Heights Theater

150 Wadsworth Avenue,
New York, NY 10033

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Additional Info

Firms: Townsend, Steinle & Haskell

Functions: Office Space, Retail

Nearby Theaters

heights theatre

The Heights Theater opened November 15, 1913, located in Washington Heights section of Manhattan. The Heights Theater operated as a regular movie theatre until at least 1971. It then became an adult movie theatre operating into the 1980’s. Now closed, the building still stands and is listed as being a store/office.

Contributed by CJDV & Lost Memory

Recent comments (view all 36 comments)

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on July 2, 2014 at 11:26 am

guarina: at 150 Wadsworth, the Heights Theatre building is on the west side of the street.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on July 2, 2014 at 12:26 pm

Ed: I’ve held off submitting the Wadsworth Theatre because I’ve been unable to find any evidence that it operated as a movie house at any time during its brief existence. However, while trying to find such evidence I came across an item in the July 5, 1913, issue of The American Contractor that is probably about the Heights Theatre, which opened October 11, 1913:

“Store, Office & Moving Picture Bldg.: 2 sty. 102x150x100. $75,000. Broadway, 181st st. & Wadsworth av. Archts. Townsend, Steinle & Haskell, 1328 Broadway. Owner Robert E. Westcott estate, 33 Wall st. Bldrs. Fountain & Choate, 110 E. 23d st. Brick, stone. Work in progress. Plastering let to T. A. O'Rourke Co., 103 Park av.”
A couple of Townsend, Steinle & Haskell’s large apartment buildings made it into the AIA Guide to New York City, but the Heights didn’t.

guarina
guarina on July 2, 2014 at 3:31 pm

Joe, Thank you for the clarification. I was under the impression that on avenues the odd numbers were on the west side, even numbers on the east, judging from the RKO Coliseum, the Uptown, the Loew’s 175th Street, Theresa Pharmacy, Washington Heights Federal Savings.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on July 2, 2014 at 7:23 pm

They usually are, guarina, but for some reason on Wadsworth Avenue it’s back-asswards.

JeffBradway
JeffBradway on March 4, 2015 at 1:09 pm

Rider’s New York City (1916) has the following listing: “WADSWORTH THEATRE, Wadsworth avenue and 181st street. Vaudeville and Photoplay. Evening: Box seats, 50c. and 75c.; orchestra, 50c. and 35c.; balcony, 50, 35, and 25c. Matinees (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday): box seats, 35c.; orchestra, 25c.; balcony, 15c.” So apparently the Wadsworth did show movies.

robboehm
robboehm on March 4, 2015 at 6:54 pm

Well, Jeff, since the Wadsworth isn’t on CT please do the honors.

Ken Roe
Ken Roe on March 5, 2015 at 3:23 am

The Wadsworth Theatre now has its own page.

Joseph Angier
Joseph Angier on August 30, 2017 at 6:48 am

I lived near this theater in the early ‘60s. Wasn’t the Heights the local “arthouse” theater? I remember my father taking me there to see British films

ryan79
ryan79 on October 25, 2017 at 10:35 pm

In its art house days in the sixties, saw my first gay themed film here, the Leather boys. I was a child. they still let me in. Later they barred me from seeing The Collector, another Brit film. So my mother took me. She didn’t see the problem. I also saw a soft core Jane Fonda film in French. They let me in to see that alone. capricious policy regarding children and adult themed films. great memories.

kidblast1
kidblast1 on January 1, 2022 at 11:13 pm

I sat watching Brigitte Bardot in her monumental ‘And G-d Created Woman’ in the mid-1950’s. 10 mins. after it began an adult sat in front of me … my father.

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