The United Palace (originally Loew's 175th Street Theatre) is a
theater
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...
at 4140
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. The theater, occupying a full city block bounded by Broadway, Wadsworth Avenue, and West 175th and 176th Streets, functions both as a spiritual center and as a nonprofit cultural and performing arts center. Architect
Thomas W. Lamb
Thomas White Lamb (May 5th, 1870 – February 26th, 1942) was a Scottish-born, American architect. He was one of the foremost designers of theaters and cinemas in the 20th century.
Career
Born in Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom, Thomas W. La ...
designed the theater as a
movie palace
A movie palace (or picture palace in the United Kingdom) is any of the large, elaborately decorated movie theaters built between the 1910s and the 1940s. The late 1920s saw the peak of the movie palace, with hundreds opening every year between 192 ...
, which opened in 1930 as one of five
Loew's Wonder Theatres
The Loew's Wonder Theatres were movie palaces of the Loew's Theatres chain in and near New York City. These five lavishly designed theaters were built by Loew's to establish its preeminence in film exhibition in the metropolitan New York City ar ...
in the New York City area. The theater's lavishly eclectic interior decor was supervised by Harold Rambusch, who also designed the interior of the Roxy Theatre and the
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel and condominium residence in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, is a 47-story Art Deco landmark designed by architects Schultze ...
.Staff (ndg) "United Palace: Reawaken Wonder" (tour brochure) United Palace. Accessed: August 18, 2018.
The theater was the first in Washington Heights built specifically to show films,Caratzas, Michael (December 13, 2016 "United Palace Designation Report"
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
although it also presented live
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
., p. 286 The theater operated continuously until it was closed by Loew's in 1969. That same year it was purchased by the United Christian Evangelistic Association, headed by the
television evangelist
Televangelism ( tele- "distance" and " evangelism," meaning " ministry," sometimes called teleministry) is the use of media, specifically radio and television, to communicate Christianity. Televangelists are ministers, whether official or self-p ...
Rev. Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II, better known as
Reverend Ike
Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II, better known as Reverend Ike (June 1, 1935 – July 28, 2009), was an American minister and evangelist based in New York City. He was known for the slogan "You can't lose with the stuff I use!" Though his prea ...
. The theater became the headquarters of his United Church Science of Living Institute and was renamed the United Palace."United Church: 'The Palace Cathedral'" in ''New York City Organ Project'' New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists
The building was designated a
New York City landmark
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
by the
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
in 2016. As of 2018, the church is called the United Palace of Spiritual Arts, and offers performing arts events through the United Palace of Cultural Arts. The facility is available for rental to outside event producers and promoters.
Architecture
The architectural style of the
terra-cotta
Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous.
In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta i ...
-faced theater has been described as "Byzantine-Romanesque-Indo-Hindu-Sino-Moorish-Persian-Eclectic-Rococo-Deco" by David W. Dunlap of the ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', who wrote later that Lamb borrowed from "the
Alhambra
The Alhambra (, ; ar, الْحَمْرَاء, Al-Ḥamrāʾ, , ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the ...
in Spain, the Kailasa rock-cut shrine in India, and the Wat Phra Keo temple in Thailand, adding
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
s,
bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood.
In the Early Buddhist schools ...
s, elephants, and honeycomb stonework in an Islamic pattern known as ''
muqarnas
Muqarnas ( ar, مقرنص; fa, مقرنس), also known in Iranian architecture as Ahoopāy ( fa, آهوپای) and in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe, is a form of ornamented vaulting in Islamic architecture. It is the archetypal form of I ...
.''" The ''
AIA Guide to New York City
The ''AIA Guide to New York City'' by Norval White, Elliot Willensky, and Fran Leadon is an extensive catalogue with descriptions, critique and photographs of significant and noteworthy architecture throughout the five boroughs of New York City. ...
