That’s a weird intersection there – it’s not really on Lake Shore, the theatre is actually on the south-east corner of E. 152nd and Macauley Ave., probably with a mailing address of E.152nd St. As I recall, when the theatre was open, back in the last century, the location was advertised as Lake Shore Blvd. & E.152nd. Perhaps the guy who posted the theatre originally used the nearest address since there is no longer a phone book listing, and probably no address on the building itself. St. Jerome’s is further west, at the corner of E.150th.
According to a satellite photo on Microsoft Virtual Earth, the old Commodore theatre building is still there, but there is no indication of what is inside, if anything.
According to the post above of 11/22/04 by TomB, the Encore was built over the lobby. The last time I saw the Denis in person was in the mid-70s, and at that time from the street the building looked to be 2-stories tall. The wall above the marquee was that decorative grill-looking type of concrete block, and the theatre name was on there in big neon letters. The marquee only had the titles on it, no theatre name. In these recent photos that wall above the marquee is no longer there, the name is on the marquee, and the facade appears to be only 1-story. Has the Encore, previously stated as above the lobby, been removed?
Why would the Loew’s Astor, a prime house in the heart of Times Square, be closed for 4 consecutive weeks in 1976 and another 3 in 1977? Equipment replacement is usually done in overnight hours. Even seat replacement, which we know wasn’t done, only takes 4, maybe 5 days on a house that size. And remodeling didn’t happen til the late ‘90s.
…or the projects… considering how many blocks and blocks were leveled for all the projects in all boroughs, I’m sure some theatres went down, not necessarily huge places like the Strand or Capitol, but regular neighborhood theatres.
Robert Moses was a vindictive bastard, answering to no one and out of control: if people made enough of a fuss about an expressway coming through their neighborhood he might be persuaded to relocate it. Later on, though, he blessed that neighborhood with a large project.
Was that that Ken Burns-PBS series? If so, there is a portion of it devoted to Robert Moses, and how he bulldozed his warped vision of the future through neighborhoods in all 5 boroughs, with little regard to what the occupants of those neighborhoods wanted or needed. And nobody would stand up to him. He is responsible for the wanton destruction of many previously cohesive neighborhoods of the Bronx, Brooklyn and upper Manhattan.
It appears from the photos that the interior has been completely gutted. That being the case they should have just flattened the whole thing – what’s the point of having the restored 1932 facade fronting a new interior? The 1932 interior was the best part of the building, the facade was just gravy. I thought the City of Boston brought in Emerson with the idea that they would restore most of it. If the city wasn’t concerned with restoration of the interior any Joe Schmoe could have come along years ago and made a 99 cent store out of it.
“…the age of the marquee is almost over due to the internet.” What does that mean? The internet is fine for people who sit down with their planner and plot their life down to the last minute, but the marquee will always have value for enticing spontaneous movie-going. Even those who plan will be reminded that the theatre is playing a particular movie they want to see and work it into their agenda. The marquee or pylon, whether electronic or with conventional letters will always be the best form of free advertising that a theatre has, and a manager who doesn’t use it, or worse, leaves outdated information on it for months on end really doesn’t belong in the theatre other than perhaps cleaning it during the overnight hours.
Perhaps you would be more cordially received if you first offer a contribution of $10 or so to the church in return for your being allowed to admire their facility. Churches usually operate on a shoe string budget, and, unless they are conducting human sacrifices I would think they would welcome a few more dollars in the collection plate in exchange for a peek at their place.
I remember seeing Planet of the Apes there (summer of ‘70? or '71?). You had to pay extra to sit in the smoking section. At the GCCs I worked at in Ohio and Michigan there was no extra charge to be in the smoking section.
I’ve noticed that, too. With the older people, they think they are whispering to their friend about what happens in the next part of the movie, but because the friend is hard of hearing the whisper ends up being normal conversation level for the rest of us.
BTW, the original version was the best, simple, to the point, and that’s the one that sticks in the mind of so many people all these years later – new and improved seldom is either, IMHO.
