Overview

About 205 East 59th Street

Construction on this attractive, 27-story, mid-block, apartment tower began in 2004 on the former site of the Coronet and Baronet movie theaters across from Bloomingdale's on Third Avenue between 59th and 60th Streets.

The two demolished theaters were just to the south of Cinema 1 and Cinema II, mid-block theaters that still survive.

In their excellent book, "The A.I.A. Guide to New York City, Fourth Edition," (Three Rivers Press, 2000), Elliot Willensky and Norval White observed that at Cinema 1 and Cinema 2, which each had their own marquee beneath a two-story-high blue-mosaic wall, "Modern architecture met the movies for the first time (in New York)." The buildings opened in 1962 and were designed by Abraham W. Geller & Associates. "A duplex that has since become a triplex, it was at first a piggyback pair. Geller and his wife, who did the interiors, produced a simple elegance with counterpoints of rich paintings and graphics. Now shopworn and somewhat degraded within," Mr. Willensky and Mr. White continued.

The Baronet and Coronet Theaters on this site opened a few years after Cinema I and Cinema II and were flashier in style although about the same size. The four theaters combined with three other individual movie theaters within two blocks made this area a pretty substantial entertainment district. Coupled with the fact that there are many restaurants on 58th Street one block to the south and Serendipity, the dessert emporium and store, around the corner on 60th Street, this would be a bustling location even if Bloomingdale's were not across the street.

The full block south of Bloomingdale's was for many years occupied by Alexander's department store, which was demolished by Vornado Realty Trust and replaced by One Beacon Court, a silvery and sparkling mixed-use skyscraper designed by Cesar Pelli & Associates that is one of the tallest buildings in midtown.

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