Hello Again To Techman707- thank you for your
reply. you seem to know lots and lots so i figure
you were the person to ask. of course a number
of grand old movie theaters are alive and well
but not as movie theaters. in Manhattan Radio
City Music Hall is a prime example.
so i have to reiterate my original question- in
the 1913-1941 period countless grand movie theaters/
palaces were built in all 50 states at least half of
which have since been torn down. so of all the ones
still standing in all 50 states the Uptown in D.C.,
and Grauman’s Chinese in Hollywood are in fact the
only two continuely operated as 1st run movie
theaters in their original state/design since Day 1,
is that possible?
since i discovered this wonderful website last Feb.
who have been most helpful with any questions i had.
well here’s a good one i would appreciate your
help with finding the answer to.
the building phase for grand old movie theaters or
movie palaces to to use the popular term was approx.
1913 – 1941. unfortunately many of those theaters
have since been torn down. so my question pertains
to the ones still standing. here goes- of all the
grand old movie theaters still standing which have
not gutted for retail space, never became 2nd or 3rd run grind houses, never showed porn, were never
radio or t.v. studios, were not converted to concert
halls or performing arts centers and were not twinned,
tri-plexed or quaded but have stayed in more or less
their original design/condition as 1st run movie
theaters since the day they opened. using this
website the only 2 i have come across are the Uptown
in D.C. and Grauman’s Chinese in Hollywood. can
these be the only two in the entire country? how
cam i find out if they are any others. many thanks
in advance for you assistance.
Hello To My Fellow Posters-
i came across this website a year ago and was
hooked from the get go. so i set up a project for
myself- find as many grand old movie theaters or
palaces to use the popular term that have not
been gutted for retail space, were never a 2nd/3rd
run or grind house, never showed porn, never used
as a radio or t.v. studio, never converted to
a concert hall or performing art center and were
never twined, tri-plexed or if large enough
quaded but and this is a big BUT has stayed in
more or less their original state,design/condition
as 1st run movie theater since the day it opened.
thru my searching so far i have only found this
theater and Grauman’s Chinese in Hollywood. they
can’t be the only ones in the entire country
can they? anyone know of other ones still
operating as 1st run theaters?
Hello To My Fellow Posters-
i discovered this website a year ago and was
hooked. therefore i set up a project for myself-
to find grand old movie theaters or palaces to
use the popular term that fit these criteria-
haven’t been torn down or gutted for retail
space, never became a 2nd/3rd run or grind house,
never showed porn, never used as a radio or
t.v. studio, wasn’t converted to a concert hall
or performing arts center, and was never twined,
tri-plexed or if large enough quaded but and
this is a big BUT has stayed in its original
state/design/condition as a 1st run movie theater
since the day it opened. using this site the
only two i’ve found are the Uptown in D.C. and
of course Grauman’s Chinese. they can’t be the
only ones in the entire country can they? do
my fellow posters know of any other theaters
that fit my criteria. many thanks in advance.
Hello from NYC. i find many recent postings
quite fascinating. first off the many comments
as to why the Chinese didn’t book one of the many
“big” year end flicks but THE DARKEST HOUR instead.
Considering the many “big” year end flicks this surprises me as well since the only other
theaters in the immediate area is the Cinerama
Dome/Archlight and the El Capitan.
Also the many comments about raising ticket
prices. i was always under the assumption that
first run theaters in Manhattan had the highest
prices. Obviously 3-D, IMAX and 3-D IMAX have
surcharges but the highest price for a regular
first run theater is $13.50 at theaters run by
the Regal chain.
Hello to my fellow posters. i discovered this
website the end of January and have greatly enjoyed
it ever since. now if i’m not mistaken the golden
age of movie palace building was approx. 1913 to
1941. now i set up a project for myself using this
website. its simple-of movie palaces build during
this period and still standing how many have not
been gutted for retail space, turned into 2nd or
3rd run grind houses, never showed porn, never used
as a radio ot t.v. studio, never converted into
concert halls or performing arts center, or twinned,
tri-plexed or quaded but have stayed in more or
less there original condition as 1st run movie
theaters since the day they opened. using this
website i have only come across 2-Grauman’s Chinese
and the Uptown Theater in D.C. can they be the only
2 in the whole country? so does anyone know of any
others that fit my criteria? thanks in advance.
