According to someone I knew who ventured there in the late 40s/early 50s the first show would be at 10am. A stage show, then movie, stage show and movie. Xavier Cugat with Abbe Lane. The Ritz Brothers, The Count Basie Band with Billy Eckstine. Always a juggler, a comedian and then the headliner. Phil Spitalny and his All-Girl Orchestra featuring Evelyn and Her Magic Violin.
According to someone I know who was a kid in the 1940s going there, if you went before 10am, it was eleven cents to get in and the first 500 kids got comic books. There were always 2 movies and a serial. Once a year then, they would bring back King Kong and Gunga Din on the same bill.
Well, all that I wrote was from the book. Maybe they were making hunches as to what would happen.
As to this comment: “I never understood how Landmarks allowed it to be demolished completely after they wouldn’t allow Cineplex to gut the interior.”
That’s NYC for you. Sleeping with the zoning commission. Say you’ll bring this many (low-wage) jobs to the community and the “promise” of affordable housing (but for whom?) and zoning relaxes to the almighty dollar.
Well, all this information came from the book i mentioned in that long post. He seemed to know a lot about it before he bought it. I suggest buying the book and reading it for yourself. The index is quite thorough and you can buy it used on amazon for $5 or so.
More info about the Fillmore and its incarnations from the book “Bill Graham Presents”. Chapter 11 details his decision to close the Fillmore East but gives a good history of the place. Of note is after he sold his rights to the theater, he also sold the building. He regretted it in the book but if he had it until 1991 when he died, who knows what would have happened.
The Loew’s Commodore East held 2,400.
When Bill acquired the theater in 1968, it was just dirty and seats needed repainting and wires fixed but it was in good condition. There were major stage repairs, though. There was soft red velvet on the walls, carpeted floors, mirrored walls and a chandelier above the double balcony, concessions upstairs and a big lobby. It had dressing rooms because in the 20s and 30s it housed the Yiddish Theater. The dressing rooms were on 5 levels which were accessed from up stage left. It was also used as a meeting hall in the 30s and 40s by Bolshevik groups on the Lower East Side. It stood on the corner and was three quarters of a block long. The building looks small from the outside but opened up behind the stores and above was NYU, the theater and technical wing. He bought it for $400,000.
When they fixed it up, they tore down some brick walls and changed the whole back of the theater to get the wiring through. They made alot of changes in the stage area to make it effective to do a variety of production. There was a proscenium and a rococo frieze which they cleaned up and that had been made at the Motoma Amusement Company of Chicago which went broke during the Depression.
Of note about the Saint. It was the largest gay disco in New York at the height of gay liberation, pre-AIDS. It closed when AIDS hit hard but they did keep the place open 24 hours one night a week. The Saint was gutted and turned into an 8-theater complex, known as the Loew’s Octoplex.
Apparently there was a theater across the street called the Anderson Yiddishe Theater (but it didn’t show movies). When the book was written in 1992, someone in the book said it was across the street and closed down and it was located at 4th Street and 2nd Avenue.
Graham allowed a film crew to come in before he closed and there was video documentary of the Fillmore East!!! A documentary called “Last Days of the Fillmore” was released in 1972 along with a boxed, three-record set of the performers, all the hot acts of the late 60s. There was a 32-page booklet with photos, a Fillmore poster and ticket, etc.
BETHEL â€" Bethel Cinema, popular home to nearly 2,000 movies and independent films from America and other parts of the world for 13 years, is about to get a new owner.
Redding entrepreneur and movie buff Scott Rhoades cq said Friday jun 24 he has agreed to buy the Greenwood Avenue movie complex.
“It’s under contract and we’re hoping it will go through shortly,” said Rhoades.
Paul Schuyler, current owner and founder of the cinema, confirmed the two sides are close to “signing the dotted line.”
Schuyler, 45, said the sale price is “close” to the $650,000 he has been asking. That includes everything in the cinema’s four theaters, from seats and projectors to computers and the concession stand inside the front lobby.
The cinema, which has 17 years left on its lease, rents more than 9,000 square feet and can seat 425 people. Schuyler has said it generates $1 million a year.