The C’s were oval when used with a scope lens – there were not scope versions, only flat, so if you were running a scope picture and trailers and attached the feature presentation the scope lens stretched it out so the C’s looked oval. Few, if any of the GCC’s in those days had turrets to change the lens and plate, which would have eliminated that effect. As far as the little song, as I recall the first time overhauled the feature pres. & coming attr. snipes in the early 80s, the new one had a blue background, and the harpsichord part was replaced by a piccolo, and the snare drum part was replaced with a sort of clicking sopund, I can’t place what instrument it might have been. The cymbals version you refer to may be the one with the candy band.
I agree that the Commodore was never Loew’s flagship house. That booklet was a marketing tool to promote membership in the club, and we all know that when marketing a product there is a tendency to over-embellish the facts of that product. Or, it could have been an innocent error, associating the former name of the place, Commodore, with the word “flagship”.
webmaster: please omit amc-Loews and change the heading to Regal.
I wonder why they gave this away to Regal – with 20 screens it fits their business model closer than those 2 old GCC houses on the west side. And, they keep the MJ in Randall Mall – doesn’t make any sense.
The lease had expired and the landlord had no intention of negotiating a new one with Pathe, he had made a deal with Loews. I was the manager at the time and I handed the keys over to the Loews people. Pathe had intended to open up at a different location and use the Paris name there, and they removed their signs from the 58th St. theatre which we donated to the Museum of the Moving Image over in Astoria. Sheldon Solow and Loews (landlord and partner) re-named the theatre Fine Arts. Pathe’s local representative was scouting out locations. Shortly thereafter, Pathe in France, fell on hard times and the French equivalent of bankruptcy and reorganization. Their plans for a replacement outlet in New York were scrapped and their local representative let go. It was after this that the Paris signs went back up at the theatre at 4 W. 58th St. Still later, the Loews/Solow partnership broke up, and Solow went solo with the Paris.
no prob – the site is acting up today – running very sluggishly…
Apparently St. Jerry’s is using the Commodore as a parish hall or something. I’ll have to go over there and snoop around.
That’s a weird intersection there – it’s not really on Lake Shore, the theatre is actually on the south-east corner of E. 152nd and Macauley Ave., probably with a mailing address of E.152nd St. As I recall, when the theatre was open, back in the last century, the location was advertised as Lake Shore Blvd. & E.152nd. Perhaps the guy who posted the theatre originally used the nearest address since there is no longer a phone book listing, and probably no address on the building itself. St. Jerome’s is further west, at the corner of E.150th.
According to a satellite photo on Microsoft Virtual Earth, the old Commodore theatre building is still there, but there is no indication of what is inside, if anything.
According to the post above of 11/22/04 by TomB, the Encore was built over the lobby. The last time I saw the Denis in person was in the mid-70s, and at that time from the street the building looked to be 2-stories tall. The wall above the marquee was that decorative grill-looking type of concrete block, and the theatre name was on there in big neon letters. The marquee only had the titles on it, no theatre name. In these recent photos that wall above the marquee is no longer there, the name is on the marquee, and the facade appears to be only 1-story. Has the Encore, previously stated as above the lobby, been removed?
Photos of the current state of the Denis Theatre are here
I thought we were discussing the theatres, not the films that played in them. Let Roger Ebert and Al Goldstein deal with that.
Here is an ad for Fox Cedar
Why would the Loew’s Astor, a prime house in the heart of Times Square, be closed for 4 consecutive weeks in 1976 and another 3 in 1977? Equipment replacement is usually done in overnight hours. Even seat replacement, which we know wasn’t done, only takes 4, maybe 5 days on a house that size. And remodeling didn’t happen til the late ‘90s.
…or the projects… considering how many blocks and blocks were leveled for all the projects in all boroughs, I’m sure some theatres went down, not necessarily huge places like the Strand or Capitol, but regular neighborhood theatres.
Robert Moses was a vindictive bastard, answering to no one and out of control: if people made enough of a fuss about an expressway coming through their neighborhood he might be persuaded to relocate it. Later on, though, he blessed that neighborhood with a large project.
Was that that Ken Burns-PBS series? If so, there is a portion of it devoted to Robert Moses, and how he bulldozed his warped vision of the future through neighborhoods in all 5 boroughs, with little regard to what the occupants of those neighborhoods wanted or needed. And nobody would stand up to him. He is responsible for the wanton destruction of many previously cohesive neighborhoods of the Bronx, Brooklyn and upper Manhattan.
