The Paramount Theatre opened on 4th August 1917 screening Mary Pickford in “Less than the Dust”. The architect was James Bennie and there were 885 seats in the orchestra stalls and 626 in the circle.
In 1926 the theatre closed for a complete alteration to the interior by the original architect James Bennie and C.A. Martin. The alterations reduced the seating capaity to 1,394 and it re-opened on 20th May 1927 with Cecil B. De Mille’s “The Volga Boatman starring William Boyd. In 1934 a Wurlitzer organ was installed. It had originally been shipped from the USA in 1927 and installed in the Paramount Theatre, Nelson. NZ in 1928 but was removed from that theatre in July 1928 when it was taken over by another company and re-named the Regent.
The interior was re-designed yet again by architect James Bennie in 1943, but due to war-time restrictions, not all the plans were carried out and this may give the rather plain look that the theatre has today.
Even more drastic alterations were carried out in 1961 when the circle was floored forward to the proscenium to create a 710 cinema, whilst the orchestra level was converted into offices. The facade remains virtually unaltered since its 1927 make-over.
Listed as the Venus Theater in Film Daily Yearbook’s that I have;1930-1950. Seating capacities vary from 500, 564 down to 400. It is not listed in the 1957 edition of F.D.Y.
List in the 1941 edition of Film Daily Yearbook as the State Theatre with 1,200 serats. In the F.D.Y. edition of 1943 it was the Old Vienna Theatre with a capacity of 1,029. In the 1950 edition of F.D.Y. it is still the Old Vienna Theatre but with 1,602 seats listed.
Gerald;
The ‘President’ shown on the postcard is the former Morosco Theatre, after being President it became the Newsreel then the Globe /theaters/1459/
The only other theatre that I have located on the 700 block of Broadway is the Loew’s State which at # 703 would be on the other side of the street but not in the position of the ‘other’ un-named theatre that can be seen on the postcard (That is if it is a theatre? I know the marquee looks like one, but…??)
Listed as the Universal Theatre in Film Daily Yearbooks that I have 1930 thru 1950. This theatre seemed to grow in size with a seating capacity given in 1930 as 281, in 1941 as 450, in 1943 and 1950 as 546. It is not listed in the 1957 edition of F.D.Y.
Sorry the first two links I posted don’t seem to work, but were ok from the Google search I did for ‘Tuschinski Theatre’.
One point of note is that the Tuschinski still has its Wurlitzer-Strunk theatre organ still in situ, although it is hardly ever played these days. It was installed in 1940, replacing an earlier 6Rank Wurlitzer model 160. The current Wurlitzer-Strunk has 4Manual/10Rank.
As well as being a 1st class movie theatre, the Tuschinski has also presented stage shows. Before W.W.II artists such as Maurice Chevalier, Tom Mix and Jeanette MacDonald appeared here accompanied by the resident 16 piece orchestra. After the war saw Judy Garland, Marlene Deitrich, Edith Piaf, Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Domino and Dionne Warwick all do concerts in the theatre. The resident orchestra was disbanded in 1969 and the organ ceased to be a regular part of the programme in 1974.
Mainly invited guests and film industry people attend. They are black tie and best dress events, so the general public are not encouraged to attend (off the street). The premiers are never advertised, the only way of knowing that one is going to happen, is by enquiring at the box office, or looking for signs in the booking schedule where, usually a whole days performances of the regular film playing will be cancelled. Of course an obvious sign is walking through Leicester Square and seeing the barriers up and the red carpet down, with crowds of fans forming as they usually attract the main stars of the movie being premiered and many other celebrities.
Vincent;
Local citizen’s formed a committee to save the Mayfair and offered to buy the theatre from the Walter Reade organisation. However after lengthy negotiations, all offers were rejected. The asking price was reported to be $300,000. City officials said that the Mayfair owed over $45,000 in back taxes as well as the adjacent St James Theatre, also operated by Walter Reade, which was also included in the demolition plans. It was reported that the St James Theatre was not as old or attractive as the Mayfair and there had been no move by citizens to preserve that theatre.
I am presuming that both theatres were demolished at the same time.
The building was first the Grower’s National Bank, built in 1922 and it remained a bank until the stock market crash in 1929. Ten years later in 1939 it opened as the Campbell Theatre, with the movie “Gone With the Wind”. It closed as a movie theatre in 1963.
