Well, I’ll be interested in hearing thoughts/reviews from others interested in the Bijou. The new vertical sign is an approximation of one of the Bijou’s previous signs. The new marquee is, (sigh) also, very much an “approximation” of one of the old theater’s previous signs. It is nice to have real theatrical signage on the front of the building. Really it is. And signs are expensive. Good looking signs are VERY expensive. It’s a step in the right direction. Keep in mind that Knoxville is extremely fortunate to have retained two grand theatres. Both the Bijou and the Tennessee are looking better than they have in decades.
Ha! The ghostly, white, mystery organ played by a spectral Jesse Crawford? Could it be cradled in a clandestinly created climate controlled crypt? Or does it reside only in the memories of organ interludes past? Where or when should we find the cadaverous claviers again? The sepulcural stops? The phantom pipes? The reaper’s ranks? Quote the Raven: “How the hell should I know?”
The Tennessee’s console was always red with gold trim.
Here’s a photo of another moorish Wurlitzer console, this one quite similar to the Tennessee’s, though this one appears to be monochrome gold, rather than the If the link doesn’t work, search for Bob Castle on YouTube.com.
At the risk of releasing another avalanche of posts, please see the virtual tour of the auditorium here and the June 2008 photo LM posted at 10:47 this morning.
The console is red. RED. R E D! It has gold trim. The keys are white and black and the stop tabs in black, ivory, red and mottled yellow. The toe studs are nickle plated and the black swell shoes outlined in chrome. The music rack lamp is gold-toned. The natural pedal keys are clear-finished maple with ebony sharps. The undersides of all the pedal keys are lightly coated with dust and cobwebs which at first glance appear to be white, but upon closer examination are actually light gray. Dr. Snyder’s hair is a charming shade of white and he usually wears a black dinner jacket or occassionally black tails, there being, thank the gods, no sequins in his wardrobe.
Ooops, sorry, that should read, “…polluted beyond belief, so every duct, gap, crack, crevise and cranny has to be cleaned and repaired. Anyone who has ever been in the basement of a movie palace knows that could be an incerdibly daunting job.”
Sorry, the boss walked in and distracted me while I was writing.
If memory serves, the Saenger’s stage is only one or two steps down from the sidewalk. Water in that particular area was not nearly as deep as elsewhere in the city. The Saenger was already closed for a renovation and the seats and other equipment had been removed. The organ console was raised to the top of the lift. The water rose to just below the bottom manual keyboard. Aesthetic damage to the theatre was minimal, but the mechanical systems were ruined. And of course, the water was polluted beyond belief, so every duct, gap, Economics of running the facility have been dicey since the disaster: reduced population means fewer possible ticket sales.
The city already owned and operated the Mahalia Jackson Theatre. Though the MJT is far less interesting architecturally, it was also in much better condition, (and let’s face it, MUCH better equipped) so the city concentrated on getting it open first.– (it also needed far fewer repairs.)
The agreement between the Saenger’s manangement company and the city of New Orleans seems VERY similar to that worked out between the Memphis Orpheum (q.v.) and the city of Memphis, where the city technically ownes the building (and land) but leases it for a nominal amount back to the management company. (The rent is something like $1 a year.) This has been HUGELY successful in Memphis and we can hope the Saenger does as well.
I heard from John Hiltonsmith on Sunday. He cares for the Saenger’s Robert Morton organ. He had been contacted by the theatre management and told of the renovation plans. They are planning to renovate the organ, however, details, funding etc are not yet finalized. They indicated that he would be “kept in the loop.”
Also visible in the deeper background on the left is the vertical sign for the Lowe’s State. Almost directly across from the Warner, the building nearer to us from Dreifus, is the Majestic, long since converted to retail, but it is still standing (q.v.). The Strand should be visible just this side of the State and the Malco’s large vertical sign (nee Orpheum)should be visible in the deep right background – though I’m not seeing either of these last two. The Warner went down not long after this photo.
LM Great picture! This last one really shows off the asymetrical layout. The red brick (middle left) would never have been seen from the sidewalk across the street. Now that there’s a park there, it, unfortunatly, is visible (It’s a little pocket park with a statue of Elvis) The house left side of the upper gallery (the former segregated blacks only area) only has 4 rows and a cross aisle. The right side has 11 rows (if memory serves). The other two balconies are symetrical with the odd shaped spaces made up in stairways and restrooms. It’s an amazing plan to see on paper and then walk the halls and realize how subtly the architects (Rapp & Rapp) worked out the odd shapes they had to work around.
