The Black theaters on U Street were usually cheaper than the White ones on F Street, but in the case of GWTW in 1939 the admission at LOEW’S PALACE for Evening Shows was also $1.10 —– indeed expensive enough in 1939 to make folks angry. A middle class government job like a GS-12 paid $800 a year in 1939.
Amazingly, in New York at the glorious LOEW’S CAPITOL THEATRE on Broadway the price was also $1.10 at night. New York prices were almost always double the Washington price back then. Reserved seats at the ASTOR on Broadway were $1.10 to $2.20.
In summary, the price for GWTW at the Lincoln was enough to rate a picket line.
Nobody was “offended” by GWTW in 1939 except concerning the final line, “Frankly, m'dear, I don’t give a DAMN!” It wasn’t until recently that liberal wacko’s started to badmouth GWTW for depicting slavery (ohmygod, slavery! in the South! in 1861! SHOCKING!!!) In 1939 it was big news that HATTIE McDANIEL was the first Black to win an Oscar, and Black folks were honored with that; not offended.
If you look for the TOWN THEATER in Baltimore check the address and LOOK HARD. It doesn’t look anymore like the above photo. The front is completely flat and boarded up. Although, as noted above, I took Midge here on our date, I’ve driven by the front entrance 50 times without recognizing the site. Hopefully though, the well-sealed interior remains to be saved.
Washington’s HIPPODROME served briefly as (I think) the original location of ARENA STAGE, now moved to custom-built quarters in SW.
Regarding the small 300 seat size for a theater named HIPPODROME, please look up the HIPPODROME New York on this site. My dad first told me about the one in New York, short-lived, it had over 5000 seats and the largest stage on Earth. Never mind. Just click-on the write-up which is extensive.
Today I found convincing evidence that HANK WILLIAMS AND HIS DRIFTING COWBOYS played 4 shows a day for a week at the HIPPODROME in 1949. (First run movies normally were shown 5 times a day with 4 stage shows in between.) HANK WILLIAMS was the greatest country singer (read that GREATEST SINGER, period) who ever lived. This is a piece of history that ought be shared with LeAnn Rimes, Trisha Yearwood and any other latter-day country stars who play the HIPPODROME.
The WARNER most likely was not JFK’s favorite. He was known to favor James Bond movies and was said to sneak over (with the Secret Service) to catch them at RKO Keith’s. That was the rumor back in the early 1960’s when I worked across from the White House and Keith’s.
THE AMBASSADOR was a beautiful and pleasant place to see a movie. Enter on 18th Street and the box office was inside, a florist shop was directly to the right of the box office, so the lobby always smelled and looked good. The interior was magnificent and there were balcony seats. Almost always playing the same first run as the WARNER downtown (or later the METROPOLITAN) admission prices here were about 5% lower. I saw maybe 50 to 75 first runs here and box office was solid. The Martin Luther King riot and looting spree, lasting days on end, killed most in-city business; but besides that the beautiful surrounding Mount Pleasant neighborhood became the #1 drive-by-shooting zone in Washington. Young people have no idea. Law enforcement was liberal (read that NIL). With racial and other crime justified daily on TV and in the Washington Post, and with corrupt city government, Washington DC was a wreck for 20-odd years. Not even Congressional workers on Capitol Hill were protected, not Senators, not Congressmen. Thus our great theaters died —– except the Warner, boarded up for years, but the office building above it kept demolition at bay.
TEN COMMANDMENTS: No, RKO Keith’s didn’t have another booking obligation. Indeed they expected TEN COMMANDMENTS to play there for a year. Negative reviews simply killed the short-term box office until word-of-mouth belied the “critics.”
After TEN COMMANDMENTS failed as an advanced price reserved seat attraction at RKO Keith’s, Paramount moved it one block north to the Playhouse Theater, not to the Ambassador. Interesting to recall that TEN COMMANDMENTS —– a longterm smash hit by any standard —– initially failed because of negative reviews. That’s right; the so called critics said it wasn’t much good.
THE ONTARIO was never an old neighborhood theater, never played “The Tingler” (it played the nearby Ambassador) and did not close for lack of parking.
