Thanks Guys for posting those pics. Its great to see what the interior of this theatre finally looks like, even in its very dilapidated state it is still a beauty.There is very little in the way of photographs from its past. Lets hope that Emerson retain and restore as much of the original features as possible. After all,it is a miracle that the building is still there after a near 30 year wait to be rediscovered.
Are there any photos of the Main Lobby or more of the auditorium? I have been fascinated by the Paramount since I saw it sitting there very sadly in 1991 covered in mesh to stop falling debris hitting passers-by. Even then with that massive rusted marquee and vertical it captured your imagination.
The curtain can raise in two styles only now; in an arc, echoing the arch of the proscenium and, alternately, horizontal across the bottom edge. Both styles still allow it to festoon/cascade as it rises and falls.I have seen them use both to great effect at the Christmas shows and also for concerts. What seems unable to happen is the use of any of the 13 motors to operate individually to allow for anything more irregular.
Jim, yes they do raise and lower the curtain as part of the tour regularly. What I was referring to with the curtain motors is that when the curtain was replaced they were not able to re-instate the way it had operated in the past. It still rises and falls in the most majestic way but it is uniform. It used to be possible to operate each of the 13 motors randomly to form patterns as the drape rose and fell or to suit a particular stage act. Originally there was an entire part of the stage programme called “Symphony of the Curtains” where the curtain changed shapes whilst the twin organs and orchestra accompanied it. What a thrill is must have been and thats before the show had even started!
Regarding the changed neon colors on the marquee.The first week when it reopened after the recent restoration I took the tour. Speaking to the very knowledgeable guide, he informed me that over the years the colors had changed due to manufacturing techniques. Just like Jim Rankin suggests.
Over time the blue had become a more royal blue and was returned to at the original turquoise blue that was more eyecatching. The red had become a screamingly bright orange-red and was returned to a rich true red.
I also took the oportunity to puchase the brochure for the grand reopening gala which they were selling in the shop. It has a 3" x 5" swatch of the original gold stage curtain fabric attached to a spectacular photo of the curatin in action. Shame they can’t seem to operate the curtain’s 13 motors they way they used to anymore…….
Thanks to Ken Roe for submitting further details about this fabulous theatre.
I did submit a full description and update for this page on November 15th after several members couldn’t understand why there wasn’t one. I even enclosed a personal picture of the exterior but for some reason Cinema Treasures won’t update the page listing or even respond to my 4 emails asking why……..
Warren, I expect what ‘ij’ was referring to was ‘cushions’. It was often common practice in first rate movie theatres to provide cushions to small children to sit on. This was usually because the child was unable to see over the adult seated in front of them and often requested by the parent.
Vincent, thats not such a strange idea and in fact it could be a stepping stone toward restoration of this jewel.
One of the reasons I think this venue is so neglected is that because of its size and location it has been unseen for nearly 30 years. The locals can’t be passionate about something they have been told is fabulous unless they can see it for themselves.Also to see what it was in the past and can be again via photgraphs of they heyday against what it is now. Viewing it in a poor state can also be a powerful incentive to do something urgently. If there is no interest after exposing the community and local investors to something great in their midst, then at least the ‘Friends’ gave it a chance and failed honorably.
Perhaps Miss Streisand is ‘just the ticket’ to get the ball rolling??!!
RobertR et al, I have submitted a description for this most magnificent ‘Wonder’ theatre with the help of THSA documents and David Naylor’s books. Also attached a personal photo taken in the 1990’s, can’t believe it hasn’t been done before now.
Come on guys, lets do something about the formation of a ‘friends’ group to restore the Kings and halt the decline of this truly unique treasure.
Bob; you say that platter systems are not acceptable for running vintage or rare prints. I’d be interested to hear why not. Is the modern stock more hard wearing or is it that the film companies want a projectionist to be present just in case of mishap?
The auditorium of the Melbourne Regent was an exact copy of Thomas Lamb’s Capitol Theatre in New York City. The owner of the Regent, producer Francis Thring, was captivated by Thomas Lamb’s work in the USA and insisted on introducing Cedric Ballantyne to him. Ballantyne studied Lamb’s designs and re-cycled many of Lamb’s ideas throughout the Regent circuit in Australia.
