United Palace

The theater was designed by Thomas W. Lamb{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2016|ps=.|page=8 }}{{cite web |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=April 13, 2001 |title=Xanadus Rise to a Higher Calling |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/13/movies/xanadus-rise-to-a-higher-calling.html |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=December 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214180952/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/13/movies/xanadus-rise-to-a-higher-calling.html |url-status=live }} and occupies a full city block in Washington Heights, Manhattan, between Broadway, 175th Street, Wadsworth Avenue, and 176th Street.{{cite web |date=November 6, 2014 |title=The United Palace |url=https://www.nyc-arts.org/organizations/the-united-palace/ |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=NYC-ARTS }}{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2016|ps=.|page=11 }} The structure is divided into two sections: the auditorium portion, which occupies much of the block, and the retail and office portion, which occupies the northwestern corner and runs parallel to Broadway. The Loew's 175th Street Theatre was one of five Loew's Wonder Theatres in the New York City area,{{Cite magazine |last=Calhoun |first=John |year=2019 |title=Loew's Kings Theatre: Restoration of a Palace for the Masses |magazine=Performing Arts Resources |pages=160–176, XIII |volume=34 |id={{ProQuest|2544917211}} |postscript=none}}; {{cite magazine |date=May 18, 1929 |title=Five New Houses On Loew Program |magazine=The Billboard |page=11 |volume=41 |issue=20 |id={{ProQuest|1031907709}} }}{{Cite magazine |last=Snaith |first=Guy |date=Jul 2001 |title=Big Theatres in the Big Apple |magazine=Bulletin |pages=7–9 |volume=35 |issue=4 |id={{ProQuest|2320442422}} }} along with the Jersey Theatre in Jersey City, the Paradise Theatre in the Bronx, the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, and the Valencia Theatre in Queens.{{cite web |last=Adams |first=Nathaniel |date=January 16, 2015 |title=Across the New York Area, Restoring 'Wonder Theater' Movie Palaces to Glory |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/18/nyregion/across-the-new-york-area-restoring-wonder-theater-movie-palaces-to-glory.html |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=November 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231126083319/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/18/nyregion/across-the-new-york-area-restoring-wonder-theater-movie-palaces-to-glory.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Iverem |first=Esther |date=January 22, 1991 |title=Movie Theaters That Were Palaces Now Playing: Queens History |work=Newsday |page=54 |id={{ProQuest|278315782}} }} Along with the Valencia and Paradise, the United Palace is one of three Wonder Theatres that are used as churches in the 21st century.{{cite web |last=Adams |first=Nathaniel |date=January 16, 2015 |title=Across the New York Area, Restoring 'Wonder Theater' Movie Palaces to Glory |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/18/nyregion/across-the-new-york-area-restoring-wonder-theater-movie-palaces-to-glory.html |access-date=November 9, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=November 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231126083319/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/18/nyregion/across-the-new-york-area-restoring-wonder-theater-movie-palaces-to-glory.html |url-status=live}}; {{cite web |date=November 21, 2018 |title=Old movie theaters are hoping for a Hollywood ending |url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/features/old-movie-theaters-are-hoping-hollywood-ending |access-date=November 9, 2024 |website=Crain's New York Business |archive-date=June 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230627174813/https://www.crainsnewyork.com/features/old-movie-theaters-are-hoping-hollywood-ending |url-status=live }} The United Palace was also the last Wonder Theatre to be completed and the only one without a specific architectural style.{{cite web |last=Schulz |first=Dana |date=May 16, 2018 |title=Behind the Scenes at the United Palace, Washington Heights' Opulent 'Wonder Theatre' |url=https://www.6sqft.com/behind-the-scenes-at-the-united-palace-theatre-washington-heights-opulent-wonder-theatre/ |access-date=November 9, 2024 |website=6sqft }}{{cite web |date=June 12, 2023 |title=10 Secrets of the United Palace in Washington Heights |url=https://www.untappedcities.com/united-palace-nyc-2/ |access-date=November 9, 2024 |website=Untapped New York }}

The United Palace is one of three theaters in New York that were designed by Lamb with Asian–influenced decorations. The other two theaters are the State Theatre in Syracuse and the Pitkin Theatre in Brooklyn;{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2016|ps=.|page=17 }}{{cite book |last=Naylor |first=David |url=https://archive.org/details/americanpicturep0000nayl |title=American Picture Palaces: The Architecture of Fantasy |publisher=Prentice Hall Editions |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-13-026329-2 |page=125 |access-date=November 7, 2024 }} the designs of both the 175th Street and Pitkin theaters are derived partially from the State Theatre.{{Cite web |last=Scobey |first=Katherine |date=December 1, 1992 |title=Restoration Returns a Bit of Past Grandeur to the Landmark |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/syracuse-herald-journal-restoration-retu/158664641/ |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=Syracuse Herald-Journal |pages=55, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/syracuse-herald-journal-landmark-recaptu/158664609/ 56] |language=en-US }} The United Palace's design also incorporates elements of Aztec, Classical, Egyptian, Islamic, Mayan, and Mughal architecture.{{harvnb|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|ps=.|page=263 }}{{cite web |last1=King |first1=Darryn |last2=Valentine |first2=Gioncarlo |date=June 7, 2023 |title=As Tony Awards Head Uptown, Step Inside United Palace |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/07/theater/united-palace-tony-awards-washington-heights.html |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=March 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328104142/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/07/theater/united-palace-tony-awards-washington-heights.html |url-status=live }} Lamb himself wrote that he used exotic decorations to stimulate visitors' minds. At the time of the United Palace's construction, the American public was increasingly becoming interested in Asian culture. A writer for The New York Times Magazine stated that the design may have been inspired by both the Alhambra palace and the Kailasa Temple.{{cite news |last=Hass |first=Nancy |date=April 14, 2019 |title=About the Theater |work=The New York Times |pages=36 |id={{ProQuest|2208626939}} }}

The United Palace has an ornate terracotta facade.{{cite web |last=Hall |first=Margaret |date=June 8, 2023 |title=Inside the United Palace, The Venue for This Year's Tony Awards |url=https://playbill.com/article/inside-the-united-palace-the-venue-for-this-years-tony-awards |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=Playbill |archive-date=April 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240423144705/https://playbill.com/article/inside-the-united-palace-the-venue-for-this-years-tony-awards |url-status=live }} Similarly to the Pitkin Theater, the United Palace's facade is decorated with niches, pilasters, and panels with curving and geometric motifs;{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2016|ps=.|page=12 }} the facade also bore similarities to that of the demolished Loew's Triboro Theatre in Queens.{{Cite web |last=Naylor |first=David |date=January 31, 1988 |title=Masterpiece Theaters |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-masterpiece-theaters/159043296/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |pages=239, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-masterpiece-theaters/159043349/ 240], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-masterpiece-theaters/159043373/ 241], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-masterpiece-theaters/159043397/ 242] |language=en-US }} The facade is decorated with hexagonal shapes in a pattern known as muqarnas.{{cite fromatoz}}, p. 286 There is a cupola or prayer tower, topped by a star, above the northeast corner of the roof.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2016|ps=.|page=4 }} The elaborate ornamentation was intended to entice patrons inside. The historian Ben M. Hall wrote that the theater was "built to be viewed—and admired—from all sides" because there were decorations on all four elevations of the facade.

The entrance protrudes from the western, or Broadway, elevation of the facade. The theater's entrance is at the southern end of the facade's Broadway elevation. There is a marquee wrapping around the chamfer at the theater's southwest corner. Underneath the marquee are two recessed sets of doors made of bronze and glass, as well as a soffit with lights. Between the two sets of doors are a ticket booth with a marble base and bronze frames, topped by cusped arches. There are rusticated blocks with elaborate terracotta ornamentation on either side of the doorways, as well as a signboard above the doorways.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2016|ps=.|page=3 }} Above the marquee is a terracotta panel shaped like a ziggurat. The central panel, in turn, is flanked by two pairs of pilasters with ornate capitals, and there is a niche between each pair of pilasters. A vertical sign is mounted in front of the pilasters to the right (south). The top of the entrance pavilion on Broadway is decorated with an elaborate parapet. There is a smaller two-story pavilion to the left (north) of the main entrance, which has display cases at ground level and a pointed arch with a niche on the second story.

The auditorium has a seven-story-high facade on 176th Street to the north, which occupies the eastern portion of the block. At ground level are four doorways, some display cases, and recessed panels surrounded by terracotta frames. The westernmost portion of the auditorium facade on 176th Street contains windows on the second through seventh stories. The rest of the facade has no windows. Terracotta pilasters divide the upper stories vertically into several wide bays; the theater's cupola rises above the eastern end of the building. The eastern elevation on Wadsworth Avenue has rusticated facade at ground level, with doorways and blind window openings. The upper section of the Wadsworth Avenue facade has a fire escape but is otherwise similar in design to the remaining elevations of the facade. The marquee above the main entrance on Broadway wraps around to the southern elevation on 175th Street.

The northern portion of the Broadway elevation is part of the retail and office section. At the southern end of this section (just to the left of the main theater entrance) is a recessed double door. The rest of the ground-level facade on Broadway has storefronts with roller shutters.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2016|ps=.|pages=3–4 }} There are window sills with foliate ornament beneath the second-story windows. The windows on that story are separated by pilasters. There are ornamental bands atop the second-story windows, with foliate ornament, geometric motifs, and rosettes. A pitched roof runs above the second story. The northwestern corner of the building has a chamfered corner. The western section of the 176th Street elevation, to the north, is similar in design to the northern portion of the Broadway elevation, except that there is an asymmetrical entrance, and the ground story lacks storefronts on 176th Street.

