Comments from GaryParks

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GaryParks
GaryParks commented about Los Gatos Vertical on Feb 19, 2014 at 2:31 pm

Terry—The neon, so far as I can tell, is blue and white. I know nothing of how the auditorium interior will look, decoratively, but the lobby has a streamlined, cove-lit ceiling, and the staircase up to the second level has a nice, streamlined curve to it, with a corresponding railing. And the terrazzo pavement design in the entrance is first-rate.

GaryParks
GaryParks commented about Grand Theatre on Feb 6, 2014 at 7:15 pm

Joe—Thanks so much for that glimpse into the Grand’s history.

GaryParks
GaryParks commented about Rio Theatre on Feb 6, 2014 at 9:07 am

I just heard from a friend who heard on Santa Cruz radio station KSCO that last night a driver crashed into the entrance of the Rio, taking out the ticket booth and plowing into the front doors. He then got out of the car and killed himself. More on this if I hear about it.

GaryParks
GaryParks commented about Centre Theatre on Jan 28, 2014 at 10:04 pm

I recently was shown a photo of the Centre when it was new, and originally it had a two-sided readerboard which hung out over the sidewalk. Above it was a neon vertical sign, in the shape of an arrow pointing downward and toward the building. This whole assembly was mounted on the ribbed concrete “fin” on the Left edge of the facade, visible in the above color photo I took in 1982.

GaryParks
GaryParks commented about Metro Theatre on Jan 28, 2014 at 9:24 pm

The facade of the Metro is essentially finished. It, and the marquee and vertical are repainted in two shades of taupe, and all the neon is back in place. Construction still continues inside. The 1920s ticket lobby ceiling in the entrance has either been preserved or carefully replicated. Through the new entry doors, one can see that the central one-third of the stenciled lobby ceiling has been faithfully replicated.

GaryParks
GaryParks commented about CineLux Los Gatos Theatre on Jan 8, 2014 at 12:43 pm

I would have to respectfully disagree with the above comment that “no significant preservation took place,” as preserving the vertical neon sign and incorporating elements from the old marquee onto the new are indeed significant. Also, the streamlined walls which house the poster cases have been exactly duplicated to match the configuration from the 1940s. But I will agree that what is on the site is essentially a brand new theatre, not a restored one.

GaryParks
GaryParks commented about Orpheum Theatre’s $30 million campaign aims for full, modern renovation on Dec 12, 2013 at 8:49 pm

Actually, Terry, if you look at the rendering, you can see that the existing marquee is off to the right, at the far end of the old office tower. It’s hard to see in the image because it’s seen from the back. The modern pavilion on the rendering is at the opposite end of the building from the old marquee and entrance.

GaryParks
GaryParks commented about *** Comments and Behavior On This Site *** on Dec 5, 2013 at 9:25 pm

Thank you, Ross. I have not run across such flamings in a very long time, but I applaud all efforts to keep this a place for civil information exchange. Thanks to Ken for keeping a vigilant eye, also.

GaryParks
GaryParks commented about CineLux Los Gatos Theatre on Oct 30, 2013 at 8:47 pm

I’m happy to say that the facade of the Los Gatos, as it’s shaping up, is on its way to actually being an improvement upon what was there before the current remodel began. The massing and proportions are well-balanced. The two porthole windows—which at first I thought might look hokey—are actually quite nice, and the new marquee structure, which actually will have a small porch on top, is neither overwhelming nor too small. Once the stucco and paint is applied, and the restored vertical sign and marquee “fins” mounted, the effect is, I believe, going to be excellent.

GaryParks
GaryParks commented about Movie theater seating says something about your personality on Oct 30, 2013 at 8:37 pm

In a modern stadium house, I sit in the center, and as far up as I can in order to have my head as close to level as possible for the duration of the film. This says more about my middle-aged neck than anything else. I hate to say it, but unless I sit in the balcony, viewing movies in a vintage theatre can cause a sore neck by having to look a little bit upward.

GaryParks
GaryParks commented about Bay Theatre on Oct 24, 2013 at 10:08 pm

Newly-discovered information: The Bay was actually built in the late 1930s. It was then called the Beach. Independently owned and operated, and designed and constructed on a VERY tight budget, it was acquired by Fox West Coast and remodeled (much improved) c. 1947.

GaryParks
GaryParks commented about Vacaville Theater to reopen as live venue on Oct 21, 2013 at 7:23 pm

What in heaven’s name do the two above posts have to do with the Vacaville Theatre or its restoration?

GaryParks
GaryParks commented about Cine Latino on Sep 24, 2013 at 9:12 pm

The project to convert this theatre to something else (a gym perhaps, according to a previous post?) seems to have stalled, but not before the complete obliteration of not only the marquee and vertical sign, but the entire facade, down to only the most essential structural steel members. The stage fly tower has likewise been stripped, and large holes have been cut in the sidewalls. Only the ornamental quoins which wrapped around the corners of the facade’s edge remain. It is hard to imagine that any semblance of marquee or sign will reappear on what seems to be a remodel designed to eliminate any decorative trace of the building’s theatrical past. I hope I am wrong.

