Talked to my old friend Russ, and here’s what he remembered:
“I remember seeing one movie there – A Piece of the Action, one of the three pseudo-blaxploitation pictures Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier did together in the ‘70s.
As I recall, the building, itself, was an attempt at a boutique mini mall, like what the Ludlow Garage tried being. The “theatres” were on the lower level, I believe. I put that in quotes because it was really just a three-screen theatre, with each screening room bearing a different name. I want to say the idea was to give each its own identity, in terms of what was shown, but that could be wrong. I think the top level might have been a club – it certainly became one. There was a record store – I still remember they had one of those stand-up displays, for Queen’s News of the World.
The screening rooms, themselves, were just like the old Studio Cinema, downtown. Long, straight, narrow rooms, canted floor, quarter size screen.
It was art house/revival house/second run, with the second run stuff intended to pay for the other stuff."
Tricia: thank you for sharing your memories of your dad and his time with the Mt. Adams. It saddens me that I never got to see the place when I lived in Cincinnati.
I’m wondering if you can help me with a little ROCKY HORROR history though. You’re claiming that ROCKY showed first at the Adams – do your remember the dates? My earliest memories of the movie playing in Cincy was seeing newspaper ads for it at a short-lived mini-plex in Corryville near UC – each room had its own name, so it was called “The Bijou, the Roxy, and the Ritz” – and then after that, its long residency at the Skywalk downtown, where I ultimately saw it. I’d love to establish a timeline for the movie.
For what its worth, the abbreviation on Ste. (as opposed to spelling Sainte) is the generally accepted spelling for the city in both Ontario and in Michigan. As such some theatres have separate city listings because of the spelling overlap, like this one. These should all be fixed so they stay in the same heading.
It would appear the Princess on 163 Gore St. is for sale, last used as a nightclub:
The Biltmore/Odeon was refurbished and in operation as a live venue. Formely titled the Lock City Grand, it’s now just The Grand. No apparent website, but plenty of event articles:
I am trying to identify what I think is a former theatre just south of the Wiltern. The location is 721 S. Western Ave., zip code 90005. It is currently the home of a nightclub called Vibe, and was previously known as Le Cercle Super Club and Le Prive. The reviews on Yelp look pretty disturbing, something about it being a “booking” club…but anyway. There is a big marquee outside that looks very much like a theatrical marquee, so I’m wondering if anyone can verify if this was a movie house previously or did they just use that style of marquee for the building?
Here is a photo from its previous incarnation as Le Cercle:
Shawn (Juronimoo), what can you tell us about the building since you’ve acquired it? I have to assume that the floor is leveled and there’s little left to suggest it had been a theatre, but are there any artifacts left? Wall hangings, light fixtures, sconces, anything?
Hank, how well do you remember Northside theatres? My dad recalls there being about 2 or 3 theatres in the area, and so far we’ve narrowed down the Park (Alpha Fine Arts) and the Americus, the latter he id'ed from its proximity to the now-closed Crazy Ladies Bookstore on 4039 Hamilton. He insists there was another theatre across the street from the Park/Alpha. Was that the Liberty? I looked up Liberty in Ohio, and there aren’t any listings in the Cincinnati area, can you help?
I’m sorry, that assessment was wrong: it will be nothing like the old Culver – there will be one performance space, not two. Reading more carefully, what I should have said is that right now, they have only installed 99 seats in the auditorium while they go about the renovations, and that 300 seats will be the ultimate capacity of the room when it is finished.
“The auditorium, though, has largely been gutted. The seats were removed long ago and the balcony was torn down. The classic proscenium is in shabby shape. But the potential is enormous…[We can] convert the Garden into a state-of-the-art performance space with almost 300 seats…During the first phase we will create a 99-seat house with a platform stage within the larger auditorium. This will enable us to offer small-scale performances relatively soon—perhaps by this fall.”
Sounds a little like what went down with the former Culver theatre, which is now the Kirk Douglas theatre in Culver City – it will have a mainstage up front, but for the time being, they’re doing live stuff in a 99-seat room sitting at the back of the auditorium.
Dennis Cozzalio wrote a wonderful piece about visiting this childhood haunt of his…or at least it was wonderful until a clueless projectionist tried to slough off running a scope movie with a flat lens:
No, the theatre that was in FAST TIMES was the previous AMC complex at the old Galleria mall, before the whole thing was torn down and rebuilts as the current open-air shopping district with the Arclight Cinema.
This was, however, the theatre that appeared in “ENTOURAGE” when the ficticious AQUAMAN movie had it’s well-received premiere.
The article mentions another Echo Park area theatre…
“The other, The Globe Theater, opened in 1912 at 1624 Sunset Blvd. and eventually changed its name to The Hollyway, according to HistoricEchoPark.org. That building that once housed The Hollyway is now La Guadalupana market.”
I was looking for it in the listings, and I didn’t find this…unless I’m looking wrong. Is this building/location in the database, and if not, could a knowledgeable person enter it?