Before fire destroyed the auditorium area in 1945 the proscenium had the rounded fan-shape identical to the NYC Capitol which became a house style for the ‘Regents’. This was re-designed and squared off during re-building,the owners Hoyts, hoping to correct a ‘tunneling’ effect that was complained of by patrons seated in the rear balcony. The entirely reconstructed auditorium and renovated foyers reopened for Christmas 1947.
This theatre and the delightful Plaza Theatre below it are truly jewels in Melbourne’s portfolio of beautifully restored theatres. Surely its time to restore one of the most unique cinema treasures in the world; Melbourne’s Capitol Theatre???
Jim, The white fringe was new and purchased from the UK some years back. As impressive as the curtain looks in the photo this theatre is located in the balcony only and as such does not have much in the way of length/drop, but the owners should be commended for taking the trouble to create something immaginative in this city. The red main curtain is backed up by silver satin travellers. The original theatre had a fly tower with the main curtain rising vertically, this is no longer possible as that area is occupied by rented space.
I believe the main auditorium (pictured) seats around 700.
This is just the tip of the iceberg.Wait until the whole Odeon circuit goes up for sale later this month and then watch the new owners make all the old cinemas redundant. All those old favourites that have somehow managed to struggle through the 60’s until now will suddenly disappear without a whimper.
When will English Heritage or the National Trust realise what they are losing and start classifying these theatres? Yes, we have hundreds of Victorian and Edwardian playhouses all beautifully preserved and not one Super Cinema. Developers know it is only a matter of time before they start to classify and are moving quickly to demolish what treasures are left.
Favourite music to follow Newmans great Fox fanfare and CinemaScope extension? The Fox music department and its head Alfred Newman embarked on hiring the greatest selection of film composers for CinemaScope product which was designed to bring the “world to your doorstep”
There was great music for the many moods of Fox CinemaScope. Manhattan chic/“How to Marry a Millionaire”, Western drama/“Broken Lance”, Grandeur/“Anastasia”, Raunch,“Revolt of Mamie Stover”, Drama/“Rains of Ranchipur” Exotica/“Boy on a Dolphin”, Adventure/ “Soldier of Fortune”, Musical/“The King and I” and just plain fun/ “The Girl Can’t Help It”
How could you choose just one? But best seen mostly at the Roxy with magnetic sound.
Forget Dolby and all its sanitised technical sharpness. Give me the enormous depth and power of magnetic 4 or 6 track anytime, I can live with the hiss.
Vito is, of course correct, in stating that they were mostly mono or Perspecta sound prints used in the mid to late fifties at the Music Hall. The Hall was not equipped to show magnetic 4 track prints because of the rejection of audiece-participation speakers in the auditorium and the product base being mainly MGM films. This was a major expense for exhibitors and was also damaging to the decor in many theatres. MGM and Paramount embraced Perspecta which gives a stereo directional effect from a mono soundtrack but in the stage range only. It did not require or benefit from speakers in the auditorium. 20th Century-Fox championed the much more expensive 4 track magnetic prints initially as part of their promotion of CinemaScope.The spectacular multi-directional sound from these prints was expensive for the studio and for the exhibitor but also meant that the print was only usable in one type of theatre and from usually only one studio. Meanwhile, because of the cost of these prints, they developed mag/optical prints. These carried 2 tracks of stereo and and a mono optical track but didnt start to be taken up until the late 50’s. From then on 4 track was only used infrequently,mostly for event pictures or special prints for gala engagements. This continued up until the late seventies when Dolby became widespread.
Just because the wide release of a film was in a certain sound process or aspect ratio doesnt mean that other prints do not exist. The studios ran off prints in all sorts of strange variations in different cities. ‘Scope films were released flat or rereleases of classics or even just new prints were run off in different processes. Having worked in a film exchange I remember having a print of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and “Call Me Madam” in 4 track, whilst having “Carousel” in a flat 1:1.66 and mono. One of the last special magnetic 4 track prints I saw was for a premiere of “Hair”, which came direct from UA in Los Angeles and was returned to their library after the engagement.
