Bigjoe59… Something to keep in mind is that back in 1909, most motion picture production was of the one- and two-reel variety. Additionally, just a few years earlier, it was not uncommon for many vaudeville companies to include their own exhibition of reels between acts, or as an act unto themselves. This included the companies providing their own projection equipment and screen for the show.
I think a key factor in identifying structures that were purpose built with movies in mind (by your own definition) would be whether or not the builders equipped the theater with its own projection booth and screen. That’s probably going to be a bit more difficult to ascertain than finding out when a given theater first opened and whether it was built from the ground up. It might not be impossible, however. Even in those early days, the combustible nature of nitrate prints was well known, and construction projects that included motion picture exhibition booths would have surely been scrutinized by the municipality for reasons of public safety. As a matter of fact, one of the reasons why projection equipment was housed in booths (besides abating the distraction caused by the loud clacking of the apparatus) was to ensure the safety of patrons in the event of a fire.
My wife and sister-in-law visited this theater just a couple of days ago to take the kiddies to see “Madagascar 3.” They report that the auditorium they sat in was quite dirty and overall the theater seems to be running down on the inside, despite the recent of expense of refitting the outdoor vertical sign.
Hey robboehm. Looks like the CT user who posted it, removed the image. I had mentioned on the Henry Miller page that it should be re-posted here. They’ll probably upload it correctly soon enough.
Hey midnitewriter. Not sure what protocol is, but you should probably contact site administration for such permissions. Several email addresses to contact CT are listed here. I don’t think you’ll have any problems at all.
One of these days, I’ll have to get around to creating an actual listing for the Lyceum. I’ve also seen references to a Plaza Theatre on Merrick Road, that may have been the first purpose-built movie house in Lynbrook.
Here’s a link to a photo of the old Lyceum Hall, that pre-dated the Airdrome. Perhaps this is the very pic that hangs in that hall of St Raymonds Church?
Lynbrook Bagels, diagonally across the street from the former Studio 1, has a pair of flat screen displays in their shop that present a slide-show of images tracing the history of the shop over the years. One of these is a vintage B&W shot looking north on Atlantic Ave that clearly shows the Arcade’s marquee projecting over the sidewalk on the left. I couldn’t stick around long enough to catch the image come around again on the loop, and get a movie title or approximate date. Next time I’m in there, I have to ask the manager if he has an actual copy of that picture, or at least inquire where he found it.
Robboehm, here’s a link to a B&W shot of the screen and front of the house from the balcony during the Playhouse’s waning days as a movie house. This link had been erroneously posted on the 8th Street Playhouse page, and I’m surprised it was never re-posted here… until now, that is.
The image is from photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto, who took a series of images at several different cinemas, where he locked down a large-format camera at some central point opposite the screen and then opened the shutter for the duration of the movie. The results were quite lovely. I’m sure if you google the photographer’s name, you’ll find a number of these stills floating around the web.
Since there was a balcony in the original, they’ll stack them and likely utilize basement space. I anticipate at least a few of these rooms will be quite small, but I’m hoping the screen sizes remain reasonable.
Sad that the theater was completely gutted. Seems that Alamo might have employed many of the original architectural features in the new auditoriums. It is heartening to hear that they will research the original decor and use that as a basis to design and trim the new interior.
Al… I wonder if Alamo will be able to succeed where CO wasn’t, based on their being licensed to serve liquor on the premises.
I think that Wally was merely pointing out that there have been cinemas known to operate without the usual downward slope of seating towards the screen. I might add that there have even been theaters where the seats sloped UP towards the screen!
The street view for this theater is off by about a block to the south. I also believe the status of the building should be amended to “demolished.” The northwest corner of Fulton Street and Rockwell Place is depicted in the street view as being vacant and surrounded by construction fencing. The location would be diagonally across from the old Strand Theatre, which is adjacent to the current BAM Harvey.
To correct the street view, turn to the right and head down Fulton to the next intersection (Rockwell Pl). The far corner on the left with the blue fencing should be the site of the late Momart Theatre.
