The Victoria Theater was a theater located on 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was designed in 1917 by Thomas W. Lamb, a notable and prolific theater architect of the era, for the Loew's Corporation. [1] It was largely demolished in 2017, with the facade and lobby retained as part of a new mixed-use skyscraper, the tallest building in Manhattan north of Central Park. [2]
The Loew's Victoria Theater, as it was known until 1977, opened as a 2,394-seat, luxury Vaudeville and motion picture theater. [3] Typical of movie palaces of its era, it contained a stage and backstage dressing rooms and provisions for live music, including an organ. It cost $250,000 to build and was hailed “as one of the largest and most beautiful theaters in greater N.Y.” by a contemporary publication. [3] When the Victoria was built, it joined many other Harlem theaters including the Proctor, Hammerstein Opera House, the Alhambra as well as the nearby Apollo, then the Hurtig & Seamon's New (Burlesque) Theater. [3] In 1977, the Harlem Community Development Corporation acquired the building. [3]
The Victoria was converted to a multi-screen cinema in 1987. Five movie theaters were created from the large auditorium, mezzanine and stage areas. [3] The cinema closed soon after, in 1989, but a 400-seat venue was left intact in the orchestra, at which the original Harlem company of Godspell , which drew major newspaper and television network broadcast coverage, ran for approximately a year in the 1996/97 season. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] In 2005 several proposals for redevelopment were made. [11] Only two proposals called for reusing the theater's interior, which angered some community leaders, according to the New York Times. [12]
The new Victoria Theater project, developed by the Lam Group and Exact Capital, designed by architect Ariel Aufgang and interiors by AJC Design, began construction in April 2017. The theater was largely demolished, except for the historic facade, marquee, outdoor ticket booth, lobby and grand staircase. [13] Behind that was constructed a 27-story, 400,000-square-foot tower, the tallest building in Manhattan north of Central Park. It contains 191 mixed-income rental apartments; a 210-room Renaissance hotel; 25,000 square feet of retail; and another 25,000 square feet of cultural and arts space. [14] The project suffered numerous delays and was forced to seek refinancing, which was secured in the spring of 2022. [15] The Victoria Tower Residences opened in 2022, [16] while the Renaissance New York Harlem Hotel opened on October 17, 2023. [17]
The Apollo Theater is a multi-use theater at 253 West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is a popular venue for black American performers and is the home of the TV show Showtime at the Apollo. The theater, which has approximately 1,500 seats across three levels, was designed by George Keister with elements of the neoclassical style. The facade and interior of the theater are New York City designated landmarks and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The nonprofit Apollo Theater Foundation (ATF) operates the theater, as well as two smaller auditoriums at the Victoria Theater and a recording studio at the Apollo.
The Flatiron District is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan of New York City, named after the Flatiron Building at 23rd Street, Broadway and Fifth Avenue. Generally, the Flatiron District is bounded by 14th Street, Union Square and Greenwich Village to the south; the Avenue of the Americas and Chelsea to the west; 23rd Street and Madison Square to the north; and Park Avenue South and Gramercy Park to the east.
The Renaissance Center, commonly known as the RenCen, is a complex of seven connected skyscrapers in downtown Detroit, Michigan, United States. The Renaissance Center complex is on the Detroit International Riverfront and is owned and used by General Motors as its world headquarters. The central tower has been the tallest building in Michigan since its completion in 1977.
125th Street, co-named Martin Luther King Jr., Boulevard is a two-way street that runs east–west in the New York City borough of Manhattan, from First Avenue on the east to Marginal Street, a service road for the Henry Hudson Parkway along the Hudson River in the west. It is often considered to be the "Main Street" of Harlem.
Thomas White Lamb was a Scottish-born, American architect. He was one of the foremost designers of theaters and cinemas of the 20th century.
