Bleecker Street Cinemas

Bleecker Street Cinemas was an art house theater in Greenwich Village that showed independent and foreign films. The two screening rooms offered seating for approximately 250 viewers combined.

Filmmaker Lionel Rogosin founded the cinema in 1960 to present his film 'Come Back, Africa'. The venue closed in 1991 and was later converted to retail space.

The venue drew filmmakers and film lovers seeking work outside the mainstream. Audiences gathered to experience films that did not appear in other theaters.

The theater sat at 144 Bleecker Street in Manhattan and served as a primary venue for independent film screenings. Visitors found screenings there that were not available at other theaters in the city.

The building was originally constructed in 1832 as two rowhouses and received a new facade by architect Raymond Hood in 1920. The historic structure thus concealed more than a century of history beneath a modernized exterior.

Location: Manhattan

Inception: 1962

Official opening: 1960

Address: 144 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10012

GPS coordinates: 40.72799,-73.99943

Latest update: December 10, 2025 16:25