Loew’s Avenue B Theatre is part of one of the great rags-to-riches stories of showbiz history. Movie mogul Marcus Loew erected it on the very site of the tenement building where he was born. Needless to say, his birthplace was demolished to make way for the luxurious 1,750-seat theatre, which was designed by Thomas W. Lamb and first opened on January 8, 1913, with vaudeville as its main attraction and movies thrown in just as fillers. The Avenue B Theatre was the top Loew’s house on the Lower East Side until the mid-1920’s, when the circuit took over the Commodore Theatre on Second Avenue, which was a much busier area for entertainment and shopping. The Avenue B Theatre was reduced to playing movies at the end of their Loew’s circuit run, and remained so until its closure around 1957-58. I don’t know if anyone operated the theatre after that. It was eventually demolished and replaced by a nursing facility.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Avenue B Theater In 1967
I isolated a clip from the 1967 film showing the Avenue B theater, which was located between East 5th and East 4th Streets on the west side.
for more on the theater from cinema treasures
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