The first stage performance was of Life & Love-Ballet of Hands & first film shown was The Frog Princess.
By the end of World War II, the original exterior designed by Kiesler had been stripped away.
The theater eventually became known for its quirky film festivals and for its nightly midnight movies, most famously, The Rocky Horror Picture Show with the world-famous 8th Street Playhouse Floorshow.
[2] After owner Steve Hirsch died in 1986, the theater was taken over by BS Moss, then United Artists, and finally by City Cinemas.
It currently houses the offices of urgent care physicians associated with Mount Sinai Hospital.