I saw and photogrpahed the exterior of the Majestic week-before-last. The brick exterior appears all original. The attractive—albeit contemporary—marquee is nicely proportioned, and stars with names of donors to the theatre are set into the sidewalk out front. The lobby is completely contemporary in design. I am told that the auditorium retains some features of its historic appearance.
I was in Corvallis week-before-last, in order to visit a high school friend of mine who lives in Monmouth. It turns out that he knows the above-quoted Paul Turner, and took me to Paul’s Avalon Cinema to meet him. He had the exact story to tell which is quoted above with regards to the Whiteside.
Indeed the Whiteside is a beautiful theatre. Paul, as well as a couple of other people I spoke with, indicated that retail use is the next likely use for the Whiteside, with retention of the exterior and some aspects of the original interior likely. I took many exterior photos, with the knowledge that next time I go up to visit my Monmouth friend, the theatre probably won’t look as good or intact.
Wow! What a beautiful nighttime photo of downtown Eugene, with all that neon, that Lost Memory has posted. Sad to say, although Eugene is a very cool town, all of what is shown in the photo no longer exists. I was in Eugene week-before-last, and wandered the entire length of Willamette Street, looking for remnants of the theatres which once lined it. Aside from the well-preserved McDonald, nothing else seems to have survived. Eugene was hit hard in the Sixties and Seventies with a crop of Modernist office and commercial buildings. Some have considerable architectural merit in their own right, but there exists a considerable loss to the stock of older downtown buildings. Still, Eugene remains a cool and funky hippie town with charming historic homes, interesting and friendly people, and a thriving arts scene.
When I saw and photographeed the exterior of this theatre in 1981, there was a 1940s vertical FOX sign and wedge-shaped marquee attached to the abovementioned columned facade. The theatre was still showing movies at that time, at bargain prices. There was also a huge brick theatre a few blocks away called the Montana, which looked to be of ‘teens vintage. It too, had a 1940s-looking vertical and marquee. The Montana, however, was closed, and looked like it had been for some time.
The exterior was Egyptian in style. The interior perhaps can best be described as Beaux Arts. To my knowledge, this was the first Bay Area theatre to exhibit motifs from ancient Egypt in its architecture. Others eventually followed, including Oakland’s Parkway (operating), Dimond (gutted, now a market), Allendale (converted to apartments), and Theatre #3 added to the Grand Lake (operating).
I never saw the Drain personally, but relatives took a couple of photos for me when they stumbled upon the theatre in the early 1990s. It was closed at the time. The photos I have show it looking just like it does in the old photo in the above-posted link, with one significant exception. The theatre had been given a new vertical neon sign, which, judging by its style, was likely added circa 1957.
The 1947-48 Theatre Catalog features a short write-up with three photos. In addition to the view in the above post, there is a photo of the little no-nonsense lobby, and a view of the simple, acoustic-panelled, vaulted auditorium, with rectangular proscenium and a small neon clock to the left of it, and a single exit door to the right.
I never went to this drive-in, as I lived “over the hill” in Santa Cruz County during its last years of operation, but I do remember seeing its sign looming atop the Highway 17 embankment, both when still functioning and then for a number of years even after the screen towers were demolished.
The sign was two-sided. Above the large reader boards for the multiple screens, the word “Winchester” was written in single-tube neon script, which I think was yellow. Around and below this snaked a long arrow, which carried the word “Theatres” in upper-case type, also in neon. I forget what color. The serpentine arrow itself featured a multitude of red neon v-shaped cross-pieces as its “ribs,” which animated. During the last years of operation, the animation mechanism failed, and so there were alternating little bunches of tubes stuck in either “on” or “off” condition. The paint colors of the sign as best as I can remember were brown, white, red, and possibly yellow.
I never saw the actual entrance of the theatre, so don’t know what sort of signage fronted the street it was on. The above-described sign advertised the theatre to passersby on the Highway 17 freeway.
I did indeed manage to get some nice exterior photos of the Atlantic, as planned, in Oct., 2006. Happy to share with anyone, as long as they prepare themselves for the fact that the theatre’s exterior color scheme is pink and white, making me think the church was in a constant state of Easter glad tidings.
The reconstruction of the facade of the Royal is well underway, which seems to be the final touch to the apartment tower which has stood completed on the Royal’s footprint for some months now.
For a good year or so, a basic steel facade frame and marquee frame have been standing on the site, clearly indicating that some sort of aesthetic nod to the High Deco metal fascia designed by the Pfleuger office for the remodel of Reid Bros. original structure was forthcoming, but for months and months—nothing. Today’s observation revealed a different story entirely.
