December 10, 2024
The opulent United Palace is one of Washington Heights’ most iconic buildings, having anchored the corner of Broadway and 175th Street for over 94 years. With 3,400 seats, it is Manhattan’s fourth largest theatre.
After surviving nearly 100 East Coast winters the ornamental terra cotta, bricks, and mortar that make up the elaborate facade of this New York City Landmark are beginning to fail. The architectural firm of Kamen Tall has been hired to begin planning for its restoration, which it estimates will cost at least $8 million and take three years.
As the only regularly operating theatre between the Apollo on 125th Street and the northern tip of Manhattan at 220th Street the United Palace endeavors to showcase both established performers AND emerging talent. The United Palace had 130 days of events and programming in 2023, including:
- The 76th annual Tony Awards AND a night of musical performances by students from George Washington High School
- Filming of the Hulu comedy “Only Murders in the Building” AND the United Palace debut of local Dominican comediennes Glorelys Mora and Sasha Merci
- Movie screenings hosted by Lin-Manuel Miranda featuring appearances by Billy Crystal (“When Harry Met Sally”) and Darren Aronofsky (“Black Swan”) AND the 10th annual P.S. 187 Film Festival
- Concerts by world-class Latin acts such as Becky G, Luis Vargas, and Ruben Blades AND a night of bachata music performed by neighborhood talent
- 12 graduation ceremonies, including Teachers College, NYU School of Global Public Health, and The Bronx High School of Science AND the end of year performance by the Harlem-based Groove With Me dance program.
The United Palace is one of Northern Manhattan’s biggest tourist magnets, attracting 115,000 guests last year, many of whom also patronized local restaurants, bars, and other businesses. It is also one of the area’s largest employers, hiring up to 100 event staff for many of its activities. To attest to the impact the United Palace has on Northern Manhattan over 100 local stakeholders wrote letters supporting government funding to repair the building’s exterior.
For these reasons, it is critical to restore the facade of this uptown treasure.
We have already begun soliciting funding from all levels of government, and New York State Governor Kathy Hochul has responded, presenting a $1 million check to the theatre in December 2024 and calling it a “crown jewel,” “treasure,” and “anchor for the community.” (Shout out to Manhattan Borough Mark Levine for initiating the request to the governor.)
But we will likely need help from everyone to cover the cost of restoring the façade.
Please consider helping the United Palace’s preservation efforts so it can continue its mission to inspire guests from the community and around the world.
