After plenty of speculation over the iconic Paris Theatre closing, the sad day has ultimately arrived.
While the 71-year-old Paris Theatre was rumored to be closing for some time now, there was never any confirmation from the company before closing abruptly yesterday, August 29. When movie-goers arrived to buy tickets to the last film being shown, “Pavarotti,” they came upon a notice that read:
“Unfortunately, our lease has ended and the Paris Theatre is now closed. We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to. all out guests over the years. Thank you for your patronage, and we regret that we cannot continue to serve you. Sincerely, Cinema Management”
End of an era: The Paris Theatre in Midtown has suddenly closed after months of speculation. Some people showed up today to buy a ticket for #Pavarotti and only learned the news when they arrived. #newyork #nyc @PIX11News pic.twitter.com/u1rlIGfz6f
— Summer Delaney (@Summer_Delaney) August 29, 2019
According to a report by IndieWire, the theater was not only the last single-screen theater in NYC, but also “one of the oldest art-house theaters in the country and was the nation’s last remaining single-screen cinema dedicated to first-run platform release movies.” While an exact reason for closure has not been released, we guess it probably has something to do with rent (since that’s been much of the reason why iconic city spots have closed over the last couple of years).
Yet another part of New York’s art history that will be dearly missed.
featured image source: Wikimedia Commons / Paris Theater / Ajay Suresh / CC by 2.0