Roxy Theatre (New York City)
The Roxy Theatre in New York was once the largest cinema in the world with a capacity of 5,920 seats.
History
The film producer Herbert Lubin designed the large cinema in 1925 as the largest and most magnificent palace in the world cinema. He won Samuel L. Rothafel, nicknamed " Roxy ", an innovative theater manager as a high-paying partners. There should be six Roxy Theater in New York area.
Rothafel hired the Chicago architect Walter W. Ahlschlager and the outfitter Harold Rambusch. Ahlschlager devised a successful plan for the somewhat irregular plot and ordered the auditorium at diagonally. However Rothafels opulent design ideas drove the cost of building astronomical heights. Shortly before the opening of the house had the almost bankrupt Lubin its majority stake in the movie mogul William Fox sell (by $ 5 million ), the total cost of construction amounted to $ 12 million. The capacity of the cinema was originally specified with 6,214 seats, but should actually "only" 5,920 places to have amounted to.
Rothafels "cathedral " of the film, with its spectacular golden, Spanish -inspired auditorium, and a round portico as " Grand Foyer" proved to be a success, however. ( The main entrance was located on the corner of Seventh Avenue and West 50th Street).
The stage of the silent movie palace was geared to an orchestra of up to 110 people, in addition, there was a large theater organ. The film projection was considered the strongest of their time. The ushers were drilled almost militarily and were regarded as exemplary polite. The Roxy presented major Hollywood films as well as stage shows with his own orchestra, chorus and ballet. The " Roxy Hour", a weekly live program on the radio made known to the house across the United States.
The Fox Film Corporation, however, also had financial problems. 1932 Rothafel left the house and opened the Radio City Music Hall, which was to be the overwhelming competition of the Roxy henceforth. The bulk of the artistic staff went with him.
As a result, the stage of the Roxy was rebuilt twice (1948 and 1952), now also ice shows were possible here. In January 1956 about Sonja Henies Revue occurred here. The New York premiere of the CinemaScope widescreen process was held at the Roxy in 1953. The cinema was in 1960 purchased by the Rockefeller Center, closed and demolished soon thereafter.