Cinerama Theatre
811 Hope Street,
Providence,
RI
02906
811 Hope Street,
Providence,
RI
02906
11 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 50 of 67 comments
Dear Nick Ritota and Abrunner,
I didn’t expect you guys to be so quick! Sadly no, I am not Jack’s daughter or related to anyone in the US. I am an educator in Sydney Australia. Hi.
I am reseraching the Award’s history since c.1966 when Doug Amos is said to have handed out this “Gordon Light” award for technical achievement in the cinema industry. I found reference to it in an old issue of Boxoffice Magazine.
How much technical innovation for instance was honored by Doug Amos or anyone in L&G, or the Art Cinema, or SBC Management?
(Ha. This is getting complicated.) Do any of you recall Jerry Lewis getting the award?
Nick, as I noted in the intro, the Cinerama was closed in 1983. I believe the Turkish movie Yol was the last picture I myself saw here, on March 19, 1983, before the theatre ceased operation not long thereafter.
The Dulgarians took the Avon around 1975. I beleive the Castle was sold in the early 80’s. Not sure what year we dropped the Art since it’s X rated format was always problematic with the city of Providence.
Cinerama was closed around 1981 after I had moved on to other SBC properties.
Abrunner
Jacks daughter was Jackie (JackieO on the one post above). I would love to chat with her as well since her dad and i were so close.
Lockwood & Gordon operated the Hope Theatre as early as 1955 along with the Avon, Castle,and Westminster Playhouse downtown. Worked at the Hope Theatre and the Westminster Playhouse.
To:lizziebeth…Are you Jack O'Sullivan’s daughter? If so, I would like to hear from you regarding him. As far as I can remember I don’t recall a “Golden Light” award.
P.S. L&G later ran the Art Cinema starting around 1957 , but I don’t recall when they shut down operations there as I was long gone from Rhode Island.
lizziebeth1
I can’t vouch for the award as I don’t see the post above mentioning it, but Gordon Enterprises predated Lockwood & Gordon Enterprises as a theatre owner. Doug Amos was a manager who worked his way up and eventutually ran L&G. He then became president of SBC Management which purchased L&G around 1969 while I worked for the chain.
Dear Abrunner,
Can you enlighten me please what was the “Gordon Enterprises” “Golden Light” Award for “Technical Achievement”? I am specifically interested in Jerry Lewis having received this award some time around your era via Doug Amos. I take it the Company and the award itself are now past and it’s no longer awarded?
Dear Jackie O,
I remember your father well as I worked for him for about 2 years as I was the manager of the Art Cinema on Broad Street. I had many,many long talks with your father and even spoke with him a couple of times long after I had left the business. I remember Jack as stern but very, very fair which is one of the reasons I liked and respected him so much. I even had dinner with him and your mother at your house which I believe was in Randolf or some small town near there. You most likely were not even born then. The year I believe was 1960. Through the years I have thought of him many times and you always remember special people and Jack was a special guy.
Abrunner,
More interesting memories!
The small cinema in that Park Square building in Boston was not the Trans-Lux but the Telepix, later renamed the Park Square Cinema. The Trans-Lux was downtown on Washington Street. Both have pages in Cinema Treasures.
Hello again Nick, Are you referring to the dress shop? I never went into that store and I never saw a customer in there but it must have been some business as it was there for many years.
So you are helf English and have never been to England? Shame on you!Well, if you ever come over here, you should let meknow and I could show you around theatreland. I think you wouldbe pretty impressed. The Theatre Royal (2400)seats has backstage tours there and it has a huge stage (like PPAC)and it is prettybusy there as the theatre is rarely dark.
I spoke with my brother today who lives down on the Cape and he said it was pretty warm (around 55) down there today. It was 50 inLondon today. I will spend the month of January in San Juan, Puerto Rico and will most likely stopand visit on the cape. I was there last C hristmas.
As they say here. “Tally Ho” as it is 1:30AM.Cheers!
Abrunner,
I’m trying to remember who was in the last store. There was a woman there when I worked at Cinerama. Not sure what she sold.
As for London, I would love to visit some time. My Mom is from Weymouth and is a war bride. Her and my Dad used to go back every two years starting in the mid seventies.
Speaking of Loges, Jack used to use that term all of the time. I wish his daughter would check back in to see posts about him and to chat about the good all days.
Hi Nick again! Next to Max was a tailor Julius Gold. He was anoldtimer and I used to have my slacks pressed there for a number of years. I enjoyed talking with him but sometimes it waqs tough understanding me. He had imigrated from Russia and had many interesting stories of Russia in the early 1900’s. I was facinated by his tales. Well, the the old times are gone now which is a bit sad. If you enjoyed old theatres, you would love the old playhouses of London which are still operating.Many of the theatres were bombed out by the Germans in the early forties. Though some were totally wrecked, many were repaired or rebuilt and still operating. The London playhouses are smaller generally than Broadway theatres but not by too much. For instance PPAC with 3400 seats is too big and the London theatres are around 900-1100 seats. The orchestra sections are called “stalls” mezzanines are called “dress circle” or “loges” though upper seats are in the “balcony”. London prices are now on a par with New York. For decades London theatres were inexpensive. In the nineties theatres got more and more expensive and a good seat at HerMajesty’s Theatre for “Phantom of the Opera” will set you back $100/125 buckeroos which wouldbe around 60 pounds here. So there you have it from London!!!
Good old Max. Always paid his rent; must have been from selling booze to kids! I remember a rabbi yelling from accross the street “Max Silverman, you will rot in hell'! I think it was a Jewish holiday or something. Whenever there was a big snowstorm he would buy up the bread at Royals and resell it at a ‘modest’ profit.
