NEW YORK (AP ) – It opened in 1916 as a vaudeville theater called the Ideal and closed a few weeks ago as the Playpen, a seedy porno emporium on the ragged rim of Times Square. It now faces the wrecking ball despite a last-minute attempt to rescue it.

During its near century of life, the brick-fronted theater operated under at least eight different names, including Esquire, Squire (twice), Cinecitta, New Cameo, Cameo and Adonis, each reflecting a particular kind of screen fare – from Italian and Russian language films to Hollywood B-movies, Scandinavian skin flicks and gay movies.

In the 1940s, a partial ceiling collapse injured 19 people but according to The New York Times went unnoticed by patrons in the front rows, who thought the noise was just “weird sound effects” of “Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors.”

“It’s so sad to see adult spaces disappearing in this city as homogenization flattens all that is unique under the guise of ‘family friendliness,”” one person wrote. Said another, “Make way for another tourist-oriented wholesome enterprise. I’d take Billy’s Topless any day.”

With few theaters dating from the early 20th century still in existence, one of Gotham’s oldest “shouldn’t be sacrificed for the sake of progress,” said Michael Perlman, a self-appointed preservationist who wants to keep the building’s Beaux Art facade – with its curved central arch, pilasters, statues and other ornate features – by incorporating it into a new building, or moving it to another location.

This is a “culturally and architecturally significant structure, and we hope to preserve this gem for future generations,” he said.

Perlman played a key role in the recent rescue of Manhattan’s 74-year-old Moondance Diner. The neighborhood icon escaped demolition when a couple bought it off the Internet and moved it 1,200 miles to a new home in western Wyoming.

But there appears little or no chance of anything similar happening to the Playpen, which was doomed when partners headed by Tishman Realty Corp. acquired the property on 8th Avenue at 44th Street in July, reportedly for a new high-rise building. The group said Thursday it was “currently exploring development options.”