Opened in the 1950’s by the KB Chain, the ONTARIO was to be their new addition to Washington DC’s first run theater scene. They were successful in booking outstanding exclusive first runs such as…
THE SOUND OF MUSIC
THE LONGEST DAY
THE KEY (William Holden, Sophia Loren)
WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION
BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S…. to name just a few.
The superb location on Columbia Road just 2 blocks from DC’s glorious 16th Street corridor not only placed it in the beautiful Mount Pleasant neighborhood but also at the crossroads of public transport. It was a pleasure to go there.
In the aftermath of the MLK Riots of 66, crime spread like weeds throughout Washington, and law enforcement was liberal (read that NIL). The Columbia Road area became the #1 drive-by-shooting zone of the city, and the murder rate went through the roof. There was no lack of parking during the ONTARIO’s final years. You could park a block or two away (as I used to) and risk your life or wallet.
With the demise of Washington’s crime-prone coke-using mayor Marion Barry [D] crime has fallen and the Mount Pleasant area is pretty safe again. The ONTARIO is a bargain bazaar kind of place now.
For many years the LANGLEY was the finest neighborhood theater in the Maryland (Washington DC) suburbs. Certainly no Cinema Treasure, it was all the same special in its grand size, huge curved screen, and the magnificent red screen-curtain first installed when they played SOUTH PACIFIC. KB Theaters targeted the upper middle class audience and favored quality over action. This is why it was chosen as one of 3 theaters to first run THE GODFATHER in 1972 which did not get booked into Washington’s deteriorated downtown, wrecked by the Martin Luther King riot 6 years prior. When the LANGLEY opened and for 20 to 25 years later it was fortunately located in a low crime yuppie neighborhood. But when the middle class moved away, the theater had problems with crime keeping customers away, as well as endless problems inside the theater with trouble-minded customers. The manager/owner told me they were glad to be getting out —– as similar problems doomed other KB Theaters such as the ATLAS, SENATOR, NAYLOR, FLOWER, ONTARIO, et cetera. Many thanks to KB for running high quality theaters for many good years.
Before 1953, a few stage shows during the stage-and-screen years were PATTI PAGE, JOHNNIE RAY, JONI JAMES, other top popular stars. The post-1953 stage shows were BETTY HUTTON, MARTHA RAYE and a CALYPSO show, all with stage-and-screen policy, meaning 4 stage shows a day. The JUDY GARLAND stage show was reserved seats 2-a-day. In addition, the METROPOLITAN OPERA played 2 days each year and occasionally a famous ballet troup such as SADDLER WELLS.
The TIVOLI was without question the grandest and most beautiful neighborhood theatre that ever existed in Washington, DC. With marble lobby, both mezzanine and balcony, orchestra pit, full stage, drapery you could not afford today, and rest rooms bigger than many multiplex auditoriums —– a dazzler. The problem was the location. This once prime neighborhood was increasingly deteriorating into crime-ridden slums. This was capped with the Martin Luther King riots and looting —– with 14th & Park Road near the epicenter of the uncontrolled arson and looting. After Stanley Warner’s gave up on the TIVOLI it operated as a bargain theatre aimed at the black audience; but to no avail. The crime was too severe, and big theaters have crime issues others don’t. For example, the oversized basement rest rooms were perfect for attacking patrons in a time and place where law enforecment was considered old-hat. In the longrun, the neighborhood has seen a revitalization which is hard to believe. Homes that used to be hard core slums totally renovated into housing most folks can’t afford.
As to the renovation of the TIVOLI, I say What good is it? I fondly remember seeing about 100 movies in the old TIVOLI. But there is not any “New” TIVOLI. No, it’s just a staging area for video stores, a drug store, et cetera. A 250 seat Hispanic theater in the former balcony? That’s nice, but so what? The TIVOLI now has a nice entrance, facade, lobby —– BUT NO THEATER! It’s pointless.
