A newly formed nonprofit is hoping to breathe new life into a landmarked cinema house in Manhattan thanks to a couple of grants awarded by the state in an effort to resurrect an Upper West Side theater shuttered 20 years ago.
The old Metro Theater on Broadway closed since 2005 and, despite the appeal of its historic art deco façade and several attempts to rehab the space, has sat empty for the following two decades. The doors underneath that iconic marquee could be back open soon, following a purchase by the nonprofit Upper West Side Cinema Center.
Thanks to a $3.5 million grant from Gov. Kathy Hochul, as well as funds received from the New York State Legislature, numerous other foundations and more than 400 individual donations, the nonprofit managed to buy the theater for $6.9 million.
“The Upper West Side community deserves another world-class venue for cinema and art, and that’s why I was proud to step in and allocate $3.5 million to make the new Metro Theater a reality," Hochul said in a statement over the weekend.
The new owners plan to reopen the old theater as a five-screen art house cinema featuring movie classics, foreign films, documentaries and first-run independent films. They still need to raise several million dollars needed to build out the empty theater.
Once completed, the nonprofit said the theater will also host an education center and café that will be open to the public.
Ira Deutchman, president and co-founder of the Cinema Center, said the movement to bring the theater back to life has "universal appeal."
“The outpouring of support for this project has been astounding, considering it was a huge leap of faith to donate to something that was so speculative," Deutchman said.
The effort to reopen the Metro Theater has received immense support from the film community, including Steven Spielberg's Hearthland Foundation. Notable cinephiles Martin Scorsese, Ethan Hawke, Frances McDormand and Griffin Dunne have also thrown their support behind the group.
There is currently no timeline for the theater's grand reopening.