i have a question that i hope someone can answer.
i have been a big fan of the Ziegfeld Theater since
it opened Dec 1969 with the roadshow engagement of
MAROONED. i’m as amazed as i am delighted that
the theater is still alive and well. with real
estate in Manhattan i’m sure the land under the
theater is worth like a bazillion dollars. so my
question is simple- with the land value how is it
that the theater hasn’t been torn down and the
land redeveloped? look at the Loew’s Tower East it
closed because AMC couldn’t be bothered with
running a single screen movie theater.
Hello To My Fellow Posters.
the Roxy was torn down the summer of 1960 and i
doubt everything was going along swimmingly and
a month before someone said-“oh lets tear down the
Roxy”. so i’m hedging the bet the decision to do
so was decided upon years before. so when exactly
was the decision to tear it down decided on? in
1956 the Roxy had 3 big Cinemascope hits from 20th
Fox-CAROUSEL, ANASTASIA and THE KING AND I. so could
the decision have been made as early as 1956?
I have been reading the many posts about the
preservation or not in NYC of grand old movie
theaters. San Francisco is in the same boat. none
of the grand old movie theaters built as first run
theaters during the golden age of such construction
survive as movie theaters first run or revival.
the Castro doesn’t quite fit the description since
it was built from the get go as a second or third
run neighborhood theater.
now in the discussion of the non-preservation of
grand old movie houses the Roxy has often been
brought up. when i started going into Manhattan
on my own i was able to catch the Criterion,Loews
State,DeMille,Warner, Rivoli and the Loews Capitol
in their more or less original condition. the Roxy
unfortunately was torn down June/July 1960? so
i wasn’t able to see its wonders. to which a
question for historians of the Roxy- when was it
decided to tear down the theater? i can’t imagine
is was decided on the weekend of the demolition.
i’m guessing the decision was made years before.
also another point about the preservation or not
of grand old movie theaters. the six Times Square
movie theaters mentioned above as i knew them were
large but the Roxy was as it was often described
a cathedral. so isn’t the reason it and the also
cathedral like Fox on Market St. in San Francisco
were torn down wasn’t because no one liked the
architecture or the projection and sound but
because movie theaters that big by the late 50s
had become point blank economically unviable as
single screen movie theaters? i look forward to
my fellow posters thoughts on the subject.
to techman707- just wanted to say Hello and hope that
some day real soon you will find a
photo of the triplexed "DeMille" with
Mark 1/2/3 actually on the marquee. as
i said i often went there after the
tri-plexing and never remember seeing
it on the marquee.
one new question. for the past several
years the huge sign that wraps around
the building has advertised Broadway
shows. now what was the last film to
play the "DeMille" that used the
wrap around sign?
i don’t mind slow paced films. A SINGLE MAN(2009)
with Colin Firth was slow placed but wasn’t boring
for a second. my point being there’s big difference
between slow paced films and just plain boring ones.
i was wondering if you’ve located a photo of the
front of the theater when Mark1/2/3 was actually
on the marquee yet. as said i went to the theater
often enough after it was tri-plexed so i should
have come across Mark ½/3 on the marquee on at
least one or two occasions. but i simply don’t
recollect it. hopefully you have found a photo.
i was wondering if you have come across
a photo of the theater front with Mark 1,2,3
actually on the marquee. as you have said this
was done right after the theater closed as the
single screen DeMille and was tri-plexed. as i
have likewise said i often went to the theater
right after it was tri-plexed but quite
honestly never remember taking note of Mark
1,2,3 being on the marquee.
thanks to Al A. for his learned assessment
on the subject. in fact your reply prompts
an additional question on my part. as i
understand it the golden age of movie palace
building was approx. 1910 thru say 1941?
now of all those theaters it would be interesting to find out of the three reasons
listed below percentage wise which caused the
most movie theaters to close.
a)the Depression
or
b)t.v. sucking the life out of the movie biz
or
c)the neighborhood “changing”
again i thank Techman707 for his inside info
as to the ownership etc….. of the theater.
