Paris Theater (Manhattan)
The Paris Theater is a 571-seat single-screen movie theater, located in Manhattan in New York City.[1] 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.
 Exterior of theater (2019) | |
| |
| Address | 4 West 58th Street Manhattan, New York City United States |
|---|---|
| Owner | Sheldon Solow[1] |
| Operator | Netflix (as of 2019)[3] |
| Type | Single-screen movie theater[1] |
| Capacity | 571[2] |
| Construction | |
| Opened | September 13, 1948[1][2] |
| Closed | August 2019[4] |
| Reopened | November 6, 2019 |
| Website | |
| www | |
History
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 would go on to become the architect of 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 located across the street from the Plaza Hotel.[1][5]
The theater became a destination for motion pictures by directors including Federico Fellini and Franco Zeffirelli.[1]
By the announcement on January 20, 2016, of the closing of the Ziegfeld, the Paris became Manhattan's sole-surviving single-screen cinema. In August 2019, a notice of closure was posted.[4][6] In November 2019, it was announced that the cinema would reopen for a limited run of Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story (2019) and would remain open for Netflix events, screenings and theatrical releases.[7]
Management and ownership
In 1990, Pathé lost its lease.[8] 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]
As of 2009, City Cinemas was the theater's operator.[2]
As of 2019, Netflix has leased the Paris Theater to use it for Netflix-original movie debuts, special events and other screenings.[3][9]
See also
References
- Queenan,Joe (August 30, 2008). "On 58th Street, the Keeper of the Flame". The New York Times. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
- Melnick, Ross; Haas, Howard B. "Paris Theatre". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
- "Netflix takes over its first cinema". BBC News. 2019-11-26. Retrieved 2019-11-27.
- Moss, Jeremiah (29 August 2019). "Paris and Beekman". Jeremiah's Vanishing New York. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- Nygaard, Sandra (n.d.). "Paris Theater". New York. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
- "Midtown's Paris Theater appears to have officially closed". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
- "Netflix to Keep New York's Paris Theater Open". www.hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
- Yarrow, Andrew L. (1990-09-01). "Paris Film House Loses Its 58th Street Home". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
- "Netflix To Reopen Famed Paris Theatre In Manhattan". newyork.cbslocal.com. 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-27.