There were two General Cinemas near OSU – one they bought and called the University Flick, and one that they built called University City. Is this one the Flick? What happened to the U-City?
I was not aware of the theatre on 53rd St., thought it was a typo. I had been the manager of the theatre on 57th and in the former coat-check room we had coat hangers and tags engraved with ‘Normandie Theatre’ with the address. I also found photographs of the theatre on the Normandie liner and compared them to my auditorium and many of the architectural elements matched. The painted designs on the walls didn’t match, but that had been just a recent paint job. So I guess NYC had 2 theatres designed after the ship.
The Avco was GCC’s west coast flagship in the 70s – when it was mentioned in internal company memoranda in regards to a premiere or other noteworthy events it was always referred to as “Our Prestigious Avco Center Cinema”.
Who is Wisper & Wetsman? I worked for General Cinema in the 60s & 70s and we had Dearborn, East Side and West Side Drive-In theatres in the Detroit area.
The Sutton was originally Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company, the only change to the exterior when it was converted to a theatre in the 50s was the addition of the marquee. The Wendy’s on Third Avenue btwn 57 & 58 is part of the Sutton property. The Sutton, The Murray Hill and The Beekman were all similiar in that they had the concession area tucked under the stadium with a large window so you could still watch the movie while getting your candy and popcorn. The Beekman still has this set-up.
57th Street Playhouse
110 West 57th Street
New York, NY 10019
Originally called the Normandie, the interior was designed to look like the art-deco theatre aboard the French ocean liner Normandie. It was an orchestra-stadium type auditorium with 586 seats. It had several incarnations over the years, including being 4-walled by Hugh Hefner and called the Playboy Theatre. In recent years it was operated by City Cinemas. The landlord is the Directors Guild of America which owns and occupies the office building upstairs, and it is now used by them as a private screening room and named The Directors Cinema.
CINEMA I – CINEMA II
1001 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Opened 1962 – Abraham W. Geller, Architect – Donald Rugoff/Cinema 5 Ltd, owner – considered to be the first commercially viable two-screen cinema built in the US – Cinema I 700 seats, Cinema II 291 seats – technically not a “twin cinema” – Cinema I is a orchestra-stadium type auditorium on the 2nd and 3rd floor levels of the building with the screen on the east wall, Cinema II, a standard orchestra-type auditorium, nestles sideways underneath in the basement and first floor levels, screen on the south wall. Seperate marquee, entrance, box office and lobby for each cinema. It also operated as two seperate theatres – 2 unit numbers, 2 payrolls, 2 concession inventories etc. Lobbies decorated with modern paintings and other artwork. Specialized in art-house product. Renovated 1988 – Abraham W. Geller, Architect – the large upper theatre was divided by removing front 6 rows of seats, moving screen forward and inserting small cinema in the resulting space, screen on the north wall. Marquees, entrances, boxoffices and lobbies combined to operate as a triplex – new seating installed, rest rooms enlarged, original artwork restored – New seating capacities – Cinema I 532 – Cinema II 290 – Cinema III 165 – presently operated by City Cinemas/Reading Entertainment.
WESTGATE CINEMA CITY (GC unit #661)
3221 Westgate Mall
Fairview Park, Ohio 44126
Opened 1971 – William Riseman Associates, Architects – GCC’s first “built-as” 4 screen theatre, not resulting from divisions or additions in a space previously occupied by a Kroger supermarket – Cinema I 350 Seats, Cinema II 300 seats, Cinema III 170 seats, Cinema IV 140 seats – an imaginative although impractical floor plan – closed by GCC 1991 – space now food court – new six-plex built in parking lot away from mall.
SOUTHGATE CINEMA (GC unit #547)
5390 Northfield Road
Maple Heights 44137
General Cinema’s first theatre in the Cleveland – built 1964 – William Riseman Associates, Architects – Single screen cinema – aprx 1300 seats – originally not connected to the strip mall, there was a road between the theatre and the bank next door. In 1971 Cinema II was built in the roadway space. Cinema II had aprx 600 seats, and opened on the same day in 1971 as the Westgate Cinema City on the west side. The Cleveland Division Manager was ensconced in this theatre on the second floor. In the 1980s Cinema I was divided in half. Sold to an independent operator in the early 90s, I don’t know if it was further divided or added to after GCC left – now closed.
