The St. Bernard Drive-In was owned by George Wiltse, a retired sound tech, and Deacon Bell. According to the newspaper article from the Times Picayune when the theatre closed, it had only one manager, Bob Ricourd, from the day it opened in 1949 until it closed in January 1982.
The original screen of this theatre had animated neon on the side facing the street, but it was blown down in 1965 during Hurricane Betsy, and was replaced.
Bob’s wife, Mary, managed the concession of the St. Bernard, and that snack bar was spotless. I recall seeing the staff wiping the painted cinderblock walls down inside of the snack bar after the theatre closed. When you ordered a burger at the St. Bernard, it was cooked fresh no matter how busy the theatre was.
I worked releif projection at this theatre…vacations and an occasional day off for the full time projectionist. The very last time I went to the St. Bernard, I bought a ticket to see “For Your Eyes Only”. I parked near the projection booth to see who was going to be projecting. At showtime, no projectionist had arrived. I saw Mrs. Mary come out of the snack bar, and head toward Mr. Bob’s office. I jumped out of my car and called her. She said “Your’re late!”. I said, “No I bought a ticket, but I’ll get the show going for you”. I ran the first 4 or so reels until the projectionist who was caught in traffic arrived. To this day, I’ve not seen “For Your Eyes Only”, but I had a ball at the drive-in that night!!!!
The Robert E. Lee was built by Joy N. Houck, owner of Joy’s Theatres Inc., who operated many theatres throughout Louisiana and surrounding states.
I remember seeing Funny Girl at Joy’s Robert E. Lee. Mr. Houck once told me that he showed Dr. Zhivago for over a year at the ‘Lee’.
It was sold to National General Theatres, then became a Mann Theatre.
An identical theatre, with the same name, was built by Joy’s Theatres in Baton Rouge, La at 5800 Plank Road. The Baton Rouge Robert E. Lee closed in 1987.
In the late 60’s, adult admission was $1.25, kids were 75c at my local theatre in New Orleans. Minimum wage was $1.00.
Popcorn was 10c & 15c. Soda was 10c, 15c & 25c. Now, admission is more than double of minimum wage, and the last time I went, 2 popcorns, 2 drinks & one candy was over $20.00.
With the current state of the economy, it would be impossible for someone who works for say $8.00 or $9.00 an hour to pay these prices at a theatre on a regular basis, which means…high prices have hurt the theatre business.
I do believe if a major theatre chain would drop concession prices considerably, and advertise this fact, they would make more money by selling volume. Now, it’s so expensive, many people have the habit of eating before and or after the movie.
The Pitt was one of my neighborhood theatres in the early 70’s. T.A. Pittman construction company owned it. A gentleman named Carl Williams was the manager from it’s opening in 1949 until he passed away in 1970. His wife, Mrs. Rita Williams, continued to manage the theatre until it closed as a single screen theatre in 1974.
Pittman Theatres also owned the Tiger Theatre on Franklin Ave., which is where I got my first job in 1972.
In 1975, the theatre was divided into a twin, making the balcony one theatre, and the downstairs portion another. They did a very nice job twinning, with curtains that opened & closed over the screen, and an automated projection booth.
In 1977, the Pittmans were not making money, and the theatre was leased to Lloyd Montruiel and 2 partners. At this time, I went to work as a projectionist at this theatre. We did 3 program changes a week on Screen 1, and did a full week run on Screen 2 (upstairs).
I stayed at this theatre until 1979, when I was made a better offer, but I would occasionally fill in or do projector repairs.
Lloyd closed the Pitt at the end of 1984.
In May of 1985, the legendary Mr. Joy Houck leased the Pitt, and renamed it Joy’s Pitt Cinema.
Again, I went to work as the projectionist, and later the manager of this theatre. In 1988, again I was made a better offer, and I left the Pitt.
When Joy’s acquired this theatre, they split the downstairs theatre into 2, then about 6 months later, put a wall down the middle of the balcony, making it 4 cinemas.
