The Capri was El Paso’s Cinerama theater. A complete list of Cinerama presentations in El Paso has been posted on this page.
Moderators/Contributors: I’d like to suggest Capri be added to the top of this page as an alternate name for this theater. Actually, now that I think about it, Capri ought to be the primary name and Ellanay should be the alternate name.
It appears there is some confusion over exactly what is meant by terms such as “roadshow” and “Cinerama.” Raysson: do you have any evidence that the Ambassador (or any theater in Raleigh for that matter) showed movies in Cinerama?
Regarding the “Empire” retrospective article and corrected web address from the previous two comments…
Wouldn’t it make more sense to cite the exact page? Citing only the site’s homepage requires readers to needlessly hunt for the article. The specific page is: http://www.in70mm.com/news/2003/empire/index.htm
What’s your point, raysson? Do a “Northgate” search here and you’ll find eleven theaters with that name. Do the same search on CinemaTour.com and you’ll get a hit of over twenty.
Cielo Vista Mall Cinema I-II-III had the El Paso exclusive booking of the original “Star Wars,” which ran a city record 26 weeks (followed by a 12-week moveover run at Montwood 3).
The Northgate opened on June 24, 1966. The debut attraction was a roadshow presentation of “Doctor Zhivago,” which would go on to run for 14 weeks.
The venue was located in the Northgate Center. Newspaper advertising generally listed its location as Dyer at Diana, though I believe the actual street address was 9350 Dyer.
Grand-opening newspaper promotion boasted:
The ultimate in…
– Restful seating with plenty of leg room
– Giant screen with distortion-free images
– Full-range stereophonic sound
– Year-round air conditioning
– Acres of free parking
An El Paso Herald-Post columnist cited the seat-count as 826.
The original operator was Interstate Theatres. In 1971, the company became known as ABC Interstate.
According to the records of Dolby Labs (circa 1977), Northgate was the first cinema in Texas to order a Dolby Stereo sound system.
The new list is superior, in my opinion, to the list posted on this page back in April ‘07 because of improved layout/formatting and the inclusion of duration and presentation data.
Actually, all I posted was info for the 1970s; I never got around to completing the project. If you wish to see the list completed, email me to discuss in further detail…
Al…What does Miami have to do with Albuquerque or San Juan? At any rate, yes, Miami had 3-strip Cinerama presentations (at the FLORIDA, ROOSEVELT and SHERIDAN). I plan to feature Miami in this series sometime in the future.
Were you misled into thinking this series had concluded because I mentioned Albuquerque being the last 3-strip market and/or because JSA used the past tense when giving his opinion on the series?
JSA…you have a point since Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory. I wasn’t thinking of it in those terms, though, since the film industry generally considers Puerto Rico an international market.
The FOX WINROCK officially opened on May 28, 1963. (There was an open house/preview screening on May 25.) The opening attraction was a reserved-seat presentation of “Lawrence Of Arabia.”
Initially operated by Fox Intermountain, local opening-day newspaper promotion boasted: “Over eight hundred seats designed to deliver comfort seldom enjoyed in any theatre, the finest in modern 70 millimeter projection equipment, a magnificent screen sixty-five feet wide, six-track stereophonic sound, an integral nursery with registered nurses in supervision…these are a few of the reasons you’ll enjoy the new Fox Winrock Theatre.”
The FOX WINROCK’s engagement of “This Is Cinerama” ended up running seven weeks. A complete list of Cinerama presentations in Albuquerque can be found on this page.
This theater opened as a twin, so the theater name at the top of the page ought to be revised to reflect this.
The Wilshire Twin opened on October 20, 1972. The debut attractions were “Where Does It Hurt?” and “Cancel My Reservation.”
Also, before being operated by Commonwealth Amusement (as mentioned in the intro at the top of this page), this was run by The Cooper Foundation (1972-74) and Cooper-Highland (1975-78). Commonwealth acquired the Cooper properties in ‘78.
Before being operated by Commonwealth (as mentioned in the intro above) this was run by The Cooper Foundation (1970-74) and Cooper-Highland (1975-78). Commonwealth Amusement acquired the Cooper properties in ‘78.
The Cooper Twin opened on February 25, 1970. The debut attractions were “Funny Girl” and “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.” According to an article in The Greeley Daily Tribune, published around the time the theater opened, this was the first twin theater built in Colorado.
RIVER HILLS did not open with “2001: A Space Odyssey” as claimed in the post above. It opened with a reserved-seat run of “Mediterranean Holiday” on April 19, 1968. (“2001” followed the booking of “Mediterranean Holiday on June 26, 1968.)
