This under-the-radar NYC movie theater was named one of the three most beautiful in the world

With movie theaters finally set to reopen in New York on Friday, one lesser-known gem has received a high honor: It’s been named one of the top three most gorgeous movie houses in Time Out’s new global roundup of the 50 most beautiful cinemas in the world.

Appropriately announced in the thick of awards season, the global feature covers everything from glitzy multiplexes to beloved indie operations. The entire list is worth a read—not only to see how many you’ve visited, but also for the thrill or remembering what it was like to go out to the movies at all (as fond as we’ve grown of our couch over the last year.)

RECOMMENDED: The 50 most beautiful cinemas in the world

While a handful of other NYC cinemas made the list including the elegant Metrograph, the mammoth Paris Theater and the strikingly modern Museum of the Moving Image, the standout hometown entry on the list is Village East Cinema, which managed to snag a spot in the top three entries. 

The unassuming East Village movie house, which was originally constructed in the 1920s, has fairly run-of-the-mill screening rooms in four of their five theaters. Theater #1, however, is a remnant of when the theater was a star of what was once NYC’s Yiddish Theatre District. The Moorish Revival space seats over 400 people in a truly ornate setting, certain to elevate any movie-going experience. (Though, again, pretty much everything would seem elevated compared to our couch right now.)

Like many other movie theaters in the city, the Village East is set to reopen on Friday with a lowered capacity and updated security guidelines.

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