Goldman Theatre
30 S. 15th Street,
Philadelphia,
PA
19102
30 S. 15th Street,
Philadelphia,
PA
19102
9 people
favorited this theater
Showing 51 - 75 of 95 comments
HOWARD — YOU ARE THE MAN! That answers my question about the acoustical tiles that also were at the Randolph. Those Goldman fixtures, gosh, I wanted them so bad but no one was allowed in bldg prior to its razing it as was permitted at the Fox. Those sconces were pretty strong, too. A huge chunk of debris fell on one as they were tearing the place down (I watched in horror) but it barely budged. And those huge neon letters — who knew? Eleven rows of neon? I’m sitting here screaming at the images on my laptop, like, “D—–! Look at this!” So you see, moviegoing for me went far beyond just the film itself. Thank you so much for these links, Howard. Coffee and a dozen donuts are on me!
More photos! Google search exactly
Boxoffice October 12, 1946
enter page 170 in the search box, and also page 182
p 170 full page on Goldman Theatre, with exterior & interior photos,
continued on p. 182. Don’t miss the photo of the lady next to the sconce!
Too bad we didn’t have digital cameras and photo-sharing sites then!
“From that view, it leads one to believe that "Tycoon” is the theater name the way it’s emblazoned across the marquee"…
You should’ve seen it years later when the “Spartacus” artwork covered the vertical “Goldman” name all the way up to the “G”.
Now, that’s false advertising — kind of. From that view, it leads one to believe that “Tycoon” is the theater name the way it’s emblazoned across the marquee, and that perhaps the theater may have had previous ownership prior to the Goldman era (a la the Viking/Aldine/Cinema 19/Sam’s Place) Thanks for clearing that up, and many thanks for posting the links — that Boxoffice magazine is a real enjoyable doozy!
Some archive links break over time but to see on at Temple Urban Archives, go to
http://diamond.temple.edu:81/search
in the box type in
Goldman
scroll down to Fifteenth Street
for exterior photo c. 1951 photo, of Goldman showing a Burt Lancaster film, “Vengeance Valley”
The Goldman Theatre is also described by Barry Goodkin , with photos and blueprints in Vol 35 No. 3 (Third Quarter 2003) of Marquee, publication of Theatre Historical Society of America. Back issues can be ordered from them. The issue describes other Philadelphia theaters, and most especially the Earle.
Heh, heh, if you google search exactly
Boxoffice February 07, 1948
and punch 26 in the page box
you will see anexterior photo with “Tycoon” at the theater.
Thought I read somewhere that the Goldman was once called the Tycoon theater many moons ago. Any truth to this?
This is from Boxoffice magazine in June 1946:
PHILADELPHIA-It is nearly time for the new William Goldman house at 15th and Chestnut Streets to make its bow, and rumors are circulating as to what picture Goldman will get for the premiere. It is believed that “The Kid from Brooklyn” with Danny Kaye may be the opening show.
Does anybody else remember the ridiculous law suit those Budco people tried to bring against the Philadelphia film critics who publicly decried United Artists' decision to book “Apocalypse Now” into this breath-takingly awful theatre? I’ve spoken to one of those critics since then…it all came to naught…the public stayed away from the Goldman in droves…and the suit was dropped. It would be difficult to find a worse theatre in the Philadelphia area nowadays…I said “difficult,”….not “impossible”
Hi, everyone. Call me crazy, but I adored those “vertical bow tie” lighting fixtures inside the auditorium. They emitted an orange glow during the film, then white during intermission. And above it were two floodlights (yecch!) on each fixture. When they were demolishing the place in ‘84, I stood on the steps of the old Meridian Bldg. and watched part of my childhood vanish before my eyes. Among the films I saw there were “Claudine,” “Meatballs,” and “The Dirty Dozen.” It was probably my 2nd-favorite theater (Boyd, #1!)
And yes, when it “twinned,” it was horrible. We could hear the audio of the film next door through the wall, and they had the nerve to paint the wall color from dark green to white.
A shame, of course, that no one has photos of the auditorium, where, surprise!, surprise!, “the action was.”
originally from Philadelphia City Archives, 1959 with Porgy and Bess on the marquee!
View link
So 2/84 was the demolition date. I lived at 15th and Pine until September 1984, so I guess I wasn’t paying attention. Thanks for the info, Howard. We Philly lawyers have to stick together, right?
Nah, there’s a photo of it being demolished and a Feb 24, 1984 letter to the editor of Philadelphia Inquirer by Irvin R. Glazer reprinted (and referring to the photo) on back cover of 3rd Q 2003 Marquee of the Theatre Historical Society of America. It would be improper if I scanned & posted it, but as a THS member, I can tell you that most of the back issues are avail for purchase. THS has its own website. That issue has an entire section on the Goldman including the Stairway image which I posted above. (independently of THS, I have an original print of the Stairway image). Gorgeous photos of some Philadelphia movie palaces, and write-ups, are also in the same issue.
I moved out of Center City in June 1984. Does anyone know when in 1984 the theater was demolished? I believe it was still there when I left.
Photo by Dennis Zimmerman of Funny Girl in 70 mm on the marquee (before the twinning that horrified Vince):
View link
Thanks to Dennis for taking the photo and for allowing it to be posted.
And it was a mess! An absolute insult to moviegoers. As a friend of mine said after its twinning, “I wouldn’t go to that theatre if it were the last building on earth with oxygen!”
My notes from old newspaper accounts are that at opening, there were more than 1200 seats plus 200 seats in the loge.
Later, in Feb. 1972, Budco bought the Goldman moviehouses.
As a twin, it reopened October 2, 1974 with each auditorium being 500 or 600 seats.
Stairway:
View link
Here is another photo, circa 1951:
http://tinyurl.com/2rqdtn
Here is a 1974 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/32lrgj
I want to thank you guys for your help. After visiting the Imdb website I remembered a line from the movie which was “MAKE THEM DIE SLOWLY” when I entered that in the search box the movie named “CANNIBAL ferox” appeared. However it’s american name was “MAKE THEM DIE SLOWLY”. It was actually banned in 37 countries and it is exactly as I remember it, however it was 3 anthropologist who visited the island….. well check out the rest for yourselves at http://www.Imdb.com/title/tt0082700/ thanks again!!
Sounds like it might be CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1985), now available on DVD.