File:2014 United Palace proscenium and stage.jpg and stage of the United Palace; the stage is set up for an orchestral performance|alt=The proscenium and stage of the United Palace. The stage is set up for an orchestral performance, with band equipment such as drums on stage. The proscenium arch is elaborately decorated.]]{{External media|image1=[https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/01/18/nyregion/united-palace-theater-manhattan-pano.html 360-degree image of the auditorium]|width=300px}}

Lamb collaborated on the interior design with Harold Rambusch, who had also designed the interiors of Radio City Music Hall and the Waldorf Astoria New York. Rambusch, who regarded movie palaces as "social safety valves", sought to use the theater's elaborate ornamentation to attract visitors. The interior was originally described as being designed in the "Indo–China" style,{{cite news |date=February 7, 1930 |title=Loew's 175th Street to Open: New Broadway Playhouse to Begin Operations on Feb. 22 |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=13 |id={{ProQuest|1113113168}} }} with Asian-inspired decorations. There are hand-carved and filigreed walls and ceilings, along with {{nowrap|Louis XV}} and XVI furnishings.{{cite web |title=United Palace Theatre History |url=http://unitedpalace.org/history |website=United Palace Theatre website |access-date=July 8, 2015 |archive-date=July 14, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714005136/http://unitedpalace.org/history |url-status=live }} The spaces are illuminated by indirect, recessed lighting from within and behind the walls, in addition to large Baroque–style chandeliers. The building retains its original elevator, which is accessible upon special request and has red-and-gold walls and a sky-blue ceiling.

The lobby is a double-height space with balconies surrounding it. A grand staircase connects the ground level with the mezzanine.{{cite web |title=The United Church |url=http://www.nycago.org/Organs/NYC/html/UnitedChurch.html |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists |archive-date=December 12, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071212232429/http://www.nycago.org/Organs/NYC/html/UnitedChurch.html |url-status=live }} At the top of the staircase is a silhouette of a goddess with rays emanating from behind her. There is an Oriental–styled mezzanine promenade behind the auditorium,{{Cite web |date=February 10, 1930 |title=Loew's 175th Street Will Open Feb. 22 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/yonkers-statesman-loews-175th-street-wi/158603586/ |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=Yonkers Statesman |page=11 |language=en-US }} which is decorated with paintings, sculptures, and other artwork.{{Cite web |date=February 1, 1930 |title=Loew's New 175th St. & Broadway Theatre to Open February 22 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-herald-statesman-loews-new-175th-st/158603787/ |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=The Herald Statesman |page=4 |language=en-US }} The wall has balconettes that are designed to resemble brass grilles, though they are made of plaster. The mezzanine level also has a men's smoking lounge. When Reverend Ike converted the theater into a church in 1969, the smoking lounge became his personal library. A similar women's lounge on the same level was later used for storage.

The auditorium, designed in the Byzantine and Romanesque styles, seated over 4,000 people in its heyday.{{cite magazine |date=March 1, 1930 |title=Loew Opens New House at 175th St. |magazine=The Billboard |page=19 |volume=42 |issue=9 |id={{ProQuest|1031930845}} }} The seating capacity has been downsized over the years to about 3,400 seats by the 21st century.{{Efn|Sources from the late 20th and early 21st century gave conflicting figures of 3,564,{{cite web |last=Yarrow |first=Andrew L. |date=June 26, 1987 |title=Movie Theaters: Facts and Figures |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/26/movies/movie-theaters-facts-and-figures.html |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=February 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227202252/http://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/26/movies/movie-theaters-facts-and-figures.html |url-status=live }} 3,444,{{cite news |last=Moritz |first=Owen |date=May 2, 2004 |title=Loew's Legacy Is Alive on Screens |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-loews-legacy-is-alive-on-scr/159760478/ |access-date=November 25, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=14 |id={{ProQuest|305879226}} }} 3,361, 3,352, or 3,293 seats.{{cite web |last=Pollak |first=Michael |date=February 13, 2010 |title=Dancing in the Street |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/nyregion/14fyi.html |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=January 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107015859/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/nyregion/14fyi.html |url-status=live }}}} The seats are spread across a parterre-level orchestra and a balcony level. The balcony itself is split into three sections: a main balcony, an upper loge, and a lower loge.{{cite magazine |last=Friedman |first=Thomas S. |date=Mar 2018 |title=Inside Six Recent Theater/Performing Arts Center Projects |magazine=Front of House |pages=30–32 |volume=16 |issue=6 |id={{ProQuest|2028835167}} }} There are niches decorated with bodhisattvas. The auditorium also has rosettes, acanthus leaves, and tendril motifs that depict birds, cherubs, lions, centaurs, griffins, and buraqs.

The auditorium originally was a single-screen theater,{{Cite web |last=Mooney |first=Richard E. |date=March 17, 1999 |title=Showtime: Marcus Loew |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-showtime-marcus-loew/158666102/ |access-date=November 8, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=261 |language=en-US }} with a wide screen similar to those in the other Wonder Theaters.{{cite magazine |date=March 29, 1930 |title=Wide Screen for New Loew Houses |magazine=The Billboard |page=38 |volume=42 |issue=13 |id={{ProQuest|1031946936}} }} It had a double stage and three lifts in the orchestra pit. The orchestra lifts could be raised to create an extension of the theater's stage.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2016|ps=.|pages=10–11 }} There were also large openings below the stage to allow scenery to be moved.{{Cite web |date=January 31, 1930 |title=New Theatre Has Two Stages |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-citizen-new-theatre-has-two/158604149/ |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=The Brooklyn Citizen |page=14 |language=en-US }} Like the other Wonder Theaters, the Loew's 175th Street featured a "Wonder Morton" theater pipe organ manufactured by the Robert Morton Organ Company.{{cite web |title=The 5 Wonder Mortons – Where are they now? – Garden State Theatre Organ Society |website=Garden State Theatre Organ Society |url=https://gstos.org/organs/the-bob-balfour-memorial-wonder-morton-theatre-pipe-organ/the-5-wonder-mortons-where-are-they-now/ |access-date=December 27, 2024 |archive-date=November 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241112224505/https://gstos.org/organs/the-bob-balfour-memorial-wonder-morton-theatre-pipe-organ/the-5-wonder-mortons-where-are-they-now/ |url-status=live }} The organ featured a console with 4 manuals and 23 ranks of pipes. The United Palace's organ, which is seven stories high, is the only Wonder Theater organ that remains in use.{{cite news |last=Bertolot |first=Lana |date=August 21, 2013 |title=Manhattan Theater Readies Silver Screen Return; Former Loew's Palace in Washington Heights to Show Movies Again |work=The Wall Street Journal |id={{ProQuest|1426692216}} }} Events featuring "Live Organ" accompaniment used an electronic organ. After World War II, the organ was sealed for 25 years and was not rediscovered until 1970. The piano, chairs, and organ could be moved to make way for scenery. The organ console remains in place but is inoperable {{as of|2016|lc=y}}.

Movie palaces became common in the 1920s between the end of World War I and the beginning of the Great Depression.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2016|ps=.|pages=5–6 }}{{cite book |last=Hall |first=Ben M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tWIMAQAAIAAJ |title=The Best Remaining Seats: The Story of the Golden Age of the Movie Palace |publisher=C. N. Potter |year=1975 |isbn=978-0-517-02057-9 |page=12 |access-date=December 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214154802/https://books.google.com/books?id=tWIMAQAAIAAJ |archive-date=December 14, 2021 |url-status=live }} In the New York City area, only a small number of operators were involved in the construction of movie palaces. Relatively few architects were responsible for these theaters' designs, including legitimate theater architects Thomas Lamb, C. Howard Crane, and John Eberson. By the late 1920s, numerous movie palaces were being developed in outlying neighborhoods in New York City; previously, the city's movie palaces had been concentrated in Midtown Manhattan.{{harvnb|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|ps=.|page=262 }}

In 1924, Len Cohen of Loew's Inc. began acquiring property on the city block between Broadway, 175th Street, Wadsworth Avenue, and 176th Street. Cohen spent three years and hundreds of thousands of dollars buying the rest of the city block through 1927.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2016|ps=.|page=10 }} The theater was one of several structures built around the eastern terminus of the George Washington Bridge to northern New Jersey, which was developed around the same time.{{cite news |date=February 2, 1930 |title=Store Leasing Reflects Value Of New Bridge: Loew Washington Heights Theater Building Finds Ready Market for Space |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=E2 |id={{ProQuest|1113117954}} }} Loew's had specifically chosen the site because it was in a growing middle-class neighborhood, close to the New York City Subway stations at 175th Street/Fort Washington Avenue and 181st Street/St. Nicholas Avenue. After the assemblage had been completed, Cohen sold the sites in February 1928 to the Highbridge Realty Corporation, which was controlled by Loew's Inc. president Nicholas Schenck

