Legendary New York Theater in Danger of Closing, Get There While You Can

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Imagine what it would have been like to see a movie in a grand old theater with a gigantic screen? Believe it or not, you still can.

The Ziegfeld Theatre, New York City’s largest surviving single-screen movie theater and one of the best in the city, is on the verge of closing. When asked by The Hollywood Reporter whether or not it was closing, Cablevision (which owns the venue) CEO James Dolan flatly stated, ‘Yeah. Probably. It loses a lot of money. The theater business is a tough business’. Cablevision – perhaps anticipating some backlash, quickly downplayed Dolan’s comments stating ‘the situation has changed and the Ziegfeld will remain open for the foreseeable future’. But The Hollywood Reporter says that Cablevision is still ‘searching for another entity to take over the lease’ which runs through 2018.

The original Ziegfeld opened back in 1927 and featured several Broadway productions including Show Boat, The Ziegfeld Follies and Porgy & Bess. It then was used as a television studio from 1955 to 1963 and was the site of the Emmy Awards in 1959 and 1961. It was razed in 1966, but 1969, reopened a few feet from the original site as a single-screen 1100 plus seat movie theater. While it has become the premier spot to grand movie premieres (just about every Martin Scorsese film made since 1977 has premiere), the venue has struggled against the multiplexes and reportedly loses up to a $1 million a year in revenue.

If you are in the New York City area or planning on visiting, please make a point to see a movie at The Ziegfeld (it currently showing The Fast And The Furious 7). From the moment you walk in, you are treated to a full on film experience: Big screen, big sound and a touch of elegance and grandeur. The Ziegfeld is the last of its kind in New York City and needs your support.

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Earl Douglas

Earl Douglas is a writer/photographer based in New York City. A frequent contributor to The Interrobang, Earl is also Executive Director for the New York chapter of The Black Rock Coalition. Earl worked in radio for nearly two decades at WNEW-FM and XM Satellite Radio, which included being the on-air producer for Carol Miller, Scott Muni and Ron & Fez, and a contributor to Opie & Anthony. Earl has also independently published a number of books including Black Rock Volume 1, Urban Abyss, Mobile Uploads, and For Shimmy. His latest project is the photojournalism magazine PRAXIS, which is available exclusively through Blurb.com.
Earl Douglas

Earl Douglas

Earl Douglas is a writer/photographer based in New York City. A frequent contributor to The Interrobang, Earl is also Executive Director for the New York chapter of The Black Rock Coalition. Earl worked in radio for nearly two decades at WNEW-FM and XM Satellite Radio, which included being the on-air producer for Carol Miller, Scott Muni and Ron & Fez, and a contributor to Opie & Anthony. Earl has also independently published a number of books including Black Rock Volume 1, Urban Abyss, Mobile Uploads, and For Shimmy. His latest project is the photojournalism magazine PRAXIS, which is available exclusively through Blurb.com.