Part of the reason the 70mm prints of “GWTW” looked so bad is they were printed up from Technicolor IB masters and converted to Metrocolor then blown up. The only way to get enough picture to fill the 70mm ratio was to zoom in on the 1.33 image sufficiently to get enough picture to fill the sides of the screen(a bit like the Pan&Scan process when they need to fill height when printing up from a widescreen image).Resulting an a blotchy,grainy and washed out look to a treasure most people remember as being akin to “Wizard of Oz” A ghastly mistake which MGM never repeated and the 70mm prints of “GWTW” were discarded. This didn’t however stop them from trying it with other classics on the odd occasion as there was a 70mm print struck of “Camille” and used to fill the screen at RCMH when filming John Huston’s “Annie”!!!
I love those photos.Magnificent, haunting and horrific all at once.
Detroit was so careless with its theatre stock. I still cant beieve they destroyed the spectacularly unique Fisher and turned it into a 60’s disaster.The Michigan did not deserve to to die such a sad and lingering death, but still its there for us to at least get some idea of the scale of the original theatre.
Will, thanks for that link, the photos are truly horrific. This firm are genuinely proud of their achievement. Its hard to believe that given the history of the Egyptian in Hollywood and the position it held for over 60 years that they can think the are doing everyone a great service.Did they actaully see any reference photos for the building in its heydey?
I know its years too late, way after the dodgy restoration has finished but these architects were clearly the wrong choice. Just read this copy of their “statement” lifted from their website…
“The creation of an appropriate design is a search guided more by rules of conduct than those of appearance. In our work we attempt to frame the goals of each project in terms which are sympathetic to the user, the place, and ultimately the planet. If we have a
prescription it is that of efficiency and performance, two words which are unusual only in their exclusion from the day-to-day world
of architecture, and their near universal application to the world
of design.Our work is correspondingly diverse, marching to no easily identified drummer but, we hope, deeply committed to providing useful and satisfying facilities for human transactions, whatever they may be”.
Craig Hodgetts, Ming Fung
No what does all that crap mean? Ultimately I guess it means we lose another icon…..but perhaps not forever.
Bruce, this is such an important issue to raise and I’m glad you have.
So many times on this site you see outrageous sums of money quoted as what is needed to restore a classic movie palace. As you pointed out there are many ways of doing this and sometimes that’s possible over a long period of time. It is possible to approach restoration with integrity and not have it turn into a ‘money is no object’ scenario.Not every restoration has to be on a par with the New Amsterdam.Not every theatre needs a stage space suitable for a
touring production of “The Lion King”
There are lots of movie theatres out there that need saving for regional arts centres,community theatre or even just movies and
there are many ways of offsetting the cost of this. We are reaching a dangerous position of scaring off local investment by quoting
outrageous and idealistic sums for immediate restoration. A recent
comment on this site mentions the cost of replacing drapery in a
movie palace costing $5 million. In what world would that be the case and who could blame a property owner or local authority for
reconsidering restoration.
Too often restoration goes too far and and the theatre cannot sustain the ideal inflicted on it.That passing Broadway show doesnt book the theatre because the local community cannot guarantee enough box office return or there is a more attractive location nearby. Then the beautifully restored theatre sits waiting to be used and in some cases closes because its running costs are so high.A truly lamentable situation.
These valuable assets to our community have to be saved urgently but also responsibly. Not every movie theatre costs a fortune to restore but also, not every movie theatre is a cash cow in waiting.
No Vincent, You were right first time – the Astor Plaza IS just a hole in the ground. The Roxy was and still is the Cathedral of the Motion Picture and demolition can’t take that away from us!
You ask about Laserdisc remasters from 70mm prints.
STAR!, the 1994 pressing of SOUTH PACIFIC and OKLAHOMA, 1991 pressing of WEST SIDE STORY, Box set of CLEOPATRA,SOUND of MUSIC,MY FAIR LADY were all from the 70mm masters. It is unclear whether MGM used the 70mm master of GOODBYE MR.CHIPS for the laserdisc.
Another two exceptionally high quailty discs were the Box set of THE KING AND I and the 1991 pressing of CAROUSEL both from the CinemaScope 55 masters.
Wow, a very handsome and lavishly appointed theatre and spectacular photos too. Thanks for posting them Pete.
Thanks Guys for posting those pics. Its great to see what the interior of this theatre finally looks like, even in its very dilapidated state it is still a beauty.There is very little in the way of photographs from its past. Lets hope that Emerson retain and restore as much of the original features as possible. After all,it is a miracle that the building is still there after a near 30 year wait to be rediscovered.
