With a summer as hot and rainy as this one has been so far we’ve been seeking refuge indoors as much as possible, and with United Palace’s series Movies at the Palace, we’re honestly not complaining–we may just start spending all our days indoors!
Designed by noted architect Thomas Lamb, United Palace originally opened in 1930 as a deluxe movie theatre and vaudeville house called the Loew’s 175th Street Theatre. With more than 3,000 seats, the theatre spent its first 40 years as a home for engaging storytelling and transformative experiences before coming to an end in 1969.
But as the saying goes, “the show must go on,” and in 2013 the showings kicked back off with help from the community and Lin-Manuel Miranda, award-winning American actor, composer, lyricist, playwright, producer, director, and filmmaker known for his hip-hop-infused Broadway musicals In the Heights and Hamilton.
United Palace’s 2025 Movies at the Palace series focuses on the theme “The Season of Community,” featuring titles selected by the United Palace and by Miranda. Each screening features post-movie talkbacks led by Miranda himself alongside original Broadway cast members who star in each film. Miranda’s selections will celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Hamilton along with the community of fans who helped make it a global phenomenon.
Though titles selected by the United Palace usually cost $10, titles selected by Miranda are free to attend, with tickets available for reservation a week before each screening. Tickets to Miranda’s screenings typically “sell” out within minutes of their release, however, so you’ll want to be ready to snag one once they’re released!
The United Palace is offering Movies at the Palace Members the opportunity to beat the rush and reserve their tickets beforehand. Standby tickets are often available the day of each event as well.
Next up on United Palace’s 2025 Movies at the Palace schedule is a Hamilton sing-along on Saturday, September 7th, kicking off at 1pm (doors open at noon). According to the theater, the schedule is as follows:
- 12pm: Doors open
- 1pm: Hamilton’s America documentary begins
- 2:35pm: Documentary ends/10-minute Intermission
- 2:45pm: Hamilton Sing-Along
- (There will be a 10-minute intermission during the movie)
- 6pm: Event ends
Tickets are free, but registration online is required and opens on September 2nd at 10am ET.
Keep in mind that if you’re not able to secure tickets ahead of time, there will be a standby line on Wadsworth Ave and 175th St. at 12:45pm on the day of the show.
More titles and special guests will be announced on an ongoing basis. Keep up to date with the schedule on their website.
Described by The New York Times as “Byzantine-Romanesque-Indo-Hindu-Sino-Moorish-Persian-Eclectic-Rococo-Deco” and a “kitchen sink masterpiece,” the United Palace is still the fourth largest venue of its kind in Manhattan. For a sneak peek of this season’s series, watch a video from Miranda’s 2023 season at the United Palace below:
📍 4140 Broadway, Washington Heights