Share this article!

A historic theater in New York City’s Upper West Side that has been shuttered for the past 20 years has been purchased for $6.9 million by a nonprofit aided with state grants.

IndieWire reports the long-vacant Metro Theater was acquired by Upper West Side Cinema Center, which was co-founded by film producer and distributor Ira Deutchman. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul took credit for helping to finance the acquisition.

“For far too long, the beloved Metro Theater has sat empty — waiting for leaders with the courage and conviction to bring it back to life,” said Hochul in a press statement. “The Upper West Side community deserves another world-class venue for cinema and art, and that’s why I was proud to step in and allocate $3.5 million to make the new Metro Theater a reality. Working with my friend Assemblymember Lasher and Senator Hoylman-Sigal, we’re going to give Upper West Siders a new cultural institution that stands the test of time.”

Additional funding came from Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg’s Hearthland Foundation, the Klingenstein-Martell Foundation, and the Brandt Jackson Foundation. In the earlier stages of the proposed acquisition, financial support also came via fundraising from Hollywood notables including Martin Scorsese, Ethan Hawke, Frances McDormand, and Griffin Dunne.

The property opened in 1933 as the Midtown Theater – an odd name, since it is located on Broadway between 99th and 100th Streets, far north from Midtown Manhattan. Over the years, its focus changed from being a first-run movie theater to becoming a repertory stage theater, a porn film venue and an art house cinema. The theater was shuttered in 2005 and its interior was gutted the following year, although its Art Deco exterior was retained.

Since its closure, multiple attempts were made to lease the space for nontheatrical tenants – retailer Urban Outfitters and health club chains Planet Fitness and Blink Fitness expressed interest but never pursued a transaction. Alamo Drafthouse took over the theater in 2022 and announced plans to pursue its renovation, but that effort was canceled following the death of Albert Bialek, the property’s owner, in early 2024.

The theater’s future will involve renovation with five screens offering a mix of classic films, foreign films, documentaries, and first-run independent films. An education center and a café/lounge will also be part of the new venue, which is expected to be given a new name.

Photo: Enniferj / Wikimedia Commons