After years of disuse, the landmarked Upper West Side Metro movie theater at Broadway and 99th Street is getting close to landing a new tenant, the Times reports. And unlike the last time we talked about a potential tenant for the space—Urban Outfitters was planning to move in but legal troubles eventually meant the retailer settled in across the street—it appears that the arts will stay in the picture. So who's interested? A deal is reportedly close with the non-profit arts education group Wingspan Arts, but everyone from synagogues to AMC has been sniffing around. more ›

The Landmarks Preservation Commission has deemed the art deco Brill Building, located at 1619 Broadway, worthy of landmark designation. The 11-story tower at the corner of Broadway and 49th Street has been churning out the hits since the early 1930s, becoming familiar stomping grounds for many music industry bigwigs and still housing the office of Mr. Paul Simon. more ›

This morning the Empire State Building took some time to show off its newly renovated Art Deco Lobby and restored historic ceiling mural, with architect Frank Prial (who did the Grand Central restoration) on hand. This is all part of a $550 million historical renovation, the lobby taking about $12.5 million of that. The NY Times reports that the pricey touch up brought back to life "two shiny Art Deco murals that disappeared from view in the 1960s." more ›

Even though it came out in 1984, Ghostbusters remains one of those movies that people revisit again and again, especially New Yorkers. From The NY Times: more ›

co-authored with his brother Steven Goldman and drawn by Joe Bucco, about a stolen election and the work of activists and a White House insider to expose the federal government's corruption. more ›

The saga of the 80,000 gallons of diesel fuel stored in 60 Hudson Street continues to rage on. The building is a "telecom hotel" - telecom companies store their equipment there - and during the 2003 blackout, the fuel was used to run backup generators. But residents argue that the amount of fuel is dangerous, citing the fact that the old 7 World Trade Center had half as much fuel and may have collapsed because of its stored fuel. Apparently storing that much fuel is a city buildings code violation, but the city gave 60 Hudson a variance last year - perhaps because most of the fuel is stored underground, and then the above ground fuel is encased by fire resistant walls. No word on whether there's a fire-and-crash resistant ceiling, though. more ›

After last year's mess of an awards show and this year's joke of nominations (where is love for Lauren Graham, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences?), we were going to swear off this year's Emmys. But then we realized Conan O'Brien was hosting, so we must watch and liveblog. And there's the hope of a good Steve Carrell bit, not to mention awkward reaction shots of Candy and Tori Spelling during the Aaron Spelling tribute. more ›

When we first read that the Landmarks Preservation Commission was taking steps to preserve the stately mansions, row houses and churches of Crown Heights North, we weren't all that surprised. After all, the area's 19th and 20th century architectural gems span at least four distinct styles: Georgian/Federal; Renaissance/Baroque Revival; Romanesque Revival and Modern/Art Deco/Art Moderne. more ›

Gotham is a vertical city. We go up, and up, and up. So many of our buildings go up so high that we've learned to just not see them. It's gotten to the point where our buildings are so tall that many New Yorkers, especially the transplants (yeah, you heard me), think it's not "cool" to look up! Which is patently retarded since there is some crazy ass shit hidden up in them there buildings. more ›

Over the weekend we stopped by a protest organized by Friends of the Tunnel Garage. Apparently developers are trying to tear down the garage, which was built in 1922 and sits at the corner of Thompson and Spring Broome Street at the edge of SoHo. While the garage looks a little run-down these days, in years past it was quite beautiful (for a garage!)-- featuring details like "terra-cotta polychromy" (?) and signage (there is supposedly a picture of a Model T under the "Park Here" on the rounded corner of the building) Our favorite detail: the G in "Garage"-- they really knew their fonts in the 1920s! more ›

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Amy at Newyorkology reminds us that today is the first day you can buy tickets for the observation decks at Rockefeller Center! The roof decks have now been renovated on the 67th to 70th floors, which seem to go on forever (read our March post about the renovations). The Top of the Rock website as this nostalgic movie of old images from the observation deck that recalls its Art Deco history. You can buy tickets online or by calling 212-298-200; tickets are $14 for adults, $12 for seniors, and $9 for children. more ›

Gothamist almost missed out on The Art Deco Bookbindings of Pierre Legrain and Rose Adler at the New York Public Library. The exhibit features 43 select Art Deco bindings from the Paris, as well as two rare samples from the NYPL's own Spencer Collection. The majority of the books on display have never before been exhibited. more ›

A small pleasure of working in midtown is that Gothamist gets to see some pretty fantastic buildings. One favorite is many people's favorite: The Chrysler Building on Lexington. We were struck by the elevator, which is as beautifully Art Deco as the exterior and interior lobby. more ›