New Plaza Cinema

1871 Broadway,
New York, NY 10023

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ridethectrain
ridethectrain on July 4, 2021 at 12:08 pm

Please update, Clearview Cinemas closed the theatre on April 2, 2009 as a first run movie theatre.

Al Alvarez
Al Alvarez on January 14, 2020 at 7:25 pm

Actually, this happened once before and this space came back as a cinema.

MarkNYLA
MarkNYLA on January 14, 2020 at 1:05 pm

Sadly, this cinema was ruined on the morning of January 13, 2020, when a massive water main break in the neighborhood flooded its basement auditorium up to the ceiling, collapsing the walls and wiping out the projection room. It’s very sad to see this labor of love meet its end this way.

Al Alvarez
Al Alvarez on December 15, 2019 at 7:29 pm

Thanks to Facebook contributor Steve Abraham. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/13/nyregion/new-plaza-cinema-uws.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_191215&fbclid=IwAR1M93M8zH45JrXxe9xWbg4QsSFtmNKj36cL-MSJjYieidUaNo_fxk7xJc0

Al Alvarez
Al Alvarez on January 18, 2019 at 6:12 am

Now advertising as the New Plaza Cinema.

areacode212
areacode212 on July 6, 2014 at 3:35 am

This is now called the NYIT Auditorium, but it’s sometimes still rented out for some screenings and/or premieres of smaller movies. I walked past a couple of years ago and saw Maggie Gyllenhaal being interviewed here for “Won’t Back Down”.

SeaBassTian
SeaBassTian on September 2, 2012 at 10:24 pm

This was a good venue for catching offbeat art films and avoiding crowds. Always empty, not shocked to see it go.

KingBiscuits
KingBiscuits on December 20, 2011 at 9:23 pm

I have been wondering lately why the Lincoln Plaza owners didn’t consider buying the theatre. It would have made for a good seventh screen.

Al Alvarez
Al Alvarez on March 9, 2010 at 8:04 am

The introduction implies that Clearview had to divest of some locations during the Loews takeover of Cineplex Odeon. In actuality, Loews had to divest of some of its locations, allowing Clearview to take over this one.

JackCoursey
JackCoursey on August 9, 2009 at 7:57 am

Here is a 2009 photo of the former 62nd & Broadway Cinema.

DARCYDT
DARCYDT on June 4, 2009 at 12:32 pm

This is the right theater. I made this comment originally for the Clearview 62nd and 1st Avenue theater.

I passed this theater today and it now has a big sign up surrounding the entrance saying coming soon NYIT (New York Institute of Technology) auditorium.

John Fink
John Fink on April 27, 2009 at 4:32 am

Or let Clearview’s sibling IFC run it as IFC Center: Uptown. Sure, it’s like bringing back Angelika 57, but this is a pretty nice auditorium and isn’t as awkwardly laid out as Lincoln Plaza Cinemas where going to the bathroom is an adventure. Clearview could never figure out an identity for the place and it seemed like it was completely written off. For a while it couldn’t play day and date with Lincoln Plaza and Lincoln Square, later I think it played some features day and date with Lincoln Square. There are a lot of art theaters in the area including Lincoln Plaza and The Paris, but none do quite what IFC does.

Then again we saw how well Cinema Latino worked out.

SethLewis
SethLewis on April 27, 2009 at 3:51 am

We can dream but wouldn’t this make a nice companion to the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas almost diagonally across the street…Book this as the flagship with 300 seats for the opening first x weeks and move the feature over after that into the plex

Forrest136
Forrest136 on April 13, 2009 at 2:37 pm

This was almost the last single screen cinema in Manhattan. It was a nice cozy theater, but Clearview never knew how to book the right pictures there! It reminded me alot of the now also closed Cineplex Odeons Worldwide Cinemas. Same design and color scheme!

Forrest136
Forrest136 on April 13, 2009 at 2:35 pm

What a shame that this theater closed

William
William on April 8, 2009 at 10:57 am

I think it was “The Great Buck Howard” was the last.

DARCYDT
DARCYDT on April 8, 2009 at 10:14 am

Does anyone know the last film to play here? I remember I used to pass it and pick up WPLJ music surveys in the lobby. Only picture I saw there was a sneak preview of “The Babe” starring John Goodman as Babe Ruth back in 92 I think.

HowardBHaas
HowardBHaas on April 4, 2009 at 10:28 am

Clearview’s website now lists only 3 NYC theaters: Ziegfeld, Chelsea, and First and 62nd Street.

br91975
br91975 on April 1, 2009 at 8:47 am

I walked by the 62nd & Broadway Cinema this morning and the marquee read ‘Theater Closed’. Not a surprise in the least…

KingBiscuits
KingBiscuits on September 1, 2008 at 11:41 pm

The theatre opened on December 8th, 1989 with the opening engagement being The War Of The Roses.

br91975
br91975 on May 27, 2008 at 8:57 am

I suspect Clearview is locked into a long-term lease the landlord won’t allow them to terminate.

This theatre really hasn’t had any sustainable ‘oomph’ to it since the three-year disagreement between Fox and Loews Theatres over Manhattan booking terms ended in 2002, and lost a lot of its strength previously when the Loews Lincoln Square opened in November of 1994. During the Fox-Loews discord, it was the beneficiary of being the sole UWS venue (save for the Metro at Broadway & 99th and the Olympia at Broadway & 107th) for Fox product, but, since then, it’s just kind of hung on (much as the former Clearview 59th Street East Cinema did in its final years).

I went there for the first time in over nine years last December and was struck by its lack of charm; the auditorium itself felt more akin to a medium-sized, uni-leveled lecture hall, with curtainless, mostly white walls, save only for some moderate decor from the venue’s Cineplex Odeon days. The lack of character could have been overlooked when this was a popular theatre, but, at current, it’s obvious and depressing.

edblank
edblank on May 21, 2008 at 10:40 pm

The starting times for movies here always seemed to be inordinately spaced out, with breaks of maybe an hour with nothing on the screen. And attendance never was good in my experience. — Ed Blank