Hey saps… I took the hint and got over to the theater site today. Alas, it was too late to get any image that even vaguely resembles the old gal. Demolition is complete and the process of hauling away the twisted metal and debris is well underway. I uploaded a few shots anyway, showing what the area looked like as of late this afternoon.
Tinseltoes… I know this is a pet peeve of yours (and it bugs me, too) but I think the address ribbon to which you refer is a function of how the database is organized. Not that I have a lot of experience at developing and mapping out websites, but I do believe that it isn’t a matter of fixing the ribbon as it is of getting the database organized into more logical geographic buckets. In other words, it is likely not going to be a quick and easy fix.
Mikeoaklandpark… the representative photo that winds up on the “overview” page is generally the most-viewed image from a given theater’s photo gallery. I’m not sure what logic is employed in the eventuality that more than 1 photo in a given gallery has been viewed by the same number of people, but the actual age or date of the picture has nothing to do with whether it shows up as at the top of this page.
You’re probably right, saps. The National, as I remember it, didn’t have much of a deep vestibule either, but the kiosks (I think there may have been 2 of them here) were under the broad marquee and I seem to recall them set back as far as possible, so as to be out of the way of pedestrian traffic. I would imagine that theaters would have been compelled to keep those kiosks similarly out of the way so as not to risk injury or a log-jam on the sidewalk.
I remember Times Square was always pretty thick with pedestrians – even in the bad ole days – but just this past weekend, I tried to walk down 42nd Street with my daughter, and the area from the New Amsterdam going west to the mid-block crosswalk was just about impassible! Between the lines for Madame Toussaud’s, patrons existing the theater, tourists stoping for photos in front of Ripley’s Odditorium, and the crowds under the McDonald’s canopy, we could barely stay together, let alone make any headway!
NYer… If it wasn’t the New Amsterdam itself, then it had to be either the Harris or the Liberty. Neither the Cine 42 nor the Empire had an outside vestibule and the Anco’s was rather shallow – not to mention at the end of the block and pretty shabby and not likely to have spared the cost for the kiosk. Thanks for trying to nail it down for me.
No doubt, I recall the kiosks at the big houses along Broadway. My memory falters at recalling which of the 42nd Street theaters employed the kiosks. I don’t think of them as being on the Duece, but now that I am going back to this discussion throughout the day, I’m starting to think that perhaps I do recall them at one or two of the larger theaters on that block. Particularly as those garish billboard-style advertisements that used to trim the theater entrances started to vanish. When I think back on those days, I mostly remember perusing the poster art, display cards and publicity stills that were hung around the outer vestibules as a guide to which particular program of flicks my buddies and I would commit to on any given day. Whereas, on Broadway and Seventh Avenue, you could actually watch the trailers from the sidewalk. Again, those memories are rather hazy, and my attention at the time lacked a certain amount of focus. I happily defer to your recollections.
I don’t remember them on 42nd St at all. Hmmm… perhaps one of the houses with a larger open-air vestibule, like the New Amsterdam, Harris, Lyric or Selwyn? Maybe the Liberty. The others I recall as having very shallow outer vestibules – if having one at all. The initial release of “It’s Alive” was a few years before my time on the Duece, so, perhaps the kiosk concept was ditched afterwards?
Was this one of the theaters that used to play trailers for current and coming attractions on video kiosks under the canopy to attract passersby? I know at least one theater along Broadway did this, probably several of them. Perhaps the State and/or Criterion? My memories are a bit foggy.
Are we sure this theater was demolished? The street view above is off the mark, but if you swing it around 180 degrees and click your way south along Pilgrim Ave until you get to the intersection of Buhre Ave, the building on the far left corner (the south east corner of Buhre and Pilgrim Aves) looks very much like the old theater as depicted in Lost Memory’s photo, posted on July 1, 2008. That vintage image peers down Pilgrim Ave from the opposite direction, at the corner of Westchester Ave.
Bigjoe59… Something to keep in mind is that back in 1909, most motion picture production was of the one- and two-reel variety. Additionally, just a few years earlier, it was not uncommon for many vaudeville companies to include their own exhibition of reels between acts, or as an act unto themselves. This included the companies providing their own projection equipment and screen for the show.