The Bank of America Tower, also known as 1 Bryant Park, is a 55-story skyscraper in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It is located at 1111 Avenue of the Americas between 42nd and 43rd Streets, diagonally opposite Bryant Park. The building was designed by Cookfox and Adamson Associates, and it was developed by the Durst Organization for Bank of America. With a height of 1,200 feet (370 m), the Bank of America Tower is the eighth tallest building in New York City and the tenth tallest building in the United States as of 2022.
The Hotel Theresa is located at 2082–96 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard between West 124th and 125th Streets in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. In the mid-20th century, it was a vibrant center of African American life in the area and the city.
Manhattanville is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan bordered on the north by 135th Street; on the south by 122nd and 125th Streets; on the west by Hudson River; and on the east by Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard and the campus of City College.
Hotel Astor was a hotel on Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, United States. Built in 1905 and expanded in 1909–1910 for the Astor family, the hotel occupied a site bounded by Broadway, Shubert Alley, and 44th and 45th Streets. Architects Clinton & Russell designed the hotel as an 11-story Beaux-Arts edifice with a mansard roof. It contained 1,000 guest rooms, with two more levels underground for its extensive "backstage" functions, such as the wine cellar.
Loews Philadelphia Hotel, previously known as the PSFS Building, is a skyscraper in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A National Historic Landmark, the building was the first International style skyscraper constructed in the United States.
The Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown, also known as 30 Park Place, is a hotel and residential skyscraper in Tribeca, Manhattan, New York City. At 926 feet (282 m), the tower is one of the tallest residential buildings in Lower Manhattan. The top floors of the 82-story building, known as the Four Seasons Private Residences New York Downtown, have 157 residences, ranging from one to six bedrooms, all reached through a dedicated residential lobby at 30 Park Place. Below is a 189-room Four Seasons Hotel, with its own lobby on Barclay Street, which opened in September 2016.
The Candler Building is a skyscraper at the southern end of Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Located at 220 West 42nd Street, with a secondary address of 221 West 41st Street, the 24-story building was designed by the firm of Willauer, Shape and Bready in the Spanish Renaissance style. It was constructed between 1912 and 1913 for Coca-Cola Company owner Asa Griggs Candler. The Candler Building was one of the last skyscrapers built in New York City before the 1916 Zoning Resolution, which required setbacks. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
The Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel is a 501 ft (153 m), 51-story hotel located near Times Square in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It faces 7th Avenue, 52nd Street, and 53rd Street. It is one of the world's 100 tallest hotels, and one of the tallest hotels in New York City.
The Sherry-Netherland is a 38-story apartment hotel located at 781 Fifth Avenue on the corner of East 59th Street in the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was designed by Schultze & Weaver with Buchman & Kahn. The building is 560 ft (170.7 m) high and was the tallest apartment-hotel in New York City when it opened.
NoMad, also known as Madison Square North, is a neighborhood centered on the Madison Square North Historic District in the borough of Manhattan in New York City.
George W. Keister was an American architect. His work includes the Hotel Gerard (1893), the Astor Theatre (1906), the Belasco Theatre (1907), the Bronx Opera House (1913), the Apollo Theater in Harlem (1914), the Selwyn Theatre, and the First Baptist Church in the City of New York. He also designed Woodbridge Hall at 431 Riverside Drive (1901), which faced demolition in 1996, and the Sigma Chi Fraternity at 565 W. 113th St. (1903).
Metropolis Theatre opened as a theater with 1,600 seats in 1893. It was converted to show motion pictures by 1914 as competition from the Bronx Opera House (1913) took hold. It was in the southwest of the area known as the Hub.
Harlem Opera House was an opera house located at 211 West 125th Street, in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Designed by architect John B. McElfatrick, it was built in 1889 by Oscar Hammerstein; it was his first theater in the city.
569 Lexington Avenue is a dormitory building and former hotel in the East Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Designed by architect Morris Lapidus in the Miami Modern style, in association with the firm of Harle & Liebman, the building occupies the southeastern corner of Lexington Avenue and 51st Street. As of 2024, the building is owned by Hawkins Way Capital which opened Found Study, a dormitory, on the site in 2022. The hotel building is a New York City designated landmark.