“It’s a wonderful business and Paul Schuyler has done a wonderful job,” said Rhoades. “I want everyone out there to know that I have absolutely no intention of changing anything there.”
Rhoades, 51, acknowledged there had been some public concern about a new owner making changes at the cinema.
Bethel Cinema has become widely popular in northern Fairfield County because of its successful avant-garde approach to acquiring new and independent films.
“I’m very anxious to make sure the customers are happy,” said Rhoades. “I’m a movie buff and this will be a hands-on business, but I’m not here to try to reinvent the wheel. I want it to remain a wonderful experience for the patrons.”
Schuyler welcomed Rhoades' strategy.
“I’m pleased to think he’s going to keep the cinema the way it is,” Schuyler said.
The deal also includes Rhoades reopening the cinema’s adjoining restaurant, which has been empty since two previous eateries closed.
“I’d like to open it as a pre-theater restaurant where people can eat before going into the cinema or relax after a show,” said Rhoades. “I’d like to see it offering light, organic food.”
The restaurant, once called The Emerald Cafe, may eventually assume Rhoades' current working title, The Commissary, a name traditionally used for eateries in movie or television studios.
Schuyler is selling the cinema to move to Sarasota, Fla., where he is building a 260-seat IMAX theater in a multi-million dollar entertainment complex.
“It’s something new,” Schuyler said recently. “I’ve done this (Bethel Cinema) for 13 years and I’ve lived in the northeast most of my life. I’d like to try living somewhere else.”
Bethel Cinema, once a family movie theater and later an adult, X-rated cinema, was later home to the Bright Clouds ministry before the church moved to Danbury.
It opened after renovations in two small theaters in January 1993 with a showing of “Howard’s End” and “Damage.”
Schuyler expanded the cinema over the years by either leasing extra space in the building or putting on additions.
Rhoades, who lived with his wife, Deborah, in Ridgefield before moving to Redding two years ago, has been a lifelong businessman and entrepreneur.
From 1995 until this year, he ran his own marketing and management consulting firm. Rhoades still teaches marketing in graduate school at the Polytechnic University in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Rhoades' wife of 27 years says she’s just as pleased about the acquisition as her husband. Both have been regular patrons at Bethel Cinema.
“I’m very excited,” said Deborah Rhoades, who once worked in publishing in New York City. “"I love the movies. It’ll be like having our own movie theater.”
2 weeks ago, the LemonGrass Cafe closed since the owner had problems with Paul, the theater owner. That’s 2 restaurants that closed in that spot in a short time. They have a brand new marquee installed a few months ago and the restaurant is still on it.
Correction. Bill Graham opened the Fillmore East in 1968 and it closed in 1971 when he also closed Fillmore West. There is a Fillmore East dedication page at www.fillmore-east.com and there are links to pics and a book on the history of the place. I cannot for the life of me find any pics of the inside. I have Bill Graham’s autobiography and there’s one pic of the stage and the ionic columns on either side of the stage, but that’s it. I’m trying to find the history of the place but it’s tough.
Actually, there are about 5 or so old theatres in downtown Bridgeport that are still historically intact and vacant. The future of the Bijou will determine the fate of the other theatres.
My friend gave me this flyer about the Bijou and its hiring.
Nuts to You! The historic Bijout Theatre in downtown Bridgeport is seeking 60 overeducated, underemployed culture vultures to staff its restaurant, bar, cafe, offices, music halls, torture chambers and indie/arts cinemas. Come be a part of the re-opening of the oldest movie theatre in America this October in mutherfuckin' downtown Bridgeport! Experience helpful…but we will train the right peeps. Email Keith Rodgerson at .edu to set up an interview or call 203-522-0040. Of note, Keith is on the City Council and is only 30 years old.
I saw Bill Cosby there on Sunday night and will be seeing the Doobies and Huey Lewis there later this summer. I had tears welling up in my eyes when i saw the ceiling. I had box/proscenium seats. when you walk in, above the door are strips of mirrors so it looks bigger. The lobby is beautiful as are the bathrooms. The stage is 5,000 sq ft and they have a rising pit for the orchestra. great sound. the ceiling is just amazing. Worth the trip even for the architecture.
well, it actually happened. Bethel Cinema for sale. Read it here before the link expires. View link
i hope someone can continue to run the place amazingly and keep it independent. it still holds the distinction of doing extremely well, given its close proximity to the nearby megaplex.