'' calls it "Cambodian neo-Classical" and invites a comparison to Lamb's Loew's Pitkin Theatre in
Brownsville, Brooklyn
Brownsville is a residential neighborhood in eastern Brooklyn in New York City. The neighborhood is generally bordered by Crown Heights to the northwest; Bedford–Stuyvesant and Cypress Hills to the north; East New York to the east; Canarsie ...
, while ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' reporter Nathaniel Adams called it simply a "kitchen-sink masterpiece." Lamb himself wrote that "Exotic ornaments, colors and scenes are particularly effective in creating an atmosphere in which the mind is free to frolic and becomes receptive to entertainment."
The interior of the building features a "palatial" staircase. and reflects the western obsession with exotic lands and cultures that was fashionable in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The interior is decorated with filigreed walls and ceilings, illuminated with indirect, recessed lighting from within and behind the walls. The rich decor is enhanced by reproductions of authentic Louis XV and XVI furnishings.
The theater still looks very much as it did when it first opened; the only major change that Rev. Ike made was adding in the 1970s a cupola or prayer tower on the building's northeast corner, at Wadsworth Avenue and West 176th Street, topped by a "Miracle Star of Faith," visible from the
George Washington Bridge
The George Washington Bridge is a double-decked suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting Fort Lee, New Jersey, with Manhattan in New York City. The bridge is named after George Washington, the first president of the United St ...
and
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
.
History
Theater
Loew's 175th Street Theatre was built as one of the
Loew's Wonder Theatres
The Loew's Wonder Theatres were movie palaces of the Loew's Theatres chain in and near New York City. These five lavishly designed theaters were built by Loew's to establish its preeminence in film exhibition in the metropolitan New York City ar ...
, the company's five extravagant and spacious flagships throughout the New York City area. The other four theaters are Loew's Jersey in
Jersey City
Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Loew's Kings in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
(1929), both now used as performing arts centers; and Loew's Paradise in
the Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
(1929) and Loew's Valencia in
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
(1929), both now used as churches.
All five theaters featured identical "Wonder Morton"
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...
s manufactured by the
Robert Morton Organ Company
The Robert Morton Organ Company was a producer of theater pipe organs and church organs, located in Van Nuys, California. Robert Morton was the number two volume producer of theatre organs, building approximately half as many organs as the indu ...
of
Van Nuys, California
Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley.
History
In 1909, ...
. Each organ featured a four-manual console and 23 ranks of pipes. The organ in the United Palace was restored c.1970 after almost 25 years of disuse, and was utilized by the church in its services. It remains in the theater but is not currently functioning due to water damage. Events featuring "Live Organ" accompaniment used an electronic organ. In October 2016 the New York Theater Organ Society began restoration of the organ but its progress was last updated in 2018.
Loew's 175th Street Theatre seated over 3,400 people and opened on February 22, 1930. The first program included the
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
film ''
Their Own Desire
''Their Own Desire'' is a 1929 American pre-Code romantic drama film directed by E. Mason Hopper and starring Norma Shearer, Belle Bennett, Lewis Stone, Robert Montgomery, and Helene Millard. The film was adapted by James Forbes and Frances ...
''. starring
Norma Shearer
Edith Norma Shearer (August 11, 1902June 12, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress who was active on film from 1919 through 1942. Shearer often played spunky, sexually liberated ingénues. She appeared in adaptations of Noël Coward, Eugene O'N ...
, and ''Pearls'', a live musical stage revue starring vaudevillians Shaw and Lee (Al Shaw and Sam Lee). Hollywood stars who appeared at the theatre to host films included
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...
,
Judy Garland
Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...
,
Eleanor Powell
Eleanor Torrey Powell (November 21, 1912 – February 11, 1982) was an American dancer and actress. Best remembered for her tap dance numbers in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s, she was one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's top dancing stars duri ...
, and
Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...
and
Dale Evans
Dale Evans Rogers (born Frances Octavia Smith; October 31, 1912 – February 7, 2001) was an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She was the third wife of singing cowboy Roy Rogers.
