Shuttered for 20 years, iconic art deco Upper West Side cinema on path to reopening

An iconic Upper West Side movie theater that’s been shuttered for 20 years is on the path to reopening after a nonprofit purchased the space, elected officials said on Sunday.

The landmark art deco Metro Theater on Broadway near West 99th Street first opened during the height of the Great Depression in 1933. It was a Manhattan staple for decades until it fell on tough times and struggled to compete against megaplex movie theaters that sprung up across the city during the late 20th century. It closed in 2005, and has remained boarded up since.

Officials announced the space will finally get a second life after the nonprofit Upper West Side Cinema Center finalized a $6.9 million purchase of the space on Friday. The sale was helped by a $3.5 million grant approved by Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office, the nonprofit said.

“The marquee lights of the Metro Theater have been dark for too long,” said Ira Deutchman, president of the nonprofit at a news conference Sunday morning. “ After two decades of false starts and dashed hopes, we finally have the property secured.”

The group still has to secure funding from donors to renovate and build out the theater. Deutchman said they plan to replicate the design of the original space and restore the historic marquee that’s withered away on its exterior. The group said the revitalized space will have five screens, an arts education center and a cafe.

The new owners do not yet have a timeline for the reopening.

“This critical moment brings both opportunity and risk,” said Deutchman. “Without sufficient community support and funding for the renovation phase, we could face the heartbreaking possibility of yet another stalled project, another empty promise on Broadway.”

The cinema first opened as the Midtown Theater. In the early 1970s, the cinema began playing pornographic films before it was purchased by a new owner in 1982, who renamed it the Metro. At one point, it was the largest theater in the city that exclusively played classic films.

The reopening of Metro Theater should be welcome news to New York cinephiles, who have watched numerous picture houses close down in recent decades.

In 2019, Sunshine Cinemas on Houston Street was demolished after surviving for over a century. More recently, the Concourse Plaza Multiplex Cinema in the Bronx also closed, leaving the borough with only one movie theater.