The Metro Theater in New York City's Upper West Side has been closed since 2005, but its future is looking brighter following an agreement to sell the movie theater to a non-profit group.

On November 8, 2024, the Upper West Side Cinema Center announced that a contract has been signed to purchase the theater from the owners of the building. The New Friends of Metro Theater has been supporting the idea of reviving the theater for some time and their Facebook group currently has 392 members. Director Martin Scorsese and actors Ethan Hawke and John Turturro have been mentioned as supporters of the theater's purchase and restoration. Movie producer and veteran industry executive Ira Deutchman is the President and Treasurer of the Upper West Side Cinema Center.

Located on Broadway & 99th, the movie theater dates back to 1933, when it opened as the single-screen Midtown Theater. It was purchased in 1982 and renamed to the Metro Theater. It was twinned in 1986 after being purchased by Clearview Cinemas and named Clearview's Metro Twin. Clearview closed the location in 2004. It was purchased and reopened as the Metro Theater (aka Metro Twin) in 2004 by Embassy Cinemas, but it closed again in 2005. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema planned to reopen the theater as a 5-screen location in 2014, but scrapped those plans in 2013.

According to the website for the Upper West Side Cinema Center, plans for the theater include a five-screen theater, with two large auditoriums, two smaller ones below street level (under the lobby), and a fifth will feature flexible seating arrangements so that it can be used as a screening room, classroom, meeting room, or reception space. At the street entrance, a lobby cafe welcomes moviegoers and can be used for events as well.

The purchase contract is contingent upon the group raising the money for the $7 million price tag by the end of 2024. If you would like to contribute to this effort, you can visit the group's Donate page for details.

After being closed for nearly 20 years, most theater buildings (especially those in urban areas) would have been demolished or repurposed in some way. At best, the facade would be preserved to give the illusion that a once-iconic theater welcomed people to its movie screen. We hope the group is successful in their efforts!

Because they haven't even been able to take ownership yet, no opening date has been announced. Until it opens, moviegoers in the area will need to visit one of the other nearby theaters, including the Symphony Space and the AMC 84th Street 6.

Image above: Screenshot of the Upper West Side Cinema Center website page titled "The Vision"

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• Inside the Latest Plan to Reopen the Upper West Side’s Metro Theater — Including Support from Martin Scorsese and Ethan Hawke -- IndieWire [Jul 25, 2024]