Details
Description
Built in 1930 as one of Loew’s “Wonder Theatres,” the United Palace was one of the region’s premier vaudeville and movie houses. Designed by noted architect Thomas Lamb (Cort Theatre, Ziegfeld Theatre) with interiors by decorative specialist Harold Rambusch (Waldorf Astoria, Radio City Music Hall), it was described by The New York Times as “Byzantine-Romanesque-Indo-Hindu-Sino-Moorish-Persian-Eclectic-Rococo-Deco” and a “kitchen sink masterpiece.” With more than 3,000 seats, it is still the fourth largest venue of its kind in Manhattan.
The theatre’s first 40 years as a home for engaging storytelling and transformative experiences came to an equally storied end in 1969 with a screening of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Yet while many of the city’s grand movie theatres were slated for demolition, the organization now known as the United Palace of Spiritual Arts, purchased the building to continue its mission of providing uplifting, transformative cultural experiences. Staying true to its founding values, the United Palace remains a center for beauty, creativity, performance art, and spiritual development, welcoming all to share in the splendor of its restored majestic design, blended with state-of-the-art audio and video technology, culminating in one of New York’s most spectacular theatre experiences.