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Private company

Loew's Wonder Theatres

Five New York City movie palaces

The Loew's Wonder Theatres were movie palaces of the Loew's Theatres chain in and near New York City. These five lavishly designed theaters were built by Loew's to establish its preeminence in film exhibition in the metropolitan New York City area and to serve as the chain's flagship venues, each in its own area. All five theaters are still standing.2 It is part of Loews Cineplex Entertainment.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

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Loew's Theatre, New Jersey
Photo: Wally Gobetz, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons3

The Loew's Wonder Theatres were movie palaces of the Loew's Theatres chain in and near New York City. These five lavishly designed theaters were built by Loew's to establish its preeminence in film exhibition in the metropolitan New York City area and to serve as the chain's flagship venues, each in its own area. All five theaters are still standing. One operates as a community performing arts center; one is a commercial live entertainment venue; and three are currently used as churches, with one of those also used for entertainment.2

Corporate structure

Loew's Wonder Theatres is part of a group headed by Loews Corporation. 44 entities, 4 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

  • Loews Corporation New York, New York, United States
    • CNA Financial Chicago, Illinois, United States
      • CNA INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED Subsidiary · London, United Kingdom
      • CNA SERVICES (UK) LIMITED Subsidiary · London, United Kingdom
      • CONTINENTAL CASUALTY COMPANY Subsidiary · Chicago, Illinois, United States
        • CNA WARRANTY SERVICES, INC. Subsidiary · Phoenix, Arizona, United States
        • THE CONTINENTAL INSURANCE COMPANY Subsidiary · Chicago, Illinois, United States
      • HARDY (UNDERWRITING AGENCIES) LIMITED Subsidiary · London, United Kingdom
      • HARDY UNDERWRITING LIMITED Subsidiary · London, United Kingdom
    • Loews Cineplex Entertainment New York City
      • Loew's Wonder Theatres
    • Texas Gas Transmission Houston, Texas, United States
    • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio Subsidiary · Culver City
    • American Casualty Company of Reading, Pennsylvania Subsidiary · Pennsylvania, United States
    • Bantry Insurance Company Subsidiary · Illinois, United States
    • Boardwalk Midstream, LLC Subsidiary · Delaware, United States
    • Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP Subsidiary · Delaware, United States
    • BOARDWALK PIPELINES, LP Subsidiary · Houston, Texas, United States
    • Boardwalk Resources Company, LLC Subsidiary · Delaware, United States
    • CNA EUROPE HOLDINGS LIMITED Subsidiary · London, United Kingdom
    • CNA INSURANCE COMPANY (EUROPE) S.A. Subsidiary · Luxembourg, Luxembourg
      • CNA INSURANCE COMPANY (EUROPE) S.A. FRENCH BRANCH Branch · Luxembourg, Luxembourg
      • CNA INSURANCE COMPANY (EUROPE) S.A. UK BRANCH Branch · Luxembourg, Luxembourg
    • CNA Insurance Company Limited Subsidiary · United Kingdom
    • CNA National Warranty Corporation Subsidiary · Arizona, United States
    • Columbia Casualty Company Subsidiary · Illinois, United States
    • Continental Casualty Company Subsidiary · Illinois, United States
    • Continental Reinsurance Corporation International, Ltd Subsidiary · Bermuda
    • Gulf South Pipeline Company, LP Subsidiary · Delaware, United States
    • Hardy Underwriting Bermuda Limited Subsidiary · Bermuda
    • Hardy Underwriting Limited Subsidiary · United Kingdom
    • Inverin Insurance Company Subsidiary · Illinois, United States
    • Lismore Insurance Company Subsidiary · Illinois, United States
    • Loews Hotels Holding Corporation Subsidiary · Delaware, United States
    • National Fire Insurance Company of Hartford Subsidiary · Illinois, United States
    • North Rock Insurance Company Limited Subsidiary · Bermuda
    • and 10 more

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries listed in Exhibit 21 of annual reports filed with the SEC; subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0). Each entity in the chart links to its source.

How it started

Background

Paramount-Publix head Adolph Zukor acquired the successful Balaban and Katz theater chain in 1926. Partner Sam Katz would later run the Paramount-Publix theatre chain in New York City from the Paramount Building on Times Square.

Balaban and Katz had developed the Wonder Theater concept, first publicized around 1918 in Chicago. The Chicago Theatre was created as an opulent theater with many amenities for its patrons and was advertised as a "wonder theatre". When Publix acquired the Balaban and Katz chain they embarked on a project to expand the wonder theaters, and started to build in New York in 1926. While Balaban and Publix were dominant in Chicago, Loew's was the major player in New York, and did not want Publix theaters to overshadow their own. The two companies brokered a non-competition deal for New York and Chicago, and Loew's took over the New York area projects, developing the five Loew's Wonder Theaters. Publix continued Balaban and Katz's wonder theater development in its home area.

From Wikipedia’s article on Loew's Wonder Theatres, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

From Wikidata.1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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