Looking on the city/county property website www.kgis.org shows the property was bought by Ben and Sara Maloy on April 16 1945. Ben Maloy died on June 26 1983. Sara Maloy sold the property to John William Brewer and Bertha Marie Brewer on April 19 1991 for the sum of $80,000.00. According to the website, as of today, the property is still in the Brewers' hands (and the taxes are current.)
The spire (acroterion – and I thought I was the only one who knew that word) was lifted off with a crane. A back-lit plastic star for Bookstar was mounted in its place. The stainless steel, back-lit letters on the vertical sign that spelled out PLAZA were also lifted off at the same time.
There are a pair of similarly-designed “finials” (acroteria) inside the auditorium (bookstore) – one on each side of the proscenium.
There was another acroterion on the department store. It was smaller and not as interesting. It too was removed at the same time.
The Quartet’s floor plan was pretty conventional except for one small oddity. Of the conventional parts the lobby was long, narrow and two stories tall. The four auditoria were on the right as you entered. Important as it is in any theatre, I don’t remember the candy counter at all. At the very end of the lobby was a small pair of restrooms. Here’s the odd part: there was public stairway at the far end of the lobby. Turns out there were additional public restrooms on the upper level – up there with the projection booths. There were no balconies in the Quartet. Of course, in many old movie palaces the restrooms were down a level, but I don’t think I ever saw another theater where they were up a level.
I don’t remember the Plaza ever showing 2nd run, though they did do a few holiday themed special features. I saw a Halloween night showing of The Exorcist there in 1982 or 1983. But also saw the sneak preview of Blue Thunder (don’t remember it? Nobody else does either.) at about the same time. And if I’m not mistaken, I saw Dirty Dancing there, first run.
Jack et al, Funny, working late tonight, I suddenly thought of the Studio after 25 years and wondered if it had a listing on this site. Sure enough, you all had already documented it. I attended MSU from 1982 to 1984 and saw my very first porno (though pretty tame) film (or was it an “art film” that was pretty lame) at the Studio. I too remember the flat-front marquee, a tiny lobby and I believe a no-slope auditorium floor. I’m surprised to see it seated 400. I would have guessed half that. However, when I saw it, no matter how many seats it had, they were all sticky. Sad that this one still stands, but the Park is gone.
My brother and I had just listened to Alice Brock’s commentary on “This I Believe” on NPR. My brother sent me this note about a memory of his at the Capitol.
I’m definately an Arlo fan and I did know that Alice did exist. It was a true (sort of) story. I went to see it at the old Capitol right off the square. The song had been out for a while and I was really looking foward to seeing the movie. About a third of the way through the movie I got to feeling kinda sick. I went to the restroom and puked my guts out. I went back to my seat and told Wynne that I was really feeling bad and we should probably leave. We did just that, and I puked again before I got to the car. We finally made it back to the apartment and I was sitting on the toliet in great distress and puking at the same time. She called dad and he said it sounded like I had something really nasty………he said he would call the Dr. and they met me at the old McFarland Hospital. Dr. Bone was on call……….he gave me a shot and sat me down in a wheel chair and started rolling me down the hall. ………….I don’t remember anything after that. I had food poisoning. I woke up in the hospital the next morning with my arm strapped to a board and an I/V in my arm. My arm was really hurting because I couldn’t bend it. Finally they came in and unhooked me. What a relief……………So my memory of Alice’s Restaurant is VIVID ………………..ha ha ha …………..I finally did get to see it all the way through, and did enjoy it. Arlo is one of the great writers, and is the son of Woody Guthrie, also one of the all time great folk song writers and lived what he wrote about.
Discussions of Atlanta’s Fox theatre inevitably mention the connection to the Yaarab Temple Shrine Mosque, but I’ve never heard the whole story of how the site/building changed hands, nor the subsequent association between the two organizations. The implication is that the onset of the Great Depression caused the change in ownership, but the theatre opened as the Fox at Christmas 1929 – only six weeks after November 1929 stock market crash. That seems too short a time frame to have completed a change in ownership and prepare a major opening. Does anyone know the whole story of why and when Fox took over and what became of the masonic organization that originally started the project? Also, how much of the design is Fox’s and how much is from the Shrine’s part in the development?
Here’s a YouTube performance by Ron Reseigh the Riverside’s III/13 Wurlitzer. Sounds like the old organ got a top to bottom make-over recently!
Astounding technique and humor by a first rate organist!
View link
Well, I’ll be interested in hearing thoughts/reviews from others interested in the Bijou. The new vertical sign is an approximation of one of the Bijou’s previous signs. The new marquee is, (sigh) also, very much an “approximation” of one of the old theater’s previous signs. It is nice to have real theatrical signage on the front of the building. Really it is. And signs are expensive. Good looking signs are VERY expensive. It’s a step in the right direction. Keep in mind that Knoxville is extremely fortunate to have retained two grand theatres. Both the Bijou and the Tennessee are looking better than they have in decades.
