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Cinema 1 Cinema 2 Cinema 3
Photo from the Scott Neff collection
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City Cinemas
1001 Third Ave
Manhattan (New York) NY 10022
(212) 753-0774
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| Record #7725 |
Opened: 1962
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Capacity:
Architect(s): Abraham W Geller
Architectural Style(s):
National Register:
Current Organ: none |
| Also Known As: |
Opened in 1962 at a cost of $759,000, it was considered by many to be the first commercially viable two-screen cinema built in the US.
Cinema I had 700 seats and Cinema II had 291 seats ... technically, not a "twin cinema" or a "piggyback".
Cinema I is an orchestra-stadium type of auditorium on the second and third floor levels of the building with the screen (47' x 20') on the east wall.
Cinema II is a standard orchestra-type of auditorium and is nestled sideways underneath in the basement and first floor levels with the screen on the south wall.
There was a separate marquee, entrance, box office and lobby for each cinema. It also operated as two separate theaters (two unit numbers, two payrolls, two inventories, etc.).
The lobbies were decorated with modern paintings and other artwork. The theater specialized in arthouse product.
The theater was renovated in 1988 by Abraham W. Geller at a cost of $3 million. The large upper theater was divided by removing the front six rows of seats, moving the screen forward and inserting a small cinema in the resulting space, with the screen on the north wall. The marquees, entrances, box offices, and lobbies were combined to operate as a tri-plex. New seating was installed, the rest rooms were enlarged, and original artwork was restored. New seating capacities were (I) 532, (II) 290, and (III) 165.
The theater is presently operated by City Cinemas/Reading Entertainment.
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Last updated 2004-11-21.
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