Are there any photos of the Main Lobby or more of the auditorium? I have been fascinated by the Paramount since I saw it sitting there very sadly in 1991 covered in mesh to stop falling debris hitting passers-by. Even then with that massive rusted marquee and vertical it captured your imagination.
Amazon UK carries it at £24.99. Shipping within 24 hours.
The curtain can raise in two styles only now; in an arc, echoing the arch of the proscenium and, alternately, horizontal across the bottom edge. Both styles still allow it to festoon/cascade as it rises and falls.I have seen them use both to great effect at the Christmas shows and also for concerts. What seems unable to happen is the use of any of the 13 motors to operate individually to allow for anything more irregular.
Jim, yes they do raise and lower the curtain as part of the tour regularly. What I was referring to with the curtain motors is that when the curtain was replaced they were not able to re-instate the way it had operated in the past. It still rises and falls in the most majestic way but it is uniform. It used to be possible to operate each of the 13 motors randomly to form patterns as the drape rose and fell or to suit a particular stage act. Originally there was an entire part of the stage programme called “Symphony of the Curtains” where the curtain changed shapes whilst the twin organs and orchestra accompanied it. What a thrill is must have been and thats before the show had even started!
Regarding the changed neon colors on the marquee.The first week when it reopened after the recent restoration I took the tour. Speaking to the very knowledgeable guide, he informed me that over the years the colors had changed due to manufacturing techniques. Just like Jim Rankin suggests.
Over time the blue had become a more royal blue and was returned to at the original turquoise blue that was more eyecatching. The red had become a screamingly bright orange-red and was returned to a rich true red.
I also took the oportunity to puchase the brochure for the grand reopening gala which they were selling in the shop. It has a 3" x 5" swatch of the original gold stage curtain fabric attached to a spectacular photo of the curatin in action. Shame they can’t seem to operate the curtain’s 13 motors they way they used to anymore…….
Thanks Bryan, will send again.
Thanks to Ken Roe for submitting further details about this fabulous theatre.
I did submit a full description and update for this page on November 15th after several members couldn’t understand why there wasn’t one. I even enclosed a personal picture of the exterior but for some reason Cinema Treasures won’t update the page listing or even respond to my 4 emails asking why……..
Warren, I expect what ‘ij’ was referring to was ‘cushions’. It was often common practice in first rate movie theatres to provide cushions to small children to sit on. This was usually because the child was unable to see over the adult seated in front of them and often requested by the parent.
Vincent, thats not such a strange idea and in fact it could be a stepping stone toward restoration of this jewel.
One of the reasons I think this venue is so neglected is that because of its size and location it has been unseen for nearly 30 years. The locals can’t be passionate about something they have been told is fabulous unless they can see it for themselves.Also to see what it was in the past and can be again via photgraphs of they heyday against what it is now. Viewing it in a poor state can also be a powerful incentive to do something urgently. If there is no interest after exposing the community and local investors to something great in their midst, then at least the ‘Friends’ gave it a chance and failed honorably.
Perhaps Miss Streisand is ‘just the ticket’ to get the ball rolling??!!
RobertR et al, I have submitted a description for this most magnificent ‘Wonder’ theatre with the help of THSA documents and David Naylor’s books. Also attached a personal photo taken in the 1990’s, can’t believe it hasn’t been done before now.
Come on guys, lets do something about the formation of a ‘friends’ group to restore the Kings and halt the decline of this truly unique treasure.
Congratulations, Loew’s Jersey City. Its all yours now so run with it! Great good wishes for the future of this most majestic of movie palaces.
Bob; you say that platter systems are not acceptable for running vintage or rare prints. I’d be interested to hear why not. Is the modern stock more hard wearing or is it that the film companies want a projectionist to be present just in case of mishap?
The auditorium of the Melbourne Regent was an exact copy of Thomas Lamb’s Capitol Theatre in New York City. The owner of the Regent, producer Francis Thring, was captivated by Thomas Lamb’s work in the USA and insisted on introducing Cedric Ballantyne to him. Ballantyne studied Lamb’s designs and re-cycled many of Lamb’s ideas throughout the Regent circuit in Australia.