At this writing, a web of scaffolding and safety netting shrouds the facade, but through gaps in the netting, I could see men working on the installation of an EXACT REPLICA of the openwork metal scrollwork portion of the facade which featured cathedral glass, backlit at night. Structures for the octagonal pylons flanking the lacework metal and glass grille are in place. It is my presumption that the original sheetmetal Deco “fountain” structures which were carefully saved by crane before the Royal’s demolition will be set upon these pylons. Not much has been added to the rectangular marquee frame at this point, but several conduits snaking into it indicate an ample future use of lighting. One can hope for a touch of neon, can’t one? Stay tuned.
I live just a little too far away from Santa Ana to prudently zoom down there to see this presentation. I recommend all Cinematreasures members who CAN get there to do so. I have met Joe three times, visited his Salon of the Theatres twice, and attended three theatres he’s restored or embellished which are part of the public landscape. As an artist and designer myself, I can say that Joe’s talents in these areas as well as his deep love for things of the theatrical sort is absolutely top-notch and beautiful. The inclusion of the word “seashells” in the title of his presentation particularly intrigues me. Sounds like he’ll be including plenty about the Skouras style theatres in the Long Beach area, three of which I attended as a child, and live on vividly in my memory, though either demolished or heavily altered in reality. See his presentation—I urge you!
To respond to gsmurph’s query about the theatre on Mission, around the corner from the Amazon: That is the Rialto. While it looks like the work of the Reid Bros., its architect was Mark T. Jorgensen. It operated for only a very brief time once the Amazon opened nearby. Ironic that its interior and exterior have now survived moreso intact than its competition, the Amazon, which once bested it.
When I visited the Fox Pomona Theatre with the Theatre Historical Society in 2005, several of us walked down the street, having had the United Artists Theatre building pointed out to us. We could see the stagehouse mentioned above, and, as someone with knowledge of Egyptian architecture, I can say that indeed there are remnants of Egyptian style on the facade, albeit slight. There is what is known as a cavetto cornice running along the top, and a cylindrical torus molding along the top and down the sides. As I recall, the facade “leans” in slightly, in what in architecture is called a “battered” wall.
I’ve been in this theatre twice—both times with the Theatre Historical Society—in 1998 and in 2005. The first time, we simply were allowed to poke about the theatre. The second, we were shown some “film” clips which showcased the digital projection and sound which were being experimented with there at the time. Spectacular. The Grand Lobby which encircles the rear of the auditorium like a horseshoe is remarkably well preserved. There are lounges both upstairs and below ground level which are also in quite good shape. Nearly all of the ornament shown in the above interior photo is still intact behind red drapes. The underside of the balcony has its ornament intact, although painted red to match the drapes. Behind the giant screen, the stagehouse is still there.
A Latin bistro now is open in the Mountain View. I have not been inside since the buisiness change, but they serve lunch both inside and on the sidewalk in front (as do many restaurants along Castro St.).
I saw the Raymond on New Years Eve Day 2006. The facade was draped in scaffolding and shrouded in protective netting, obscuring any details. The marquee from the Crown Theatre days was gone, leaving only a couple of steel support beams jutting beyond the netting. The concrete exterior walls on the left side were unobscured, and several rectangular holes had been cut into them. Foundation work on the new extension of the building was underway.
After witnessing the enormous battle to save the theatre (and contributing a little to it), I hope that after the construction dust is all swept away the facade will emerge restored to its original grandeur, and that there will be at least some sections of the interior incorporated into the new scheme.
I am not in the least ashamed to shed tears during a movie. When I pay my money, I am paying to get emotionally swept away, be it tears or guffaws!
I remember, shortly before going to the 1990s retelling of the TITANIC story, a co-worker of mine at the time who was a tattoo-covered, Harley-riding, heavy metal guitar-playing guy had seen it a day or two previous, said to me, “Good movie. Bring a tissue though, dude. It’s a tear-jerker.” While sitting in the theatre I thought to myself that if my co-worker friend, with his reformed tough-guy history and image, could shed tears at this, I certainly could. And shed I did—bigtime.
Another one that did it for me: The ending of “Random Harvest” with Greer Garson; “Smithy?” “Paula!” I’ve only seen it once, at Palo Alto’s Stanford Theatre, but I remember I wasn’t the only one so affected that night.
An unusual one: In the 1950s version of DeMille’s “The Ten Commandments,” tears come when the Pillar of Fire is inscribing the tablets. This may sound wierd, but not to me. My Dad was the animator of the Pillar of Fire. He passed away in 1999, and quite simply, I miss him. Combine that with Elmer Bernstein’s stirring score, and that does it.