Lamb was hired to design the theater, and he filed plans for the structure with Manhattan's Bureau of Buildings in March 1928.{{cite web |date=March 14, 1928 |title=Plans for Theatre Filed; Playhouse on Washington Heights Will Cost $1,250,000. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1928/03/14/archives/plans-for-theatre-filed-playhouse-on-washington-heights-will-cost.html |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=The New York Times }}{{cite news |date=March 14, 1928 |title=$1,250,000 Theater Planned for Heights |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=40 |id={{ProQuest|1113345774}} }} Originally, the theater was supposed to be one story tall and was planned to cost an estimated $1.25 million.{{cite magazine |date=December 26, 1928 |title=Vaudeville: Theatres Proposed |magazine=Variety |pages=35 |volume=93 |issue=11 |id={{ProQuest|1505683855}} }}{{efn-lr|About ${{Inflation|index=US-GDP|start_year=1928|value=1.25|fmt=c|r=0}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}} The Aronberg-Fried Company was hired to construct the theater in May 1929.{{cite news |date=May 2, 1929 |title=$1,250,000 Theater Planned |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=45 |id={{ProQuest|1111965883}} |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |date=May 1, 1929 |title=Contract for Theatre Awarded. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1929/05/01/archives/contract-for-theatre-awarded.html |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=The New York Times }}{{Efn|Contemporary sources give a date of May 1929, but {{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2016|ps=|page=10}} gives a conflicting date of May 1928.}} Loew's initially considered naming the venue the Marcus Loew Memorial Theatre but ultimately decided against it.{{cite magazine |date=December 14, 1929 |title=Loew's First National Campaign in January |magazine=The Billboard |page=11 |volume=41 |issue=50 |id={{ProQuest|1031922384}} }} After ten thousand people suggested names for Loew's theater on 175th Street in early 1930, Loew's decided to name it the Loew's 175th Street Theatre.{{Cite web |date=January 27, 1930 |title=Citizen Help |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-citizen-help/158593976/ |access-date=November 7, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=275 |language=en-US |archive-date=November 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241108231958/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-citizen-help/158593976/ |url-status=live }} A week before the Loew's 175th Street was to be dedicated, the opera singer Tito Schipa was invited to test out the acoustics, and a large American flag (dubbed the theater's official flag{{cite news |date=February 13, 1930 |title=Schipa Tests Theater's Acoustics |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=14 |id={{ProQuest|1113681484}} }}) was draped over the building. The Loew's 175th Street cost $3 million in total to construct.{{cite news |date=February 22, 1930 |title=$3,000,000 Loew Theater Opens Today on Heights: 175th Street House to Stage Holiday Air Show |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=8 |id={{ProQuest|1113621856}} }}{{efn-lr|About ${{Inflation|index=US-GDP|start_year=1930|value=3|fmt=c|r=0}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}} It had numerous ground-level storefronts, many of which had been leased out prior to the theater's opening. The theater was one of several large movie palaces in Upper Manhattan, which, in 1930, had 5% of the borough's population but nearly 20% of its movie palaces.{{Cite magazine |date=November 1, 1982 |title=Who Went to the Movies? |magazine=American Film |page=59 |volume=8 |issue=2 |id={{ProQuest|964083433}} }}

File:2014 United Palace dome from Broadway.jpg

The theater's opening date, February 22, 1930,{{cite news |date=February 23, 1930 |title=Loew's 175th St. Opens With Boy Scout Parade: 5,000 At First Performance in New Heights Theater |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=18 |id={{ProQuest|1113131324}} |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |title=New Loew Theatre Opens; 1,000 Boy Scouts Take Part in Flag-Raising at 175th Street. |website=The New York Times |date=February 23, 1930 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/02/23/archives/new-loew-theatre-opens-1000-boy-scouts-take-part-in-flagraising-at.html |access-date=November 7, 2024 }} coincided with the observance of Washington's Birthday. The opening was marked by a Boy Scouts parade through Washington Heights. Initially, the Loew's 175th Street screened films and live stage shows; the first program included the MGM film Their Own Desire and the musical revue Pearls. The theater's first month was less profitable than expected,{{cite magazine |date=April 5, 1930 |title=Vaudeville: Loew Goes For Vaude |magazine=The Billboard |page=8 |volume=42 |issue=14 |id={{ProQuest|1031945264}} }} and the Loew's 175th Street stopped presenting stage shows in April 1930.{{cite magazine |date=April 9, 1930 |title=Pictures: Loew's 175th Street Changing Policy |magazine=Variety |pages=42 |volume=98 |issue=13 |id={{ProQuest|1505712978}} |postscript=none}}; {{cite magazine |date=April 12, 1930 |title=Grand, 175th St. Scheduled To Drop Stage Attractions |magazine=The Billboard |page=10 |volume=42 |issue=15 |id={{ProQuest|1031934555}} }} When the George Washington Bridge opened in 1931, Loew's considered re-adding stage shows as a result of increased patronage from New Jersey residents.{{cite magazine |date=November 3, 1931 |title=Pictures: New Hudson Bridge May Bring Theatres |magazine=Variety |pages=4 |volume=104 |issue=8 |id={{ProQuest|1475800842}} }} These stage shows originally opened on Saturdays and ran for one week. In September 1932, the shows were rescheduled to open on Fridays instead.{{cite magazine |date=August 30, 1932 |title=Vaudeville: All Loew N. Y. Spots to Friday Openings |magazine=Variety |pages=33 |volume=107 |issue=12 |id={{ProQuest|1529365042}} }} Amid a decline in the number of newly released films, Loew's considered hosting vaudeville shows at the theater in 1936.{{cite magazine |id={{ProQuest|1032095656}} |title=Vaudeville: Loew Leaning More to Flesh |volume=48 |issue=25 |date=June 20, 1936 |page=14 |magazine=The Billboard }} Starting in 1939, Loew's reduced ticket prices for films at the 175th Street Theatre during weekends.{{cite magazine |id={{ProQuest|1505704522}} |title=Pictures: Loew's Readjusting Admissions To Encourage the Downtown B.O.; Nabes' Quick Clearance a Factor |volume=133 |issue=8 |date=February 1, 1939 |pages=4 |magazine=Variety }}

Loew's implemented a new schedule of film screenings in 1942, in which the theater displayed three double features every two weeks, rather than two double features every week.{{cite magazine |date=January 21, 1942 |title=Pictures: Loew's Stretching Film |magazine=Variety |pages=7 |volume=145 |issue=7 |id={{ProQuest|1285822989}} |postscript=none}}; {{cite news |date=January 17, 1942 |title=Of Local Origin |work=The New York Times |pages=13 |id={{ProQuest|106223295}} }} Following the U.S. Supreme Court's 1948 ruling in United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc., Loew's Theaters was forced to split up its film-production and film-exhibition divisions. As part of the split, Loew's Theatres was compelled to sell either the 175th Street Theatre or the nearby Rio Theatre;{{cite magazine |date=January 30, 1952 |title=Pictures: Loew's Wins Some Unique Points—And Loses a Few—In Final Decree |magazine=Variety |pages=3, 18 |volume=185 |issue=8 |id={{ProQuest|962823999}} }}{{Cite magazine |date=February 2, 1952 |title=Text of Loew's Inc. Consent Decree |magazine=Boxoffice |page=18B |volume=60 |issue=14 |id={{ProQuest|1529093223}} }} however, the sale was allowed to be deferred if another theater in the neighborhood screened first-run films. In 1953, a stereophonic sound system was installed behind the screen.{{Cite web |date=September 5, 1953 |title=8 Loew's Houses Have 3-D Sound |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-8-loews-houses-have-3-d-soun/158612402/ |access-date=November 7, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=269 |language=en-US }} The Loew's 175th Street Theatre and all of Loew's other theaters were taken over by Loew's Theatres Inc. the next year, while the production division was spun off into Loew's Inc. The theater screened many films in the years after World War II, including musicals, dramas, epics, and comedies.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2016|ps=.|p=13 }}

Meanwhile, by the 1960s, Loew's Theaters Inc. had begun to struggle financially, and the chain closed some of its larger theaters due to high expenses. Despite these difficulties, Loew's Theaters Inc. initially tried various tactics to keep the 175th Street Theatre open.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2016|ps=.|pp=12–13}} In 1960, Loew's installed an automatic box office machine called Vendaticket at the theater, which sold tickets to patrons.{{cite news |date=December 7, 1960 |title=Film Notes |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=23 |id={{ProQuest|1324134999}} }} The chain also hosted other events at the theater; for example, American football games were screened there in 1964.{{cite magazine |date=September 7, 1964 |title=N.Y. Theatres to Show Football on Closed TV |magazine=Boxoffice |pages=E1 |volume=85 |issue=20 |id={{ProQuest|1673755339}} |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |date=November 8, 1964 |title=Five Theaters to Show Giants, Cowboys on TV |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/11/08/archives/five-theaters-to-show-giants-cowboys-on-tv.html |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=The New York Times }} However, the theater struggled financially, particularly since it could no longer rely on getting new films from Loew's production studio. Under Loew's management, the 175th Street Theatre screened its last film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, in 1969. After the televangelist Frederick J. "Reverend Ike" Eikerenkoetter II and his wife watched that film, Reverend Ike was so enamored with the theater's design that he asked to buy it so he could move in the next day.

