REAL ESTATE: Curtains for the Roxy

What's playing at the Roxy? I'll tell you what's playing at the Roxy: A picture about a Minnesota man, so in love with a Mississippi girl that he sacrifices everything and moves all the way to Biloxi—that's what's playing at the Roxy! —Guys and Dolls

Opening night of the Roxy in 1927 was an event that bedazzled New Yorkers. The $11 million theater was so big and luxurious that the only billing it thought fitting was "The Cathedral of Motion Pictures." As the cathedral's doors opened, 125 special policemen held back the mobs that strained for a look at their flicker favorites. Among the 6,000 first-nighters were New York's Mayor Jimmy Walker, Harold Lloyd, Charlie Chaplin and Gloria Swanson, star of the cathedral's first attraction, The Love of Sunya. As the audience settled back in the plush mohair seats, an actor in a monk's robe appeared on stage, spread his arms and said: "Let there be light." With his words, the audience rose, and no musicians, bathed in the glare of spotlights, played The Star-Spangled Banner.

The Roxy was never able to top its premiere. Though every major Hollywood film star made love on its screen, though its stage shows ranged from dog acts to the New York Philharmonic, the theater usually had trouble paying its bills. In 1931 Samuel ("Roxy") Rothafel, the free-spending impresario who had conceived the Roxy, jumped to the Radio City Music Hall just up the street, was soon presenting shows that out-glittered those at the theater named after him. Upkeep for the high-stepping chorus of Roxyettes, the huge orchestra and the three pipe organs was so high that the Roxy had to operate at near capacity to turn a profit. Even after overhead was cut down, poor pictures and finally television kept the theater in a precarious financial position.

Last week the last act came for the Roxy. Manhattan Real Estate Tycoon William Zeckendorf announced that for $5,000,000 he had bought the theater from Rockefeller Center Inc., which bought the Roxy in 1956. He plans to tear it down to build a $12.5 million, 900-room, 600-car-garage addition to his Taft Hotel, making it one of the largest hotels (2,500 rooms) in New York. Zeckendorf, who, like other large realty operators, has had trouble rounding up all the financing needed to construct his 2,000-room Zeckendorf Hotel, is still negotiating the financing for his newest project.— But he argues that it is a sound risk because the Taft's annual occupancy rate is 95% of capacity. He is confident its parking facilities will attract tourists who would normally stay at motels outside the city rather than face New York traffic.