My mom, Mrs. Delores Ariatti managed the Pitt from 1988 until Joy sold out to another company in 1994. The Pitt closed in 1994, and was demolished in 1995 to make way for a Walgreens.
In the 50’s, the above mentioned retail space was operated as Parker Drugs.
As a child in the late 60’s, I was a regular patron of the Coliseum. This theatre had an atmosphere like no other I’ve ever been to. The inside of the theatre had the most beautiful neon fixtures on the celling that were deep blue & green, and remained lit while the movie was on. There was also cove neon lighting along the side walls, that could be turned on as blue, or red. This theatre was quite fancy in it’s day, and had probably the largest screen of any indoor theatre, except for the Cinerama.
There was also a blue neon clock that read HARTFORD INSURANCE, 800 HOWARD AVE. which remained on during the film.
Above, it states that seating was 600 in 1945, but in 1949, a balcony was added, making a total of 1100 seats.
The theatre was operated by the Lazarus family from 1919 until the early 60’s when it was operated by United Theatres for a short time.
At the time I attended, the business was owned and operated by Alfred J. Viola, a veteran theatre manager, and this theatre was truly one of a dying breed. Mr. Viola told me that United was going to close the Coliseum, and he announced that he was going to lease it. The GM of United told him that he wouldn’t last for a year. He remained open until 1976, when the theatre was sold.
This theatre was Al Viola’s baby. It was a true mom & pop neighborhood theatre, featuring double features, 3 program changes each week, cartoons, and occasionally old tyme serials!
Mr. Viola was the type of guy that would allow a kid short of money to have a piece of candy. As a regular customer, I got to know him & Mrs Sophie Morales, who worked the concession 7 nights a week for as long as I can remember.
I became a projectionist, and in October of 1975, I was hired at the Coliseum, and remained there until it closed on April 20, 1976.
Til the day it closed in 1976, Al Viola was proud that he was able to keep the admission prices the lowest in the city. Adults 75c, Children 35c. This was when first run theatres were charging $3.25.
Concessions were also the lowest prices in town…featuring 10c popcorn til the day it closed.
About 6 months after the Coliseum closed, Mr. Viola had a stroke, and then in 1980, he died of another stroke. We remained close friends until he passed.
Sadly, on Christmas day 2007, Joe Grillot, Al Viola’s nephew, who had the same love for theatre & movies as his uncle, passed away at age 62.
The Coliseum was one of my all time favorite theatres, and I am so sad that it is gone now.
I was a projectionist in the 70’s, and later manager of the Cine' Royale theatre.
The theatre opened as the Wonderland and had a fire in 1935. It re-opened as the Center in 1936, and continued to operate under that name until 1968, when the owner, Mr. Isadore Lazarus, had a heart attack, then sold the theatre.
The Lazarus family owned a small chain of theatres in New Orleans, namely the Circle, the Carver, the Crown, the Cinema (aka Casino), and the Coliseum, where I also worked as the last projectionist in 1976.
In 1968, the theatre was remodeled, and re-named the Cine' Royale. It was operated by National General Theatres, then Mann Theatres, and in 1976, was acquired by International Theatres Unlimited, bringing adult movies in. ITU also operated the Paris theatre at this time.
ITU was owned by George Echols, and in (about) 1980, he was convicted of obscinity, and the theatre was sold to Essex, an adult film company who at that time, produced top quality adult product. Remember, this was in a day where the adult industry was trying to become legit, by making nearly Hollywood quality movies.
Essex operated both the Paris & Cine' Royale until they were busted for Interstate transportation of obscene material, then the theatre was acquired by Leroy Griffith of Miami Beach, who previously operated the Pussycat in New Orleans, which was an old Cinerama theatre.
In 1997, the theatre was sold to Walgreens Co., and became part of the expansion of the store located at 900 Canal St.
Looking now, you would never know that a theatre was on this site for nearly a century.