The Bijou just got its new vertical sign and marquee. Looking good!
Ha! The ghostly, white, mystery organ played by a spectral Jesse Crawford? Could it be cradled in a clandestinly created climate controlled crypt? Or does it reside only in the memories of organ interludes past? Where or when should we find the cadaverous claviers again? The sepulcural stops? The phantom pipes? The reaper’s ranks? Quote the Raven: “How the hell should I know?”
The Tennessee’s console was always red with gold trim.
Here’s a photo of another moorish Wurlitzer console, this one quite similar to the Tennessee’s, though this one appears to be monochrome gold, rather than the If the link doesn’t work, search for Bob Castle on YouTube.com.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIvhJ_JBZFo
At the risk of releasing another avalanche of posts, please see the virtual tour of the auditorium here and the June 2008 photo LM posted at 10:47 this morning.
View link
The console is red. RED. R E D! It has gold trim. The keys are white and black and the stop tabs in black, ivory, red and mottled yellow. The toe studs are nickle plated and the black swell shoes outlined in chrome. The music rack lamp is gold-toned. The natural pedal keys are clear-finished maple with ebony sharps. The undersides of all the pedal keys are lightly coated with dust and cobwebs which at first glance appear to be white, but upon closer examination are actually light gray. Dr. Snyder’s hair is a charming shade of white and he usually wears a black dinner jacket or occassionally black tails, there being, thank the gods, no sequins in his wardrobe.
Ooops, sorry, that should read, “…polluted beyond belief, so every duct, gap, crack, crevise and cranny has to be cleaned and repaired. Anyone who has ever been in the basement of a movie palace knows that could be an incerdibly daunting job.”
Sorry, the boss walked in and distracted me while I was writing.
If memory serves, the Saenger’s stage is only one or two steps down from the sidewalk. Water in that particular area was not nearly as deep as elsewhere in the city. The Saenger was already closed for a renovation and the seats and other equipment had been removed. The organ console was raised to the top of the lift. The water rose to just below the bottom manual keyboard. Aesthetic damage to the theatre was minimal, but the mechanical systems were ruined. And of course, the water was polluted beyond belief, so every duct, gap, Economics of running the facility have been dicey since the disaster: reduced population means fewer possible ticket sales.
The city already owned and operated the Mahalia Jackson Theatre. Though the MJT is far less interesting architecturally, it was also in much better condition, (and let’s face it, MUCH better equipped) so the city concentrated on getting it open first.– (it also needed far fewer repairs.)
There’s a nice article about the MJT here
View link
The agreement between the Saenger’s manangement company and the city of New Orleans seems VERY similar to that worked out between the Memphis Orpheum (q.v.) and the city of Memphis, where the city technically ownes the building (and land) but leases it for a nominal amount back to the management company. (The rent is something like $1 a year.) This has been HUGELY successful in Memphis and we can hope the Saenger does as well.
I heard from John Hiltonsmith on Sunday. He cares for the Saenger’s Robert Morton organ. He had been contacted by the theatre management and told of the renovation plans. They are planning to renovate the organ, however, details, funding etc are not yet finalized. They indicated that he would be “kept in the loop.”
Also visible in the deeper background on the left is the vertical sign for the Lowe’s State. Almost directly across from the Warner, the building nearer to us from Dreifus, is the Majestic, long since converted to retail, but it is still standing (q.v.). The Strand should be visible just this side of the State and the Malco’s large vertical sign (nee Orpheum)should be visible in the deep right background – though I’m not seeing either of these last two. The Warner went down not long after this photo.
Poodles, Click on my name below and send me an email. Will
LM Great picture! This last one really shows off the asymetrical layout. The red brick (middle left) would never have been seen from the sidewalk across the street. Now that there’s a park there, it, unfortunatly, is visible (It’s a little pocket park with a statue of Elvis) The house left side of the upper gallery (the former segregated blacks only area) only has 4 rows and a cross aisle. The right side has 11 rows (if memory serves). The other two balconies are symetrical with the odd shaped spaces made up in stairways and restrooms. It’s an amazing plan to see on paper and then walk the halls and realize how subtly the architects (Rapp & Rapp) worked out the odd shapes they had to work around.
