The historic Ziegfeld Theatre, the largest remaining single-screen movie theater in Manhattan, will be closing in a few weeks. Star Wars: The Force Awakens will likely be the last film to ever play there.
The devastating news for film fans was first reported by The New York Post. The theater at 141 W. 54th Street will undergo renovations and reopen in fall 2017 as the 10,000-square-foot Ziegfeld Ballroom. It will be operated by the partners at Gotham Hall as a place for special galas and corporate events.
According to the Post, the landlord, Fisher Brothers, told Cablevision, the theater’s leaseholder, that it had a new tenant for it.
“There’s a full renovation that's going to occur,” Allan Kurtz, managing director of Gotham Hall, told the New York Daily News.
The theater opened in 1969 and had around 1,3000 seats. It was once one of the most beloved cinemas in the country, as it used to host major movie premieres. As those premieres became fewer and fewer after the 2008 market crash, the location began to lose money. In 2012, the Post reported that it was losing $1 million a year.