Paris Theater (Manhattan)

The Paris Theater
Fine Arts Theatre[1][2]
Exterior of theater (2019)
Map
Address4 West 58th Street
Manhattan, New York City
United States
Coordinates40°45′50″N 73°58′27″W / 40.7638°N 73.9743°W / 40.7638; -73.9743
OwnerStefan Soloviev[1]
OperatorNetflix (as of 2019)[3]
TypeSingle-screen movie theater[1]
Capacity535[2]
Construction
OpenedSeptember 13, 1948[1][2]
ClosedAugust 2019[4]
ReopenedNovember 6, 2019
Website
www.paristheaternyc.com

The Paris Theater is a 535-seat single-screen art house movie theater, located in Manhattan in New York City.[1] It opened on September 13, 1948. 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, playing first-run releases alongside repertory programming.

History

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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 later co-designed the Pan Am Building and the World Trade Center.

Located at 4 West 58th Street in Midtown Manhattan, it has specialized in foreign (especially French language) and independent films.[1][5] It is between the Solow Building and Bergdorf Goodman Building, across from the Plaza Hotel.[6] The theater became a destination for motion pictures by directors including Federico Fellini and Franco Zeffirelli.[1]

In 1990, Pathé lost its lease.[7] 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]

By 2009, City Cinemas was the theater's operator.[2] After the Ziegfeld closed in January 2016, the Paris became Manhattan's sole surviving single-screen cinema.[8] In August 2019, a notice of closure was posted.[4][9] In November 2019, it was announced that the cinema would reopen for a limited run of Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story (2019).[10] At that time, Netflix leased the Paris Theater to use it for Netflix-original movie debuts, special events and other screenings.[3][11] The Paris closed temporarily in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, reopening in August 2021.[12][13] During the closure, Netflix installed new seating and made other improvements to the facility, which reopened August 6, 2021.[14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Queenan, Joe (August 30, 2008). "On 58th Street, the Keeper of the Flame". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Melnick, Ross; Haas, Howard B. "Paris Theatre". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  3. ^ a b "Netflix takes over its first cinema". BBC News. November 26, 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Moss, Jeremiah (August 29, 2019). "Paris and Beekman". Jeremiah's Vanishing New York. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  5. ^ Nygaard, Sandra (n.d.). "Paris Theater". New York. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  6. ^ "NYCityMap". NYC.gov. New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  7. ^ Yarrow, Andrew L. (September 1, 1990). "Paris Film House Loses Its 58th Street Home". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  8. ^ Brueggemann, Tom (December 6, 2019). "Now That Netflix Saved the Paris Theatre, Here's What to Expect". IndieWire. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  9. ^ Alsup, Blake (August 29, 2019). "Midtown's historic Paris Theatre has officially closed". New York Daily News. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  10. ^ McClintock, Pamela (November 25, 2019). "Netflix to Keep New York's Paris Theater Open". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  11. ^ "Netflix To Reopen Famed Paris Theatre In Manhattan". WLNY News. November 25, 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  12. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (July 28, 2021). "New York City's Paris Theater to Reopen in August". Variety. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  13. ^ Schulz, Dana (July 21, 2021). "Under new Netflix management, historic Paris Theater will reopen next month". 6sqft. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  14. ^ "New York City's Legendary Paris Theater Reopens: What Film Lovers Can Expect" (Press release). Netflix. July 28, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
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