9. Moss and Brill’s Hamilton Theatre
Moss and Brill’s Hamilton Theater, which was later renamed the RKO Hamilton Theater, is located in Manhattan’s Hamilton Heights. The theater opened on January 23, 1913 and was designed by Thomas Lamb, who also designed the Loew’s Canal Theatre. Vaudeville operator Benjamin Moss and theater developer Solomon Brillis commissioned the theater, though when Moss retired in 1928, it was converted to a movie theater.
It is notable for being one of the first theaters in New York City to exclusively play films. However, Hamilton Theater stopped showing films in 1958. Following this change, a church bought the theater in 1965 before it was sold again sometime in the mid-1990s. Since the Some of the theater was used for retail space while other parts were used as a warehouse. In 2000, the exterior of the theater, which is similarly marked by Lamb’s signature terra cotta, was named a city landmark.