The Loew's Wonder Theatres were movie palaces of the Loew's Theatres chain in and near New York City. These five lavishly designed theaters were built by Loew's to establish its preeminence in film exhibition in the metropolitan New York City area and to serve as the chain's flagship venues, each in its own area. All five theaters are still standing. [1] One operates as a community performing arts center; one is a commercial live entertainment venue; and three are currently used as churches, with one of those also used for entertainment.
Paramount-Publix head Adolph Zukor acquired the successful Balaban and Katz theater chain in 1926. Partner Sam Katz would later run the Paramount-Publix theatre chain in New York City from the Paramount Building on Times Square.
Balaban and Katz had developed the Wonder Theater concept, first publicized around 1918 in Chicago. The Chicago Theatre was created as an opulent theater with many amenities for its patrons and was advertised as a "wonder theatre". When Publix acquired the Balaban and Katz chain they embarked on a project to expand the wonder theaters, and started to build in New York in 1926. While Balaban and Publix were dominant in Chicago, Loew's was the major player in New York, and did not want Publix theaters to overshadow their own. The two companies brokered a non-competition deal for New York and Chicago, and Loew's took over the New York area projects, developing the five Loew's Wonder Theaters. Publix continued Balaban and Katz's wonder theater development in its home area. [1]
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production and distribution company and the main namesake subsidiary of Paramount Global. It is the fifth oldest film studio in the world, the second oldest film studio in the United States, and the sole member of the "Big Five" film studios still located in the city limits of Los Angeles.
Adolph Zukor was a Hungarian-American film producer best known as one of the three founders of Paramount Pictures. He produced one of America's first feature-length films, The Prisoner of Zenda, in 1913.
Loews Cineplex Entertainment, also known as Loews Incorporated, founded on June 23, 1904 by Marcus Loew, was the oldest theater chain operating in North America. From 1924 until 1959, it was also the parent company of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM).
Cineplex Odeon Corporation was one of North America's largest movie theatre operators and live theatre, with theatres in its home country of Canada and the United States. The Cineplex Odeon brand is still being used by Cineplex Entertainment at some theatres that were once owned by the Cineplex Odeon Corporation, with newer theatres using the Cineplex Cinemas brand. The company was the result of Cineplex Corporation purchasing and merging with Canadian Odeon Theatres, which was the result of a merger between Canadian Theatres and Odeon Theatres of Canada in 1978, in 1984.
The architectural firm Rapp and Rapp was active in Chicago, Illinois during the early 20th century. Brothers Cornelius Ward Rapp (1861–1926) and George Leslie Rapp (1878–1941) of Carbondale, Illinois were the named partners and 1899 alumni of the University of Illinois School of Architecture.
Robert Elmer Balaban is an American actor, author, comedian, director and producer. He was one of the producers nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture for Gosford Park (2001), in which he also appeared.
A movie palace is any of the large, elaborately decorated movie theaters built between the 1910s and the 1940s. The late 1920s saw the peak of the movie palace, with hundreds opened every year between 1925 and 1930. With the advent of television, movie attendance dropped, while the rising popularity of large multiplex chains signaled the obsolescence of single-screen theaters. Many movie palaces were razed or converted into multiple screen venues or performing arts centers, though some have undergone restoration and reopened to the public as historic buildings.
The Kings Theatre, formerly Loew's Kings Theatre, is a live performance venue in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. Opened by Loew's Theatres as a movie palace in 1929 and closed in 1977, the theater sat empty for decades until a complete renovation was initiated in 2010. The theater reopened to the public on January 23, 2015 as a performing arts venue. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 22, 2012.
The Chicago Theatre, originally known as the Balaban and Katz Chicago Theatre, is a landmark theater located on North State Street in the Loop area of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Built in 1921, the Chicago Theatre was the flagship for the Balaban and Katz (B&K) group of theaters run by A. J. Balaban, his brother Barney Balaban and partner Sam Katz. Along with the other B&K theaters, from 1925 to 1945 the Chicago Theatre was a dominant movie theater enterprise. Currently, Madison Square Garden, Inc. owns and operates the Chicago Theatre as a performing arts venue for stage plays, magic shows, comedy, speeches, sporting events and popular music concerts.
The Apollo Theater Chicago was built in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood in 1978, by theatre producers Jason Brett and Stuart Oken. Located at 2540 N. Lincoln Ave., the Apollo has 440 seats and a lobby featuring art exhibits and a full bar. The venue is currently temporarily closed due to COVID-19, however it is planning to reopen on June 7 2020 with the musical Be More Chill. The theatre is also the home of the Emerald City Theatre Company. The Apollo Theater Chicago has no relation to the Apollo Theater in New York City.
Uptown Theatre is a currently closed movie palace and concert venue located in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Designed by Rapp and Rapp and built by Paschen Bros. contractors, it is one of the many movie palaces built by the Balaban & Katz theatre chain run by A. J. Balaban, his brother Barney Balaban, and their partner Sam Katz.
The James M. Nederlander Theatre is a theater located at 24 West Randolph Street in the Loop area of downtown Chicago, Illinois. Previously known as the Oriental Theatre, it opened in 1926 as a deluxe movie palace and vaudeville venue. Today the Nederlander presents live Broadway theater and is operated by Broadway In Chicago, currently seating 2,253.
Barney Balaban was an American film executive who was the president of Paramount Pictures from 1936 to 1964 and an innovator in the cinema industry.
Balaban and Katz Theater Corporation, or B&K, was a theatre corporation which owned a chain of motion picture theaters in Chicago and surrounding areas. It was founded by Barney Balaban, his six siblings, and Sam Katz.
Plitt Theatres was a major movie theater chain in the United States and went under a number of names, Publix Theaters Corporation, Paramount Publix Corporation, United Paramount Theatres, American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres and ABC Theatres and operated a number of theater circuits under various names.
The United Palace is a theater located at 4140 Broadway between West 175th and 176th Streets in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It functions both as a spiritual center, and a non-profit cultural and performing arts center, A full-block building, it is bounded on the east by Wadsworth Avenue.
The Paradise Theater, formerly Loew's Paradise Theatre, is a movie palace-type theater located at 2417 Grand Concourse in the Bronx, New York. Constructed in 1929 at the height of grand movie theaters, in the later 20th century the building was used also for live entertainment. It was leased in 2012 for use by the World Changers Church International New York for founding a local congregation.
Abraham Joseph Balaban, known as A. J. Balaban or Abe Balaban, was an American showman whose particular influence on popular entertainment in the early 20th century led to enormous innovations in the American movie-going experience.
American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres, Inc. was the post-merger parent company of the American Broadcasting Company and United Paramount Theatres.
The Loew's Valencia Theatre was built in 1929 as one of the Loew's Wonder Theatres and is located at 165-11 Jamaica Avenue in Queens, New York City. In 1977, the theatre was donated to The Tabernacle of Prayer for All People. It was designated an exterior landmark on May 25, 1999 by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.