In April 1969, Reverend Ike paid $600,000 for the theater{{cite web |last=Dwyer |first=Jim |date=May 2, 2007 |title=With Indie Rock on 175th St., City's Reinvention Rolls Uptown |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/02/nyregion/02about.html |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=November 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231114023013/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/02/nyregion/02about.html |url-status=live }}{{efn-lr|About ${{Inflation|index=US-GDP|start_year=1969|value=0.6|fmt=c|r=1}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}} and renamed the building the United Palace.{{cite news |last1=Diamond |first1=Bruce |title=United Palace Cathedral May See New Life as Community Arts Center |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/united-palace-cathedral-new-life-community-arts-center-article-1.1076105 |newspaper=New York Daily News |date=May 11, 2012 |access-date=July 14, 2015 |archive-date=June 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626121857/http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/united-palace-cathedral-new-life-community-arts-center-article-1.1076105 |url-status=live }} Reverend Ike took a $300,000 mortgage loan{{efn-lr|About ${{Inflation|index=US-GDP|start_year=1969|value=0.3|fmt=c|r=1}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}} from the Loew's Theatre and Realty Corporation. and he paid Loew's the same amount.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2016|ps=.|page=18 }} He converted the United Palace into a building for his congregation,{{cite web |last=Riley |first=Clayton |date=March 9, 1975 |title=The Golden Gospel of Reverend Ike |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/03/09/archives/the-golden-gospel-of-reverend-ike-revike.html |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=The New York Times }} a non-denominational church called the United Church, Science of Living Institute.{{Cite news |date=July 3, 1976 |title=Evangelism in the Church |work=New York Amsterdam News |page=B2B |id={{proQuest|226623532}} }}{{cite magazine |date=December 20, 1982 |title=Rev. Ike Preaches About the Profits |magazine=Newsweek |pages=16 |volume=100 |issue=25 |id={{ProQuest|1866766184}} }} Over the next several years, Reverend Ike spent $2 million{{efn-lr|About ${{Inflation|index=US-GDP|start_year=1969|value=2|fmt=c|r=1}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}} redecorating the theater in the Louis XV style.{{Cite magazine |last=Poe |first=Randall |date=Sep 1975 |title=The Reverend Ike |magazine=Cosmopolitan |pages=66, 68, 72, 138 |volume=179 |issue=3 |id={{ProQuest|1826454060}} }} The congregation also began restoring the theater's pipe organ, which was dedicated as the Robert Morton Organ.{{cite web |last=Hughes |first=Allen |date=July 18, 1970 |title=Organ Group Ends Active Gathering |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/07/18/archives/organ-group-ends-active-gathering-concerts-fill-weeklong-meeting-of.html |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=January 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128101933/https://www.nytimes.com/1970/07/18/archives/organ-group-ends-active-gathering-concerts-fill-weeklong-meeting-of.html |url-status=live }} At the time, the United Palace was one of the few movie palaces in New York City that retained their original organs.{{cite web |date=April 25, 1986 |title='The Beast,' Old Theater Organ to Roar |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/25/arts/the-beast-old-theater-organ-to-roar.html |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=February 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224210218/https://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/25/arts/the-beast-old-theater-organ-to-roar.html |url-status=live }} The structure was also sometimes referred to as the Palace Cathedral{{cite news |last=McLellan |first=Dennis |date=July 31, 2009 |title=The Rev. Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II, 1935–2009; Flamboyant Preacher of Prosperity |work=Los Angeles Times |pages=A26 |id={{ProQuest|422277143}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |last=Carlson |first=Michael |date=August 10, 2009 |title=Rev Ike |work=The Independent |page=32 |id={{ProQuest|309992781}} }}{{cite web |date=August 3, 2009 |title=New Yorkers Recall Reverend Ike, Who Inspired Spiritual and Financial Betterment |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/03/nyregion/03revike.html |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=November 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126012627/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/03/nyregion/03revike.html |url-status=live }} and the Christ Community United Church.{{cite news |last=Friedwald |first=Will |date=June 27, 2011 |title=Arts & Entertainment: Uptown Theaters Followed a Spiritual Path |work=The Wall Street Journal |page=A24 |id={{ProQuest|873697937}} }}

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) considered designating the theater as a landmark in 1970. However, United Palace objected to the proposal, and the landmark status was not granted at that time.{{Harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2016|ps=. }}{{cite web |last=Benitez |first=Juan Manuel |date=April 7, 2017 |title=Effort to Landmark 'Palace' in the Heights Years in the Making |url=https://www.ny1.com/nyc/queens/news/2017/04/7/effort-to-protect-united-palace-years-in-the-making- |access-date=March 29, 2022 |website=Spectrum News NY1 New York City |archive-date=November 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231114023010/https://ny1.com/nyc/queens/news/2017/04/7/effort-to-protect-united-palace-years-in-the-making- |url-status=live }} The mortgage on the United Palace building had been paid off by 1973,{{Cite web |last=Pousner |first=Michael |date=May 4, 1973 |title=The Rev. Ike: 'Don't Wait till You Die for Your Pie' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-the-rev-ike-dont-wait-til/158663056/ |access-date=November 8, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=266 |language=en-US }} five years ahead of schedule. At the congregation's peak in the 1970s, the theater attracted up to 5,000 congregants per service, and the church had millions more followers around the world.{{cite web |last=Lehmann-Haupt |first=Christopher |date=July 30, 2009 |title=Reverend Ike, Who Preached Riches, Dies at 74 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/30/nyregion/30ike.html |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=November 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241109003613/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/30/nyregion/30ike.html |url-status=live }} The majority of congregants were black. Reverend Ike gave sermons from the theater's stage every weekend,{{cite web |last=Blau |first=Eleanor |date=July 26, 1972 |title=Harlem Preacher Stresses Power of Money and Prayer |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/07/26/archives/harlem-preacher-stresses-power-of-money-and-prayer-preacher.html |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=February 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200219025950/https://www.nytimes.com/1972/07/26/archives/harlem-preacher-stresses-power-of-money-and-prayer-preacher.html |url-status=live }} and he also hosted annual prayer meetings at the United Palace.{{Cite news |date=January 28, 1984 |title=Rev. Ike Sets Prayer Meetings |work=New York Amsterdam News |page=29A |id={{proQuest|226427305}} }} The theater hosted other church activities as well, including seminars, counseling, and yoga lessons. The congregation started to dwindle in the 1990s,{{cite web |last=Barron |first=James |date=June 22, 2013 |title=Working to Revive a Movie House That Lived in a Palace |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/21/working-to-again-light-up-the-big-screen-in-a-majestic-home/ |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=City Room |archive-date=November 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241109024053/https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/21/working-to-again-light-up-the-big-screen-in-a-majestic-home/ |url-status=live }} and Latin American music acts began performing at the theater in the 1990s. Even so, the church continued to spend several million dollars on the theater's upkeep over the years. The historian Warren G. Harris said that Reverend Ike "always took good care of" the theater, keeping the original decorations intact. The tower at the theater's northeast corner was the only part of the theater that Reverend Ike substantially modified.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2016|ps=.|page=14 }}{{cite book |last1=Murphy |first1=L.G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fxsmAgAAQBAJ |title=Encyclopedia of African American Religions |last2=Melton |first2=J.G. |last3=Ward |first3=G.L. |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-135-51338-2 |series=Religious Information Systems |pages=246–247 }}

By the 2000s, the United Palace was nicknamed the "Latin Radio City Music Hall" and hosted salsa concerts, bachata concerts, and some film screenings.{{cite web |last=Maurer |first=Daniel |date=December 4, 2005 |title=New York in Focus; Now Showing: God |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/04/nyregion/new-york-in-focus-now-showing-god.html |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=December 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217005116/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/04/nyregion/new-york-in-focus-now-showing-god.html |url-status=live }} It also hosted other events including fashion shows and graduation ceremonies. After Reverend Ike retired in 2007, his son Xavier Eikerenkoetter took over the congregation. The main auditorium was renovated to accommodate events around that time,{{cite web |date=May 3, 2007 |title=United Palace Rocks Wash Hts |url=https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2007/05/03/united-palace-rocks-wash-hts/ |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=The Real Deal }} and the Eikerenkoetter family began renting out the theater for events.{{cite web |last=Sanneh |first=Kelefa |date=April 2, 2007 |title=Bloc Party |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/02/arts/music/02bloc.html |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=November 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126043843/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/02/arts/music/02bloc.html |url-status=live }} The United Palace rapidly gained popularity as an indie music venue starting in March 2007, hosting ten sold-out indie music performances in six weeks. Despite the theater's popularity, visitors criticized the poor acoustics of the auditorium, which tended to cause echoes.{{cite web |last=Itzkoff |first=Dave |date=January 6, 2010 |title=Beacon Theater Is Booked, So Allman Brothers Band Will Move |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/06/arts/music/06allmans.html |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=December 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171214055007/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/06/arts/music/06allmans.html |url-status=live }}