Bethel Cinema will be holding the 1st Annual Bethel Film Festival from October 25-30, 2005. They are offering free passes to anyone who completes the survey before April 25th at www.bethelfilmfestival.com/survery
Great News!!! There are flyers up in the theatre lobby for the first ever Bethel Film Festival, featuring local filmmakers and other indy documentaries. Flyers are available at the theater pretty soon for distro. It’s funded by some local businesses, some rich benefactors and some banks. Unfortunately, i just found out that the owner, Paul Schuyler wants to sell the place and move down to Florida with his wife and kids. He’s only 45 years old but he wants to sell it to someone who will retain its charm and independence. We all wish that.
So if anyone wants in, take it.
Here’s an update on the Lemongrass Cafe. My friend who works there told me there was a change of ownership, briefly but for the better. A month ago the cafe opened and was owned by Bethel Cinema but only lasted 2 weeks. Then a rich owner came in and offered the cinema more than the asking price and they took it. This guy re-opened it as the Lemongrass Cafe.
Hey folks, the old Emerald City Cafe that was adjacent to the cinema closed some 4 or 5 months ago. It just reopened last week and my friend is the new manager. It’s called the Lemon Grass Cafe and it’s a whole lot nicer than the old place. It’s got frosted glass on the outside so you can’t see in, it’s painted red everywhere, has a larger dining room and a bar in the back serving wine and beer, a great addition to the local yuppies. Of note is the great selection of their menu with entrees, soups and salads. Its address is 269 Greenwood Avenue like the theater. They are open Monday – Saturday from 5-10pm.
Any pics, Divinity?
According to someone I knew who ventured there in the late 40s/early 50s the first show would be at 10am. A stage show, then movie, stage show and movie. Xavier Cugat with Abbe Lane. The Ritz Brothers, The Count Basie Band with Billy Eckstine. Always a juggler, a comedian and then the headliner. Phil Spitalny and his All-Girl Orchestra featuring Evelyn and Her Magic Violin.
According to someone I know who was a kid in the 1940s going there, if you went before 10am, it was eleven cents to get in and the first 500 kids got comic books. There were always 2 movies and a serial. Once a year then, they would bring back King Kong and Gunga Din on the same bill.
Had two balconies. Art deco.
The style was art deco. It had a little round box office in front. One balcony.
http://www.klh.org/drivein/torrington/
http://www.klh.org/drivein/ctdriveins.html
Well, all that I wrote was from the book. Maybe they were making hunches as to what would happen.
As to this comment: “I never understood how Landmarks allowed it to be demolished completely after they wouldn’t allow Cineplex to gut the interior.”
That’s NYC for you. Sleeping with the zoning commission. Say you’ll bring this many (low-wage) jobs to the community and the “promise” of affordable housing (but for whom?) and zoning relaxes to the almighty dollar.
Well, all this information came from the book i mentioned in that long post. He seemed to know a lot about it before he bought it. I suggest buying the book and reading it for yourself. The index is quite thorough and you can buy it used on amazon for $5 or so.
More info about the Fillmore and its incarnations from the book “Bill Graham Presents”. Chapter 11 details his decision to close the Fillmore East but gives a good history of the place. Of note is after he sold his rights to the theater, he also sold the building. He regretted it in the book but if he had it until 1991 when he died, who knows what would have happened.
The Loew’s Commodore East held 2,400.
When Bill acquired the theater in 1968, it was just dirty and seats needed repainting and wires fixed but it was in good condition. There were major stage repairs, though. There was soft red velvet on the walls, carpeted floors, mirrored walls and a chandelier above the double balcony, concessions upstairs and a big lobby. It had dressing rooms because in the 20s and 30s it housed the Yiddish Theater. The dressing rooms were on 5 levels which were accessed from up stage left. It was also used as a meeting hall in the 30s and 40s by Bolshevik groups on the Lower East Side. It stood on the corner and was three quarters of a block long. The building looks small from the outside but opened up behind the stores and above was NYU, the theater and technical wing. He bought it for $400,000.
