The Ziegfeld, a 1,300-seat, single-screen movie theater at 141 West 54th Street, between Sixth and Seventh avenues in Midtown, is expected to be transformed into an event venue, according to the New York Post. The converted building, to be renamed Ziegfeld Ballroom, will offer a column-free, 10,000 square-foot ballroom, meetings rooms on a mezzanine level, and “advanced electronic facilities.” The well-known movie theater will close within the next few weeks, at which time its tenant, Cablevision, will cut operations. The conversion is expected to be complete in 2017. Fisher Brothers is the building’s leaseholder.
Present-day interior of the Ziegfeld movie theater, image via Bronx Banter
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They had the nicest men’s rooms of any theater in New York. I think the first movie I saw here as an adult was “Cabaret” in 1972. In those days it was easy to drive from Brooklyn even on a Friday or Saturday night and cheap to park — sometimes free, sometimes fairly inexpensive at the Hippodrome. I saw many movies here in the 70s and 80s, and I always remember the red, luxurious men’s room that was more like that of a fancy hotel than a movie theater.