United Palace & Other Uptown Theaters

It started as one of the top line Loews theaters. The Coliseum was an RKO property. The website you want is http://cinematreasures.org/

In all my years living in The Bronx and later when mom moved to Washington Heights, the Unitd Palace was just part of the neighborhood. I learned more about it during a PBS special A Walk Up Broadway. https://youtu.be/v9FYyUTeuk0 (scroll to 1:05:00)

I had the wonderful opportunity to see the interior twice. Once for my niece's 8th grade graduation ten years ago, and a year ago next week when I took my late mom to see Mary Poppins when Lin Manuel Miranda was present and donated a digital projector to The United Palace. The lobby looks like gilded gold--like stepping back in time. I believe Reverend Ike is th owner and has maintained it all these years.

So much history in old theaters and movie houses here in NY. My favorite of the old theaters was the Lowes Cinema Paradise on the Grand Concourse in The Bronx. I saw Grease and Saturday Night Fever there (whyyyyy my mom took me and my sister when we were kids!). It was no where in its splendor, the floors were sticky like the old 2 for $5 movie theaters in Times Square, but when I'd walk in, I wondered what it was like.

Updated On: 10/14/17 at 02:24 AM

I grew up in Washington Heights and my earliest memory of the Loew’s 175th St was when my older brother took me to see Batman with Adam West. Rev Ike bought the theater soon after.

I spent a good chunk of my childhood at the RKO Coliseum. They had a children’s section with a matron who wore a white uniform and she carried a huge flashlight. She did her best to keep us in order. I would love to sneak off and go explore the rest of the theater. It was humongous...this was before they split it into a triplex. Many good memories. I always loved their iconic black and white lettered marquee.

Maybe as gentrification makes its way up Broadway some of this will get restored. Although The Metro has been vacate for decades.