but i do have one additional question. as i have said i have been a frequent visitor to
the Times Square area for virtually my entire adult life and would out of habit notice
different signage from the previous
visit. so during what period of time did the marque actually have Mark 1,2,3 on it?
certainly a quite attractive theater at least
the exterior. one simple question- the theater
closed in 1933 long before the advent of television which sucked the life out of the
movie business or the “changing” of the
neighborhood. so why did it close after only
19 years?
i know 20th Century Fox’s THE BLUE MAX had its
premiere exclusive NYC engagement at the Sutton
and a souvenir program was sold in the lobby.
but there seems to be some debate as to whether
is was a traditional two show a day roadshow
engagement or a continuous performance engagement as they were called in the day. so which was it? the fact a souvenir program was
sold would leave me to believe it was a
traditional 2 show a day roadshow engagement.
its my understanding that back in the day it
was highly unusual for continuous performance engagements even exclusive in one theater to
have a souvenir program no matter how “big”
the film was.
i thank Techman707 for the inside info. two
new-ish questions. your additional thoughts
are appreciated. many thanks in advance.
i agree with you that the Demille suffered
the worst tri-plexing ever of a former movie
palace. but would you have any info as to
why since it was in such horrid condition it
was never closed for building or health
violations previous to its actual closing?
also as i have said i have been to the Times
Square area for either films or Broadway
shows for virtually my entire adult so i would
notice signage that was different from my
previous visit.i know when the theater
was tri-plexed the new operators were thinking
of renaming it the Mark 1,2,3 but did the
name ever actually make it on the marquee?
if it did actually make it onto the marquee
it most have lasted like a day.
to Tinseltoes- you have been most hopeful with
previous questions so here goes with a new one.
as you stated above THE ALAMO moved from its
Todd-AO roadshow run of many months at the
Rivoli to a continuous performance run at
popular prices at the Astor in May of 1961.
but the ads for this engagement made no note
of the fact the print was 25 mins. shorter
than the roadshow Todd-AO print. therein lies
mu question. after a Cinerama roadshow engagement of many months at the Warner Theater
THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD moved to a
popular price continuous performance run at
the Astor. what was the running time of the
continuous performance print as opposed to
the roadshow print? also it obviously wasn’t
in Cinerama so what was the Astor run
advertised as being in? many thanks in advance.
i’m asking a question i asked several months
ago and would appreciate it if my fellow
posters have any additional info/thoughts on
the matter. during Oct.1955 thru Dec.1972 seven
large grand old movies were used as roadshow
houses by the studios-Criterion, Loews State,
RKO Palace, DeMille, Warner, Rivoli and the
Loews Capitol. now the Palace was originally
built as a stage theater so my question will
pertain to the other six. the Criterion was in
fairly decent shape after a redo by United
Artists theaters before being gutted for the
Toys R' Us. the Loews State which had been
twinned in 1968 was in fairly decent shape
before the building which housed it was torn
down. the Warner which had been tri-plexed
in 1967? was still in fairly decent shape
before the building which housed it was torn down. this was also the case with the Rivoli
which had been twinned and the Loews Capitol
which wasn’t. so here’s my question- who the
hell owned/operated/managed the Embassy1,2,3
before it closed for good? in contrast to
the other five theaters just noted the Embassy
1,2,3 was in absolutely horrid shape. this
was especially true not only of the 3
auditoriums but the men’s rooms on both the
orchestra and mezzanine/balcony level. i can’t
believe the theater hadn’t already closed
because of building or health code violations.
to either see a new film at one of the
large movie theaters or a Broadway show i
have been a frequent visitor to the Times
Square area most of my adult life. to which
my question- i don’t remember the former
Mayfair/DeMille ever having The Mark as its
name on the marquee. so i’m guessing it
was a proposed name change that never made
it to the marquee.
i find the photo posted by jflundy on
1/5/08 most interesting. first off it was
neat to see the theater with a big ornate
old fashion marquee. but what i find most
fascinating is that date given for the.
photo 6/23/29. unless NYC widened Houston
St. subsequent to the photo being taken
the street in front of the theater is
wayyyyyyyyyyyy to narrow to be Houston
Street. is it at all possible that the
photo is not of the Sunshine Cinema that
exists today?
as with older buildings in NYC i can’t help but wonder if the fire was a “business fire” as they are called.. many times even if an older building is in perfectly good shape the land the theater is on is even more valuable than the historical and or architectural aspect of the building.
i live in New York City and visited London in August of 1972. i attended an showing of “Nicholas and Alexandria” at this theater. it was the first movie theater i had seen with a coffee bar and cafe rather than just a concession stand selling soda and popcorn.
