First opened as William Fox’s Riverside on Saturday night, December 9th, 1911, according to reports in Variety and Billboard. Presentations were primarily vaudeville, but with short films such as newsreels and comedies between the acts.
The Riverside also had an open-air roof theatre which would debut in the spring of 1912.
Curiously, the listing’s “Overview” neglects to mention the legendary Aragon Ballroom, which is still operating and often attracted more patronage than the nearby Uptown Theatre. John Eberson was involved in the architecture of the atmospheric space, which has “doubled” for a movie palace in movies and TV shows.
Details and photos of the Aragon can be found here
Some of the long-eared dancers relax in auditorium seats during rehearsals for the 1966 Easter holiday revue, which opened on March 17th (St. Patrick’s Day), with “The Singing Nun” as the screen attraction.
The week prior to the Kings and Pitkin, “Easter Parade” and co-feature had played the Loew’s sites in the slot occupied in this ad by “On Our Merry Way” & “Christmas Eve.”
The Technicolor musical had a lengthy world premiere engagement at Loew’s State in Times Square during the summer, followed by an extended run at Loew’s Metropolitan in downtown Brooklyn before being dispatched to the Loew’s nabes. It wasn’t until the era of color TV that showings of “Easter Parade” became linked to the actual celebration of the holiday.
R. Thomas Short was sort of “house” architect for the circuit eventually known as Century, which turned the meeting hall into a cinema and was the first to run it.
I suspect that Short was responsible for the renovations, and not “architect” from the ground up.
Kings listed in upper Loew’s portion with “Gorgo” as main feature. Being booked day-and-date with so many other Brooklyn cinemas under Loew’s or other management was a main cause of the Kings' demise.
A rare first-run feature for the State, but a bizarre choice for an Easter holiday presentation.
A dual engagement of “Show Boat” with the downtown Loew’s State started the following day. Ad displayed here
Thanks to a “Showcase” booking of the awe-inspiring comedy, the Kings had to compete with only three other Brooklyn theatres, including two siblings.
Marcus Loew and John E. Andrus seated at desk in center.
Madison listed in section with “Strawberry Blonde” as top feature.
Kings listed in section with “Let’s Dance” as top feature. A photo of the Kings marquee and entrance during this booking can be viewed here
First opened as William Fox’s Riverside on Saturday night, December 9th, 1911, according to reports in Variety and Billboard. Presentations were primarily vaudeville, but with short films such as newsreels and comedies between the acts. The Riverside also had an open-air roof theatre which would debut in the spring of 1912.
Easter Sunday arrived on April 13th that year. Management was still a long way from pandering to the “family trade” for its holiday film bookings.
Uptown Theatre at bottom left of image, with Riviera to the right. Aragon Ballroom at top left, just above Lawrence elevated subway station.
Curiously, the listing’s “Overview” neglects to mention the legendary Aragon Ballroom, which is still operating and often attracted more patronage than the nearby Uptown Theatre. John Eberson was involved in the architecture of the atmospheric space, which has “doubled” for a movie palace in movies and TV shows. Details and photos of the Aragon can be found here
Some of the long-eared dancers relax in auditorium seats during rehearsals for the 1966 Easter holiday revue, which opened on March 17th (St. Patrick’s Day), with “The Singing Nun” as the screen attraction.
The week prior to the Kings and Pitkin, “Easter Parade” and co-feature had played the Loew’s sites in the slot occupied in this ad by “On Our Merry Way” & “Christmas Eve.”
The Technicolor musical had a lengthy world premiere engagement at Loew’s State in Times Square during the summer, followed by an extended run at Loew’s Metropolitan in downtown Brooklyn before being dispatched to the Loew’s nabes. It wasn’t until the era of color TV that showings of “Easter Parade” became linked to the actual celebration of the holiday.
As luck would have it, the Disney feature turned up very early this morning on the Turner Classic Movies channel.
R. Thomas Short was sort of “house” architect for the circuit eventually known as Century, which turned the meeting hall into a cinema and was the first to run it. I suspect that Short was responsible for the renovations, and not “architect” from the ground up.
Historical report in Queens news weekly can be viewed here
Kings listed in upper Loew’s portion with “Gorgo” as main feature. Being booked day-and-date with so many other Brooklyn cinemas under Loew’s or other management was a main cause of the Kings' demise.
Peak attendance was still ahead, since Easter Sunday arrived late that year on April 14th.
This was an advance ad, published on April 1st, the Easter Sunday of that year.
Opening day ad displayed here
To bolster the small midweek ad, MGM also placed this announcement on the same page
Exterior photo of the event displayed here
The Jersey City and Newark sites had a different co-feature with “Killer McCoy.”
No mention of supporting fare, but perhaps one of the superstar’s own feature movies.
This was the Roxy’s Easter holiday presentation for that year.