The RIVIERA half of the complex opened a week before the RIVER HILLS half on April 12, 1968, with the debut attraction being “Where Angels Go…Trouble Follows.”
It’s not possible for you to have seen “Star Wars” at the Tilton Twin in May ‘77 since the movie didn’t open there until July.
This sort of mis-recollection is common since it’s well known that the “official” release date of “Star Wars” was May 25, 1977. However, what many people overlook/don’t know/forget is that the movie was not given a broad, nationwide saturation release; the movie opened in May ‘77 in only a handful of markets and then had a slow, staggered distribution taking many weeks (or months in some cases) to reach certain markets.
1) The web address cited in your post above was misspelled. The address is www.In70mm.com. Also, wouldn’t it make more sense if you had cited the exact page rather than that site’s homepage, requiring readers to needlessly hunt for the article? The specific page is: http://www.in70mm.com/news/2003/empire/index.htm
2) Despite your claim to the contrary on this site’s Bordeaux page, there was a fifth North Carolina engagement of “Empire” in Fayetteville.
The ‘69 roadshow re-issue of “Ben-Hur” opened on June 19, 1969 simultaneously in Manhattan (Palace), Montclair (Clairidge) and Plainview (Plainview). I was careful to mention NYC area and not just Manhattan.
The 1969 re-issue of “Ben-Hur” opened simultaneously with three NYC area reserved-seat bookings. That was about three and a half years before “Man Of La Mancha.”
“Fiddler On The Roof,” also released prior to “Man Of La Mancha,” at one point in its reserved-seat run, was playing five NYC area hard-ticket bookings.
The Capri was El Paso’s Cinerama theater. A complete list of Cinerama presentations in El Paso has been posted on this page.
Moderators/Contributors: I’d like to suggest Capri be added to the top of this page as an alternate name for this theater. Actually, now that I think about it, Capri ought to be the primary name and Ellanay should be the alternate name.
It appears there is some confusion over exactly what is meant by terms such as “roadshow” and “Cinerama.” Raysson: do you have any evidence that the Ambassador (or any theater in Raleigh for that matter) showed movies in Cinerama?
Regarding the “Empire” retrospective article and corrected web address from the previous two comments…
Wouldn’t it make more sense to cite the exact page? Citing only the site’s homepage requires readers to needlessly hunt for the article. The specific page is: http://www.in70mm.com/news/2003/empire/index.htm
What’s your point, raysson? Do a “Northgate” search here and you’ll find eleven theaters with that name. Do the same search on CinemaTour.com and you’ll get a hit of over twenty.
Cielo Vista Mall Cinema I-II-III had the El Paso exclusive booking of the original “Star Wars,” which ran a city record 26 weeks (followed by a 12-week moveover run at Montwood 3).
Newspaper advertising generally cited the address as “I-10 at Hawkins,” though I believe the actual address to be 8401 Gateway Blvd West.
Some background details…
The Northgate opened on June 24, 1966. The debut attraction was a roadshow presentation of “Doctor Zhivago,” which would go on to run for 14 weeks.
The venue was located in the Northgate Center. Newspaper advertising generally listed its location as Dyer at Diana, though I believe the actual street address was 9350 Dyer.
Grand-opening newspaper promotion boasted:
The ultimate in…
– Restful seating with plenty of leg room
– Giant screen with distortion-free images
– Full-range stereophonic sound
– Year-round air conditioning
– Acres of free parking
An El Paso Herald-Post columnist cited the seat-count as 826.
The original operator was Interstate Theatres. In 1971, the company became known as ABC Interstate.
According to the records of Dolby Labs (circa 1977), Northgate was the first cinema in Texas to order a Dolby Stereo sound system.
The photo in the link from the post above illustrates the Northgate was a theatRE, not a theatER.
I hate to nit-pick over that detail, but the Cinema Treasures posting guidelines encourage members to make the distinction.
The Fox Bassett Center may have been the first 70mm-equipped theater in El Paso.
Long-run hits to play this theater included “Earthquake” (12 weeks; in Sensurround) and “2001: A Space Odyssey” (11 weeks).
CinemarkFan… I posted just such a list last year over on my Fans of Showmanship website.
The new list is superior, in my opinion, to the list posted on this page back in April ‘07 because of improved layout/formatting and the inclusion of duration and presentation data.