Opened 11/15/1967 – William Riseman Associates, Arcitects – Single screen cinema – aprx 1000 seats – divided in half aprx 1972 – closed mid 1980s – now used as performing arts center. This theatre never had potential from the begiinning and was only built as part of a deal where the landlord was building a shopping center and wanted a theatre, but no operator wanted the site. At the same time the same landlord was building the Parmatown Mall,
General Cinema wanted that site because it DID have potential, and in order to get it they had to take this site also. In this theatre though the business was a partnership with the landlord and GCC, and GCC was the managing partner.
RANDALL PARK MALL CINEMA I – II – III
Northfield Rd. & Miles Rd.
North Randall, Ohio
General Cinema walked away from this train wreck when the landlord – E.J.DeBartolo Corp. would not cooperate with them in modifications to make the place handicapped accessable.
MAYLAND CINEMA (GC unit #694)
5900 Mayfield Road
Mayfield Heights, Ohio 44124
Original Mayland Theater built in 1940s by Jack Essex, owner, original architect unknown, as a neighborhood movie house – aprx 1400 seats – purchased by General Cinema 1971 – referred to as Mayland Cinema – renovated and split in half aprx 1972 – William Riseman & Associates, Architects – Cinema I 600 seats – Cinema 2 600 seats – (We suspected it was haunted by Rex, a porter who had hanged himself on the stage when the theatre was fairly new, a lot of strange things occurred there) – closed by GCC aprx 1990 – renovated into Barnes & Noble Bookstore 1992 – closed by B&N aprx 2000 – vacant at present time.
There were two General Cinemas near OSU – one they bought and called the University Flick, and one that they built called University City. Is this one the Flick? What happened to the U-City?
I was not aware of the theatre on 53rd St., thought it was a typo. I had been the manager of the theatre on 57th and in the former coat-check room we had coat hangers and tags engraved with ‘Normandie Theatre’ with the address. I also found photographs of the theatre on the Normandie liner and compared them to my auditorium and many of the architectural elements matched. The painted designs on the walls didn’t match, but that had been just a recent paint job. So I guess NYC had 2 theatres designed after the ship.
The Avco was GCC’s west coast flagship in the 70s – when it was mentioned in internal company memoranda in regards to a premiere or other noteworthy events it was always referred to as “Our Prestigious Avco Center Cinema”.
Who is Wisper & Wetsman? I worked for General Cinema in the 60s & 70s and we had Dearborn, East Side and West Side Drive-In theatres in the Detroit area.
The 72nd St is supposed to be getting re-seated with seats removed from the Astor.
The 72nd St is supposed to be getting re-seated with seats from the Astor.
The Sutton was originally Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company, the only change to the exterior when it was converted to a theatre in the 50s was the addition of the marquee. The Wendy’s on Third Avenue btwn 57 & 58 is part of the Sutton property. The Sutton, The Murray Hill and The Beekman were all similiar in that they had the concession area tucked under the stadium with a large window so you could still watch the movie while getting your candy and popcorn. The Beekman still has this set-up.
57th Street Playhouse
110 West 57th Street
New York, NY 10019
Originally called the Normandie, the interior was designed to look like the art-deco theatre aboard the French ocean liner Normandie. It was an orchestra-stadium type auditorium with 586 seats. It had several incarnations over the years, including being 4-walled by Hugh Hefner and called the Playboy Theatre. In recent years it was operated by City Cinemas. The landlord is the Directors Guild of America which owns and occupies the office building upstairs, and it is now used by them as a private screening room and named The Directors Cinema.
