UA Crossbay I

I re-posted some of these comments on the Chelsea Theater page.

I don’t think Clearview has built any theatres from the ground up – they were all aquired from other operators.

Thanks Warren! Now it makes sense. I’m couldn’t beleive that someone like Eberson would design a theater like the Cross Bay. It would’ve been a big blotch on his resume.

I respect “saps” opinion that he mourns every closed theater, but I personally think only theaters of significant architectural or historical background deserve to be saved. “Significant” means many things to many people, but I doubt anyone would include The Cross Bay, the Casino and Lefferts (both in nearby Richmond Hill) in this category. These fall into the category of Ho Hum theaters. I now live in Chelsea in Manhattan and about 15 years ago, Cineplex Odeon opened the Chelsea Cinemas multiplex which, at that time was the largest in Manhattan. Now part of the Clearview chain, it falls into the Ho Hum category as well and, in my opinion, should be torn down and replaced with a modern theater complex similar to Loew’s Lincoln Square, 42nd St and 34th St. showplaces. These theaters are comforatable, have stadium seating, great sound and in the case of Lincoln Square, a unique achitectural element that recalls many of Loew’s movie palaces of the past.

Most of my friends only go to Chelsea Cinemas when it is too cold, or rainy to go to the other, much better theaters. We’d much rather walk up to 34th from 23rd at all other times.

I just read the article referenced by Lost Memory regarding the Cross Bay which referenced the “architectural majesty” of this theater. I must must have been at a different Cross Bay! I am also mystified that the theater John Eberson designed this theater (in addition to the Lefferts in nearby Richmond Hill. This is the same architect who designed the glorious Valancia in Jamaica. My memories of the Cross Bay and Leffetd were as drab utilitarian theaters with nothing that really stands out and I saw many movies there. As oppossed to the Valencia where I remember everything because it was just so beautiful.

My biggest memory of the Cross Bay wasn’t the theater, but what I saw there. One Saturday in the 70’s, I went with friends to spend the entire day watching “Go Ape”!!! They were showing all 5 Planet of the Apes movies in sequence. That was a fun day.

I miss the Valencia, but I won’t miss the Cross Bay.

I note that the Daily News article states that the oldest Queens movie house still showing films is the Jackson in Jackson Heights. t began screening movies in 1924. This is of course consistent with the opinion of many that the Ridgewood, which began life in 1913 as a vaudeville / movie house, is in Brooklyn.

I saw a movie here as a kid in the mid-1960’s, something with dinosaurs around the bend in a river, but we had to leave before it was over when my cousin got a nosebleed.

That’s it! I couldn’t think of the name they were using – Cinamerica – for a brief time they owned Trans-Lux here in the east, until they sold the T-L theatres to Dan Crown.

I think a $2 house could survive if located in the right neighborhood in the outer boroughs, but not in Manhattan; the rents are too killer and, even with packed houses for every show and every audience member buying a medium soda and popcorn (or the price equivalent of the two), the owner would probably have to consider him or herself the beneficiary of a miracle if they somehow managed to break even.

As for studio ownership of theatre chains, don’t Paramount and Warner Bros. own Mann Theatres 50/50? I seem to remember one studio getting into a pissing match with the other (Paramount, I think it was, getting ticked off with Warner Bros.) a couple of years back and withholding their product from Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood for a time as a result…

Same goes for IFC and Clearview Cinemas (also a cable vision company) yet IFC Center isn’t a Clearview location in the least. It doesn’t even offer the same type of cola. As for this discussion on going art house or not, another sign that a theater isn’t compleatly 100% well is if they start showing Bollywood or porno. Bollywood and Porno are interestingly enough the only two genres that you know exsactly what you can expect before you enter the theatre because there is a list of conventions that go along with the genre.

As for second run- we need more of them. Interstate Theatres is one chain (a division of Cinemark) that is a true discount chain (showing movies often weeks before they are on DVD) and they have had great success at Columbia Park in North Bergen- the place is packed every night for $2.00 movies. This pricing structure may not work for N/A or Regal but it does work.

2 points of clarification re. the previous posts…

1. The statute of limitations on the Paramount Decrees expired many years ago, thereby rendering them null and void. Hence the 1989 Sony/Columbia/Tri-Star/Loews merger and subsequent vertically integrated companies that exist in the film biz.

2. N/A wasn’t folded into Viacom because it is technically a separte entity that is privately owned by the Redstone family. It is through N/A that Redstone stands as the majority shareholder of Viacom with approximately 60% ownership.

I think the decree was eased up at some point, From 1989-1998 Sony Pictures owned both Columbia-TriStar Pictures & the Loews Theatres Circuit, such cross ownership would not have been permited if the decree was still in place as originally written.

Are the theater divestiture consent decrees of the 1940s still in force? If they are, the Redstones may be staying within the letter of the law by ensuring that the theaters are not part of the same corporate structure as Paramount.

UA East 85th St is another theatre Regal Entertainment Group is putting a beating to.

Regal switch this theatre to a basically all art format that is not doing that great.

This week is “March of the Penguins”.

They will keep this format until they kill this theatre off and will than close it.

This is also done by National Amusements / Multiplex Cinemas / Showcase Cinemas as division of Viacom. <–
That was a mouth full. ;–)

N/A will switch to an art format in theatres final six months or so to draw attendance down so they are “forced to close due a decline in attendance” or “for business reasons”.

This is what Regal now will also use to close a location.

Not as often anymore N/A would go sub-run to shutter locations but now uses the “art format” to close a location.