“His Honor, Abe Potash,” credited on the signage, debuted on October 14th, 1919, and ran for 215 performances. Things piled on the sidewalk suggest that the play was about to open or preparing to leave.
After three years of ownership, JK Equities has put the property back up for sale, according to this report:
http://www.qchron.com/editions/queenswide/rko-keith-s-hits-the-market-again/article_bb201ff6-d2be-5c69-af07-ef7d7ef34c6d.html
Sid Grauman, who started the tradition in 1927, didn’t get around to leaving his own imprints until 1946. He died four years later at the age of nearly 71.
The ad posted yesterday for “King Kong” failed to give a date, which was March 24th, 1933. Without that vital information, one might guess that it was the grand opening of the now classic movie. But “King Kong” actually had its world premiere in New York City three weeks earlier, on March 2nd, in an unprecedented two-theatre engagement at Radio City Music Hall and the New Roxy (supported at both by stage shows).
This and next posting omit some vital information, starting with the year, which must have been 1937, according to film titles in tiny print at bottom of Texaco page. And what was the connection with Eddie Cantor, other than his being the star of a popular radio show sponsored by Texaco? Perhaps his 1937 movie, “Ali Baba Goes to Town,” was booked at this theatre?
George Washington had his own national holiday then…After the morning event, house was cleared so that the Mineola could re-open at 1:15 pm for its regular program of “The Gallant Blade” & “Walk a Crooked Mile.”
The former child star, who died recently at age 90, enjoyed the rare distinction of a Technicolor debut and its world premiere engagement at Radio City Music Hall starting 78 years ago (2/17/1938).
The theatre re-opened as Warners on August 29th, 1925, with “The Limited Mail” on screen. For verification, please note the opening day ad that I posted in the Photos Section on January 31st of this year.
The Capitol Theatre opened in 1929, apparently early enough to be featured in the June 8th issue of Exhibitors
Herald-World. No mention was made of replacing an earlier Capitol Theatre. Construction cost was reported as $120,000, or $1,000 for each of the Capitol’s 1,200 seats. The theatre had a Robert Morton organ, but limited stage facilities and no refrigeration system. Joseph Nielsen, an architect of Harrisonburg, VA, was credited with the Spanish-influenced design. The Capitol was operated by Shenandoah Valley Theatre Corporation, in affiliation with Universal Pictures Theatre Company.
Downstairs from the ground floor, the vast ultra-modern area included restrooms, a gratis checkroom for coats and packages, and a direct connection to the subway box office and entrance.
In its first year of operation, Universal lost a bundle on the Capitol and sold the operating lease to Loew’s, which re-opened the theatre as Loew’s Capitol on September 3rd, 1928. This provided the Capitol with a higher quality of stage bookings, some of which were revues originating at the Capitol Theatre in NYC. In Atlanta, Loew’s continued to operate the Grand Theatre, but dropped vaudeville for a mix of new movies and classic revivals. Loew’s operated the Capitol for nearly two years, leaving in August, 1930 to manage the floundering Fox Theatre (but without the Loew’s name attached). Universal then briefly ran the Capitol before making a five-year deal with RKO Theatres with a movies-only policy.
The Uptown was the largest movie theatre ever designed by the architectural firm of Rapp & Rapp. It was also one of only three theatres by Rapp & Rapp with more than 4,000 seats, the two others being the Brooklyn Paramount and the Michigan in Detroit.
The Roxy’s first Disney cartoon feature, “Peter Pan,” shot in standard ratio, played there in 1953 with support from an ice-skating stage revue. But the Roxy had dropped stage shows with the arrival of CinemaScope,
so “Lady and the Tramp” was accompanied only by a Disney live-action travelogue in CinemaScope.
“His Honor, Abe Potash,” credited on the signage, debuted on October 14th, 1919, and ran for 215 performances. Things piled on the sidewalk suggest that the play was about to open or preparing to leave.
“Leo the Lion” provided both the movie and the three stage headliners, who were under contract to MGM’s Hollywood studio.
Instead of a “B” programmer that might not be compatible with the main feature, why not offer support from an hour of shorts and cartoons?