I think a key factor in identifying structures that were purpose built with movies in mind (by your own definition) would be whether or not the builders equipped the theater with its own projection booth and screen. That’s probably going to be a bit more difficult to ascertain than finding out when a given theater first opened and whether it was built from the ground up. It might not be impossible, however. Even in those early days, the combustible nature of nitrate prints was well known, and construction projects that included motion picture exhibition booths would have surely been scrutinized by the municipality for reasons of public safety. As a matter of fact, one of the reasons why projection equipment was housed in booths (besides abating the distraction caused by the loud clacking of the apparatus) was to ensure the safety of patrons in the event of a fire.
My wife and sister-in-law visited this theater just a couple of days ago to take the kiddies to see “Madagascar 3.” They report that the auditorium they sat in was quite dirty and overall the theater seems to be running down on the inside, despite the recent of expense of refitting the outdoor vertical sign.
Hey robboehm. Looks like the CT user who posted it, removed the image. I had mentioned on the Henry Miller page that it should be re-posted here. They’ll probably upload it correctly soon enough.
Here’s a porn-era pic that was mistakenly posted to the Henry Miller’s Theatre page.
Hey midnitewriter. Not sure what protocol is, but you should probably contact site administration for such permissions. Several email addresses to contact CT are listed here. I don’t think you’ll have any problems at all.
One of these days, I’ll have to get around to creating an actual listing for the Lyceum. I’ve also seen references to a Plaza Theatre on Merrick Road, that may have been the first purpose-built movie house in Lynbrook.
Here’s a link to a photo of the old Lyceum Hall, that pre-dated the Airdrome. Perhaps this is the very pic that hangs in that hall of St Raymonds Church?
Lynbrook Bagels, diagonally across the street from the former Studio 1, has a pair of flat screen displays in their shop that present a slide-show of images tracing the history of the shop over the years. One of these is a vintage B&W shot looking north on Atlantic Ave that clearly shows the Arcade’s marquee projecting over the sidewalk on the left. I couldn’t stick around long enough to catch the image come around again on the loop, and get a movie title or approximate date. Next time I’m in there, I have to ask the manager if he has an actual copy of that picture, or at least inquire where he found it.
Wally75, if you ever find any of your old pics of the Playhouse, please be sure to post them here (or send them my way and I’ll gladly do it for you)!
Robboehm, here’s a link to a B&W shot of the screen and front of the house from the balcony during the Playhouse’s waning days as a movie house. This link had been erroneously posted on the 8th Street Playhouse page, and I’m surprised it was never re-posted here… until now, that is.
The image is from photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto, who took a series of images at several different cinemas, where he locked down a large-format camera at some central point opposite the screen and then opened the shutter for the duration of the movie. The results were quite lovely. I’m sure if you google the photographer’s name, you’ll find a number of these stills floating around the web.
Since there was a balcony in the original, they’ll stack them and likely utilize basement space. I anticipate at least a few of these rooms will be quite small, but I’m hoping the screen sizes remain reasonable.
Sad that the theater was completely gutted. Seems that Alamo might have employed many of the original architectural features in the new auditoriums. It is heartening to hear that they will research the original decor and use that as a basis to design and trim the new interior.
Al… I wonder if Alamo will be able to succeed where CO wasn’t, based on their being licensed to serve liquor on the premises.
I think that Wally was merely pointing out that there have been cinemas known to operate without the usual downward slope of seating towards the screen. I might add that there have even been theaters where the seats sloped UP towards the screen!
The street view for this theater is off by about a block to the south. I also believe the status of the building should be amended to “demolished.” The northwest corner of Fulton Street and Rockwell Place is depicted in the street view as being vacant and surrounded by construction fencing. The location would be diagonally across from the old Strand Theatre, which is adjacent to the current BAM Harvey.
To correct the street view, turn to the right and head down Fulton to the next intersection (Rockwell Pl). The far corner on the left with the blue fencing should be the site of the late Momart Theatre.