I need to add to the list of similar-facaded theatres by A.W. Cornelius the T&D in Berkeley—long since renamed the California and remodeled several times—still in operation.
The Quonset style structure which still stands was also named the Soledad. I remember being able to read the neon on the vertical sign from 101 in the early 1980s. I wish I’d photographed it then. The vertical sign structure, poster cases, and box office remain.
Yet another incarnation for the Gay Theatre: It is now called Angels. There is pink neon on the marquee for the first time since the Pussycat days, as well as a pair of stylized angel wings made of thousands of silvery sequin-like disks, which move and shimmer in the breeze. Not a bad design at all, though the original marquee look is sorely missed.
The Gaslighter has recently closed. I have heard it said that the space is to be turned into some kind of “ultralounge.” Apparently, requisite seismic upgrading is to be undertaken first.
I only went to one show at the Gaslighter, in Fall of 2000. It was my second date with my wife.
We drove by the site of the Mayfair last week. There is housing there now, done in a rather pleasing Arts & Crafts bungalow revival style. Below the storefront windows on the ground floor, however, are bands of maroon tile which look more Moderne than anything else. I wonder if they, and the smooth pastel stucco which covers much of the ground floor facade, are a slight nod to the theatre?
Right at the building’s curved corner, about where the box office once stood, there is a bronze plaque commemorating the Mayfair, which includes a representation of the “M” and flower motif which was centered on the marquee. The plaque gives a basic description of the theatre’s exterior, date, and lists its architect, S. Charles Lee.
The back of the Granada as of late December ‘06 looks much like the photo in the previous post, except for some new concrete substructure being put in place. The new facilities being built underneath the historic auditorium look extensive.
While the replica of the original 1920s marquee which is going to be put on the facade is a nice piece of design, I am going to miss the streamlined marquee which Warner Bros. put on the theatre and which has remained until today. I remember how amazing it looked in the mid-80s when I first saw it at night. Nearly every tube was working.
The vertical sign is going to remain and be restored, thankfully.
I saw and photogrpahed the exterior of the Majestic week-before-last. The brick exterior appears all original. The attractive—albeit contemporary—marquee is nicely proportioned, and stars with names of donors to the theatre are set into the sidewalk out front. The lobby is completely contemporary in design. I am told that the auditorium retains some features of its historic appearance.
I was in Corvallis week-before-last, in order to visit a high school friend of mine who lives in Monmouth. It turns out that he knows the above-quoted Paul Turner, and took me to Paul’s Avalon Cinema to meet him. He had the exact story to tell which is quoted above with regards to the Whiteside.
Indeed the Whiteside is a beautiful theatre. Paul, as well as a couple of other people I spoke with, indicated that retail use is the next likely use for the Whiteside, with retention of the exterior and some aspects of the original interior likely. I took many exterior photos, with the knowledge that next time I go up to visit my Monmouth friend, the theatre probably won’t look as good or intact.
Wow! What a beautiful nighttime photo of downtown Eugene, with all that neon, that Lost Memory has posted. Sad to say, although Eugene is a very cool town, all of what is shown in the photo no longer exists. I was in Eugene week-before-last, and wandered the entire length of Willamette Street, looking for remnants of the theatres which once lined it. Aside from the well-preserved McDonald, nothing else seems to have survived. Eugene was hit hard in the Sixties and Seventies with a crop of Modernist office and commercial buildings. Some have considerable architectural merit in their own right, but there exists a considerable loss to the stock of older downtown buildings. Still, Eugene remains a cool and funky hippie town with charming historic homes, interesting and friendly people, and a thriving arts scene.
I saw and photographed the exterior of the McDonald week-before-last. It is in operation as a concert venue.
When I saw and photographeed the exterior of this theatre in 1981, there was a 1940s vertical FOX sign and wedge-shaped marquee attached to the abovementioned columned facade. The theatre was still showing movies at that time, at bargain prices. There was also a huge brick theatre a few blocks away called the Montana, which looked to be of ‘teens vintage. It too, had a 1940s-looking vertical and marquee. The Montana, however, was closed, and looked like it had been for some time.
The exterior was Egyptian in style. The interior perhaps can best be described as Beaux Arts. To my knowledge, this was the first Bay Area theatre to exhibit motifs from ancient Egypt in its architecture. Others eventually followed, including Oakland’s Parkway (operating), Dimond (gutted, now a market), Allendale (converted to apartments), and Theatre #3 added to the Grand Lake (operating).