My close friend, film historian and blogger Ariel Schudson, would like to confirm what major films opened at the Egyptian from around 1985 to its initial closure in 1992. She wrote about the theatre in a recent post about the TCM festival this past April (http://sinaphile.wordpress.com/2011/05/28/this-is-the-night-and-the-days-tcm-classic-film-festival-part-ii/), but was not quite 100% sure about the movies she recalled seeing there as a teen. Since there have been such great exhaustive lists for the Westwood theatres and other L.A. locations, can some of the resident experts here help?
milamp: 1975 was when RETURN OF THE PINK PANTHER, not REVENGE, was released. (REVENGE was around 1979) As such, the downtown single screen you’re thinking of was probably the Times Towne Cinema – they got a lot of UA product back then.
This was originally a Mid-States theatre, like most of the first-run houses in Cincinnati that were not Showcases. Mid-States' entire operation ultimately got folded into Loews, and then Loews sold them all to National Amusements.
It just hit me – Northgate, Tri-County, Kenwood, 275 East…all the multiplexes in Cincinnati that National Amusements inherited from Loews are gutted or demolished. Wow, I am really old!
“The neighborhood’s most anticipated opening is a 10,000-square-foot bar and restaurant named Mohawk Bend that is slated to open in February and occupies the nearly 100-year-old movie theater across the street from Nicole Daddio’s cozy wine bar City Sip.”
So I guess that’s what’s happening with the Ramona now.
They are also embarking on some first-run programming, opening Chris Morris' controversial comedy FOUR LIONS on Friday November 5th, and the Asian/Indian restaurant comedy TODAY’S SPECIAL two weeks later on the 19th.
Hank, I straighted out your article – it’s referring to the 275 East Cinema in Milford which I just added. It started with 4 screens, and 8 more were planned but never built. It was located on 5874 Montclair Blvd, which may be what’s getting it confused with this listing.
Talked to my old friend Russ, and here’s what he remembered:
“I remember seeing one movie there – A Piece of the Action, one of the three pseudo-blaxploitation pictures Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier did together in the ‘70s.
As I recall, the building, itself, was an attempt at a boutique mini mall, like what the Ludlow Garage tried being. The “theatres” were on the lower level, I believe. I put that in quotes because it was really just a three-screen theatre, with each screening room bearing a different name. I want to say the idea was to give each its own identity, in terms of what was shown, but that could be wrong. I think the top level might have been a club – it certainly became one. There was a record store – I still remember they had one of those stand-up displays, for Queen’s News of the World.
The screening rooms, themselves, were just like the old Studio Cinema, downtown. Long, straight, narrow rooms, canted floor, quarter size screen.
It was art house/revival house/second run, with the second run stuff intended to pay for the other stuff."
A friend who lives nearby has told me the theatre is closed. Indeed, there are no listings for it on Regal’s website.
I take it that Mr. Edwards' renovation efforts were not successful.
As of November, no news of progress on hiring new staff or reopening the place. Not promising.
Tricia: thank you for sharing your memories of your dad and his time with the Mt. Adams. It saddens me that I never got to see the place when I lived in Cincinnati.
I’m wondering if you can help me with a little ROCKY HORROR history though. You’re claiming that ROCKY showed first at the Adams – do your remember the dates? My earliest memories of the movie playing in Cincy was seeing newspaper ads for it at a short-lived mini-plex in Corryville near UC – each room had its own name, so it was called “The Bijou, the Roxy, and the Ritz” – and then after that, its long residency at the Skywalk downtown, where I ultimately saw it. I’d love to establish a timeline for the movie.
For what its worth, the abbreviation on Ste. (as opposed to spelling Sainte) is the generally accepted spelling for the city in both Ontario and in Michigan. As such some theatres have separate city listings because of the spelling overlap, like this one. These should all be fixed so they stay in the same heading.
It would appear the Princess on 163 Gore St. is for sale, last used as a nightclub:
http://www.century21.ca/Property/ON/P6A_1M3/SAULT_STE_MARIE/GORE_ST/163
The Biltmore/Odeon was refurbished and in operation as a live venue. Formely titled the Lock City Grand, it’s now just The Grand. No apparent website, but plenty of event articles:
http://www.saultseller.com/LOCKCITYGRANDTHEATRE.php
Someone has set up a Facebook page for Historic Theatres in the Sault:
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=107260227178
Excellent. Thank you Joe!
I am trying to identify what I think is a former theatre just south of the Wiltern. The location is 721 S. Western Ave., zip code 90005. It is currently the home of a nightclub called Vibe, and was previously known as Le Cercle Super Club and Le Prive. The reviews on Yelp look pretty disturbing, something about it being a “booking” club…but anyway. There is a big marquee outside that looks very much like a theatrical marquee, so I’m wondering if anyone can verify if this was a movie house previously or did they just use that style of marquee for the building?
Here is a photo from its previous incarnation as Le Cercle:
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/86u5jycaWXRCDKs7_cJ52g?select=5zg8sR2mVVbdcr6LsywRjA
“North Hollywood Independent Films Movie Theatre”
Talk about a long and somewhat dry name. They’re going to need something shorter and punchier.