File:2018 United Palace tour 13.balcony and wall.jpg

By the 2010s, the congregation met in a small storefront, while the main auditorium was used as a performance venue. At the time, Xavier estimated that about 100 congregants met there every Sunday. Xavier Eikerenkoetter founded the United Palace of Cultural Arts (UPCA) in 2012 to present events and shows at the theater.{{cite web |last=Feiden |first=Douglas |date=October 24, 2012 |title=Celebration Marks Rebirth of United Palace as Cultural Community Center |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2012/10/24/celebration-marks-rebirth-of-united-palace-as-cultural-community-center/ |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=New York Daily News |postscript=none |archive-date=November 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241109015339/https://www.nydailynews.com/2012/10/24/celebration-marks-rebirth-of-united-palace-as-cultural-community-center/ |url-status=live}}; {{cite web |date=October 31, 2012 |title=The launch of United Palace of Cultural Arts – Manhattan Times News |url=https://www.manhattantimesnews.com/the-launch-of-united-palace-of-cultural-arts/ |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=Manhattan Times News |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |last=Mazzocchi |first=Sherry |date=October 26, 2012 |title=United Palace of Cultural Arts is Open for Business |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20121026/washington-heights/united-palace-of-cultural-arts-is-open-for-business/ |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=DNAinfo New York |archive-date=November 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241109025009/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20121026/washington-heights/united-palace-of-cultural-arts-is-open-for-business/ |url-status=dead }} The next year, UPCA executive director Mike Fitelson launched a campaign to raise money for a {{Convert|50|ft|adj=on}} screen and digital projection system in the theater.{{cite web |last=Lacy |first=Stephanie |date=May 17, 2013 |title=United Palace Wants to Show Movies Again |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2013/05/17/united-palace-wants-to-show-movies-again/ |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=New York Daily News }}{{cite web |last=Chiwaya |first=Nigel |date=May 15, 2013 |title=Uptown Artists Mobilize to Return Film to United Palace |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130515/washington-heights/uptown-artists-mobilize-return-film-united-palace/ |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=DNAinfo New York |archive-date=November 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171118033410/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130515/washington-heights/uptown-artists-mobilize-return-film-united-palace/ |url-status=dead }} The fundraiser was organized in response to the 2011 closure of the Coliseum, the only multiplex theater in the area. Local resident and librettist Lin-Manuel Miranda, who first visited the theater that year while staging a special performance of his musical In the Heights, helped with the fundraising effort. The UPCA solicited donations through the crowdfunding website Indiegogo,{{cite web |date=July 10, 2013 |title=United Palace Will Bring Movies Back to Washington Heights on a Regular Basis |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2013/07/10/united-palace-will-bring-movies-back-to-washington-heights-on-a-regular-basis/ |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=New York Daily News }} and they had raised $50,000 toward the screen's installation by August 2013.{{cite web |last=Maurer |first=Mark |date=August 22, 2013 |title=Washington Heights Theater Gets Restoration Funds, Neighborhood Hopes to Attract Visitors |url=https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2013/08/22/ex-movie-palace-in-washington-heights-to-restore-screen/ |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=The Real Deal |archive-date=March 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328091053/https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2013/08/22/ex-movie-palace-in-washington-heights-to-restore-screen/ |url-status=live }} The theater had started screening films again by October 2013;{{cite news |last=Dollar |first=Steve |date=October 31, 2013 |title=Arts & Entertainment – Repertory Film: The Schlocky and the Divine |work=The Wall Street Journal |page=A22 |id={{ProQuest|1447084178}} }} to reward donors, the UPCA screened the film Casablanca at the theater that November.{{cite web |last=Chiwaya |first=Nigel |date=November 7, 2013 |title=United Palace Offers Free Film Admission to Dressed Up Moviegoers |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20131107/washington-heights/united-palace-offers-free-film-admission-dressed-up-moviegoers/ |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=DNAinfo New York |archive-date=November 11, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111182438/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20131107/washington-heights/united-palace-offers-free-film-admission-dressed-up-moviegoers |url-status=dead }}

In late 2015, the LPC hosted a public hearing on whether to designate the United Palace as a city landmark, as part of a review of 95 listings that had been calendared by the LPC for several decades but never approved.{{cite web |last=Matua |first=Angela |date=February 24, 2016 |title=Pepsi-Cola Sign in LIC May Become an Official Landmark by the End of 2016 |url=https://qns.com/story/2016/02/24/pepsi-cola-sign-in-lic-will-become-an-official-landmark/ |access-date=July 29, 2020 |website=QNS.com |postscript=none |archive-date=July 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701090139/http://qns.com/story/2016/02/24/pepsi-cola-sign-in-lic-will-become-an-official-landmark/ |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |last=Kimmelman |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Kimmelman |date=February 17, 2016 |title=Big Risks as Landmarks Preservation Commission Moves to Prune Proposed Gems |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/18/arts/big-risks-as-landmarks-preservation-commission-moves-to-prune-proposed-gems.html |access-date=July 29, 2020 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |archive-date=November 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105023333/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/18/arts/big-risks-as-landmarks-preservation-commission-moves-to-prune-proposed-gems.html |url-status=live }} The LPC agreed to consider the United Palace for landmark designation in February 2016.{{cite news |last=Barbanel |first=Josh |date=February 24, 2016 |title=Landmark Label For 65 Properties Rejected by City |work=The Wall Street Journal |page=A19 |id={{ProQuest|1767558247}} |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |last=Chaban |first=Matt A.V. |date=February 23, 2016 |title=Landmark Status Is Urged for 30 New York City Properties |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/24/nyregion/landmark-status-is-urged-for-30-new-york-city-properties.html |access-date=November 9, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108133126/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/24/nyregion/landmark-status-is-urged-for-30-new-york-city-properties.html |url-status=live }} The exterior was made a New York City designated landmark on December 13, 2016;{{Cite news |last=Chaban |first=Matt A. V. |date=December 14, 2016 |title=10 New York Sites Get Landmark Status as Panel Clears Backlog |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/13/nyregion/landmark-preservation-buildings-bergdorf-goodman.html |access-date=March 29, 2022 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108143541/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/13/nyregion/landmark-preservation-buildings-bergdorf-goodman.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Walker |first=Ameena |title=Mapping the NYC Buildings That Became Landmarks in 2016 |website=Curbed NY |date=December 30, 2016 |url=https://ny.curbed.com/maps/nyc-historic-preservations-landmarks-2016 |access-date=November 7, 2024 |archive-date=December 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211121204/https://ny.curbed.com/maps/nyc-historic-preservations-landmarks-2016 |url-status=live }} however, the interior was ineligible for landmark preservation because the LPC does not give such designations to houses of worship.{{cite web |last=Gray |first=Christopher |date=April 15, 1990 |title=Streetscapes: Jamaica's Valencia Theater; A Success Story Masks A Landmarks Law Quirk |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/15/realestate/streetscapes-jamaica-s-valencia-theater-success-story-masks-landmarks-law-quirk.html |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=July 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220707050708/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/15/realestate/streetscapes-jamaica-s-valencia-theater-success-story-masks-landmarks-law-quirk.html |url-status=live }} At the time, there were no office or retail tenants. The church opposed the landmark designation, citing the added cost and time to do any work on the building, use restrictions, and their fifty-year history of preserving the theater entirely with private funds.{{Cite news |date=March 9, 2017 |title=Subcommittee Delays Action on Three Landmark Designations – CityLand |language=en-US |work=CityLand |url=http://www.citylandnyc.org/subcommittee-delays-action-three-landmark-designations/ |access-date=November 3, 2017 |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107005249/http://www.citylandnyc.org/subcommittee-delays-action-three-landmark-designations/ |url-status=live }} The congregation attempted to have the designation overturned{{cite web |last=Walker |first=Ameena |date=January 28, 2017 |title=Owner of Landmarked Washington Heights Theater Wants the Designation Overturned |url=https://ny.curbed.com/2017/1/28/14425082/washington-heights-landmark-designation-overturn-nyc |access-date=March 29, 2022 |website=Curbed NY |postscript=none |archive-date=March 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220329142801/https://ny.curbed.com/2017/1/28/14425082/washington-heights-landmark-designation-overturn-nyc |url-status=live}}; {{cite web |last=Pichardo |first=Carolina |date=January 27, 2017 |title=United Palace Owners 'Seeking to Overturn' Landmark Designation |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170127/washington-heights/united-palace-landmark-designation-ydanis-rodriguez |access-date=March 29, 2022 |website=DNAinfo New York |archive-date=April 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428143305/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170127/washington-heights/united-palace-landmark-designation-ydanis-rodriguez/ |url-status=dead }} but later withdrew their objections.{{cite web |title=Iconic Theater Slated for Landmark Designation |website=Manhattan Times News |date=March 29, 2017 |url=https://www.manhattantimesnews.com/status-%E2%80%8Estoryestatus-historico/ |access-date=November 7, 2024 }} City councilman Ydanis Rodríguez also considered voting against the landmark designation after discussing it with the theater's owners,{{cite web |last=Barrett |first=Sarah Hayley |date=February 9, 2017 |title=He Fight to Preserve History at the United Palace |url=https://www.wnyc.org/story/fight-preserve-history-united-palace/ |access-date=November 9, 2024 |publisher=WNYC |archive-date=July 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240720193342/https://www.wnyc.org/story/fight-preserve-history-united-palace/ |url-status=live }} though he ultimately endorsed the designation, allowing the full New York City Council to approve it.{{cite web |last=Krisel |first=Brendan |date=March 31, 2017 |title=City Council Approves United Palace Landmarks Designation |url=https://patch.com/new-york/washington-heights-inwood/city-council-approves-united-palace-landmarks-designation |access-date=November 9, 2024 |website=Washington Heights-Inwood, NY Patch }}