The St. Bernard Drive-In was owned by George Wiltse, a retired sound tech, and Deacon Bell. According to the newspaper article from the Times Picayune when the theatre closed, it had only one manager, Bob Ricourd, from the day it opened in 1949 until it closed in January 1982.
The original screen of this theatre had animated neon on the side facing the street, but it was blown down in 1965 during Hurricane Betsy, and was replaced.
Bob’s wife, Mary, managed the concession of the St. Bernard, and that snack bar was spotless. I recall seeing the staff wiping the painted cinderblock walls down inside of the snack bar after the theatre closed. When you ordered a burger at the St. Bernard, it was cooked fresh no matter how busy the theatre was.
I worked releif projection at this theatre…vacations and an occasional day off for the full time projectionist. The very last time I went to the St. Bernard, I bought a ticket to see “For Your Eyes Only”. I parked near the projection booth to see who was going to be projecting. At showtime, no projectionist had arrived. I saw Mrs. Mary come out of the snack bar, and head toward Mr. Bob’s office. I jumped out of my car and called her. She said “Your’re late!”. I said, “No I bought a ticket, but I’ll get the show going for you”. I ran the first 4 or so reels until the projectionist who was caught in traffic arrived. To this day, I’ve not seen “For Your Eyes Only”, but I had a ball at the drive-in that night!!!!
The Robert E. Lee was built by Joy N. Houck, owner of Joy’s Theatres Inc., who operated many theatres throughout Louisiana and surrounding states.
I remember seeing Funny Girl at Joy’s Robert E. Lee. Mr. Houck once told me that he showed Dr. Zhivago for over a year at the ‘Lee’.
It was sold to National General Theatres, then became a Mann Theatre.
An identical theatre, with the same name, was built by Joy’s Theatres in Baton Rouge, La at 5800 Plank Road. The Baton Rouge Robert E. Lee closed in 1987.
In the late 60’s, adult admission was $1.25, kids were 75c at my local theatre in New Orleans. Minimum wage was $1.00.
Popcorn was 10c & 15c. Soda was 10c, 15c & 25c. Now, admission is more than double of minimum wage, and the last time I went, 2 popcorns, 2 drinks & one candy was over $20.00.
With the current state of the economy, it would be impossible for someone who works for say $8.00 or $9.00 an hour to pay these prices at a theatre on a regular basis, which means…high prices have hurt the theatre business.
I do believe if a major theatre chain would drop concession prices considerably, and advertise this fact, they would make more money by selling volume. Now, it’s so expensive, many people have the habit of eating before and or after the movie.
The Pitt was one of my neighborhood theatres in the early 70’s. T.A. Pittman construction company owned it. A gentleman named Carl Williams was the manager from it’s opening in 1949 until he passed away in 1970. His wife, Mrs. Rita Williams, continued to manage the theatre until it closed as a single screen theatre in 1974.
Pittman Theatres also owned the Tiger Theatre on Franklin Ave., which is where I got my first job in 1972.
In 1975, the theatre was divided into a twin, making the balcony one theatre, and the downstairs portion another. They did a very nice job twinning, with curtains that opened & closed over the screen, and an automated projection booth.
In 1977, the Pittmans were not making money, and the theatre was leased to Lloyd Montruiel and 2 partners. At this time, I went to work as a projectionist at this theatre. We did 3 program changes a week on Screen 1, and did a full week run on Screen 2 (upstairs).
I stayed at this theatre until 1979, when I was made a better offer, but I would occasionally fill in or do projector repairs.
Lloyd closed the Pitt at the end of 1984.
In May of 1985, the legendary Mr. Joy Houck leased the Pitt, and renamed it Joy’s Pitt Cinema.
Again, I went to work as the projectionist, and later the manager of this theatre. In 1988, again I was made a better offer, and I left the Pitt.
When Joy’s acquired this theatre, they split the downstairs theatre into 2, then about 6 months later, put a wall down the middle of the balcony, making it 4 cinemas.