Shawn (Juronimoo), what can you tell us about the building since you’ve acquired it? I have to assume that the floor is leveled and there’s little left to suggest it had been a theatre, but are there any artifacts left? Wall hangings, light fixtures, sconces, anything?
Hank, how well do you remember Northside theatres? My dad recalls there being about 2 or 3 theatres in the area, and so far we’ve narrowed down the Park (Alpha Fine Arts) and the Americus, the latter he id'ed from its proximity to the now-closed Crazy Ladies Bookstore on 4039 Hamilton. He insists there was another theatre across the street from the Park/Alpha. Was that the Liberty? I looked up Liberty in Ohio, and there aren’t any listings in the Cincinnati area, can you help?
What’s happening with the property? Have they gutted it yet, or is there a chance someone will pick it up as Vintage did with the Exchange?
I’m sorry, that assessment was wrong: it will be nothing like the old Culver – there will be one performance space, not two. Reading more carefully, what I should have said is that right now, they have only installed 99 seats in the auditorium while they go about the renovations, and that 300 seats will be the ultimate capacity of the room when it is finished.
According to this article, apparently the balcony is gone:
http://www.columbusunderground.com/short-north-stage-to-reopen-garden-theatre-as-arts-venue-in-2012
“The auditorium, though, has largely been gutted. The seats were removed long ago and the balcony was torn down. The classic proscenium is in shabby shape. But the potential is enormous…[We can] convert the Garden into a state-of-the-art performance space with almost 300 seats…During the first phase we will create a 99-seat house with a platform stage within the larger auditorium. This will enable us to offer small-scale performances relatively soon—perhaps by this fall.”
Sounds a little like what went down with the former Culver theatre, which is now the Kirk Douglas theatre in Culver City – it will have a mainstage up front, but for the time being, they’re doing live stuff in a 99-seat room sitting at the back of the auditorium.
Dennis Cozzalio wrote a wonderful piece about visiting this childhood haunt of his…or at least it was wonderful until a clueless projectionist tried to slough off running a scope movie with a flat lens:
http://sergioleoneifr.blogspot.com/2011/08/once-again-into-lobby-return-visit-to.html
No, the theatre that was in FAST TIMES was the previous AMC complex at the old Galleria mall, before the whole thing was torn down and rebuilts as the current open-air shopping district with the Arclight Cinema.
This was, however, the theatre that appeared in “ENTOURAGE” when the ficticious AQUAMAN movie had it’s well-received premiere.
Apparently the live operators have departed, and the theatre is vacant and available.
The article mentions another Echo Park area theatre…
“The other, The Globe Theater, opened in 1912 at 1624 Sunset Blvd. and eventually changed its name to The Hollyway, according to HistoricEchoPark.org. That building that once housed The Hollyway is now La Guadalupana market.”
I was looking for it in the listings, and I didn’t find this…unless I’m looking wrong. Is this building/location in the database, and if not, could a knowledgeable person enter it?
My close friend, film historian and blogger Ariel Schudson, would like to confirm what major films opened at the Egyptian from around 1985 to its initial closure in 1992. She wrote about the theatre in a recent post about the TCM festival this past April (http://sinaphile.wordpress.com/2011/05/28/this-is-the-night-and-the-days-tcm-classic-film-festival-part-ii/), but was not quite 100% sure about the movies she recalled seeing there as a teen. Since there have been such great exhaustive lists for the Westwood theatres and other L.A. locations, can some of the resident experts here help?
milamp: 1975 was when RETURN OF THE PINK PANTHER, not REVENGE, was released. (REVENGE was around 1979) As such, the downtown single screen you’re thinking of was probably the Times Towne Cinema – they got a lot of UA product back then.
This was originally a Mid-States theatre, like most of the first-run houses in Cincinnati that were not Showcases. Mid-States' entire operation ultimately got folded into Loews, and then Loews sold them all to National Amusements.
It just hit me – Northgate, Tri-County, Kenwood, 275 East…all the multiplexes in Cincinnati that National Amusements inherited from Loews are gutted or demolished. Wow, I am really old!
From a recent L.A. Times story on the new popularity of the Echo Park neighborhood:
View link
“The neighborhood’s most anticipated opening is a 10,000-square-foot bar and restaurant named Mohawk Bend that is slated to open in February and occupies the nearly 100-year-old movie theater across the street from Nicole Daddio’s cozy wine bar City Sip.”
So I guess that’s what’s happening with the Ramona now.
They are also embarking on some first-run programming, opening Chris Morris' controversial comedy FOUR LIONS on Friday November 5th, and the Asian/Indian restaurant comedy TODAY’S SPECIAL two weeks later on the 19th.
I could be mistaken, but isn’t this drive-in still open?
/theaters/18110/
Amelia is essentially the Cincinnati area after all.
Hank, I straighted out your article – it’s referring to the 275 East Cinema in Milford which I just added. It started with 4 screens, and 8 more were planned but never built. It was located on 5874 Montclair Blvd, which may be what’s getting it confused with this listing.