Miranda donated $100,000 to the theater in 2016 for the addition of a projector.{{cite web |last=Krisel |first=Brendan |date=September 28, 2016 |title=Lin-Manuel Miranda to Donate $100K to Washington Heights Theater |url=https://patch.com/new-york/washington-heights-inwood/lin-manuel-miranda-donate-100k-washington-heights-theater |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=Washington Heights-Inwood, NY Patch |archive-date=November 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122172113/https://patch.com/new-york/washington-heights-inwood/lin-manuel-miranda-donate-100k-washington-heights-theater |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Pereira |first=Ivan |date=September 27, 2016 |title=Lin-Manuel Miranda Helps Upgrade Washington Heights Theater |url=https://www.amny.com/entertainment/lin-manuel-miranda-helps-upgrade-washington-heights-theater-1-12375888/ |access-date=November 9, 2024 |website=amNewYork |archive-date=November 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241108234533/https://www.amny.com/entertainment/lin-manuel-miranda-helps-upgrade-washington-heights-theater-1-12375888/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Catton |first=Pia |date=September 27, 2016 |title=Director Freezes out the Competition; Backstage Buzz: Michael Grandage Expected to Direct 'Frozen' on Broadway; Molly Ringwald to Star in 'Terms of Endearment' |work=The Wall Street Journal |id={{ProQuest|1823291884}} }} At the time, there were plans to raise another $300,000 for a new sound system.{{cite web |last=Pichardo |first=Carolina |date=October 17, 2016 |title=Fans Surprise Lin-Manuel Miranda With Goodbye Card as He Departs to London |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20161017/washington-heights/lin-manuel-miranda-united-palace-theater-goodbye/ |access-date=November 9, 2024 |website=DNAinfo New York |archive-date=May 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527122702/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20161017/washington-heights/lin-manuel-miranda-united-palace-theater-goodbye/ |url-status=dead }} Miranda launched an Indiegogo fundraiser to raise the necessary funds. The same year, the New York Theater Organ Society began restoring the United Palace's organ,{{cite web |date=June 23, 2013 |title=United Palace of Cultural Arts in New York, NY |url=https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/44 |access-date=November 9, 2024 |website=Cinema Treasures |archive-date=July 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240724195446/https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/44 |url-status=live }} which had sustained water damage over the years; the restoration of the organ was completed in 2019. The United Palace was temporarily shuttered in early 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City.{{cite web |last=Pareles |first=Jon |date=March 18, 2020 |title=Disconcerted: A Music Critic's Empty Nights |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/arts/music/coronavirus-concerts-home.html |access-date=November 9, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=May 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529173301/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/arts/music/coronavirus-concerts-home.html |url-status=live }} Workers subsequently renovated the theater's interior and added a new sound system. Audio Spectrum Inc. installed speakers behind the balcony, which previously had poor acoustics.{{cite web |last=Wissmuller |first=Christian |date=January 2, 2018 |title=United Palace Installs New L-Acoustics Sound System |url=https://mmrmagazine.com/clone/united-palace-installs-new-l-acoustics-sound-system/ |access-date=November 9, 2024 |website=MMR Magazine }} Following these renovations, the United Palace reopened in December 2021.{{cite web |last=Saltonstall |first=Gus |date=December 9, 2021 |title=Iconic Wash Heights Theater Reopens With Renovations, Film Series |url=https://patch.com/new-york/washington-heights-inwood/iconic-wash-heights-theater-reopens-renovations-film-series |access-date=November 9, 2024 |website=Washington Heights-Inwood, NY Patch |postscript=none |archive-date=February 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228040631/https://patch.com/new-york/washington-heights-inwood/iconic-wash-heights-theater-reopens-renovations-film-series |url-status=live}}; {{cite web |last=Moses |first=Dean |date=December 8, 2021 |title=Miranda Unveils Renovated United Palace Theater |url=https://www.amny.com/news/lin-manuel-miranda-unveils-revamped-united-palace-in-washington-heights/ |access-date=November 9, 2024 |website=amNewYork |archive-date=June 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240614050513/https://www.amny.com/news/lin-manuel-miranda-unveils-revamped-united-palace-in-washington-heights/ |url-status=live }}

The United Palace of Cultural Arts (UPCA) was founded in 2012 and has been designated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization since 2013.{{cite web |title=United Palace of Cultural Arts Inc |url=https://www.guidestar.org/profile/90-0884007 |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=GuideStar Profile }}{{cite web |last1=Suozzo |first1=Andrea |last2=Glassford |first2=Alec |last3=Ngu |first3=Ash |last4=Roberts |first4=Brandon |date=May 9, 2013 |title=United Palace Of Cultural Arts Inc |url=https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/900884007 |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=ProPublica }} {{As of|2022|alt=In fiscal year 2022}}, it recorded revenue of $92,800, expenses of $149,000, assets of $74,600, and liabilities of $38,300. The UPCA functions as a community arts center, producing performances for youth arts organizations through grants and fundraisers.{{Cite web |url=http://www.unitedpalacearts.org/ |title=United Palace of Cultural Arts Website |access-date=November 9, 2024 |archive-date=July 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240714010209/http://www.unitedpalacearts.org/ |url-status=live }} The UPCA gives music lessons to local children as part of its Harmony Program.{{cite web |last=Feiden |first=Douglas |date=October 9, 2012 |title=From Poverty to the Palace: United Palace Program Trains Uptown Kids to Be Classical Musicians |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2012/10/09/from-poverty-to-the-palace-united-palace-program-trains-uptown-kids-to-be-classical-musicians/ |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=New York Daily News |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |last=Mazzocchi |first=Sherry |date=October 11, 2012 |title=United Palace and Harmony Make Music for Uptown Kids |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20121011/washington-heights/united-palace-harmony-make-music-for-uptown-kids/ |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=DNAinfo New York |archive-date=August 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816014138/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20121011/washington-heights/united-palace-harmony-make-music-for-uptown-kids/ |url-status=dead }} In addition, the UPCA began hosting a monthly film series called Sundays at the Palace in 2014;{{cite web |last=Purcell |first=Carey |date=January 28, 2014 |title=Sundays at the Palace with Lin Manuel-Miranda" Will Include "West Side Story," "Manhattan" and "King Kong |url=https://playbill.com/article/sundays-at-the-palace-with-lin-manuel-miranda-will-include-west-side-story-manhattan-and-king-kong-com-214283 |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=Playbill |archive-date=October 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211022014143/https://www.playbill.com/article/sundays-at-the-palace-with-lin-manuel-miranda-will-include-west-side-story-manhattan-and-king-kong-com-214283 |url-status=live }} the idea for the series had come from Miranda, who wanted the theater to host the series annually.{{cite magazine |last=Fierberg |first=Ruthie |date=March 6, 2014 |title=On the Steps of the Palace |magazine=Back Stage |pages=8 |volume=55 |issue=10 |id={{ProQuest|1508800013}} }} Every year, the theater screens six films.{{cite web |last=Kenigsberg |first=Ben |title=New York's Movie Theaters, From Art-House to Dine-In |website=The New York Times |date=May 14, 2023 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/article/movie-theaters-nyc.html |access-date=November 9, 2024 |archive-date=September 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240913154934/https://www.nytimes.com/article/movie-theaters-nyc.html |url-status=live }}

The United Palace's operations also include the United Palace House of Inspiration (later United Palace of Spiritual Arts{{cite web |title=ABOUT – United Palace |website=United Palace |url=https://unitedpalace.org/about/ |access-date=December 27, 2024 }}), which is responsible for the church, and the United Palace Theatre, which oversees theatrical events.{{cite news |date=May 12, 2016 |title=Celebration to Honor Rev. Dr. Eula Dent Eikerenkoetter for 50 Years Stewardship to Rev Ike Ministries |work=New York Beacon |page=8 |id={{ProQuest|1789774750}} }} The church is a non-denominational spiritual arts community{{cite web |title=United Palace House of Inspiration |url=http://unitedpalace.org/uphi |website=United Palace House of Inspiration website |access-date=July 8, 2015 |archive-date=July 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711010423/http://www.unitedpalace.org/uphi |url-status=live }} and is also registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, having held this status since 1986.{{cite web |title=United Palace of Spiritual Arts |url=https://www.guidestar.org/profile/04-6148638 |access-date=November 9, 2024 |website=GuideStar Profile }}

When the Loew's 175th Street Theatre was in operation, Hollywood stars appeared at the theater to host films, including Joan Crawford, Judy Garland, Eleanor Powell, Roy Rogers, and Dale Evans.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2016|ps=.|page=1 }} In addition, Herman Bing performed there in 1937,{{cite magazine |id={{ProQuest|1032136543}} |title=Night Spots-Vaudeville: Loew Nabe Houses Play Herman Bing |volume=49 |issue=26 |date=June 26, 1937 |page=16 |magazine=The Billboard }} as did Ed Sullivan in 1946,{{Cite web |date=September 24, 1946 |title=One-Night Stands |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-citizen-one-night-stands/158613770/ |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=The Brooklyn Citizen |page=10 |language=en-US }} Al Jolson in 1949,{{cite magazine |last=Green |first=Abel |date=August 17, 1949 |title=Miscellany: Iron-Man Jolson Whams New York In 'Live-Trailer' Swing of Loew's Circuit |magazine=Variety |pages=2, 61 |volume=175 |issue=10 |id={{ProQuest|1285951471}} |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |date=August 8, 1949 |title=Al Jolson to Appear at Loew's |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/08/08/archives/al-jolson-to-appear-at-loews.html |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=The New York Times }} and Alan Freed and his Rock 'n Roll Stage Show in 1958.{{Cite news |date=March 29, 1958 |title=Alan Freed's Rock 'N' Roll At Loew's, Paradise Monday |work=New York Amsterdam News |page=16 |id={{proQuest|225543871}} }} After the theater was converted into a church, it hosted events such as recitals by the American Theatre Organ Society.{{cite web |date=July 9, 1970 |title=Midnight Organ Recital Planned at Music Hall |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/07/09/archives/midnight-organ-recital-planned-at-music-hall.html |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=The New York Times }}