Early life
Evans was born Frances Octavia Smith on Oc ...
. Loew's closed the theater in March 1969, 39 years after it opened, with a showing of '' 2001: A Space Odyssey''.
Church
In 1969, as the era of grand movie palaces was coming to an end, the theatre was purchased by the United Christian Evangelistic Association, headed by
televangelist
Televangelism (wikt:tele-, tele- "distance" and "evangelism," meaning "Christian ministry, ministry," sometimes called teleministry) is the use of media, specifically radio and television, to communicate Christianity. Televangelists are minister ...
Rev. Ike, who renamed the building the United Palace. The
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
(LPC) considered designating the theater as a landmark in 1970. However, United Palace objected to the proposal, and the landmark status was not enacted at that time.
The church has since become an all-inclusive,
non-denominational
A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination.
Overview
The term has been used in the context of various faiths including Jainism, Baháʼí Fait ...
spiritual arts community. In 2017, the Eikerenkoetter family "retired from all nited Palaceand nited Palace of Cultural Artsoperations". As of 2018, the church is named the United Palace of Spiritual Arts.
Classic cinema and live performance venue
Musical performers since 2007 include
Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 2006 and currently signed to Columbia Records. The band was formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, drummer Chris Tomson, ...
,
Eddie Vedder
Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and one of four guitarists of the rock band Pearl Jam. He also appeared as a guest vocalist i ...
,
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...
,
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...
,
Bloc Party
Bloc Party are an English Rock music, rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Loui ...
,
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
,
Wilco
Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently dur ...
,
Adele
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a reco ...
,
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamb ...
,
Beck
Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...
,
Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band from Reykjavík, active since 1994. The band comprises singer and guitarist Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal sound, fron ...
,
Jackson Browne
Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 18 million albums in the United States.
Emerging as a precocious teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he h ...
,
Alex Campos
Édgar Alexánder Campos Mora, better known as Alex Campos, is a Colombian evangelical singer-songwriter.
Campos has won three Latin Grammy Awards
The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstandin ...
,
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...
,
Allman Brothers Band Allman may refer to:
Music
*The Allman Brothers Band, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame southern rock band, formed by Duane and Gregg Allman
*The Allman Joys, an early band formed by Duane and Gregg Allman
*The Gregg Allman Band
People
*Allman (surname) ...
,
Iggy and the Stooges
The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave ...
,
Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse is an American rock band formed in 1992 in Issaquah, Washington, and currently based in Portland, Oregon. The founding members are lead singer/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. Strongly influenced ...
,
The Black Crowes
The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1984. Their discography includes eight studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer Geo ...
,
Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to ' ...
,
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. His style incorporates elements of rock, blues, soul, R&B, funk, jazz, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, pop and folk.
Kravitz won the Grammy Award for Best Male Roc ...
,
Mumford & Sons
Mumford & Sons is a British folk rock band formed in London in 2007. The band currently consists of Marcus Mumford (lead vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums), Ted Dwane (vocals, bass guitar, double bass), and Ben Lovett (vocals, key ...
,
Bad Bunny
Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio (born March 10, 1994), known professionally as Bad Bunny, is a Puerto Rican rapper and singer. His musical style is defined as Latin trap and reggaeton. He rose to prominence in 2016 with his song "Diles", wh ...
Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara. The band's current touring line-up also includes former core member S ...
and
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the ...
.
In 2007,
Sir Simon Rattle
Sir Simon Denis Rattle (born 19 January 1955) is a British-German conductor. He rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, while music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1998). Rattle was principal ...
appeared at the theater conducting the
Berlin Philharmonic
The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world.
History
The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...
in
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...
's ballet ''
The Rite of Spring
''The Rite of Spring''. Full name: ''The Rite of Spring: Pictures from Pagan Russia in Two Parts'' (french: Le Sacre du printemps: tableaux de la Russie païenne en deux parties) (french: Le Sacre du printemps, link=no) is a ballet and orchestral ...