Hello Again To Techman707- thank you for your reply. you seem to know lots and lots so i figure you were the person to ask. of course a number of grand old movie theaters are alive and well but not as movie theaters. in Manhattan Radio City Music Hall is a prime example.
so i have to reiterate my original question- in the 1913-1941 period countless grand movie theaters/ palaces were built in all 50 states at least half of which have since been torn down. so of all the ones still standing in all 50 states the Uptown in D.C., and Grauman’s Chinese in Hollywood are in fact the only two continuely operated as 1st run movie theaters in their original state/design since Day 1, is that possible?
Hello To Techman707-
since i discovered this wonderful website last Feb. who have been most helpful with any questions i had. well here’s a good one i would appreciate your help with finding the answer to.
the building phase for grand old movie theaters or movie palaces to to use the popular term was approx. 1913 – 1941. unfortunately many of those theaters have since been torn down. so my question pertains to the ones still standing. here goes- of all the grand old movie theaters still standing which have not gutted for retail space, never became 2nd or 3rd run grind houses, never showed porn, were never radio or t.v. studios, were not converted to concert halls or performing arts centers and were not twinned, tri-plexed or quaded but have stayed in more or less their original design/condition as 1st run movie theaters since the day they opened. using this website the only 2 i have come across are the Uptown in D.C. and Grauman’s Chinese in Hollywood. can these be the only two in the entire country? how cam i find out if they are any others. many thanks in advance for you assistance.
Hello To My Fellow Posters- i came across this website a year ago and was hooked from the get go. so i set up a project for myself- find as many grand old movie theaters or palaces to use the popular term that have not been gutted for retail space, were never a 2nd/3rd run or grind house, never showed porn, never used as a radio or t.v. studio, never converted to a concert hall or performing art center and were never twined, tri-plexed or if large enough quaded but and this is a big BUT has stayed in more or less their original state,design/condition as 1st run movie theater since the day it opened. thru my searching so far i have only found this theater and Grauman’s Chinese in Hollywood. they can’t be the only ones in the entire country can they? anyone know of other ones still operating as 1st run theaters?
Hello To My Fellow Posters- i discovered this website a year ago and was hooked. therefore i set up a project for myself- to find grand old movie theaters or palaces to use the popular term that fit these criteria- haven’t been torn down or gutted for retail space, never became a 2nd/3rd run or grind house, never showed porn, never used as a radio or t.v. studio, wasn’t converted to a concert hall or performing arts center, and was never twined, tri-plexed or if large enough quaded but and this is a big BUT has stayed in its original state/design/condition as a 1st run movie theater since the day it opened. using this site the only two i’ve found are the Uptown in D.C. and of course Grauman’s Chinese. they can’t be the only ones in the entire country can they? do my fellow posters know of any other theaters that fit my criteria. many thanks in advance.
Hello from NYC. i find many recent postings quite fascinating. first off the many comments as to why the Chinese didn’t book one of the many “big” year end flicks but THE DARKEST HOUR instead.
Considering the many “big” year end flicks this surprises me as well since the only other theaters in the immediate area is the Cinerama Dome/Archlight and the El Capitan.
Also the many comments about raising ticket prices. i was always under the assumption that first run theaters in Manhattan had the highest prices. Obviously 3-D, IMAX and 3-D IMAX have surcharges but the highest price for a regular first run theater is $13.50 at theaters run by the Regal chain.
Hello to my fellow posters. i discovered this website the end of January and have greatly enjoyed it ever since. now if i’m not mistaken the golden age of movie palace building was approx. 1913 to 1941. now i set up a project for myself using this website. its simple-of movie palaces build during this period and still standing how many have not been gutted for retail space, turned into 2nd or 3rd run grind houses, never showed porn, never used as a radio ot t.v. studio, never converted into concert halls or performing arts center, or twinned, tri-plexed or quaded but have stayed in more or less there original condition as 1st run movie theaters since the day they opened. using this website i have only come across 2-Grauman’s Chinese and the Uptown Theater in D.C. can they be the only 2 in the whole country? so does anyone know of any others that fit my criteria? thanks in advance.