Musical performers since the 2000s have included bands such as the Allman Brothers Band,{{Cite news |last=Atamian |first=Christopher |date=November 11, 2007 |title='Rite of Spring' as Rite of Passage |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/arts/11atam.html |access-date=November 8, 2024 |newspaper=The New York Times |archive-date=December 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231216161943/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/arts/11atam.html |url-status=live }} Arcade Fire,{{Cite news |last=Scheck |first=Frank |date=May 9, 2007 |title=Arcade Fire |work=The Hollywood Reporter |page=15 |volume=399 |id={{ProQuest|235393769}} }} Aventura,{{cite web |last=Pareles |first=Jon |date=February 5, 2016 |title=Review: Aventura Sighs Goodbye, As Women Squeal |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/06/arts/music/review-aventura-sighs-goodbye-as-women-squeal.html |access-date=November 9, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=November 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221121221137/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/06/arts/music/review-aventura-sighs-goodbye-as-women-squeal.html |url-status=live }} Fleet Foxes,{{cite web |last=Pareles |first=Jon |date=May 19, 2011 |title=Fleet Foxes at United Palace |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/20/arts/music/fleet-foxes-at-united-palace-review.html |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times }} Lady A,{{cite magazine |last=Schiller |first=Rebecca |date=March 6, 2020 |title=Take a Look Back at Lady Antebellum's 2017 Artists Den Show at NYC's United Palace |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/country/lady-antebellum-2017-artists-den-concert-nyc-united-palace-9329522/ |access-date=November 8, 2024 |magazine=Billboard }} Monsters of Folk,{{cite web |last=Pareles |first=Jon |date=November 8, 2009 |title=At United Palace, Existential but Jaunty Roots-Rockers |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/09/arts/music/09monsters.html |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times }} Return to Forever,{{Cite magazine |last=Abeling |first=Ryan |date=Sep 2008 |title=To Infinity and Beyond: Return To Forever Reunite |magazine=Pro Sound News |page=52 |volume=30 |issue=9 |id={{ProQuest|200238962}} }} The Stooges, and Vampire Weekend.{{cite web |last=Pareles |first=Jon |date=January 18, 2010 |title=World of Sources for Ivy League Rock at United Palace |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/19/arts/music/19vampire.html |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=January 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100122123435/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/19/arts/music/19vampire.html? |url-status=live }} Individual performers at the United Palace have included Anuel AA,{{cite news |last=Calavia-Robertson |first=Daysi |date=July 9, 2019 |title=Bringing in a New Beat: Latin Trap Pioneer Anuel AA Takes His Tour to the Coliseum as the Genre's Popularity Grows |work=Newsday |page=2 |id={{ProQuest|2253703710}} }} Bad Bunny,{{cite magazine |last=Rosario |first=Richy |date=March 3, 2018 |title=Bad Bunny Puts On Impressive Show in New York During Debut U.S. Tour |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/latin/bad-bunny-concert-recap-new-york-city-united-palace-8227970/ |access-date=November 9, 2024 |magazine=Billboard |archive-date=January 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102113245/https://www.billboard.com/music/latin/bad-bunny-concert-recap-new-york-city-united-palace-8227970/ |url-status=live }} Beck,{{cite web |last=Pareles |first=Jon |date=October 9, 2008 |title=Beck at United Palace Theater: A Somber Rocker Offers No Reprieve in Uncertain Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/10/arts/music/10beck.html |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=January 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180106025551/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/10/arts/music/10beck.html |url-status=live }} Björk,{{cite web |last=Atamian |first=Christopher |date=November 11, 2007 |title='Rite of Spring' as Rite of Passage |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/arts/11atam.html |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=December 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231216161943/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/arts/11atam.html |url-status=live }} Rubén Blades,{{cite web |last=Rohter |first=Larry |date=November 27, 2009 |title=Rubén Blades Returns to Salsa After a Brief Political Break |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/28/arts/music/28blades.html |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=November 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101213419/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/28/arts/music/28blades.html |url-status=live }} Tego Calderón,{{Cite magazine |last=Cobo |first=Leila |date=June 18, 2005 |title=Reggaetón Star Calderón Leaps To Atlantic |magazine=Billboard |pages=7–8 |volume=117 |issue=25 |id={{ProQuest|227235450}} }} Kenny Lattimore,{{cite web |last=Barker |first=Cyril Josh |date=October 15, 2015 |title=United Palace House of Inspiration Hosts 'Gathering' Fall Festival Fellowship |url=https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2015/10/15/united-palace-house-inspiration-hosts-gathering-fa/ |access-date=November 9, 2024 |website=New York Amsterdam News }} Annie Lennox,{{cite magazine |last=Scheck |first=Frank |date=November 6, 2007 |title=Annie Lennox |magazine=The Hollywood Reporter |page=42 |volume=402 |id={{ProQuest|235399660}} }} Modest Mouse, Van Morrison,{{Cite news |last=Williams |first=Ben |date=October 16, 2007 |title=Van Morrison, United Palace Theatre, New York |work=Financial Times |page=1 |id={{ProQuest|229089108}} }} Iggy Pop, Kelly Price, Steve Winwood,{{cite web |date=January 8, 2009 |title=Pop and Rock Listings |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/09/arts/music/09pop.html |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times }} and Neil Young.{{Cite news |date=December 14, 2007 |title=New York Fire Officials Delay Neil Young Concert |work=The Windsor Star |page=C3 |id={{ProQuest|254791624}} }} In 2007, Sir Simon Rattle appeared at the theater conducting the Berlin Philharmonic in Igor Stravinsky's ballet The Rite of Spring danced by public school students and choreographed by Royston Maldoom.{{cite web |last=Davidson |first=Justin |date=April 11, 2019 |title=Fall Preview 2007 – New York Magazine |url=https://nymag.com/guides/fallpreview/2007/classicaldance/36589/ |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=New York |archive-date=February 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240221090441/https://nymag.com/guides/fallpreview/2007/classicaldance/36589/ |url-status=live }} The following year, Marin Alsop conducted a performance of Leonard Bernstein's Mass at the theater to celebrate what would have been Bernstein's 90th birthday.{{cite web |last=Tommasini |first=Anthony |date=October 26, 2008 |title=Youthful Choirs Inject New Life Into a Work That Critics Despised in 1971 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/27/arts/music/27mass.html |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=November 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231114023011/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/27/arts/music/27mass.html |url-status=live }}

The theater has hosted other events, including a narration of the book Icarus at the Edge of Time in 2012{{cite web |last=Overbye |first=Dennis |date=May 24, 2012 |title=The World Science Festival Arrives in New York |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/25/arts/design/the-world-science-festival-arrives-in-new-york.html |access-date=November 9, 2024 |website=The New York Times }} and a single performance of Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical In the Heights in 2013.{{cite web |last=Hetrick |first=Adam |date=February 11, 2013 |title="When You're Home": Original Broadway Cast Reunites for In the Heights: In Concert Feb. 11 |url=https://playbill.com/article/when-youre-home-original-broadway-cast-reunites-for-in-the-heights-in-concert-feb-11-com-202360 |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=Playbill |postscript=none |archive-date=June 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210621031608/https://www.playbill.com/article/when-youre-home-original-broadway-cast-reunites-for-in-the-heights-in-concert-feb-11-com-202360 |url-status=live}}; {{cite web |last=Feeney |first=Michael J. |date=February 10, 2013 |title='In the Heights' returns home for one-night-only concert in Washington Heights |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2013/02/10/in-the-heights-returns-home-for-one-night-only-concert-in-washington-heights/ |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=New York Daily News }} To celebrate the centennial of Fox Studios' founding, the United Palace screened a series of Fox films in 2015, beginning with A Fool There Was and Bright Eyes.{{cite web |last=Armstrong |first=Lindsay |date=August 14, 2015 |title=Classic Fox Starlets to Light Up Screen at United Palace Theater This Fall |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20150814/washington-heights/classic-fox-starlets-light-up-screen-at-united-palace-theater-this-fall/ |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=DNAinfo New York |archive-date=April 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411193705/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20150814/washington-heights/classic-fox-starlets-light-up-screen-at-united-palace-theater-this-fall/ |url-status=dead }} On April 7, 2019, the United Palace of Spiritual Arts celebrated its 50th anniversary in the venue with a special screening of the sci-fi classic 2001: A Space Odyssey (the last movie shown at Loew's 175th before it closed as a commercial movie house in 1969).{{Cite web |title=Film Festival Event: Tour of the United Palace | |url=https://www.nypap.org/tour-united-palace/ |access-date=December 6, 2021 |language=en-US |archive-date=December 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206142851/https://www.nypap.org/tour-united-palace/ |url-status=live }} On December 13, 2022, it was announced that the United Palace would be the venue for the 76th Tony Awards,{{cite web |last1=Culwell-Block |first1=Logan |title=The Tony Awards Are Getting a New Home in 2023 |url=https://playbill.com/article/the-tony-awards-are-getting-a-new-home-in-2023 |access-date=December 13, 2022 |website=Playbill |postscript=none |archive-date=December 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213185048/https://playbill.com/article/the-tony-awards-are-getting-a-new-home-in-2023 |url-status=live}}; {{cite web |title=Tony Awards To Be Broadcast Live From Washington Heights, Miles From Times Square; Date Set |date=December 13, 2022 |url=https://deadline.com/2022/12/tony-awards-date-set-washington-heights-united-palace-1235197627/ |access-date=December 13, 2022 |archive-date=December 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213150716/https://deadline.com/2022/12/tony-awards-date-set-washington-heights-united-palace-1235197627/ |url-status=live }} which took place on June 11, 2023.{{cite web |last=Sherman |first=Rachel |title=Tony Award Winners 2023: The Full List |website=The New York Times |date=June 11, 2023 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/11/theater/tony-award-winners.html |access-date=November 7, 2024 |postscript=none |archive-date=June 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230613142554/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/11/theater/tony-award-winners.html |url-status=live}}; {{cite web |last=Houlis |first=Katie |title=Stars arrive for the 76th Annual Tony Awards at the United Palace theater |publisher=CBS News |date=June 11, 2023 |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/pictures/tony-awards-2023-red-carpet-photos/ |access-date=November 7, 2024 |postscript=none |archive-date=January 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119213826/https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/pictures/tony-awards-2023-red-carpet-photos/ |url-status=live}}; {{cite web |last=Vanasco |first=Jennifer |title=Tony Awards 2023: Here's the list of major winners with photos |publisher=NPR |date=June 11, 2023 |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/06/11/1180421487/tony-award-winners-2023 |access-date=November 7, 2024 |archive-date=December 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231205033338/https://www.npr.org/2023/06/11/1180421487/tony-award-winners-2023 |url-status=live }}

