As many ForgottenFans know, I have been working in the Columbus Circle/Hells Kitchen region of late. On an after-work ramble, I headed east on West 58th Street and happened upon the Paris Theater at #4, just west of 5th Avenue for the first time, located across the street from the magnificent Plaza, once a hotel but now mostly condos.
The Paris, run by City Cinemas, is the last remaining single-screen movie house remaining in Manhattan since the Ziegfeld closed in 2015. It opened in 1948 and besides the Paris, it has also been known as the Fine Arts Theatre. It has been famed in the past for hosting grand premieres and today still runs high-profile productions.
Since the theatre’s website does not show any future attractions after Ron Howard’s Pavarotti documentary completes its current run, rumors are rampant that it will be shuttered before the summer is over, and its site redeveloped. The Midtown area south of Central Park has become the site of several “supertall” residential behemoths in recent years and the Plaza itself is no longer a hotel in the main. Thus far the rumors have not been borne out by theater management, and it looks for now that the Paris will be with us for some time to come.
Update: The Paris shuttered on August 28, 2019.
Check out the ForgottenBook, take a look at the gift shop, and as always, “comment…as you see fit.”
7/24/19