Alpine Cinema
6817 5th Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11220
6817 5th Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11220
22 people
favorited this theater
Showing 76 - 100 of 196 comments
No, WTVJ is the NBC affiliate in Miami. Bernard Myerson had an interest in WFOR, the CBS affiliate. It’s confusing since originally NBC was on channel 4 and CBS was on channel 6. About 20 years ago they swapped frequencies for technical reasons and NBC-WTVJ is now on 6 and CBS-WFOR is on channel 4. However, I’m sure it’s Bernard Myerson from Loews.
techman, are you confusing Bernard Meyerson with Fox executive Sidney Meyer who co-founded Wometco and WTVJ Miami?
Yes techman I did I just posted that on another page we have been chatting on. No I do not know the ansewer about the “Bernies” I work for Loews from 1973 starting as a doorman and worked my way up leaving as a Manager in late 1981.Wish I was still in the business sometimes.This was in Nashville, Tennessee ,were I still live. There were 4 Loews in Nashville over the years. First of all the Loews Vendome, Loews Crescent, Loews Melrose, and Loews Madison, all are on Cinema Treasures if you would like to check them out. The Loews Melrose is listed under Melrose Theatre,Nashville,and the Loews Madison is listed as Madsion Square Theatre Nashville, the other two are listed as Loews Theatres under those names I listed. Also there were two theatres in Memphis,Tenn,the Loews Palace and Loews State listed under those names. Elvis worked and was fired from the Loews State there.
tisloews, did you work for Loews? If so, would you know if the “Bernies”, Bernard Myerson and/or Bernard Diamond (Loews Vice-presidents)are still alive? Years ago I understand Bernard Myerson had a financial interest in the CBS television affiliate in Miami Florida.
Thanks techman.
“The 1943 Film Daily Yearbook lists it with 2163 seats. The multiplex probably used lobby space as well. The proscenium remains as storage area behind the last two screens.
posted by AlAlvarez on Dec 12, 2009 at 4:54pm”
Al, the multiplex did not use ANY original lobby space at all. Having been involved in the design and installation of the multiplex, I can tell you that the reason lobby space couldn’t be used was because the back of the original theatre is WIDER than the lobby section of the building. There are exit doors that go to the theatre alley on the left of the building, which extend to the left beyond the lobby portion of the building. The exit doors were the BACK of the original theatre.
Other then poking holes for the hanging ceiling in the lobby, the original ornamental plaster is still above the lobby. Everything else had been pretty much gutted.
Nice 1958 photo of the Loews Alpine posted by Warren.
…but they are advertising show times for seven screens.
Current total seating capacity is 1,381 for the five screens per their website at http://www.alpinecinemas.com/ .
It’s unlikely the Film Daily Yearbook was wrong. It’s more likely my memory is wrong. Perhaps the theater was three sections wide, which would be consistent with the number of seats stated in the Yearbook. Nevertheless it still looked huge, and definitely had a much larger Cinemascope screen than any other nearby theater.
The 1943 Film Daily Yearbook lists it with 2163 seats. The multiplex probably used lobby space as well. The proscenium remains as storage area behind the last two screens.
The number of seats (around 2200+) is for the chopped up theater. The single screen version must have been much more. As I recall (and keep in mind this goes back about 45 years), there were four sections each with fourteen seats (a bit less for a few front rows) and about 55 rows. This computes to about 3000 seats – remember this was without a balcony. It was huge! Does anyone know the exact number of seats in the original theater?
Just seen “Michael Jackson:This is it” at the Alpine, lovely old theatre…..heres some (2) shots…
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037507
Here’s the Alpine Theratre website for your CT perusal….I’m checking out This is it! whose coming with?
http://www.alpinecinemas.com/alc/ca/
On May 5, 1993, The Brooklyn Spectator published two pages of Bay Ridge movie palace memories written by Andrew Johnson and John Cocchi.
Here they are:
View link
View link
View link
View link
The theater is no longer owned by AMC. It is independently owned & uses Creative Ent. (sometimes it advertises that) as a booking service. Please update the netsite to show that.
Are any changes being made which will affect or enhance the building’s historical integrity?
check it out, the alpine has a new a/c system, brand new seats and a fresh painted floor! also ticket prices are cheaper and they even sell ice cream! sooner or later there are going to be even more changes to make this theater even better
The movie theatre Tony Manero (John Travolta) walks under in the opening scene of Saturday Night Fever was the Benson Twin, which was next to the Chase Manhattan Bank off of 20th Avenue and 86th Street, not the Loew’s Oriental, but you also can see the Loew’s Oriental in the very start of the film, when the B train is zooming by, it’s way off in the distance of that shot.
The movie theatre in SNF is the Loews Oriental under the el on 86th street.
Is this the theater that can be seen behind John Travolta as he struts his stuff in the opening scene of SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, with the movie title, NETWORK, on the marquee?
And if not, which theater is it?
When is this place closing?
Two photographs of the Alpine Cinema I took in June 2006:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/210959751/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/210960082/
Nice photos – I count 16 of them so perhaps a few were added recently. I like the use of fish eye and the shot out through the front doors to the street. I wonder if this person has shots of the auditoriums that will be added at some point…
He owns the Cinemart and owned the 59th Street East but I’m not sure if he has that one anymore.