Before fire destroyed the auditorium area in 1945 the proscenium had the rounded fan-shape identical to the NYC Capitol which became a house style for the ‘Regents’. This was re-designed and squared off during re-building,the owners Hoyts, hoping to correct a ‘tunneling’ effect that was complained of by patrons seated in the rear balcony. The entirely reconstructed auditorium and renovated foyers reopened for Christmas 1947.
This theatre and the delightful Plaza Theatre below it are truly jewels in Melbourne’s portfolio of beautifully restored theatres. Surely its time to restore one of the most unique cinema treasures in the world; Melbourne’s Capitol Theatre???
Jim, The white fringe was new and purchased from the UK some years back. As impressive as the curtain looks in the photo this theatre is located in the balcony only and as such does not have much in the way of length/drop, but the owners should be commended for taking the trouble to create something immaginative in this city. The red main curtain is backed up by silver satin travellers. The original theatre had a fly tower with the main curtain rising vertically, this is no longer possible as that area is occupied by rented space.
I believe the main auditorium (pictured) seats around 700.
C.Howard Crane did not design the San Francisco Fox or the Atlanta Fox. Eve Leo did however have carte blanche to decorate the San Francisco Fox.
This is just the tip of the iceberg.Wait until the whole Odeon circuit goes up for sale later this month and then watch the new owners make all the old cinemas redundant. All those old favourites that have somehow managed to struggle through the 60’s until now will suddenly disappear without a whimper.
When will English Heritage or the National Trust realise what they are losing and start classifying these theatres? Yes, we have hundreds of Victorian and Edwardian playhouses all beautifully preserved and not one Super Cinema. Developers know it is only a matter of time before they start to classify and are moving quickly to demolish what treasures are left.
Favourite music to follow Newmans great Fox fanfare and CinemaScope extension? The Fox music department and its head Alfred Newman embarked on hiring the greatest selection of film composers for CinemaScope product which was designed to bring the “world to your doorstep”
There was great music for the many moods of Fox CinemaScope. Manhattan chic/“How to Marry a Millionaire”, Western drama/“Broken Lance”, Grandeur/“Anastasia”, Raunch,“Revolt of Mamie Stover”, Drama/“Rains of Ranchipur” Exotica/“Boy on a Dolphin”, Adventure/ “Soldier of Fortune”, Musical/“The King and I” and just plain fun/ “The Girl Can’t Help It”
How could you choose just one? But best seen mostly at the Roxy with magnetic sound.
Forget Dolby and all its sanitised technical sharpness. Give me the enormous depth and power of magnetic 4 or 6 track anytime, I can live with the hiss.
Vito is, of course correct, in stating that they were mostly mono or Perspecta sound prints used in the mid to late fifties at the Music Hall. The Hall was not equipped to show magnetic 4 track prints because of the rejection of audiece-participation speakers in the auditorium and the product base being mainly MGM films. This was a major expense for exhibitors and was also damaging to the decor in many theatres. MGM and Paramount embraced Perspecta which gives a stereo directional effect from a mono soundtrack but in the stage range only. It did not require or benefit from speakers in the auditorium. 20th Century-Fox championed the much more expensive 4 track magnetic prints initially as part of their promotion of CinemaScope.The spectacular multi-directional sound from these prints was expensive for the studio and for the exhibitor but also meant that the print was only usable in one type of theatre and from usually only one studio. Meanwhile, because of the cost of these prints, they developed mag/optical prints. These carried 2 tracks of stereo and and a mono optical track but didnt start to be taken up until the late 50’s. From then on 4 track was only used infrequently,mostly for event pictures or special prints for gala engagements. This continued up until the late seventies when Dolby became widespread.
Just because the wide release of a film was in a certain sound process or aspect ratio doesnt mean that other prints do not exist. The studios ran off prints in all sorts of strange variations in different cities. ‘Scope films were released flat or rereleases of classics or even just new prints were run off in different processes. Having worked in a film exchange I remember having a print of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and “Call Me Madam” in 4 track, whilst having “Carousel” in a flat 1:1.66 and mono. One of the last special magnetic 4 track prints I saw was for a premiere of “Hair”, which came direct from UA in Los Angeles and was returned to their library after the engagement.
