5. Moss and Brill’s Hamilton Theatre

Image via After The Final Curtain

Located in Manhattan’s Hamilton Heights, the Moss and Brill’s Hamilton Theatre (later renamed the RKO Hamilton Theatre) was one of the first motion picture houses in New York. Opening in January 23, 1913 as a vaudeville house commissioned by vaudeville operator Benjamin Moss and Solomon Brill, the theater was designed by Lamb in the Renaissance Revival style. The Hamilton was sold in 1928 after Moss’s retirement and converted into a movie theater.

The Hamilton stopped showing films in 1958, partially closed, leaving the auditorium to operate as a sports arena and disco. In 1965 it was bought by a church which sold it in the mid-1990s. Like most of the theaters on this list, the front was converted into retail space, while the auditorium of this particular theater was used as the warehouse for a beer and liquor wholesaler.

The exterior of the Hamilton was landmarked in 2000, but the interior was making it susceptible to demolition. So far, there are no plans have been made to redevelop or demolish it.