Quite the character!
Hello! His name was Silverman. About twenty five years ago I was visiting Providence and I didn’t rent a car. Iwas staying at the Holiday Inn and was visiting someone on the east side so I took the bus (Hope St.)and got out at Thayer St. after the tunnel and Max was getting on as I got off. There was no time to talk with him. I’m sure he has left us. To me, he was old when I was 17!
The last I knew Nelson Wright’s son Peter took over his father’s business as Nelson died around 1975.
I didn’t know Nelson, but knew of him. I know the Boston office you’re speaking about. i worked for SBC after L&G and they had an office on Exeter, I believe. I then worked for Hoyts as well which had the old CCC office then the new one in Boston.
Was the liquor Max Swan or Max Silverman? Silverman had the liquor store while I was there and was my tenant when I ran Cinerama.
You’re right, it seems like a hundred years ago!
Hello again Nick, Boy, what memories. After we got through working on friday nights, (we were about 17)we would go to Max’s Swan Liquors and we each got 2 quart bottle of Narragansett Beerr and got good and sloshed. What fun! Do you remember Nelson Wright? He was manager of the Hope after Herman Boas. I very nice guy who eventually fdormed hisown booking business and had his office in thePark Sq. building in Boston. Most of the film companies had their regional offices (MGM,WarnesBros et al)in that building. There was also a smallcinema in the building called the Trans Lux. It was so long ago and I am so far away from Providence now living in London. I still have contacts there and I spend two months every summer in Jamestown. Providence has sure changed but I think for the better. It looks quite nice downtown around the mall and Westin Hotel. Every thing in London which is good asmost of the theatres (not cinemas)are still around and in good condition as many of them were built in the 1800’s. Thanks for bringing back the memories!
Ah, Royals Variety store. That was still there when I worked at the theatre in the late 60’s and ran it in the late 70’s. How about Max Silverman who ran the liquor store out front. Bought my first illegal alcohol there.
During my high school days I worked at the Hope Theatre for a couple of years. This period was 1954 and 55. Herman Boas was the manager, a nice guy who was always very sad. He also had ulcers and I would remember getting pint glass bottles of milk at Royal’s Variety store a block away. I was a ticket taker and usher. Remember working the Saturday and Sunday matinees with kiddeie shows. After the matinees we had to clean the theatre for the evening showings. The caashier was Miss Dowling with firey red hair who would terrorize young kids. The theatre showed double features and did a lot of business on weekends. Also changed the marquee twice a week on Tuesday and Saturday nights. Sometimes I worked the parking lot as well. It was a fun place to work and the kids that worked there including myself allwent to Hope High School.
Yes Nick, its me. Hope things going well for you. Very long time.
Could that be Ralph responding? Long time no see!
Remember going to see Cinerama on a school trip…..I was 8 or 9. Who knew later in my life I would work there. Worked there as a fill in projectionist. Remember it well, the theater was one of the better twin jobs i’ve seen after working in so many theaters. The floating screens were a nice concept. And although twined we were still set up to run 70mm. Remember Nick booking Star Wars, 2001, Sound of Music. But that projection room..in one we had a xenon lamp and platter which was not motor driven…it was air driven, noisey and the other we had carbon arc with 70/35. In the winter it was cold and in the summer it was hot. At that time SBC leased the Cinerama and owned Castle. I bought the Castle from them. To bad they didn’t own the Cinerama property, would of bought that instead.
Jeff,
Nice to hear from you. I remember your Dad well; sorry to hear about your loss.
Do you know what year he started there? I worked for a while at the Avon before Cinerama and I’ve been trying to reconstruct the time lines.
Nick, you probably saw me raising hell in the theater when I was a kid! LOL. Hope I wasn’t too much of a brat. Anyway, my father always spoke highly of the people that worked for him then. He has since passed away (in 1985). Thanks for the Star Wars link. All the best.
Jeff
Box Office magazine from a Star Wars promotion I ran at this theatre. At the time, we were sub-run, with occasional art runs. Eventually, we converted to an all art format.
View link
Nick, I have contacted you directly.
Hello all!
I actually ran the Cinerama from 1977 thru 1979 before moving on to other SBC (Sonderling Broadcasting Corp) theatres (this was the successor to Lockwood & Gordon). SBC also owned TV and radio stations. Jack O'Sullivan was my mentor and district manager and Gerry Colbert succeded me as manager (sadly, Gerry has passed on).
I was hired by Larry Johnson around 1969 while in high school and worked on and off right through college. I also worked for Pat Carter and Vinnie Poirtier. SBC also owned the Avon, Castle and Art Cinemas.
When I took over, the house was a 99 cent twin where the crowd had gotten pretty rough. I asked Jack to take a chance on some off beat films. I researched and travelled to Boston on off days and attended art theatres there before making my first recommendation. It was quite the sight playing Marcello Mastrianni and Sophia Loren on one screen and a sub-run on the other. I also brought Rocky Horror to Cinerama after a run at Showcase Seekonk.
I knew every inch of that old theatre, even the false box seats built into the second story and covered by screen drape during the remodel. I McGivered my way through many a night with antique plumbing and heating, tube amplifiers and a tiny concession stand that didn’t pop its own corn.
I believe that we innovated cleaning between screenings at this theatre; I’d never seen or heard of this before we began the process around 1978.
I would love to hear from anyone who remembers this old lady. She was a beautiful house with a ton of personality!
Nick