GaryParks
GaryParks commented about Del Mar Theatre on Sep 20, 2013 at 1:04 pm

The sign on the rear of the stage fly tower of the Del Mar has just been beautifully and authentically repainted. While the painting was going on, I happened to be walking by, and I told the painter in charge about a mistake that had been made in the last repainting of it, in 1985. I emailed him a photo I had from 1982, showing how the sign looked then, and he corrected the error. Also, the Diving Lady and the redwood forest vignette flanking the lettering have never looked so good in all the years I’ve seen the sign (since 1972 or so).

GaryParks
GaryParks commented about Enean Theater on Sep 18, 2013 at 8:08 pm

Actually, the family name is Enea. This theatre and the one they built in Pittsburg were called Enean.

GaryParks
GaryParks commented about Return Film to the United Palace on Jun 16, 2013 at 1:37 pm

True, but the point is, people could see “movies” at this theatre once again. Digital or Film, no matter—it’s a wonderful prospect, to think that older folks who remember this theatre as a major New York movie house can enjoy onscreen entertainment within its walls again, and young people who have no concept of what a movie palace is will get to experience the awe. When I visited it in 2002, I was flabbergasted by the excellent state of preservation of this theatre—even though it has not been restored.

GaryParks
GaryParks commented about New Potrero on May 13, 2013 at 4:45 pm

Notice I wasn’t alert when drawing the letters on the marquee. I wrote PORTRERO. Yet, in the caption at the bottom of the drawing, I spelled it correctly.

GaryParks
GaryParks commented about Aptos Cinema operator weighing options in wake of Safeway remodel plans on Apr 19, 2013 at 8:42 pm

Were a new theatre to reopen in the historic Aptos Village area to fill the entertainment gap left by the demise of the Aptos Twin, there would be a distant historic precedent: Aptos Village once had a little movie house of its own, called the Aptos. It vanished long before my time, and I have never seen any photos of it. I happened on a brief mention of it in a book on Santa Cruz County history several years ago.

GaryParks
GaryParks commented about Front doors on Apr 16, 2013 at 6:49 pm

A great photo of the original box office can be found in the book “Movie Palaces” by Ave Pildas.

GaryParks
GaryParks commented about Pixley Theatre on Apr 7, 2013 at 8:49 am

Listed as having 474 seats in the 1949 Film Daily Year Book.

GaryParks
GaryParks commented about "2001: A Space Odyssey" 45th Anniversary – The Cinerama Engagements on Apr 4, 2013 at 9:44 pm

I didn’t see the film until its re-release in 1974 or ‘75, at the Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz. I was in 6th grade, and went with my friend Scot. We were both into Star Trek and science fiction, and we were blown away by the visual appeal of the movie. We both were growing up in homes where Classical/symphonic/orchestral music was valued, so we loved the music as well as the visual aspect. We didn’t understand the latter part of the movie, but we talked about it for weeks afterward, trying to figure out the meaning. Until the coming of Star Wars, it was the most visually rich depiction of outer space and space technology I’d seen.

GaryParks
GaryParks commented about Ethniko Kotopouli-Rex on Mar 25, 2013 at 8:26 pm

I remember our tour bus driving by this theatre when I was in Athens in 1982. It was playing a movie about some kind of monster shark—clearly inspired by “Jaws.” I was unable to photograph the theatre, since our bus was passing so closely to it.

GaryParks
GaryParks commented about Sunnyvale Theatre on Mar 25, 2013 at 8:02 pm

My thanks to fellow historian Jack Tillmany for finding the following today in Motion Picture News, now on Archive.com. It is dated June 17, 1927. “Pete Kyprious and associates have opened their new Strand Theatre at Sunnyvale. The old theatre was closed at once.” The old theatre referred to is the “old” Strand, formerly a nickelodeon called the Empire, which operated two doors to the South on the same side of the street. Kyprious also was part owner of the Casa Grande Theatre in Santa Clara, which had opened in 1925 at 966 Franklin Street. It was later called the Santa Clara.

GaryParks
GaryParks commented about Decoto Theater on Mar 24, 2013 at 9:17 pm

The Decoto is listed as having 296 seats, in the 1949 Film Daily Yearbook. It has not been demolished. I have just updated the Street View to show the building. The only change it has had since I photographed it in the early 1990s is a new coat of paint, and the augmentation of the original, plain marquee structure with the low gabled roof-awning shown, and the removal of the perpendicular readerboard frame which was above it.

GaryParks
GaryParks commented about It Theater on Mar 22, 2013 at 8:45 pm

A friend of mine recently went into the building to have a custom piece of molded glass made, for that is the business that operates out of the building today. He tells me that the proscenium opening is still there, and the pressed tin ceiling is still intact.