After three years of ownership, JK Equities has put the property back up for sale, according to this report: http://www.qchron.com/editions/queenswide/rko-keith-s-hits-the-market-again/article_bb201ff6-d2be-5c69-af07-ef7d7ef34c6d.html
Sid Grauman, who started the tradition in 1927, didn’t get around to leaving his own imprints until 1946. He died four years later at the age of nearly 71.
This included the Labor Day weekend, with a program change on Monday, the holiday itself.
The ad posted yesterday for “King Kong” failed to give a date, which was March 24th, 1933. Without that vital information, one might guess that it was the grand opening of the now classic movie. But “King Kong” actually had its world premiere in New York City three weeks earlier, on March 2nd, in an unprecedented two-theatre engagement at Radio City Music Hall and the New Roxy (supported at both by stage shows).
This and next posting omit some vital information, starting with the year, which must have been 1937, according to film titles in tiny print at bottom of Texaco page. And what was the connection with Eddie Cantor, other than his being the star of a popular radio show sponsored by Texaco? Perhaps his 1937 movie, “Ali Baba Goes to Town,” was booked at this theatre?
The preceding Saturday night, March 28th, a gala invitational screening was held which packed Times Square with onlookers.
The 72nd Street is in the tier with “The Light That Failed>”
Address used at this time in the 1940s was 236 West 42nd Street.
Starting with this major booking, the former Filmarte was refurbished and re-named Elysee.
George Washington had his own national holiday then…After the morning event, house was cleared so that the Mineola could re-open at 1:15 pm for its regular program of “The Gallant Blade” & “Walk a Crooked Mile.”
The auditorium was never much changed from the original deigned as a Shubert playhouse.
Prepared to start the next shift during the engagement of “Ankles Preferred” in April, 1927.
The former child star, who died recently at age 90, enjoyed the rare distinction of a Technicolor debut and its world premiere engagement at Radio City Music Hall starting 78 years ago (2/17/1938).
Does anyone know if American producer Robert Radnitz’s final movie, “The Little Ark,” had a theatrical release in the United Kingdom?
The current retail tenant now has a website, with not much in visuals but offering plenty of bargains: www.shopliberty.com
The theatre re-opened as Warners on August 29th, 1925, with “The Limited Mail” on screen. For verification, please note the opening day ad that I posted in the Photos Section on January 31st of this year.
The Capitol Theatre opened in 1929, apparently early enough to be featured in the June 8th issue of Exhibitors Herald-World. No mention was made of replacing an earlier Capitol Theatre. Construction cost was reported as $120,000, or $1,000 for each of the Capitol’s 1,200 seats. The theatre had a Robert Morton organ, but limited stage facilities and no refrigeration system. Joseph Nielsen, an architect of Harrisonburg, VA, was credited with the Spanish-influenced design. The Capitol was operated by Shenandoah Valley Theatre Corporation, in affiliation with Universal Pictures Theatre Company.
The premiere attraction was “Animal Crackers” with the four Marx Brothers.
Downstairs from the ground floor, the vast ultra-modern area included restrooms, a gratis checkroom for coats and packages, and a direct connection to the subway box office and entrance.
In its first year of operation, Universal lost a bundle on the Capitol and sold the operating lease to Loew’s, which re-opened the theatre as Loew’s Capitol on September 3rd, 1928. This provided the Capitol with a higher quality of stage bookings, some of which were revues originating at the Capitol Theatre in NYC. In Atlanta, Loew’s continued to operate the Grand Theatre, but dropped vaudeville for a mix of new movies and classic revivals. Loew’s operated the Capitol for nearly two years, leaving in August, 1930 to manage the floundering Fox Theatre (but without the Loew’s name attached). Universal then briefly ran the Capitol before making a five-year deal with RKO Theatres with a movies-only policy.
The Uptown was the largest movie theatre ever designed by the architectural firm of Rapp & Rapp. It was also one of only three theatres by Rapp & Rapp with more than 4,000 seats, the two others being the Brooklyn Paramount and the Michigan in Detroit.
The Roxy’s first Disney cartoon feature, “Peter Pan,” shot in standard ratio, played there in 1953 with support from an ice-skating stage revue. But the Roxy had dropped stage shows with the arrival of CinemaScope, so “Lady and the Tramp” was accompanied only by a Disney live-action travelogue in CinemaScope.