Hello.
i have a question that i hope someone can answer. i have been a big fan of the Ziegfeld Theater since it opened Dec 1969 with the roadshow engagement of MAROONED. i’m as amazed as i am delighted that the theater is still alive and well. with real estate in Manhattan i’m sure the land under the theater is worth like a bazillion dollars. so my question is simple- with the land value how is it that the theater hasn’t been torn down and the land redeveloped? look at the Loew’s Tower East it closed because AMC couldn’t be bothered with running a single screen movie theater.
Hello To My Fellow Posters. the Roxy was torn down the summer of 1960 and i doubt everything was going along swimmingly and a month before someone said-“oh lets tear down the Roxy”. so i’m hedging the bet the decision to do so was decided upon years before. so when exactly was the decision to tear it down decided on? in 1956 the Roxy had 3 big Cinemascope hits from 20th Fox-CAROUSEL, ANASTASIA and THE KING AND I. so could the decision have been made as early as 1956?
I have been reading the many posts about the preservation or not in NYC of grand old movie theaters. San Francisco is in the same boat. none
of the grand old movie theaters built as first run theaters during the golden age of such construction survive as movie theaters first run or revival. the Castro doesn’t quite fit the description since it was built from the get go as a second or third run neighborhood theater.
now in the discussion of the non-preservation of grand old movie houses the Roxy has often been brought up. when i started going into Manhattan on my own i was able to catch the Criterion,Loews State,DeMille,Warner, Rivoli and the Loews Capitol in their more or less original condition. the Roxy unfortunately was torn down June/July 1960? so i wasn’t able to see its wonders. to which a question for historians of the Roxy- when was it decided to tear down the theater? i can’t imagine is was decided on the weekend of the demolition. i’m guessing the decision was made years before.
also another point about the preservation or not of grand old movie theaters. the six Times Square movie theaters mentioned above as i knew them were large but the Roxy was as it was often described a cathedral. so isn’t the reason it and the also cathedral like Fox on Market St. in San Francisco were torn down wasn’t because no one liked the architecture or the projection and sound but because movie theaters that big by the late 50s had become point blank economically unviable as single screen movie theaters? i look forward to my fellow posters thoughts on the subject.
to techman707- just wanted to say Hello and hope that
i don’t mind slow paced films. A SINGLE MAN(2009) with Colin Firth was slow placed but wasn’t boring for a second. my point being there’s big difference between slow paced films and just plain boring ones.
isn’t the theater’s “warning” sign an admission on their part that the film is an incoherent boring piece of cinematic claptrap?
Hello to Techman707-
i was wondering if you’ve located a photo of the front of the theater when Mark1/2/3 was actually on the marquee yet. as said i went to the theater often enough after it was tri-plexed so i should have come across Mark ½/3 on the marquee on at least one or two occasions. but i simply don’t recollect it. hopefully you have found a photo.
to Techman707-
i was wondering if you have come across a photo of the theater front with Mark 1,2,3 actually on the marquee. as you have said this was done right after the theater closed as the single screen DeMille and was tri-plexed. as i have likewise said i often went to the theater right after it was tri-plexed but quite honestly never remember taking note of Mark 1,2,3 being on the marquee.
thanks to Al A. for his learned assessment on the subject. in fact your reply prompts an additional question on my part. as i understand it the golden age of movie palace building was approx. 1910 thru say 1941? now of all those theaters it would be interesting to find out of the three reasons listed below percentage wise which caused the most movie theaters to close.
a)the Depression or b)t.v. sucking the life out of the movie biz or c)the neighborhood “changing”
again i thank Techman707 for his inside info as to the ownership etc….. of the theater. but i do have one additional question. as i have said i have been a frequent visitor to the Times Square area for virtually my entire adult life and would out of habit notice different signage from the previous visit. so during what period of time did the marque actually have Mark 1,2,3 on it?