Hey saps… I took the hint and got over to the theater site today. Alas, it was too late to get any image that even vaguely resembles the old gal. Demolition is complete and the process of hauling away the twisted metal and debris is well underway. I uploaded a few shots anyway, showing what the area looked like as of late this afternoon.
Tinseltoes… I know this is a pet peeve of yours (and it bugs me, too) but I think the address ribbon to which you refer is a function of how the database is organized. Not that I have a lot of experience at developing and mapping out websites, but I do believe that it isn’t a matter of fixing the ribbon as it is of getting the database organized into more logical geographic buckets. In other words, it is likely not going to be a quick and easy fix.
Mikeoaklandpark… the representative photo that winds up on the “overview” page is generally the most-viewed image from a given theater’s photo gallery. I’m not sure what logic is employed in the eventuality that more than 1 photo in a given gallery has been viewed by the same number of people, but the actual age or date of the picture has nothing to do with whether it shows up as at the top of this page.
So, Rothafel opened both the Temple and the Cathedral of Motion Pictures. I wonder if he ever got around to building the Mosque of Motion Pictures.
You’re probably right, saps. The National, as I remember it, didn’t have much of a deep vestibule either, but the kiosks (I think there may have been 2 of them here) were under the broad marquee and I seem to recall them set back as far as possible, so as to be out of the way of pedestrian traffic. I would imagine that theaters would have been compelled to keep those kiosks similarly out of the way so as not to risk injury or a log-jam on the sidewalk.
I remember Times Square was always pretty thick with pedestrians – even in the bad ole days – but just this past weekend, I tried to walk down 42nd Street with my daughter, and the area from the New Amsterdam going west to the mid-block crosswalk was just about impassible! Between the lines for Madame Toussaud’s, patrons existing the theater, tourists stoping for photos in front of Ripley’s Odditorium, and the crowds under the McDonald’s canopy, we could barely stay together, let alone make any headway!
NYer… If it wasn’t the New Amsterdam itself, then it had to be either the Harris or the Liberty. Neither the Cine 42 nor the Empire had an outside vestibule and the Anco’s was rather shallow – not to mention at the end of the block and pretty shabby and not likely to have spared the cost for the kiosk. Thanks for trying to nail it down for me.
No doubt, I recall the kiosks at the big houses along Broadway. My memory falters at recalling which of the 42nd Street theaters employed the kiosks. I don’t think of them as being on the Duece, but now that I am going back to this discussion throughout the day, I’m starting to think that perhaps I do recall them at one or two of the larger theaters on that block. Particularly as those garish billboard-style advertisements that used to trim the theater entrances started to vanish. When I think back on those days, I mostly remember perusing the poster art, display cards and publicity stills that were hung around the outer vestibules as a guide to which particular program of flicks my buddies and I would commit to on any given day. Whereas, on Broadway and Seventh Avenue, you could actually watch the trailers from the sidewalk. Again, those memories are rather hazy, and my attention at the time lacked a certain amount of focus. I happily defer to your recollections.
I don’t remember them on 42nd St at all. Hmmm… perhaps one of the houses with a larger open-air vestibule, like the New Amsterdam, Harris, Lyric or Selwyn? Maybe the Liberty. The others I recall as having very shallow outer vestibules – if having one at all. The initial release of “It’s Alive” was a few years before my time on the Duece, so, perhaps the kiosk concept was ditched afterwards?
Was this one of the theaters that used to play trailers for current and coming attractions on video kiosks under the canopy to attract passersby? I know at least one theater along Broadway did this, probably several of them. Perhaps the State and/or Criterion? My memories are a bit foggy.
Yep. My mistake, Al. So much new construction in the area, and so little character and identity to distinguish one tower from the next.
Are we sure this theater was demolished? The street view above is off the mark, but if you swing it around 180 degrees and click your way south along Pilgrim Ave until you get to the intersection of Buhre Ave, the building on the far left corner (the south east corner of Buhre and Pilgrim Aves) looks very much like the old theater as depicted in Lost Memory’s photo, posted on July 1, 2008. That vintage image peers down Pilgrim Ave from the opposite direction, at the corner of Westchester Ave.