Good-bye, MoMA Gramercy

My second home is no more. Yesterday MoMA's Gramercy Theater on 23rd Street bid adieu with a retrospective of Sofia Coppola's films. The ridiculous idea of cannonizing Ms. Coppola after two-and-a-half films fits my sadness, which is for the loss of something that was a temporary home while the museum fleshes out its expanded 53rd Street space.

The Gramercy was close to both apartments I've had while living in New York. The screen was the perfect size, and every seat on the floor was fantastic. The experience at the Gramercy was second only to the Walter Reade for optimal viewing. And plus, there were those weird bleachers where you could make out if the movie were right.

Because of my corporate slavery, I could get in free with a certain company's ID. The Gramercy made a real classic movie buff out of me as I watched the entire series on Nicholas Ray and Vincente Minnelli. And when the lights came on, you could quickly turn around and see an army of old cotton-topped retirees coming out of their slumber, some slunk back with their mouths open.

The 53rd Street theater will re-open November 20, 2004. Here's an Observer article about the squabbling in MoMA's film department.