeping with the new identity of Hells Kitchen. Well, the building that was built was the Longacre, a banal high rise rental that is certainly no improvement over what was lost.

p.s. I remember staying in the theater only about 15 minutes. I couldn’t bring myself to actually sit down and I wasn’t comfortable with what was going on around me. I’m glad I got to see the theater though and I never went to another gay porno theater. :–)

Weak-kneed thief, from the NYT on 9/3/59:

Hold-Up Try Is Foiled By Unyielding Cashier

A would-be bandit’s flesh was willing last night but his spirit quailed before an unrelenting cashier at the Tivoli Theatre, Eighth Avenue and Fiftieth Street. He told his intended victim before he fled: “If you’ll forget about this, I will.”

You can see the marquee for the Tivoli Theatre in the film “Willie Dynamite” (1974), around 53 minutes into the film.

Scott—that’s super and I’d like to see the book. I just looked it up at NYPL and they don’t have it, will search later. In the meantime, let us know something about it. I’m very envious you own the marquee signs—that’s fantastic! I’ve felt that way about signs before, and been glad when they’ve been preserved, like the old PanAm signs which are, I think, now in Florida, but preserved (I’ve always hated looking up Park and seeing MetLife, which seems to indicate death, whereas the old PanAm logo was part of the zingy period of New York when things were lighter and there was a real chic, not this low hum of computers and fax machines that the city feels like now. I used to go to both the Eros and the Venus on rare occasions, but think that is wonderful of you to have preserved the signs. Almost all this heritage that we took for granted in the 70s has been destroyed—not just the fun ways of life that went with some of them, but even the relics. You’re a real inspiration, I have to say.

Very true, and thanks, actually. However, mention of the film about the theater was appropriate, not commentary that was tangential about life-styles. It is necessary that you recognize that there are some people on these threads of gay porno houses do take the opportunity to make unnecessary remarks while pretending to be sincere.

I realize that saying this may get me banned from this forum, but I don’t care, because this thread and the one for the Fair is full of such stuff, and you should direct your moderating at the first offender, not those who try to get them to stop.

Warren—you are a homophobe and a nuisance. You are not trying to get people to practice safe sex, which everybody is aware that they should be doing anyway, whether or not they are. You come here to make self-righteous pronouncements about people’s lifestyles, to be a boring missionary that nobody wants to hear from.

Most of the New York original cases of AIDS came from the bathhouses and heavy bars like the Mineshaft, not from movie theaters, where sexual activity was more restricted. You want to police gays, and tell them they should hear your message when it is very transparent that you are trying to make a moral point about certain kinds of sex acts, which are not nearly all in themselves dangerous anyway, and the others are dangerous only if unprotected.

Most of the video versions have long had warnings at the beginnings of the films warning people NOT to engage in what they see on the screen. You are not really worth talking to, since you are obviously not very bright, but since you won’t shut your redneck mouth, I do agree with fairytale that you ought to be shut out of here.

Or why don’t you go stand out in front of the baths or the Fair and preach like some vulgar street evangelist? That’s what you are anyway, isn’t it? Or probably just some homely troll who wants to bother guys that like to get laid.