Kenmore Theatre

I worked on the Loews side when Cineplex was absorbed and we were amazed at how poorly the theatre managers and assistant managers were paid compared to their counterparts at Loews, at least here in the New York market. The merit raise formula had to be re-worked for those managers to bring them in line with wages at Loews. The service staff was certainly not paid any more than the Loews staff and didn’t have the benefits or the incentives that the Loews staff did until they came on board after the merger. To say that they were the highest paid in the country couldn’t be true, at least not in my experience.

I never saw the problems you mention Al.These must have come later.
The staff was the highest paid in the country for theaters as were the managers.Two times while i was dm the unions lost the vote to unionize staff.We had very good employee relations.At the time we also had the best theaters in the country and should have charged as such.
Corrupt unions that was not Cineplex Odeons fault.

The one mistake Cineplex had was paying to much as it got theater budgets in hot water.

District Managers and upper management were certainly better paid than the competition but hourly staff was minumum wage and theatres managers were poorly paid and often disrespected. The union options were outrageously corrupt offers and rightfully rejected by everyone as pensions were being blatantly stolen by the union chiefs. (some were eventually arrested, then reinstated)

The projection union was a series of no shows and the stagehand unions were dead overhead as most employees were too old to find the stage, much less change a light bulb.

The concessions workers unions disappeared after collecting dues and never represented anyone.

Even in the leaner years, Cineplex bonuses were paid only to upper level executives (those mainly responsible for the losses) and lower level employees got screwed out of all raises and bonuses. The rotten apples were mostly Americans based in Toronto.

Longislandmovies, you were not there during the butter topping media scandals. There is a book in that alone about how a company can abuse their customers and employees and get away with it in NY.

Cineplex Odeon was a nightmare employer and a price gauging enterprise that made customers pay for bad leases, corrupt unions, and poor employee relations.

Cineplex was indeed odious, but not for Cinema Treasures purposes.

CINEPLEX ODEON WAS A BEACON OF CINEMA PRESERVATION WHO KEPT CINEMAS GOING LONG PAST THEIR DUE DATES AND AGAINST ALL ODDS. LET’S GIVE CREDIT WHERE IT IS EARNED.

The Alpine, Kingsway and Kings Plaza were among their most profitable theatres. The Fortway and Kenmore barely broke even and the Metropolitan produced huge losses.

Much of the Kenmore income came from the dubious tenants along Church Street, not the box office. I say dubious because the jeweler barely had any jewels and the bridal shop never paid the rent. The fish store in the corner often had as many cats as fish on the premises.

I think your contempt is misplaced.

The Kenmore would have closed in 1988 if Drabinky had not insisted on taking it over and prolonging it’s life. Say what you wish about the man and his business sense, he kept theatres going way after they were profitable busineses and the Kenmore rarely broke even.
It often cost more to heat and cool this place than the total box office takings could pay for.

RKO was selling everything. United Artists was not taking over any old houses and Loews and City Cinemas wanted nothing to do with Brooklyn.

Cineplex Odeon was a bad employer, landlord, and an overly agressive operator in many ways, but it was a friend of preservation.

The Kenmore lasted as long as it did thanks to gory violent movies and Drabinky’s obsession with market share. Remember, it was Loews who shut it down.

I lived in the neighborhood from ‘68 to '76, when all those movie theaters were open. I took my 2 kid sisters to see “Airport” at the Kenmore in '70. Heart-breaking to see all the violence & destruction. Last thing I saw there was Lily in “Incredible Shrinking Woman.”

To promote his new film “The Ladies Man,” Jerry Lewis appeared on stage at this theater on July 13, 1961.

Other than the marquis, is there any sign of the theater? I mean is there anything in that Modell’s that hints there was a movie house there?

Thank you from me as well, Warren, for that photograph. I know you probably won’t respond to this compliment, but I’m sure I don’t speak alone in stating you’re one of the most valued contributors to this site.

From those who attended the Kenmore in the ‘80s (such as yourself, Al) and the '90s, how many of its original architectural elements remained, post-multiplexing and after becoming a Cineplex Odeon property and do any still exist in its current incarnation as a Modell’s Sporting Goods store? I thought I read it had been, at best, mostly gutted, but would be grateful for some confirmation.

Thanks Warren.

Your photo has thrown me into time travel mode like no sci-fi movie ever could. Having “dealt” with Kenmore for many years in the nasty eighties I knew it had a grand past but one single image and the eighties are now gone. This one familiar, yet foreign, image means all the world to me. Thank you and Cinema Treasures for bringing this bullet holed crackhouse back to life. It’s the stuff dreams are made of.

Thanks Warren for that photo in my lifetime i’ve never experienced this theatre as a single screen.

Gustavelifting… The Kenmore was a very nice theater until the mid 70s. I only went there a half dozen times and remember it somewhat well. Glad I never went there after it was `plexed. I did not need to risk my life to see a movie!