It appears from the photos that the interior has been completely gutted. That being the case they should have just flattened the whole thing – what’s the point of having the restored 1932 facade fronting a new interior? The 1932 interior was the best part of the building, the facade was just gravy. I thought the City of Boston brought in Emerson with the idea that they would restore most of it. If the city wasn’t concerned with restoration of the interior any Joe Schmoe could have come along years ago and made a 99 cent store out of it.
“…the age of the marquee is almost over due to the internet.” What does that mean? The internet is fine for people who sit down with their planner and plot their life down to the last minute, but the marquee will always have value for enticing spontaneous movie-going. Even those who plan will be reminded that the theatre is playing a particular movie they want to see and work it into their agenda. The marquee or pylon, whether electronic or with conventional letters will always be the best form of free advertising that a theatre has, and a manager who doesn’t use it, or worse, leaves outdated information on it for months on end really doesn’t belong in the theatre other than perhaps cleaning it during the overnight hours.
Perhaps you would be more cordially received if you first offer a contribution of $10 or so to the church in return for your being allowed to admire their facility. Churches usually operate on a shoe string budget, and, unless they are conducting human sacrifices I would think they would welcome a few more dollars in the collection plate in exchange for a peek at their place.
I remember seeing Planet of the Apes there (summer of ‘70? or '71?). You had to pay extra to sit in the smoking section. At the GCCs I worked at in Ohio and Michigan there was no extra charge to be in the smoking section.
I’ve noticed that, too. With the older people, they think they are whispering to their friend about what happens in the next part of the movie, but because the friend is hard of hearing the whisper ends up being normal conversation level for the rest of us.
BTW, the original version was the best, simple, to the point, and that’s the one that sticks in the mind of so many people all these years later – new and improved seldom is either, IMHO.
The C’s were oval when used with a scope lens – there were not scope versions, only flat, so if you were running a scope picture and trailers and attached the feature presentation the scope lens stretched it out so the C’s looked oval. Few, if any of the GCC’s in those days had turrets to change the lens and plate, which would have eliminated that effect. As far as the little song, as I recall the first time overhauled the feature pres. & coming attr. snipes in the early 80s, the new one had a blue background, and the harpsichord part was replaced by a piccolo, and the snare drum part was replaced with a sort of clicking sopund, I can’t place what instrument it might have been. The cymbals version you refer to may be the one with the candy band.
I was always told ‘theatre’ referred to a facility that showed movies, and ‘theater’ was a facility for live stage performances.
The signage on the building and the pylons have been changed to Regal Cinemas Stadium 20.
Regal has closed the 10 screen theatre at Eastgate, apparently replacing it with this theatre. But the mystery remains: why did amc/Loews unload it?
I agree that the Commodore was never Loew’s flagship house. That booklet was a marketing tool to promote membership in the club, and we all know that when marketing a product there is a tendency to over-embellish the facts of that product. Or, it could have been an innocent error, associating the former name of the place, Commodore, with the word “flagship”.
Among those items are floor plans of the main floor, the added mezzanine containing the dance floor, and the upper part of the sheared-off balcony.
I scanned pages of a booklet issued by The Saint, and some photographs – you can see them in my album at Photobucket
webmaster: please omit amc-Loews and change the heading to Regal.
I wonder why they gave this away to Regal – with 20 screens it fits their business model closer than those 2 old GCC houses on the west side. And, they keep the MJ in Randall Mall – doesn’t make any sense.
The lease had expired and the landlord had no intention of negotiating a new one with Pathe, he had made a deal with Loews. I was the manager at the time and I handed the keys over to the Loews people. Pathe had intended to open up at a different location and use the Paris name there, and they removed their signs from the 58th St. theatre which we donated to the Museum of the Moving Image over in Astoria. Sheldon Solow and Loews (landlord and partner) re-named the theatre Fine Arts. Pathe’s local representative was scouting out locations. Shortly thereafter, Pathe in France, fell on hard times and the French equivalent of bankruptcy and reorganization. Their plans for a replacement outlet in New York were scrapped and their local representative let go. It was after this that the Paris signs went back up at the theatre at 4 W. 58th St. Still later, the Loews/Solow partnership broke up, and Solow went solo with the Paris.