Actually, all I posted was info for the 1970s; I never got around to completing the project. If you wish to see the list completed, email me to discuss in further detail…
Al…What does Miami have to do with Albuquerque or San Juan? At any rate, yes, Miami had 3-strip Cinerama presentations (at the FLORIDA, ROOSEVELT and SHERIDAN). I plan to feature Miami in this series sometime in the future.
Were you misled into thinking this series had concluded because I mentioned Albuquerque being the last 3-strip market and/or because JSA used the past tense when giving his opinion on the series?
JSA…you have a point since Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory. I wasn’t thinking of it in those terms, though, since the film industry generally considers Puerto Rico an international market.
The FOX WINROCK officially opened on May 28, 1963. (There was an open house/preview screening on May 25.) The opening attraction was a reserved-seat presentation of “Lawrence Of Arabia.”
Initially operated by Fox Intermountain, local opening-day newspaper promotion boasted: “Over eight hundred seats designed to deliver comfort seldom enjoyed in any theatre, the finest in modern 70 millimeter projection equipment, a magnificent screen sixty-five feet wide, six-track stereophonic sound, an integral nursery with registered nurses in supervision…these are a few of the reasons you’ll enjoy the new Fox Winrock Theatre.”
The FOX WINROCK’s engagement of “This Is Cinerama” ended up running seven weeks. A complete list of Cinerama presentations in Albuquerque can be found on this page.
Don’t forget about the most successful roadshow movie ever: “The Sound Of Music,” which had a record-setting 61-week run at the Ambassador.
This theater opened as a twin, so the theater name at the top of the page ought to be revised to reflect this.
The Wilshire Twin opened on October 20, 1972. The debut attractions were “Where Does It Hurt?” and “Cancel My Reservation.”
Also, before being operated by Commonwealth Amusement (as mentioned in the intro at the top of this page), this was run by The Cooper Foundation (1972-74) and Cooper-Highland (1975-78). Commonwealth acquired the Cooper properties in ‘78.
Before being operated by Commonwealth (as mentioned in the intro above) this was run by The Cooper Foundation (1970-74) and Cooper-Highland (1975-78). Commonwealth Amusement acquired the Cooper properties in ‘78.
The Cooper Twin opened on February 25, 1970. The debut attractions were “Funny Girl” and “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.” According to an article in The Greeley Daily Tribune, published around the time the theater opened, this was the first twin theater built in Colorado.
RIVER HILLS did not open with “2001: A Space Odyssey” as claimed in the post above. It opened with a reserved-seat run of “Mediterranean Holiday” on April 19, 1968. (“2001” followed the booking of “Mediterranean Holiday on June 26, 1968.)
The RIVIERA half of the complex opened a week before the RIVER HILLS half on April 12, 1968, with the debut attraction being “Where Angels Go…Trouble Follows.”
It’s not possible for you to have seen “Star Wars” at the Tilton Twin in May ‘77 since the movie didn’t open there until July.
This sort of mis-recollection is common since it’s well known that the “official” release date of “Star Wars” was May 25, 1977. However, what many people overlook/don’t know/forget is that the movie was not given a broad, nationwide saturation release; the movie opened in May ‘77 in only a handful of markets and then had a slow, staggered distribution taking many weeks (or months in some cases) to reach certain markets.
raysson:
1) The web address cited in your post above was misspelled. The address is www.In70mm.com. Also, wouldn’t it make more sense if you had cited the exact page rather than that site’s homepage, requiring readers to needlessly hunt for the article? The specific page is: http://www.in70mm.com/news/2003/empire/index.htm
2) Despite your claim to the contrary on this site’s Bordeaux page, there was a fifth North Carolina engagement of “Empire” in Fayetteville.
An alternate name for this venue is CINEDOME EAST, to contrast with the CINEDOME WEST in nearby Newark.
The ‘69 roadshow re-issue of “Ben-Hur” opened on June 19, 1969 simultaneously in Manhattan (Palace), Montclair (Clairidge) and Plainview (Plainview). I was careful to mention NYC area and not just Manhattan.
The 1969 re-issue of “Ben-Hur” opened simultaneously with three NYC area reserved-seat bookings. That was about three and a half years before “Man Of La Mancha.”
“Fiddler On The Roof,” also released prior to “Man Of La Mancha,” at one point in its reserved-seat run, was playing five NYC area hard-ticket bookings.
Seriously, klebrun, I think your criticism of me is misguided. The expression “Don’t shoot the messenger” comes to mind.
Then perhaps we ought to hold an election. :–)