When they fixed it up, they tore down some brick walls and changed the whole back of the theater to get the wiring through. They made alot of changes in the stage area to make it effective to do a variety of production. There was a proscenium and a rococo frieze which they cleaned up and that had been made at the Motoma Amusement Company of Chicago which went broke during the Depression.
Of note about the Saint. It was the largest gay disco in New York at the height of gay liberation, pre-AIDS. It closed when AIDS hit hard but they did keep the place open 24 hours one night a week. The Saint was gutted and turned into an 8-theater complex, known as the Loew’s Octoplex.
Apparently there was a theater across the street called the Anderson Yiddishe Theater (but it didn’t show movies). When the book was written in 1992, someone in the book said it was across the street and closed down and it was located at 4th Street and 2nd Avenue.
Graham allowed a film crew to come in before he closed and there was video documentary of the Fillmore East!!! A documentary called “Last Days of the Fillmore” was released in 1972 along with a boxed, three-record set of the performers, all the hot acts of the late 60s. There was a 32-page booklet with photos, a Fillmore poster and ticket, etc.
Bethel Cinema to change hands
New owner plans to reopen restaurant
By Brian Saxton
View link
BETHEL â€" Bethel Cinema, popular home to nearly 2,000 movies and independent films from America and other parts of the world for 13 years, is about to get a new owner.
Redding entrepreneur and movie buff Scott Rhoades cq said Friday jun 24 he has agreed to buy the Greenwood Avenue movie complex.
“It’s under contract and we’re hoping it will go through shortly,” said Rhoades.
Paul Schuyler, current owner and founder of the cinema, confirmed the two sides are close to “signing the dotted line.”
Schuyler, 45, said the sale price is “close” to the $650,000 he has been asking. That includes everything in the cinema’s four theaters, from seats and projectors to computers and the concession stand inside the front lobby.
The cinema, which has 17 years left on its lease, rents more than 9,000 square feet and can seat 425 people. Schuyler has said it generates $1 million a year.
“It’s a wonderful business and Paul Schuyler has done a wonderful job,” said Rhoades. “I want everyone out there to know that I have absolutely no intention of changing anything there.”
Rhoades, 51, acknowledged there had been some public concern about a new owner making changes at the cinema.
Bethel Cinema has become widely popular in northern Fairfield County because of its successful avant-garde approach to acquiring new and independent films.
“I’m very anxious to make sure the customers are happy,” said Rhoades. “I’m a movie buff and this will be a hands-on business, but I’m not here to try to reinvent the wheel. I want it to remain a wonderful experience for the patrons.”
Schuyler welcomed Rhoades' strategy.
“I’m pleased to think he’s going to keep the cinema the way it is,” Schuyler said.
The deal also includes Rhoades reopening the cinema’s adjoining restaurant, which has been empty since two previous eateries closed.
“I’d like to open it as a pre-theater restaurant where people can eat before going into the cinema or relax after a show,” said Rhoades. “I’d like to see it offering light, organic food.”
The restaurant, once called The Emerald Cafe, may eventually assume Rhoades' current working title, The Commissary, a name traditionally used for eateries in movie or television studios.
Schuyler is selling the cinema to move to Sarasota, Fla., where he is building a 260-seat IMAX theater in a multi-million dollar entertainment complex.
“It’s something new,” Schuyler said recently. “I’ve done this (Bethel Cinema) for 13 years and I’ve lived in the northeast most of my life. I’d like to try living somewhere else.”
Bethel Cinema, once a family movie theater and later an adult, X-rated cinema, was later home to the Bright Clouds ministry before the church moved to Danbury.
It opened after renovations in two small theaters in January 1993 with a showing of “Howard’s End” and “Damage.”
Schuyler expanded the cinema over the years by either leasing extra space in the building or putting on additions.
Rhoades, who lived with his wife, Deborah, in Ridgefield before moving to Redding two years ago, has been a lifelong businessman and entrepreneur.
From 1995 until this year, he ran his own marketing and management consulting firm. Rhoades still teaches marketing in graduate school at the Polytechnic University in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Rhoades' wife of 27 years says she’s just as pleased about the acquisition as her husband. Both have been regular patrons at Bethel Cinema.
