United Palace
The United Palace is a theater located at 4140 Broadway between West 175th and 176th Streets in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It functions both as a spiritual center, and a non-profit cultural and performing arts center, A full-block building, it is bounded on the east by Wadsworth Avenue.
Built in 1930 as Loew's 175th Street Theatre, the venue was originally a movie palace designed by architect Thomas W. Lamb, who designed over 300 theatres in his career, including many others in New York City. The theatre'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 theatre, which was the first in Washington Heights built specifically to show films, although it also presented live vaudeville, was one of five deluxe "Wonder Theatres" built by Loew's in the New York City area. 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 Rev. Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II, better known as Reverend Ike. The theater became the headquarters of his United Church Science of Living Institute and was renamed the United Palace.
The building was designated a New York City landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on December 13, 2016. The church attempted to have the designation overturned, but later withdrew their objections.
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. Its Spiritual Leader and CEO is Rev. Heather Shea. The facility is available for rental to outside event producers and promoters, and is open to all people, genres of music, and any programming that will inspire the Spiritual Artists of the world.
Architecture
The architectural style of the terra-cotta-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, who wrote later that Lamb borrowed from "the Alhambra in Spain, the Kailasa rock-cut shrine in India, and the Wat Phra Keo temple in Thailand, adding Buddhas, bodhisattvas, elephants, and honeycomb stonework in an Islamic pattern known as muqarnas." The AIA Guide to New York City calls it "Cambodian neo-Classical" and invites a comparison to Lamb's Loew's Pitkin Theatre in Brownsville, Brooklyn, while New York Times 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 cuppola 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 and New Jersey. In early 2017 the building exterior was nominated for city Landmark status. The owners 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.
History
Loews 175th Street Theatre was built as one of the Loew's Wonder Theatres, 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 and Loew's Kings in Brooklyn, both now used as performing arts centers; and Loew's Paradise in the Bronx and Loew's Valencia in Queens, both now used as churches.All five theaters featured identical "Wonder Morton" theatre pipe organs manufactured by the Robert Morton Organ Company of Van Nuys, California. 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 a full restoration of the organ which is one of the few surviving instruments that are still in their original venues.
Loew's 175th Street Theatre seated over 3,400 people and opened on February 22, 1930. The first program included the MGM film Their Own Desire. starring Norma Shearer, and Pearls, a live musical stage revue starring vaudevillians Shaw and Lee. Hollywood stars who appeared at the theatre to host films included Joan Crawford, Judy Garland, Eleanor Powell,and Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. Loew's closed the theater in March 1969, 39 years after it opened, with a showing of .
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 Rev. Ike, who renamed the building the United Palace. The church has since become an all-inclusive, non-denominational spiritual arts community. In 2017, the Eikerenkoetter family "retired from all and operations" As of 2018, the church is named the United Palace of Spiritual Arts, and Rev. Heather Shea is its Spiritual Director as well as CEO of United Palace overall.Classic cinema and live performance venue
Musical performers since 2007 include Vampire Weekend, Eddie Vedder, Neil Young, Sonic Youth, Bloc Party, Bob Dylan, Adele, The Smashing Pumpkins, Beck, Sigur Rós, Jackson Browne, Alex Campos, Björk, , Iggy and the Stooges, Modest Mouse, The Black Crowes, Bryan Ferry, Lenny Kravitz, Mumford & Sons, Bad Bunny, Aventura, Arcade Fire and Kraftwerk.In 2007, Sir Simon Rattle appeared at the theater conducting the Berlin Philharmonic in Igor Stravinsky's ballet The Rite of Spring danced by public school students and choreographed by Royston Maldoom. The following year, a performance of Leonard Bernstein's Mass 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 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 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 classic Casablanca.
On April 7, 2019, the United Palace of Spiritual Arts celebrated its 50th anniversary as occupant and operator of the venue with a special screening of the sci-fi classic ''. The special event included a live guest appearance by star Keir Dullea. After the screening, a special ceremony featured Dullea in an on-stage Q&A session with UPSA Board Chairperson Dr. Jean Houston, followed by a musical performance with inspirational singer/songwriter Karen Drucker. The festivities concluded with an after party on stage.