The historic Palace Theatre in Times Square in New York City has been lifted 30 feet above street level in what we believe is a unique milestone for a historic theater.

Dating back to 1913 when it was a vaudeville theater, the Palace first showed movies in 1932. Its facade was lost in the 1980s according to reports that we could find, and that actually works to the advantage in a cramped and commercialized zone like Times Square.

From the looks of the plans we could find, the theater was lifted into the air in order to save it, and so that commercial space could be placed beneath it in the coveted street-level space. The theater's exterior will be hidden behind a new facade in keeping with something out of Blade Runner or the visions of Coruscant from Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones.

Lift Videos

There are plenty of videos showing time lapses of the lift and on-site interviews, all for the searching. You'll find a sampling below:

Related News Articles

• How the Palace Theatre Ended Up 30 Feet Above Manhattan -- Commercial Observer [May 9, 2022]
• Effort to lift Times Square's Palace Theatre 30 feet off the ground finally accomplished -- CBS News [May 4, 2022]
• Watch iconic Broadway theatre rise 30 feet above the ground (video) -- CNN [May 2, 2022]
• Why New York’s iconic Palace Theatre is being raised 30 feet off the ground -- Fast Company [Jan 14, 2022]