In April, press and locals gathered outside the long-defunct Metro Theater to celebrate its new ownership. Photo by Bobby Panza.
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After nearly two decades of darkness, the Metro Theater on Broadway and West 99th Street appears to finally be getting a second act. The long-vacant Art Deco landmark — its pink terra-cotta façade a familiar but faded sight to Upper West Siders — is being revived under a new name: the Uptown Film Center.
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“This part of it is incredibly exciting,” film producer Ira Deutchman said in an interview with the New York Times, which first reported this story. “I think that when people see what this place is going to look like, they’re going to be completely thrilled.”The revival is being led by Deutchman’s nonprofit Upper West Side Cinema Center, which purchased the building earlier this year for just under $7 million, aided by state grants and private donations. The organization now faces a $29 million fundraising goal to transform the interior into a modern, five-screen independent theater. Renovation work is expected to begin in 2027, with doors projected to open in early 2028.
Rendering c/o Voith & Mactavish Architects
Plans call for one main auditorium with about 185 seats, another with 150, and three smaller rooms that will each hold roughly 45 viewers. Designs by the architecture firm Voith & Mactavish show a restored marquee and a reimagined lobby — touches that blend nostalgia with modern film culture. The façade, a designated landmark, will be carefully cleaned and restored to its original 1933 appearance.
Rendering c/o Voith & Mactavish Architects
Rendering c/o Voith & Mactavish Architects
Rendering c/o Voith & Mactavish Architects
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The Metro closed in 2005 after decades as a neighborhood movie house. In the years since, the building’s future has been a revolving door of unrealized concepts — from a proposed Planet Fitness to multiple attempts by national theater chains. Now, with leadership from Deutchman and support from notable industry figures including Martin Scorsese, Ethan Hawke, and Tim Blake Nelson, the project finally appears to have staying power.Public funding has come through a mix of state and private support, including contributions from the Hearthland Foundation, created by Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw. The Cinema Center aims to raise $5 million by the end of this year to keep the project on schedule.
If successful, the Uptown Film Center would join the ranks of other nonprofit theaters reinvigorating independent cinema across the city — but for Upper West Siders, this one carries particular weight. The Metro has long stood as both a local landmark and a reminder of what was lost. Come 2028, it may once again glow on Broadway, drawing crowds for something other than nostalgia.
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