CINEMA I – CINEMA II
1001 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Opened 1962 – Abraham W. Geller, Architect – Donald Rugoff/Cinema 5 Ltd, owner – considered to be the first commercially viable two-screen cinema built in the US – Cinema I 700 seats, Cinema II 291 seats – technically not a “twin cinema” – Cinema I is a orchestra-stadium type auditorium on the 2nd and 3rd floor levels of the building with the screen on the east wall, Cinema II, a standard orchestra-type auditorium, nestles sideways underneath in the basement and first floor levels, screen on the south wall. Seperate marquee, entrance, box office and lobby for each cinema. It also operated as two seperate theatres – 2 unit numbers, 2 payrolls, 2 concession inventories etc. Lobbies decorated with modern paintings and other artwork. Specialized in art-house product. Renovated 1988 – Abraham W. Geller, Architect – the large upper theatre was divided by removing front 6 rows of seats, moving screen forward and inserting small cinema in the resulting space, screen on the north wall. Marquees, entrances, boxoffices and lobbies combined to operate as a triplex – new seating installed, rest rooms enlarged, original artwork restored – New seating capacities – Cinema I 532 – Cinema II 290 – Cinema III 165 – presently operated by City Cinemas/Reading Entertainment.
WESTGATE CINEMA CITY (GC unit #661)
3221 Westgate Mall
Fairview Park, Ohio 44126
Opened 1971 – William Riseman Associates, Architects – GCC’s first “built-as” 4 screen theatre, not resulting from divisions or additions in a space previously occupied by a Kroger supermarket – Cinema I 350 Seats, Cinema II 300 seats, Cinema III 170 seats, Cinema IV 140 seats – an imaginative although impractical floor plan – closed by GCC 1991 – space now food court – new six-plex built in parking lot away from mall.
SOUTHGATE CINEMA (GC unit #547)
5390 Northfield Road
Maple Heights 44137
General Cinema’s first theatre in the Cleveland – built 1964 – William Riseman Associates, Architects – Single screen cinema – aprx 1300 seats – originally not connected to the strip mall, there was a road between the theatre and the bank next door. In 1971 Cinema II was built in the roadway space. Cinema II had aprx 600 seats, and opened on the same day in 1971 as the Westgate Cinema City on the west side. The Cleveland Division Manager was ensconced in this theatre on the second floor. In the 1980s Cinema I was divided in half. Sold to an independent operator in the early 90s, I don’t know if it was further divided or added to after GCC left – now closed.
SHOREGATE CINEMA (GC unit #387)
29430 Lakeshore Boulevard
Willowick, Ohio 44094
Opened 11/15/1967 – William Riseman Associates, Arcitects – Single screen cinema – aprx 1000 seats – divided in half aprx 1972 – closed mid 1980s – now used as performing arts center. This theatre never had potential from the begiinning and was only built as part of a deal where the landlord was building a shopping center and wanted a theatre, but no operator wanted the site. At the same time the same landlord was building the Parmatown Mall,
General Cinema wanted that site because it DID have potential, and in order to get it they had to take this site also. In this theatre though the business was a partnership with the landlord and GCC, and GCC was the managing partner.
RANDALL PARK MALL CINEMA I – II – III
Northfield Rd. & Miles Rd.
North Randall, Ohio
General Cinema walked away from this train wreck when the landlord – E.J.DeBartolo Corp. would not cooperate with them in modifications to make the place handicapped accessable.
MAYLAND CINEMA (GC unit #694)
5900 Mayfield Road
Mayfield Heights, Ohio 44124
Original Mayland Theater built in 1940s by Jack Essex, owner, original architect unknown, as a neighborhood movie house – aprx 1400 seats – purchased by General Cinema 1971 – referred to as Mayland Cinema – renovated and split in half aprx 1972 – William Riseman & Associates, Architects – Cinema I 600 seats – Cinema 2 600 seats – (We suspected it was haunted by Rex, a porter who had hanged himself on the stage when the theatre was fairly new, a lot of strange things occurred there) – closed by GCC aprx 1990 – renovated into Barnes & Noble Bookstore 1992 – closed by B&N aprx 2000 – vacant at present time.