Looking on the city/county property website www.kgis.org shows the property was bought by Ben and Sara Maloy on April 16 1945. Ben Maloy died on June 26 1983. Sara Maloy sold the property to John William Brewer and Bertha Marie Brewer on April 19 1991 for the sum of $80,000.00. According to the website, as of today, the property is still in the Brewers' hands (and the taxes are current.)
The spire (acroterion – and I thought I was the only one who knew that word) was lifted off with a crane. A back-lit plastic star for Bookstar was mounted in its place. The stainless steel, back-lit letters on the vertical sign that spelled out PLAZA were also lifted off at the same time.
There are a pair of similarly-designed “finials” (acroteria) inside the auditorium (bookstore) – one on each side of the proscenium.
There was another acroterion on the department store. It was smaller and not as interesting. It too was removed at the same time.
The Quartet’s floor plan was pretty conventional except for one small oddity. Of the conventional parts the lobby was long, narrow and two stories tall. The four auditoria were on the right as you entered. Important as it is in any theatre, I don’t remember the candy counter at all. At the very end of the lobby was a small pair of restrooms. Here’s the odd part: there was public stairway at the far end of the lobby. Turns out there were additional public restrooms on the upper level – up there with the projection booths. There were no balconies in the Quartet. Of course, in many old movie palaces the restrooms were down a level, but I don’t think I ever saw another theater where they were up a level.
I don’t remember the Plaza ever showing 2nd run, though they did do a few holiday themed special features. I saw a Halloween night showing of The Exorcist there in 1982 or 1983. But also saw the sneak preview of Blue Thunder (don’t remember it? Nobody else does either.) at about the same time. And if I’m not mistaken, I saw Dirty Dancing there, first run.
JAlex, it does look good, but those are LEDs inside a decorative, bulb-shaped cover, not incandescents. tntim will have to tell us more about them.
Jack et al, Funny, working late tonight, I suddenly thought of the Studio after 25 years and wondered if it had a listing on this site. Sure enough, you all had already documented it. I attended MSU from 1982 to 1984 and saw my very first porno (though pretty tame) film (or was it an “art film” that was pretty lame) at the Studio. I too remember the flat-front marquee, a tiny lobby and I believe a no-slope auditorium floor. I’m surprised to see it seated 400. I would have guessed half that. However, when I saw it, no matter how many seats it had, they were all sticky. Sad that this one still stands, but the Park is gone.
Mike, well, I know it was operating as a movie theatre at least in 1980, maybe a little bit later, so the 1975 date is suspect.
My brother and I had just listened to Alice Brock’s commentary on “This I Believe” on NPR. My brother sent me this note about a memory of his at the Capitol.
I’m definately an Arlo fan and I did know that Alice did exist. It was a true (sort of) story. I went to see it at the old Capitol right off the square. The song had been out for a while and I was really looking foward to seeing the movie. About a third of the way through the movie I got to feeling kinda sick. I went to the restroom and puked my guts out. I went back to my seat and told Wynne that I was really feeling bad and we should probably leave. We did just that, and I puked again before I got to the car. We finally made it back to the apartment and I was sitting on the toliet in great distress and puking at the same time. She called dad and he said it sounded like I had something really nasty………he said he would call the Dr. and they met me at the old McFarland Hospital. Dr. Bone was on call……….he gave me a shot and sat me down in a wheel chair and started rolling me down the hall. ………….I don’t remember anything after that. I had food poisoning. I woke up in the hospital the next morning with my arm strapped to a board and an I/V in my arm. My arm was really hurting because I couldn’t bend it. Finally they came in and unhooked me. What a relief……………So my memory of Alice’s Restaurant is VIVID ………………..ha ha ha …………..I finally did get to see it all the way through, and did enjoy it. Arlo is one of the great writers, and is the son of Woody Guthrie, also one of the all time great folk song writers and lived what he wrote about.
Can ALWAYS count on you, LM! Thanks!
Discussions of Atlanta’s Fox theatre inevitably mention the connection to the Yaarab Temple Shrine Mosque, but I’ve never heard the whole story of how the site/building changed hands, nor the subsequent association between the two organizations. The implication is that the onset of the Great Depression caused the change in ownership, but the theatre opened as the Fox at Christmas 1929 – only six weeks after November 1929 stock market crash. That seems too short a time frame to have completed a change in ownership and prepare a major opening. Does anyone know the whole story of why and when Fox took over and what became of the masonic organization that originally started the project? Also, how much of the design is Fox’s and how much is from the Shrine’s part in the development?
CL, Did you mean to post this on the Varsity’s page or is there a connection to the Paramount?
Yes, I understand about retrofitting. I don’t know what Howard is angry about.
Howard, sorry, I missed something. Would you fill out your comment from 10-11-07?