Here is a fine photo of the console of the State Cinema’s Compton organ 3Manual/6Rank with Melotone, with it’s illuminated surround. http://www.decopix.com/stateorga.html
The Empire was opened on 1st August 1930. It was taken over by County Cinemas in about 1931. It was re-named Odeon from 18th January 1964 and closed on 17th October 1971.
Now called The Kings Centre, which is a Christian centre.
In October 1940, the Odeon Balham was hit by a bomb which destroyed the entire right side of the front of the building. Luckily the auditorium was undamaged and after a clear up, the cinema opened for business as normal. Looking at a photo of the Odeon taken at the time, I would say that if it were to happen today, the cinema would never be allowed to open in the state it was in.
The destroyed right hand side of the front of the Odeon was re-built to its original design when the war was over and can still be seen today as the facade to residential use that has now been built on the site of the auditorium.
Shown as operating in Film Daily Yearbook’s that I have (years 1941 – 1950), it was operated by Paramount Pictures Inc through their subsidiary Mullins & Pinanski.
The State Theatre is listed as operating as a movie theatre in Film Daily Yearbooks that I have between 1941 and 1950. Dates before and after these need to be researched.
The Trocadero Cinema, like the 4004 seat Gaumont State Theatre, Kilburn, London were projects of the Hyams and Gale circuit which were taken over by Gaumont British Cinemas.
The Trocadero was taken over in October 1935 by Gaumont Super Cinemas. The seating capacity of the Trocadero was 3,500 and it was one of the most lavish ‘movie palaces’ ever built in the UK and was on the same scale as a Thomas Lamb, or Rapp & Rapp theatre in the USA.
The Paramount Theatre opened on 4th August 1917 screening Mary Pickford in “Less than the Dust”. The architect was James Bennie and there were 885 seats in the orchestra stalls and 626 in the circle.
In 1926 the theatre closed for a complete alteration to the interior by the original architect James Bennie and C.A. Martin. The alterations reduced the seating capaity to 1,394 and it re-opened on 20th May 1927 with Cecil B. De Mille’s “The Volga Boatman starring William Boyd. In 1934 a Wurlitzer organ was installed. It had originally been shipped from the USA in 1927 and installed in the Paramount Theatre, Nelson. NZ in 1928 but was removed from that theatre in July 1928 when it was taken over by another company and re-named the Regent.
The interior was re-designed yet again by architect James Bennie in 1943, but due to war-time restrictions, not all the plans were carried out and this may give the rather plain look that the theatre has today.
Even more drastic alterations were carried out in 1961 when the circle was floored forward to the proscenium to create a 710 cinema, whilst the orchestra level was converted into offices. The facade remains virtually unaltered since its 1927 make-over.
Listed in the Film Daily Yearbook,1943 as being operated by Fox Midwest Amusement Corp.
Listed as the Venus Theater in Film Daily Yearbook’s that I have;1930-1950. Seating capacities vary from 500, 564 down to 400. It is not listed in the 1957 edition of F.D.Y.
Listed in the Film Daily Yearbook,1941 as being operated by Warner Bros. Circuit Management with a seating capacity of 1,424.
Listed in editions of Film Daily Yearbook’s that I have;1941-1950, as the Plymouth Theatre, operated by E.M. Loew’s.
The Lounge Cinema opened in 1916. The Kinematograph Year Book, 1944 gives a seating capacity of 778.
List in the 1941 edition of Film Daily Yearbook as the State Theatre with 1,200 serats. In the F.D.Y. edition of 1943 it was the Old Vienna Theatre with a capacity of 1,029. In the 1950 edition of F.D.Y. it is still the Old Vienna Theatre but with 1,602 seats listed.
Gerald;
The ‘President’ shown on the postcard is the former Morosco Theatre, after being President it became the Newsreel then the Globe /theaters/1459/
The only other theatre that I have located on the 700 block of Broadway is the Loew’s State which at # 703 would be on the other side of the street but not in the position of the ‘other’ un-named theatre that can be seen on the postcard (That is if it is a theatre? I know the marquee looks like one, but…??)
Listed as operating in Film Daily yearbooks that I have; 1941, 1943, 1950.
Scoop,
I took the infomation from the New Beverly Cinema’s own website. http://www.michaelwilliams.com/beverlycinema/ click on ‘info’
Listed as the Universal Theatre in Film Daily Yearbooks that I have 1930 thru 1950. This theatre seemed to grow in size with a seating capacity given in 1930 as 281, in 1941 as 450, in 1943 and 1950 as 546. It is not listed in the 1957 edition of F.D.Y.
