Comments from joemasher

Showing 276 - 300 of 318 comments

joemasher
joemasher commented about Columbia Cinema on Jun 27, 2004 at 7:11 am

I believe you’re thinking of the Olympia at Broadway & 107th, which was demolished last year—the Columbia Cinema building is still standing.

joemasher
joemasher commented about Loew's Paradise Theatre on Jun 27, 2004 at 7:09 am

Someone stole it years ago. The man who was restoring the Paradise a few years back was in contact with the people at the Loew’s Jersey, as they had just completed restoring their clock. He was set to order replacement parts until…

joemasher
joemasher commented about Ziegfeld Theatre on Jun 23, 2004 at 9:44 pm

It’s entirely possible and something we’ve been talking about….for now it’s “The Terminal” followed next month by “I, Robot”.

joemasher
joemasher commented about Ziegfeld Theatre on Jun 22, 2004 at 7:29 am

The Zieg does employ union projectionists, full time!

joemasher
joemasher commented about Ziegfeld Theatre on Jun 19, 2004 at 10:59 pm

The Ziegfeld is open—-we’re now showing “The Terminal” and will open “I, Robot” there on 7/14.

joemasher
joemasher commented about AMC Ridgefield Park 12 on Jun 10, 2004 at 7:51 pm

And across Route 3 from the Meadow 6 and Plaza 8, Loews also had the Harmon Cove Quad, which closed in the early 80’s. All 3 (4, 6, and 8 were open at the same time for a short while).

joemasher
joemasher commented about Now Playing... Artist George Rothacker's Work on May 31, 2004 at 7:29 pm

The Anthony Wayne is alive and well, functioning as a 5-screen Clearview Cinema….

joemasher
joemasher commented about Radio City Music Hall on May 23, 2004 at 5:29 pm

The booth is still the same today. In fact, today, Sunday 5/23/04, RCMH is hosting the World Premiere of “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azcaban”.

joemasher
joemasher commented about RKO Proctor's Theatre on May 23, 2004 at 5:27 pm

The Proctor’s in Mt. Vernon was gutted around 1995 and ‘filled in’ with offices. It still looks very much like a theatre, however. Next door, in a separate building, Proctor’s Drug, and old fashioned pharmacy, still operates.
I am not sure what became of the Loew’s, but I believe it’s been torn down.

joemasher
joemasher commented about Speciality Cinema on May 20, 2004 at 7:56 am

Oddly enough, Clearview Cinemas books this theatre through our subsidiary, Cinema Services!

joemasher
joemasher commented about RKO Alden Theatre on May 13, 2004 at 9:24 pm

I’ve been in the Alden recently—the manager took me to their storage room which is the balcony and proscenium. There’s a drop ceiling from the balcony front to the stage, and the seats have been removed. Other than that, it is very much intact!

joemasher
joemasher commented about AMC Brunswick Square 13 on May 8, 2004 at 9:03 am

And this one opened way before February 2004! It replaced the GCC Brunswick Square Mall Cinema.

joemasher
joemasher commented about Bellevue Cinema 4 on May 6, 2004 at 7:45 am

First, I am a Division Manager for Clearview and have been to the Bellevue many, many times as it is in my territory. The seats are spaced in the theatre as they were when it was built—-there was never leg room in the balcony—that’s they way it always was. The only difference is there’s a wall down the middle now. Last year, Clearview invested in sound upgrades for all of our theatres. I don’t believe there are any other sound issues at the Belle that I’m aware of.
Second, the photos are in the archive at THSA. Instructions for ordering can be found on the website.

joemasher
joemasher commented about Bellevue Cinema 4 on May 5, 2004 at 7:23 pm

The Theatre Historical Society has pictures of the Bellevue—you can order them at www.historictheatres.org

The exterior is exactly the same as built, except for the marquee. One of the former retail spaces was annexed into the lobby to enlarge it.

The auditoriums currently are actually pretty good. I would certainly not call it a ‘homeless shelter’. The downstairs theatres have large screens and digital sound. In no way is the theatre ‘skeevy’.

joemasher
joemasher commented about Proctor's Theatre on May 2, 2004 at 9:39 am

The local college, RPI, has just purchased the theatre and has proposed to turn the office building portion of this complex into a boutique hotel. There has been no talk of auditorium restoration as of yet. I was last in the theatre, about 5 years ago, the place was not too bad. There was some major plaster damage, and the window in the back of the projection booth was smashed out allowing many, many pigeons to roost in the booth. The equipment is covered with pigeon droppings. The theatre features two balconies connected by a series of complex ramps, rather than stairs. On one of the landings I saw a vending machine that was still on, believe it or not, that dispensed soda. I decided to see if it worked. I dropped my quarter, the cup came down, no ice filled the cup, no syrup, and a few drops of water came down! There was also popcorn still in the popcorn warmer that was there since the theatre last closed in the 70’s! It has since been cleaned out. In the manager’s office, there were boxes and boxes of “FILM JORNAL INTERNATIONAL” magazines, some dumped on the floor. Most were from the 60’s & 70’s.

joemasher
joemasher commented about Whitestone Drive-In on Apr 25, 2004 at 11:56 am

There were one or two on Staten Island….and before the Whitestone closed, it was ‘triplexed’ in the late 70’s, early 80’s…

joemasher
joemasher commented about Loew's Rochester Theatre on Apr 24, 2004 at 8:55 am

In many, many theatre history circles the Loew’s Rochester has the reputation as the most unfortunate-looking of theatres of that size. Warren’s comment above does not seem to be an opinion, rather a statement of fact. It did indeed have that reputation.

joemasher
joemasher commented about Loew's Victoria Theatre on Apr 24, 2004 at 8:53 am

The whole Apollo/Victoria arts center concept was to be a project of Time-Warner, pre-AOL. It is my understanding that they’ve pulled out of the project completely, and it has stalled. A church group uses one or two of the Victoria’s auditoriums from time-to-time.

joemasher
joemasher commented about Brandt's Yonkers Theatre on Apr 15, 2004 at 10:18 pm

A McDonald’s now sits on the site.

joemasher
joemasher commented about RKO White Plains Theatre on Apr 12, 2004 at 9:29 pm

The lobby building is due to be demolished soon in the next wave of ‘urban renewal’ in White Plains….

joemasher
joemasher commented about State Theatre on Apr 4, 2004 at 10:02 pm

The State was taken over in the early 90’s by a theatre employee who de-twinned it (piggyback configuration) and was restoring it. One night, about 10 or 12 years ago now, the theatre collapsed.

joemasher
joemasher commented about Plaza Theatre on Apr 4, 2004 at 4:59 pm

The Plaza is now an excellent restaurant called TAO.

joemasher
joemasher commented about Loew's Rio Theatre on Apr 3, 2004 at 10:21 am

The Rio is still standing—the framework for the vertical is there and the marquee frame supports the supermarket sign. The whole place was converted to a supermarket after closing and is still very recognizable as a theatre.

joemasher
joemasher commented about Crotona Theatre on Apr 3, 2004 at 10:20 am

The theatre is still standing—the mattress store is in the lobby, which is now walled off from the auditorium. The auditorium is now a light manufacturing facility.

joemasher
joemasher commented about Holiday Twin Theatres on Mar 31, 2004 at 3:22 pm

The same architect (name unknown) also designed the Cinema 7 (single screen on Rt. 7) in Latham, NY, which is now an office building.