“I’m very excited,” said Deborah Rhoades, who once worked in publishing in New York City. “"I love the movies. It’ll be like having our own movie theater.”
2 weeks ago, the LemonGrass Cafe closed since the owner had problems with Paul, the theater owner. That’s 2 restaurants that closed in that spot in a short time. They have a brand new marquee installed a few months ago and the restaurant is still on it.
I believe i saw Ratdog and Hot Tuna perform in 2000?
Correction. Bill Graham opened the Fillmore East in 1968 and it closed in 1971 when he also closed Fillmore West. There is a Fillmore East dedication page at www.fillmore-east.com and there are links to pics and a book on the history of the place. I cannot for the life of me find any pics of the inside. I have Bill Graham’s autobiography and there’s one pic of the stage and the ionic columns on either side of the stage, but that’s it. I’m trying to find the history of the place but it’s tough.
Well, let’s see. The 4th episode came out in 1977, so I would presume then.
Correction. The cinema has 425 seats.
um, justin, see above for the year.
Actually, there are about 5 or so old theatres in downtown Bridgeport that are still historically intact and vacant. The future of the Bijou will determine the fate of the other theatres.
My friend gave me this flyer about the Bijou and its hiring.
Nuts to You! The historic Bijout Theatre in downtown Bridgeport is seeking 60 overeducated, underemployed culture vultures to staff its restaurant, bar, cafe, offices, music halls, torture chambers and indie/arts cinemas. Come be a part of the re-opening of the oldest movie theatre in America this October in mutherfuckin' downtown Bridgeport! Experience helpful…but we will train the right peeps. Email Keith Rodgerson at .edu to set up an interview or call 203-522-0040. Of note, Keith is on the City Council and is only 30 years old.
Here are the latest articles on Kuchma and the renovations. View link is from April 21 and View link from November 11.
I saw Bill Cosby there on Sunday night and will be seeing the Doobies and Huey Lewis there later this summer. I had tears welling up in my eyes when i saw the ceiling. I had box/proscenium seats. when you walk in, above the door are strips of mirrors so it looks bigger. The lobby is beautiful as are the bathrooms. The stage is 5,000 sq ft and they have a rising pit for the orchestra. great sound. the ceiling is just amazing. Worth the trip even for the architecture.
well, it actually happened. Bethel Cinema for sale. Read it here before the link expires. View link
i hope someone can continue to run the place amazingly and keep it independent. it still holds the distinction of doing extremely well, given its close proximity to the nearby megaplex.
Bethel Cinema will be holding the 1st Annual Bethel Film Festival from October 25-30, 2005. They are offering free passes to anyone who completes the survey before April 25th at www.bethelfilmfestival.com/survery
Great News!!! There are flyers up in the theatre lobby for the first ever Bethel Film Festival, featuring local filmmakers and other indy documentaries. Flyers are available at the theater pretty soon for distro. It’s funded by some local businesses, some rich benefactors and some banks. Unfortunately, i just found out that the owner, Paul Schuyler wants to sell the place and move down to Florida with his wife and kids. He’s only 45 years old but he wants to sell it to someone who will retain its charm and independence. We all wish that.
So if anyone wants in, take it.
Here’s an update on the Lemongrass Cafe. My friend who works there told me there was a change of ownership, briefly but for the better. A month ago the cafe opened and was owned by Bethel Cinema but only lasted 2 weeks. Then a rich owner came in and offered the cinema more than the asking price and they took it. This guy re-opened it as the Lemongrass Cafe.
Hey folks, the old Emerald City Cafe that was adjacent to the cinema closed some 4 or 5 months ago. It just reopened last week and my friend is the new manager. It’s called the Lemon Grass Cafe and it’s a whole lot nicer than the old place. It’s got frosted glass on the outside so you can’t see in, it’s painted red everywhere, has a larger dining room and a bar in the back serving wine and beer, a great addition to the local yuppies. Of note is the great selection of their menu with entrees, soups and salads. Its address is 269 Greenwood Avenue like the theater. They are open Monday – Saturday from 5-10pm.