Part of the reason the 70mm prints of “GWTW” looked so bad is they were printed up from Technicolor IB masters and converted to Metrocolor then blown up. The only way to get enough picture to fill the 70mm ratio was to zoom in on the 1.33 image sufficiently to get enough picture to fill the sides of the screen(a bit like the Pan&Scan process when they need to fill height when printing up from a widescreen image).Resulting an a blotchy,grainy and washed out look to a treasure most people remember as being akin to “Wizard of Oz” A ghastly mistake which MGM never repeated and the 70mm prints of “GWTW” were discarded. This didn’t however stop them from trying it with other classics on the odd occasion as there was a 70mm print struck of “Camille” and used to fill the screen at RCMH when filming John Huston’s “Annie”!!!
Thanks Neo,
I love those photos.Magnificent, haunting and horrific all at once.
Detroit was so careless with its theatre stock. I still cant beieve they destroyed the spectacularly unique Fisher and turned it into a 60’s disaster.The Michigan did not deserve to to die such a sad and lingering death, but still its there for us to at least get some idea of the scale of the original theatre.
Neo, you seem to need a password to view those photos, what is it?
Thanks.
Will, thanks for that link, the photos are truly horrific. This firm are genuinely proud of their achievement. Its hard to believe that given the history of the Egyptian in Hollywood and the position it held for over 60 years that they can think the are doing everyone a great service.Did they actaully see any reference photos for the building in its heydey?
I know its years too late, way after the dodgy restoration has finished but these architects were clearly the wrong choice. Just read this copy of their “statement” lifted from their website…
“The creation of an appropriate design is a search guided more by rules of conduct than those of appearance. In our work we attempt to frame the goals of each project in terms which are sympathetic to the user, the place, and ultimately the planet. If we have a
prescription it is that of efficiency and performance, two words which are unusual only in their exclusion from the day-to-day world
of architecture, and their near universal application to the world
of design.Our work is correspondingly diverse, marching to no easily identified drummer but, we hope, deeply committed to providing useful and satisfying facilities for human transactions, whatever they may be”.
Craig Hodgetts, Ming Fung
No what does all that crap mean? Ultimately I guess it means we lose another icon…..but perhaps not forever.
Bruce, this is such an important issue to raise and I’m glad you have.
So many times on this site you see outrageous sums of money quoted as what is needed to restore a classic movie palace. As you pointed out there are many ways of doing this and sometimes that’s possible over a long period of time. It is possible to approach restoration with integrity and not have it turn into a ‘money is no object’ scenario.Not every restoration has to be on a par with the New Amsterdam.Not every theatre needs a stage space suitable for a
touring production of “The Lion King”
There are lots of movie theatres out there that need saving for regional arts centres,community theatre or even just movies and
there are many ways of offsetting the cost of this. We are reaching a dangerous position of scaring off local investment by quoting
outrageous and idealistic sums for immediate restoration. A recent
comment on this site mentions the cost of replacing drapery in a
movie palace costing $5 million. In what world would that be the case and who could blame a property owner or local authority for
reconsidering restoration.
Too often restoration goes too far and and the theatre cannot sustain the ideal inflicted on it.That passing Broadway show doesnt book the theatre because the local community cannot guarantee enough box office return or there is a more attractive location nearby. Then the beautifully restored theatre sits waiting to be used and in some cases closes because its running costs are so high.A truly lamentable situation.
These valuable assets to our community have to be saved urgently but also responsibly. Not every movie theatre costs a fortune to restore but also, not every movie theatre is a cash cow in waiting.
No Vincent, You were right first time – the Astor Plaza IS just a hole in the ground. The Roxy was and still is the Cathedral of the Motion Picture and demolition can’t take that away from us!
Rhett:
You ask about Laserdisc remasters from 70mm prints.
STAR!, the 1994 pressing of SOUTH PACIFIC and OKLAHOMA, 1991 pressing of WEST SIDE STORY, Box set of CLEOPATRA,SOUND of MUSIC,MY FAIR LADY were all from the 70mm masters. It is unclear whether MGM used the 70mm master of GOODBYE MR.CHIPS for the laserdisc.
Another two exceptionally high quailty discs were the Box set of THE KING AND I and the 1991 pressing of CAROUSEL both from the CinemaScope 55 masters.