Sorry the first two links I posted don’t seem to work, but were ok from the Google search I did for ‘Tuschinski Theatre’.
One point of note is that the Tuschinski still has its Wurlitzer-Strunk theatre organ still in situ, although it is hardly ever played these days. It was installed in 1940, replacing an earlier 6Rank Wurlitzer model 160. The current Wurlitzer-Strunk has 4Manual/10Rank.
As well as being a 1st class movie theatre, the Tuschinski has also presented stage shows. Before W.W.II artists such as Maurice Chevalier, Tom Mix and Jeanette MacDonald appeared here accompanied by the resident 16 piece orchestra. After the war saw Judy Garland, Marlene Deitrich, Edith Piaf, Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Domino and Dionne Warwick all do concerts in the theatre. The resident orchestra was disbanded in 1969 and the organ ceased to be a regular part of the programme in 1974.
A photograph of the proscenium arch is here:-
http://oh-no.net/mt/000038.html
The main light fitting in the centre of the auditorium ceiling
http://oh-no.net/mt/000039.html
Some more pictures here:-
http://www.cinematour.com/tour.php?db=fo&id=1331
Mainly invited guests and film industry people attend. They are black tie and best dress events, so the general public are not encouraged to attend (off the street). The premiers are never advertised, the only way of knowing that one is going to happen, is by enquiring at the box office, or looking for signs in the booking schedule where, usually a whole days performances of the regular film playing will be cancelled. Of course an obvious sign is walking through Leicester Square and seeing the barriers up and the red carpet down, with crowds of fans forming as they usually attract the main stars of the movie being premiered and many other celebrities.
The photograph above of the enormous chandelier is the lobby chandelier.
Vincent;
Local citizen’s formed a committee to save the Mayfair and offered to buy the theatre from the Walter Reade organisation. However after lengthy negotiations, all offers were rejected. The asking price was reported to be $300,000. City officials said that the Mayfair owed over $45,000 in back taxes as well as the adjacent St James Theatre, also operated by Walter Reade, which was also included in the demolition plans. It was reported that the St James Theatre was not as old or attractive as the Mayfair and there had been no move by citizens to preserve that theatre.
I am presuming that both theatres were demolished at the same time.
The building was first the Grower’s National Bank, built in 1922 and it remained a bank until the stock market crash in 1929. Ten years later in 1939 it opened as the Campbell Theatre, with the movie “Gone With the Wind”. It closed as a movie theatre in 1963.
It re-opened as the Gaslighter Theatre in 1967.
Here is a fine photo of the console of the State Cinema’s Compton organ 3Manual/6Rank with Melotone, with it’s illuminated surround.
http://www.decopix.com/stateorga.html
The Empire was opened on 1st August 1930. It was taken over by County Cinemas in about 1931. It was re-named Odeon from 18th January 1964 and closed on 17th October 1971.
Now called The Kings Centre, which is a Christian centre.
In October 1940, the Odeon Balham was hit by a bomb which destroyed the entire right side of the front of the building. Luckily the auditorium was undamaged and after a clear up, the cinema opened for business as normal. Looking at a photo of the Odeon taken at the time, I would say that if it were to happen today, the cinema would never be allowed to open in the state it was in.
The destroyed right hand side of the front of the Odeon was re-built to its original design when the war was over and can still be seen today as the facade to residential use that has now been built on the site of the auditorium.
Listed as operating as a movie theatre in Film Daily Yearbook’s that I have (years 1941-1950)
Shown as operating in Film Daily Yearbook’s that I have (years 1941 – 1950), it was operated by Paramount Pictures Inc through their subsidiary Mullins & Pinanski.
The State Theatre is listed as operating as a movie theatre in Film Daily Yearbooks that I have between 1941 and 1950. Dates before and after these need to be researched.
The Trocadero Cinema, like the 4004 seat Gaumont State Theatre, Kilburn, London were projects of the Hyams and Gale circuit which were taken over by Gaumont British Cinemas.
The Trocadero was taken over in October 1935 by Gaumont Super Cinemas. The seating capacity of the Trocadero was 3,500 and it was one of the most lavish ‘movie palaces’ ever built in the UK and was on the same scale as a Thomas Lamb, or Rapp & Rapp theatre in the USA.
The Majestic Theatre was also operated by Paramount Pictures Inc through their subsidiary Hoblitzelle & O'Donnell.
It is listed as operating in the Film Daily Yearbook,1941 with a seating capacity of 1,585.