'' danced by public school students and choreographed by
Royston Maldoom
Royston Maldoom, (born 1943) is a British choreographer whose works, including ''Adagietto'' and ''Ursprung'', have been performed for various dance companies, such as The Jefferson Dancers and Dance Theatre of Harlem.
Dance, choreography and ...
. The following year, a performance of
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...
's ''
Mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
'' was given as part of the celebration of the 90th anniversary of that composer's birth. In addition, recitals, classes and lectures have also been presented at the theatre.
The non-profit United Palace of Cultural Arts (UPCA) was founded by Reverend Ike's son Xavier Eikerenkoetter in 2012 and functions as a community arts center. UPCA currently works to produce performances for youth arts organizations through grants and fundraisers.
In 2013, local benefactor
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Lin-Manuel Miranda (; born January 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, actor, playwright and filmmaker. He is known for creating the Broadway musicals ''Hamilton'' (2015) and ''In the Heights'' (2005), and the soundtracks for the Disney animate ...
launched successful campaigns to raise money for a new 52-foot screen and digital projection system in the theatre. The monthly film series that followed pairs classic titles with live pre-show entertainment, in an effort to "reinvent going to the movies" as audiences experienced in the golden age of Hollywood. The first film presented in the new format was the 1941
Warner Bros
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...
classic ''
Casablanca
Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
.
In late 2015, the LPC hosted a public hearing on whether to designate the United Palace as a city landmark. This was part of a review of 95 listings that had been calendared by the LPC for several decades but never approved as city landmarks. The building was designated a
New York City landmark
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
on December 13, 2016. The church opposed the landmark designation citing the added cost and time to do any work on the building, use restrictions, and their fifty-year history of preserving the theater entirely with private funds. The church attempted to have the designation overturned but later withdrew their objections.
On April 7, 2019, the United Palace of Spiritual Arts celebrated its 50th anniversary in the venue with a special screening of the sci-fi classic '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' (the last movie shown at Loew's 175th before it closed as a commercial movie house in 1969).
Film and TV shoot location
The United Palace has served as a location in film and television, including the NBC TV series '' Smash'', the Netflix series ''
Luke Cage
Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' #1 (June 1972) and was created by Archie Go ...
'' episode "Blowin' Up the Spot", and the HBO series '' Crashing'' episode 2.4 "Porter Got HBO". It was also used in the TV series ''
Pose
Human positions refer to the different physical configurations that the human body can take.
There are several synonyms that refer to human positioning, often used interchangeably, but having specific nuances of meaning.
*''Position'' is a gen ...
''.
On December 13, 2022, it was announced that the United Palace would be the venue for the
76th Tony Awards
The 76th Tony Awards will recognize the achievements in Broadway productions during the 2022–23 season. The ceremony is scheduled to be held at the United Palace in New York City on June 11, 2023, with Ariana DeBose returning as host for the ...
, which is scheduled for June 11, 2023.
Gallery
File:2014 United Palace Broadway facade from corner.jpg, The corner of Broadway and West 175th Street
File:2014 United Palace sign.jpg, The vertical sign
File:2014 United Palace dome from Wadsworth Avenue.jpg, The building's dome at the corner of Wadsworth Avenue and West 176th Street, featuring the "Miracle Star of Faith"
File:2014 United Palace lobby column detail.jpg, The base of a column in the lobby
File:2014 United Palace main staircase column.jpg, A column on the main staircase to the mezzanine
File:2014 United Palace mezzanine column.jpg, The base of a column in the mezzanine
File:2014 United Palace mezzanine wall detail.jpg, A detail from a mezzanine wall
List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan above 110th Street
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), formed in 1965, is the New York City governmental commission that administers the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. Since its founding, it has designated over a thousand landmarks, clas ...