produced by Bleu Ocean. There were local objections to noise from the concerts. Gay pornography controversy On March 20, 1977, Roger Euster, the owner of the Elgin, evicted his tenants, Gould and Zlatkin, for non-payment of rent totaling $21,393. He immediately signed a lease with Tel-a-Gay, a producer and exhibitor of gay films, who launched an all-gay-pornography program on March 21. The change inspired immediate protests by local citizens groups and picketing in front of the theater. The theater shut its doors the following day. Later that week, Euster and Tel-a-Gay President William Perry met with the community groups. They agreed to return the theater to its previous programming format on a trial basis to see if the operation could be sustained on the income. Conversion to a dance theater By late 1978, the theater had stopped showing films and was for sale. It was purchased in early 1979 by the Eliot Feld Ballet with the intention of converting it to a theater for smaller dance companies. The building reopened in 1982 as the 472-seat Joyce Theater. Philanthropist LuEsther Mertz underwrote the purchase of the theater in 1979, at a cost of $225,000. The renovated facility was named for her daughter, Joyce, to honor this contribution. See also 1942 in architecture List of theaters in New York References Notes External links Joyce Theater site New York Architecture Illustrations of original design of theater 1942 establishments in New York City 1978 disestablishments in New York (state) Chelsea, Manhattan Cinemas and movie theaters in Manhattan Eighth Avenue (Manhattan) Moderne architecture in New York City