File:United Palace Balcony.jpg

There has been commentary on the theater's architectural style. When the Loew's 175th Street opened, the New York Herald Tribune described the theater as "combining the splendor of ancient Oriental beauty with the utmost in modern construction".{{cite news |date=February 23, 1930 |title=Another Loew's House Opens |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=G3 |id={{ProQuest|1113132267}} }} The architectural style of the theater has been described as "Byzantine-Romanesque-Indo-Hindu-Sino-Moorish-Persian-Eclectic-Rococo-Deco" by David W. Dunlap of The New York Times. Dunlap wrote later that Lamb borrowed from "the Alhambra in Spain, the Kailasa rock-cut shrine in India, and the Wat Phra Keo temple in Thailand, adding Buddhas, bodhisattvas, elephants, and honeycomb stonework in an Islamic pattern known as muqarnas." The AIA Guide to New York City called it "Cambodian neo-Classical" and likened it to Lamb's Loew's Pitkin Theatre in Brownsville, Brooklyn.{{cite aia5|page=568 }} Another New York Times article said that the interior "looks like what might happen if tatted lace exploded inside a Southeast Asian temple".{{cite web |last=Buckley |first=Cara |date=October 18, 2013 |title=A Literary Festival Means No Effrontery to Brooklyn |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/18/nyregion/a-literary-festival-means-no-effrontery-to-brooklyn.html |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times }}

Nathaniel Adams of The New York Times called it simply a "kitchen-sink masterpiece", while Vivien Raynor wrote for the same newspaper that the theater was a "preposterous mass" with elaborate terracotta ornamentation.{{cite web |last=Raynor |first=Vivien |date=August 27, 1984 |title=Art: Show in Jersey City Focuses on Terra Cotta |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/27/arts/art-show-in-jersey-city-focuses-on-terra-cotta.html |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=May 10, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240510152603/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/27/arts/art-show-in-jersey-city-focuses-on-terra-cotta.html |url-status=live }} Writing for Newsday in 1999, Diane Werts said the United Palace's "splendor" provided a contrast with "today's shoebox movie houses".{{Cite web |last=Werts |first=Diane |date=March 9, 1999 |title=On a Walk, WNET Gives Its Regards to Broadway |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-suffolk-edition-on-a-walk-wne/158664998/ |access-date=November 8, 2024 |work=Newsday |page=119 |language=en-US }} A writer for the Cinema Theatre Association's Bulletin said in 2001 that the auditorium "must originally have glowed like the inside of a jewel box", and Owen Moritz of the New York Daily News said in 2005 that the United Palace and the other Wonder Theatres "are generally regarded as among the finest movie houses ever built". According to Warren G. Harris, the United Palace was "the most authentic example of movie-palace grandeur in the Greater New York area".

The United Palace has been used as a filming location for several movies, including Café Society (2016){{cite news |last=Steinberg |first=Don |date=July 8, 2016 |title=Arena --- Arts & Entertainment: Designing 1930s Hollywood |work=The Wall Street Journal |page=D.5 |id={{ProQuest|1805655134}} }} and John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019).{{Cite web |url=https://www.atlasofwonders.com/2019/04/john-wick-3-filming-locations-continental-hotel.html |title=Where Was John Wick 3 Filmed? Guide to All the Filming Locations |website=Atlas of Wonders |access-date=April 6, 2023 |archive-date=May 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530003835/https://www.atlasofwonders.com/2019/04/john-wick-3-filming-locations-continental-hotel.html |url-status=live }} Several TV series have been filmed or set at the theater, such as The Politician, Quantico, Saturday Night Live, Smash,{{cite web |last=Rodman |first=Sarah |date=January 31, 2013 |title='Smash' Returns |url=http://c.o0bg.com/arts/2013/01/31/smash-rreturns/IZws3JytOOgG8ajlQvmZFL/story.html |access-date=November 9, 2024 |website=Boston Globe }} Luke Cage,{{cite magazine |last=Agard |first=Chancellor |date=October 3, 2016 |title='Luke Cage' Recap: A Blast From the Past Hits Luke Cage |url=https://ew.com/recap/marvels-luke-cage-season-1-episode-8/ |access-date=November 9, 2024 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |archive-date=April 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406180308/https://ew.com/recap/marvels-luke-cage-season-1-episode-8/ |url-status=live }} Pose,{{cite web |last=Beg |first=Mirza Aaqib |title=Where is Pose Filmed? |website=The Cinemaholic |date=May 1, 2021 |url=https://thecinemaholic.com/where-is-pose-filmed/ |access-date=November 9, 2024 }}{{cite web |last=Xu |first=Linda |title='Pose' Star Says Show Is 'Art Mirroring Reality': 'I Was Broke' |website=TheWrap |date=July 19, 2018 |url=https://www.thewrap.com/pose-star-recalls-very-emotional-scene-filmed-where-i-used-to-live-i-was-broke/ |access-date=November 9, 2024 |archive-date=November 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231114023011/https://www.thewrap.com/pose-star-recalls-very-emotional-scene-filmed-where-i-used-to-live-i-was-broke/ |url-status=live }} and Only Murders in the Building.{{cite web |last=Zuckerman |first=Esther |date=June 10, 2024 |title=How to Roast a Comedian and Other Trade Secrets From Hollywood's Top Production Designers |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/only-murders-in-the-building-hacks-production-designers-1235915006/ |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |archive-date=September 3, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240903162721/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/only-murders-in-the-building-hacks-production-designers-1235915006/ |url-status=live }} A 2020 performance of Jefferson Mays's A Christmas Carol Live was filmed at the United Palace,{{cite web |last=Gans |first=Andrew |date=November 17, 2020 |title=Watch Michael Arden, Jefferson Mays, And Dane Laffrey Offer a Glimpse of A Christmas Carol Stream |url=https://playbill.com/article/watch-michael-arden-jefferson-mays-and-dane-laffrey-offer-a-glimpse-of-a-christmas-carol-stream |access-date=November 9, 2024 |website=Playbill |postscript=none |archive-date=July 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240713122633/https://playbill.com/article/watch-michael-arden-jefferson-mays-and-dane-laffrey-offer-a-glimpse-of-a-christmas-carol-stream |url-status=live}}; {{cite web |last=Green |first=Jesse |date=November 30, 2020 |title=Review: A Ham's 'Christmas Carol,' Without the Honey Glaze |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/30/theater/a-christmas-carol-review.html |access-date=November 9, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=May 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230510190910/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/30/theater/a-christmas-carol-review.html |url-status=live }} and the venue was also depicted in Billy Joel's music video for his 2024 single "Turn the Lights Back On".{{Cite web |last=Hom |first=Alexander |title=Billy Joel's AI Music Video Is Frighteningly Good |url=https://thefordhamram.com/96182/culture/billy-joels-ai-music-video-is-frighteningly-good/ |access-date=June 1, 2024 |website=The Fordham Ram }}{{Cite magazine |last=Newman |first=Melinda |date=January 22, 2024 |title=Billy Joel to Release First Pop Single in Years |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/billy-joel-first-new-song-in-years-turn-the-lights-back-on-1235585987/ |access-date=June 1, 2024 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US |archive-date=April 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430003943/https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/billy-joel-first-new-song-in-years-turn-the-lights-back-on-1235585987/ |url-status=live }} The theater's history and architecture were detailed in the 1986 documentary American Picture Palaces,{{Cite web |date=June 4, 1986 |title=What's New |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/syracuse-herald-journal-whats-new/158725227/ |access-date=November 9, 2024 |website=Syracuse Herald-Journal |page=39 |language=en-US }} and it was featured in a 1991 exhibition of New York City's movie palaces at the City College of New York.{{cite web |last=Louie |first=Elaine |date=October 3, 1991 |title=Currents; Now That's Deco: 1930's Movie Houses |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/03/garden/currents-now-that-s-deco-1930-s-movie-houses.html |access-date=November 8, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=May 25, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525222928/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/03/garden/currents-now-that-s-deco-1930-s-movie-houses.html |url-status=live }}

• List of buildings and structures on Broadway in Manhattan
• List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan above 110th Street

Explanatory notes

{{Notelist}}

Inflation figures

{{Notelist-lr}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Cite New York 1930}}
• {{cite report |url=https://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/0656.pdf |title=United Palace (Formerly Loew's 175th Street Theatre) |date=December 13, 2016 |publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission |ref={{Harvid|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2016}} }}

{{Commons category|United Palace}}

• {{Official website|http://www.unitedpalace.org}}
• [https://www.unitedpalacespiritualarts.org/ Church website]

{{Washington Heights, Manhattan}}

{{Broadway (Manhattan)}}

{{TonyAwards venues}}

{{portal bar|Architecture|New York City}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1930 establishments in New York City

Category:1930s architecture in the United States

Category:Broadway (Manhattan)

Category:Churches in Manhattan

Category:Cinemas and movie theaters in Manhattan

Category:Loew's Theatres buildings and structures

Category:Movie palaces

Category:Music venues in Manhattan

Category:New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan

Category:Theatres completed in 1930

Category:Theatres in Manhattan

Category:Thomas W. Lamb buildings

Category:Washington Heights, Manhattan