Week 14: United Palace

United Palace House of Inspiration, Washington Heights, Manhattan. The building opened in 1930 as the Loew’s 175th Street Theatre. When the movie palace closed in 1969, it was purchased by a televangelist to house his church. That church, now called the United Palace House of Inspiration, continues to use the building, though it now also serves as a community center and performing arts space. A number of movies and television shows have filmed scenes here.

The original auditorium, which seats around 3,400, now serves as a sanctuary on Sundays and regularly hosts community and cultural events.

In 2007 a writer at The New York Times described the United Palace’s architectural style as “Byzantine-Romanesque-Indo-Hindu-Sino-Moorish-Persian-Eclectic-Rococo-Deco”. Close enough.

The upper portion and ceiling of the main lobby.