My mom, Mrs. Delores Ariatti managed the Pitt from 1988 until Joy sold out to another company in 1994. The Pitt closed in 1994, and was demolished in 1995 to make way for a Walgreens.
In the 50’s, the above mentioned retail space was operated as Parker Drugs.
As a child in the late 60’s, I was a regular patron of the Coliseum. This theatre had an atmosphere like no other I’ve ever been to. The inside of the theatre had the most beautiful neon fixtures on the celling that were deep blue & green, and remained lit while the movie was on. There was also cove neon lighting along the side walls, that could be turned on as blue, or red. This theatre was quite fancy in it’s day, and had probably the largest screen of any indoor theatre, except for the Cinerama.
There was also a blue neon clock that read HARTFORD INSURANCE, 800 HOWARD AVE. which remained on during the film.
Above, it states that seating was 600 in 1945, but in 1949, a balcony was added, making a total of 1100 seats.
The theatre was operated by the Lazarus family from 1919 until the early 60’s when it was operated by United Theatres for a short time.
At the time I attended, the business was owned and operated by Alfred J. Viola, a veteran theatre manager, and this theatre was truly one of a dying breed. Mr. Viola told me that United was going to close the Coliseum, and he announced that he was going to lease it. The GM of United told him that he wouldn’t last for a year. He remained open until 1976, when the theatre was sold.
This theatre was Al Viola’s baby. It was a true mom & pop neighborhood theatre, featuring double features, 3 program changes each week, cartoons, and occasionally old tyme serials!
Mr. Viola was the type of guy that would allow a kid short of money to have a piece of candy. As a regular customer, I got to know him & Mrs Sophie Morales, who worked the concession 7 nights a week for as long as I can remember.
I became a projectionist, and in October of 1975, I was hired at the Coliseum, and remained there until it closed on April 20, 1976.
Til the day it closed in 1976, Al Viola was proud that he was able to keep the admission prices the lowest in the city. Adults 75c, Children 35c. This was when first run theatres were charging $3.25.
Concessions were also the lowest prices in town…featuring 10c popcorn til the day it closed.
About 6 months after the Coliseum closed, Mr. Viola had a stroke, and then in 1980, he died of another stroke. We remained close friends until he passed.
Sadly, on Christmas day 2007, Joe Grillot, Al Viola’s nephew, who had the same love for theatre & movies as his uncle, passed away at age 62.
The Coliseum was one of my all time favorite theatres, and I am so sad that it is gone now.
I was a projectionist in the 70’s, and later manager of the Cine' Royale theatre.
The theatre opened as the Wonderland and had a fire in 1935. It re-opened as the Center in 1936, and continued to operate under that name until 1968, when the owner, Mr. Isadore Lazarus, had a heart attack, then sold the theatre.
The Lazarus family owned a small chain of theatres in New Orleans, namely the Circle, the Carver, the Crown, the Cinema (aka Casino), and the Coliseum, where I also worked as the last projectionist in 1976.
In 1968, the theatre was remodeled, and re-named the Cine' Royale. It was operated by National General Theatres, then Mann Theatres, and in 1976, was acquired by International Theatres Unlimited, bringing adult movies in. ITU also operated the Paris theatre at this time.
ITU was owned by George Echols, and in (about) 1980, he was convicted of obscinity, and the theatre was sold to Essex, an adult film company who at that time, produced top quality adult product. Remember, this was in a day where the adult industry was trying to become legit, by making nearly Hollywood quality movies.
Essex operated both the Paris & Cine' Royale until they were busted for Interstate transportation of obscene material, then the theatre was acquired by Leroy Griffith of Miami Beach, who previously operated the Pussycat in New Orleans, which was an old Cinerama theatre.
In 1997, the theatre was sold to Walgreens Co., and became part of the expansion of the store located at 900 Canal St.
Looking now, you would never know that a theatre was on this site for nearly a century.