Times Square Theatre/ Marc Ecko Store

Posted: 4/26/06 at 5:45pm

Does anyone know when it's due to open? I am dying to see the inside and what they did with it.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/26/06 at 8:36pm

Me too

[meagan9848]

Posted: 4/26/06 at 8:48pm

wow...i'm slow...

Updated On: 4/26/06 at 08:48 PM

[Sandy in Sable]

Posted: 4/26/06 at 8:54pm

I love Marc's stuff and look forward to the store on 42nd. The department stores already do a great job with his gear, so I can only imagine what this huge a$$ store will be like.

Posted: 4/26/06 at 10:05pm

Come on...someone must know. Where's Margo?

Is the Times Square an exterior landmark?

Posted: 4/27/06 at 7:47pm

Anyone???...

Posted: 7/18/06 at 6:28pm

Any updates???

[Smaxie]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 6:42pm

The interior and exterior are both landmarked. All of the interior details have to be able to be restored, should the theatre ever return to legit use. And the Times Square was one of the few 42nd Street houses that still had its boxes and much of its interior detail intact.

Posted: 7/18/06 at 6:43pm

Do you know when the store opens?

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 6:44pm

So the store will have all that in the inside?

[Smaxie]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 6:52pm

According to a recent article in the NY Post, Ecko will restore the theatre's proscenium arch, domed ceiling and the limestone columns on the facade.

But also according to the article, after two years, no work has been done inside as of yet, and the store is not expected to open until mid-2007, at the earliest.

It's ironic that it has been sitting there dormant for so long. The Times Square has a little less than 1,100 seats, and just a single balcony. Had they returned it to legit use, it would probably be in hot demand these days.
New York Post - Times Square Theatre

[rclocalz]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 7:14pm

Wait a minute, I'm a bit confused here. So the Times Square Theatre is turning into a store?

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 7:25pm

Nope

Times Square church was old Mark Hellinger which started life as Warners Hollywood

The theater in Times Square was an old vaudeville theater next to what is now the Hilton which was originally the Apollo

Updated On: 7/18/06 at 07:25 PM

[myManCape]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 8:54pm

Smaxie, you are probably more knowledgeable about these things than me, but Im pretty sure the reason the Times Square can not return to legit use is that its location violated several city ordinances passed by Giuliani during his "Clean Up Times Square" campaign. I believe the violations included, that they could not have a loading dock on 42nd street. (which it would have needed to have in order to return to legit use since there is no back entrance on 43rd.) And there were no alternate exits for fire escapes etc. All the doors opened onto 42nd. And the law required multiple exits for an establishment the size of that theatre. As you know all the other theatres on 42nd (New Amsterdam, New Victory, Hilton) open onto the back streets (41st and 43rd respectively). So if they ever wanted to reopen the Times Square for theatre it would require MAJOR structural changes to the building and the buildings around it. I think this was a big part of the decision to sell it to Ecko after so many years.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 9:10pm

I hadn't read about the Giuliani city ordinances, but it seems reasonable, though I remember Livent briefly toyed with the idea of restoring the Times Square Theatre to legit use when they launched the Ford Center, but that never came to fruition, and we all know the rest of THAT story.

Meanwhile, if they can't load in scenery on 42nd Street, how will the Ecko store load in clothing?

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 9:20pm

Clothing is smaller than scenary.

[myManCape]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 9:20pm

I THINK the idea of restoring the Times Square along with Ford Center included joint usage of the alleyway that separates the two theatres and runs from 42nd to 43rd. That would have at least solved the fire exit problem.

And as I was typing my first reply I thought to my self, gee I wonder how Ecko will load their stuff in. I dont know the details obviously but maybe it had something to do with the placement of the stage? Whereas they can cart clothing in through a back exit (through another store or that hotel's loading dock) to all parts of the store rather than loading huge scenery pieces onto the stage, which would have been much less easy to navigate around through other exits. I have no idea.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 9:28pm

Clothing still gets shipped in large trucks. I wouldn't expect that Mark Ecko will be stocking the store out of his station wagon.

[myManCape]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 9:31pm

No idea. But I assume it was worked out before he leased the theatre.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 9:32pm

I do know that part of the problem with the Times Square Theatre was also that around 1940, a retail store was built on its stage. According to Lost Broadway Theatres, whatever was done to the stage makes returning the house to live theatre "an expensive and difficult proposition".

[myManCape]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 9:41pm

Also hasn’t a lot of the interior eroded (aside from the architecture)? I remember reading that the seat cushions were infested with bugs and several other problem with the pit (in relation to that store) and the fact that the lobby area had been sealed off from the rest of the theatre (probably to accommodate another store at some point) I assume these are all problems Ecko plans to fix. Also I remember hearing that at some point New 42nd Street had their offices within the theatre.

[myManCape]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 9:49pm

http://cinematreasures.org/theater/1034/

Some information. According to that site, the Times Sq. has also suffered fire damage at some point.

http://www.andrewlmoore.com/view_image.php?photo_id=15&project_id=7

Updated On: 7/18/06 at 09:49 PM

Posted: 7/19/06 at 9:51am

Thanks for sharing. Aren't those the same pictures by Andrew Moore in the entrance to the Hilton Hotel on 42nd Street?

Posted: 6/13/07 at 12:35pm

Any word on when this store ius due to open? Its been ages...

[Justin D]

Posted: 6/13/07 at 2:49pm

I have a book home that has a diagram of the Hilton in relation to the times sq theatre, and the poor times sq theatre is sandwached between the hilton's entrance on 42st and another entrance they built on the other side.

as for not being able to load scenery on 42st, i assume then the new victory has some sort of frontage (backage, lol) onto 43rd (i could never find it)

any word on the Liberty on 42/41 st? has it been integrated into mme tousauds along with the candler theatre?

its a shame about those ordinaces because no matter what they did, the times could not have a 43rd street access since the stage of the hilton borders what would be the times's lobby and vici-versa.

its also ironic that the 42nd street redevelopment project's officer were built into the stage house of the times theatre.