Village East Cinema

If you’re in the mood to see a movie the next time you’re in the East Village, the Village East Cinema on Second Avenue and 12th Street is a beautiful option in the Moorish Revival style. Designed by Harrison G. Weisman in 1925, the theater was originally built for actor Maurice Schwartz, or “Mr. Second Avenue,” but it has gone through a rotation of names since then: the Yiddish Art Theater, the Louis N. Jaffe Theater, and the Phoenix Theater. Pay special attention to the horseshoe arches and the voussoirs around the entrance’s keyhole arch––beautiful, but surprisingly understated. The theater has been converted into a multiplex so if you’re interested in the main hall, be sure to ask which movie is playing there first.