The auditorium structure was a Quonset design.
I never saw the Drain personally, but relatives took a couple of photos for me when they stumbled upon the theatre in the early 1990s. It was closed at the time. The photos I have show it looking just like it does in the old photo in the above-posted link, with one significant exception. The theatre had been given a new vertical neon sign, which, judging by its style, was likely added circa 1957.
The 1947-48 Theatre Catalog features a short write-up with three photos. In addition to the view in the above post, there is a photo of the little no-nonsense lobby, and a view of the simple, acoustic-panelled, vaulted auditorium, with rectangular proscenium and a small neon clock to the left of it, and a single exit door to the right.
I never went to this drive-in, as I lived “over the hill” in Santa Cruz County during its last years of operation, but I do remember seeing its sign looming atop the Highway 17 embankment, both when still functioning and then for a number of years even after the screen towers were demolished.
The sign was two-sided. Above the large reader boards for the multiple screens, the word “Winchester” was written in single-tube neon script, which I think was yellow. Around and below this snaked a long arrow, which carried the word “Theatres” in upper-case type, also in neon. I forget what color. The serpentine arrow itself featured a multitude of red neon v-shaped cross-pieces as its “ribs,” which animated. During the last years of operation, the animation mechanism failed, and so there were alternating little bunches of tubes stuck in either “on” or “off” condition. The paint colors of the sign as best as I can remember were brown, white, red, and possibly yellow.
I never saw the actual entrance of the theatre, so don’t know what sort of signage fronted the street it was on. The above-described sign advertised the theatre to passersby on the Highway 17 freeway.
I did indeed manage to get some nice exterior photos of the Atlantic, as planned, in Oct., 2006. Happy to share with anyone, as long as they prepare themselves for the fact that the theatre’s exterior color scheme is pink and white, making me think the church was in a constant state of Easter glad tidings.
The reconstruction of the facade of the Royal is well underway, which seems to be the final touch to the apartment tower which has stood completed on the Royal’s footprint for some months now.
For a good year or so, a basic steel facade frame and marquee frame have been standing on the site, clearly indicating that some sort of aesthetic nod to the High Deco metal fascia designed by the Pfleuger office for the remodel of Reid Bros. original structure was forthcoming, but for months and months—nothing. Today’s observation revealed a different story entirely.
At this writing, a web of scaffolding and safety netting shrouds the facade, but through gaps in the netting, I could see men working on the installation of an EXACT REPLICA of the openwork metal scrollwork portion of the facade which featured cathedral glass, backlit at night. Structures for the octagonal pylons flanking the lacework metal and glass grille are in place. It is my presumption that the original sheetmetal Deco “fountain” structures which were carefully saved by crane before the Royal’s demolition will be set upon these pylons. Not much has been added to the rectangular marquee frame at this point, but several conduits snaking into it indicate an ample future use of lighting. One can hope for a touch of neon, can’t one? Stay tuned.
I live just a little too far away from Santa Ana to prudently zoom down there to see this presentation. I recommend all Cinematreasures members who CAN get there to do so. I have met Joe three times, visited his Salon of the Theatres twice, and attended three theatres he’s restored or embellished which are part of the public landscape. As an artist and designer myself, I can say that Joe’s talents in these areas as well as his deep love for things of the theatrical sort is absolutely top-notch and beautiful. The inclusion of the word “seashells” in the title of his presentation particularly intrigues me. Sounds like he’ll be including plenty about the Skouras style theatres in the Long Beach area, three of which I attended as a child, and live on vividly in my memory, though either demolished or heavily altered in reality. See his presentation—I urge you!
To respond to gsmurph’s query about the theatre on Mission, around the corner from the Amazon: That is the Rialto. While it looks like the work of the Reid Bros., its architect was Mark T. Jorgensen. It operated for only a very brief time once the Amazon opened nearby. Ironic that its interior and exterior have now survived moreso intact than its competition, the Amazon, which once bested it.
When I visited the Fox Pomona Theatre with the Theatre Historical Society in 2005, several of us walked down the street, having had the United Artists Theatre building pointed out to us. We could see the stagehouse mentioned above, and, as someone with knowledge of Egyptian architecture, I can say that indeed there are remnants of Egyptian style on the facade, albeit slight. There is what is known as a cavetto cornice running along the top, and a cylindrical torus molding along the top and down the sides. As I recall, the facade “leans” in slightly, in what in architecture is called a “battered” wall.