certainly a quite attractive theater at least the exterior. one simple question- the theater closed in 1933 long before the advent of television which sucked the life out of the movie business or the “changing” of the neighborhood. so why did it close after only 19 years?
i know 20th Century Fox’s THE BLUE MAX had its premiere exclusive NYC engagement at the Sutton and a souvenir program was sold in the lobby. but there seems to be some debate as to whether is was a traditional two show a day roadshow engagement or a continuous performance engagement as they were called in the day. so which was it? the fact a souvenir program was sold would leave me to believe it was a traditional 2 show a day roadshow engagement. its my understanding that back in the day it was highly unusual for continuous performance engagements even exclusive in one theater to have a souvenir program no matter how “big” the film was.
i thank Techman707 for the inside info. two new-ish questions. your additional thoughts are appreciated. many thanks in advance.
i agree with you that the Demille suffered the worst tri-plexing ever of a former movie palace. but would you have any info as to why since it was in such horrid condition it was never closed for building or health violations previous to its actual closing?
also as i have said i have been to the Times Square area for either films or Broadway shows for virtually my entire adult so i would notice signage that was different from my previous visit.i know when the theater was tri-plexed the new operators were thinking of renaming it the Mark 1,2,3 but did the name ever actually make it on the marquee? if it did actually make it onto the marquee it most have lasted like a day.
to Tinseltoes- you have been most hopeful with previous questions so here goes with a new one. as you stated above THE ALAMO moved from its Todd-AO roadshow run of many months at the Rivoli to a continuous performance run at popular prices at the Astor in May of 1961. but the ads for this engagement made no note of the fact the print was 25 mins. shorter than the roadshow Todd-AO print. therein lies mu question. after a Cinerama roadshow engagement of many months at the Warner Theater THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD moved to a popular price continuous performance run at the Astor. what was the running time of the continuous performance print as opposed to the roadshow print? also it obviously wasn’t in Cinerama so what was the Astor run advertised as being in? many thanks in advance.
i’m asking a question i asked several months ago and would appreciate it if my fellow posters have any additional info/thoughts on the matter. during Oct.1955 thru Dec.1972 seven large grand old movies were used as roadshow houses by the studios-Criterion, Loews State, RKO Palace, DeMille, Warner, Rivoli and the Loews Capitol. now the Palace was originally built as a stage theater so my question will pertain to the other six. the Criterion was in fairly decent shape after a redo by United Artists theaters before being gutted for the Toys R' Us. the Loews State which had been twinned in 1968 was in fairly decent shape before the building which housed it was torn down. the Warner which had been tri-plexed in 1967? was still in fairly decent shape before the building which housed it was torn down. this was also the case with the Rivoli which had been twinned and the Loews Capitol which wasn’t. so here’s my question- who the hell owned/operated/managed the Embassy1,2,3 before it closed for good? in contrast to the other five theaters just noted the Embassy 1,2,3 was in absolutely horrid shape. this was especially true not only of the 3 auditoriums but the men’s rooms on both the orchestra and mezzanine/balcony level. i can’t believe the theater hadn’t already closed because of building or health code violations.
to either see a new film at one of the large movie theaters or a Broadway show i have been a frequent visitor to the Times Square area most of my adult life. to which my question- i don’t remember the former Mayfair/DeMille ever having The Mark as its name on the marquee. so i’m guessing it was a proposed name change that never made it to the marquee.
i find the photo posted by jflundy on 1/5/08 most interesting. first off it was neat to see the theater with a big ornate old fashion marquee. but what i find most fascinating is that date given for the. photo 6/23/29. unless NYC widened Houston St. subsequent to the photo being taken the street in front of the theater is wayyyyyyyyyyyy to narrow to be Houston Street. is it at all possible that the photo is not of the Sunshine Cinema that exists today?
as with older buildings in NYC i can’t help but wonder if
the fire was a “business fire” as they are called.. many times
even if an older building is in perfectly good shape the land
the theater is on is even more valuable than the historical and
or architectural aspect of the building.
i live in New York City and visited London in August of 1972. i
attended an showing of “Nicholas and Alexandria” at this theater.
it was the first movie theater i had seen with a coffee bar and
cafe rather than just a concession stand selling soda and popcorn.