I’ve been in this theatre twice—both times with the Theatre Historical Society—in 1998 and in 2005. The first time, we simply were allowed to poke about the theatre. The second, we were shown some “film” clips which showcased the digital projection and sound which were being experimented with there at the time. Spectacular. The Grand Lobby which encircles the rear of the auditorium like a horseshoe is remarkably well preserved. There are lounges both upstairs and below ground level which are also in quite good shape. Nearly all of the ornament shown in the above interior photo is still intact behind red drapes. The underside of the balcony has its ornament intact, although painted red to match the drapes. Behind the giant screen, the stagehouse is still there.
A Latin bistro now is open in the Mountain View. I have not been inside since the buisiness change, but they serve lunch both inside and on the sidewalk in front (as do many restaurants along Castro St.).
I saw the Raymond on New Years Eve Day 2006. The facade was draped in scaffolding and shrouded in protective netting, obscuring any details. The marquee from the Crown Theatre days was gone, leaving only a couple of steel support beams jutting beyond the netting. The concrete exterior walls on the left side were unobscured, and several rectangular holes had been cut into them. Foundation work on the new extension of the building was underway.
After witnessing the enormous battle to save the theatre (and contributing a little to it), I hope that after the construction dust is all swept away the facade will emerge restored to its original grandeur, and that there will be at least some sections of the interior incorporated into the new scheme.
I am not in the least ashamed to shed tears during a movie. When I pay my money, I am paying to get emotionally swept away, be it tears or guffaws!
I remember, shortly before going to the 1990s retelling of the TITANIC story, a co-worker of mine at the time who was a tattoo-covered, Harley-riding, heavy metal guitar-playing guy had seen it a day or two previous, said to me, “Good movie. Bring a tissue though, dude. It’s a tear-jerker.” While sitting in the theatre I thought to myself that if my co-worker friend, with his reformed tough-guy history and image, could shed tears at this, I certainly could. And shed I did—bigtime.
Another one that did it for me: The ending of “Random Harvest” with Greer Garson; “Smithy?” “Paula!” I’ve only seen it once, at Palo Alto’s Stanford Theatre, but I remember I wasn’t the only one so affected that night.
An unusual one: In the 1950s version of DeMille’s “The Ten Commandments,” tears come when the Pillar of Fire is inscribing the tablets. This may sound wierd, but not to me. My Dad was the animator of the Pillar of Fire. He passed away in 1999, and quite simply, I miss him. Combine that with Elmer Bernstein’s stirring score, and that does it.
I need to add to the list of similar-facaded theatres by A.W. Cornelius the T&D in Berkeley—long since renamed the California and remodeled several times—still in operation.
The Quonset style structure which still stands was also named the Soledad. I remember being able to read the neon on the vertical sign from 101 in the early 1980s. I wish I’d photographed it then. The vertical sign structure, poster cases, and box office remain.
The Plaza was still showing movies (in Spanish) in 1983. I remember exploring theatres in downtown Salinas at this time.
It is no longer the Monte Carlo. The sign has been removed from the marquee, and the building is closed.
Yet another incarnation for the Gay Theatre: It is now called Angels. There is pink neon on the marquee for the first time since the Pussycat days, as well as a pair of stylized angel wings made of thousands of silvery sequin-like disks, which move and shimmer in the breeze. Not a bad design at all, though the original marquee look is sorely missed.
The Gaslighter has recently closed. I have heard it said that the space is to be turned into some kind of “ultralounge.” Apparently, requisite seismic upgrading is to be undertaken first.
I only went to one show at the Gaslighter, in Fall of 2000. It was my second date with my wife.
We drove by the site of the Mayfair last week. There is housing there now, done in a rather pleasing Arts & Crafts bungalow revival style. Below the storefront windows on the ground floor, however, are bands of maroon tile which look more Moderne than anything else. I wonder if they, and the smooth pastel stucco which covers much of the ground floor facade, are a slight nod to the theatre?
Right at the building’s curved corner, about where the box office once stood, there is a bronze plaque commemorating the Mayfair, which includes a representation of the “M” and flower motif which was centered on the marquee. The plaque gives a basic description of the theatre’s exterior, date, and lists its architect, S. Charles Lee.
The back of the Granada as of late December ‘06 looks much like the photo in the previous post, except for some new concrete substructure being put in place. The new facilities being built underneath the historic auditorium look extensive.
While the replica of the original 1920s marquee which is going to be put on the facade is a nice piece of design, I am going to miss the streamlined marquee which Warner Bros. put on the theatre and which has remained until today. I remember how amazing it looked in the mid-80s when I first saw it at night. Nearly every tube was working.
The vertical sign is going to remain and be restored, thankfully.