For most of its life this theater was the HISER-BETHESDA. Under Henry Hiser’s one-theatre management this small house thrived big time. Hiser had a gimmick that anyone else might have used but nobody ever did: He listed his movie title IN SUPERSIZED PICA and made it a standout in the neighborhood theater listings. When the Blacks targeted Mr. Hiser’s theater for their annoying “sit-in” shakedowns, Hiser suggested they pick on somebody bigger, then shut down. Later, as the KB Baronet, this theatre had astounding —– and ironic —– success. In the 1970’s the great downtown theaters of DC (Loew’s Palace, RKO Keith’s et cetera) —– the exact same kind of grand theaters mourned all over Cinema Treasures —– were starving for customers in the aftermath of the Martin Luther King Jr Riots and looting spree. As Death descended upon the great theaters, the KB Baronet’s upscale suburban location was able to book exclusive first runs of blockbuster Hollywood hits. (see above posting for a few titles). Later, as real estate in Bethesda turned to gold, the old Hiser would become the site of the Hyatt Bethesda highrise. No longer $3.00 a movie but $200 to $400 a room.
With their wonderful lobby from the old EMPIRE theatre, the new AMC 25 screen complex is a good place to BUY A TICKET but methinks NOT a good place to SEE A MOVIE. Their near 5000 seats divides up into 200 per auditorium. Broom closets. But I give credit where credit is due: the 3 story lobby and entrance is both historic and beautiful —– in contrast with the new LOEW’S complex directly across the street, which offers little at the entrance and little inside.
The KAYWOOD was the nicest and most architectually distinct theatre in the Sidney Lust chain. The street is Varnum with an A. The KAYWOOD went under as street crime engulfed the neighborhood, still a good place to buy dope or get murdered, but real bad for living. Operating as a Christian church now, just what the neighborhood needs. Plenty of sinners to work on.
The VIERS MILL, where I saw maybe 30 movies, was an undistinguished el cheapo modern theatre, but one of the very few new theaters built in the 1950’s. No reason to miss this one.
YOUNG PEOPLE might not know what caused the loss of LOEW’S KINGS and all the other great movie palaces in New York City. It was BAD GOVERNMENT, the kind of rotten leadership New Yorkers voted for decade after decade. The 1960’s saw a 100,000 drop in New York’s population. The 1970’s a drop of 800,000; almost a million people left New York during those 20 years. Who left? Middle and upper class white people. Replaced by who? Thousands of welfare recipients. Crime during that era was 500% higher than since Rudy cleaned things up. Niel Simon did a smash hit comedy abiut the insanity of even VISTING New York. NYC was the laughing stock of the world. Garbage, crime, unions, worse. NBC-TV did a movie “Train of Terror” which taught teen punks how they could rob and intimidate Subway riders —– with nobody stopping them. Within 12 hours, the NYC Subway system was a world of fear, as Subway crime climbed into the stratosphere. Remember, NYC’s government was so stupid the city literally went bankrupt. The Feds had to rescue NYC from their own brain-dead government with big-time loans and demands for reform. Meanwhile, LOEW’S as well as RKO and others watched their beautiful theaters turn into serious financial losses. Now that New York has regained their senses, restoration of LOEW’S Wonder Theaters would be great. But be aware of just why they all went to the dogs.
Thanks to Ron for the list of films playing Loew’s Capitol. Too bad it only goes back to 1957. It was 1953 and before when Loew’s Capitol was in its glory. They usually played one of the best MGM or FOX First Runs plus a stage show (about 35 to 45 minutes) with Sam Jack Kaufman and his orchestra hosting popular music stars like Patti Page, Johnny Ray, Joni James, Tony Bennett, et cetera. Motion picture show times were 11:00, 1:45, 4:30, 7:15 and 10:00 almost always. A late show added on Saturday. First show Sunday at 1:45 pm.
Sometimes they’d have an oversized epic such as Cecil B. deMille’s “Samson and Delilah” and STILL have a stage show, with variation to the otherwise reliable show times. Admission to Loew’s Capitol during the era of stage shows was about 5% to 10% more than other first run theaters; a bargain.
In the heyday of LOEW’S PARADISE, major movies either played LOEW’S or at RKO. ALL, by the way, were double features except on Broadway. A LOEW’S display ad would list all the theaters playing a certain moves, similar to ads today, a long list. Invariably, the listing contained “Bronx: PARADISE Queens: VALENCIA”. These two theatres ALWAYS had the exclusive on whatever movie they were showing, and filling lots of seats. Can this happen again? Movie box office is rich, not dead. People drop $10 a ticket like never before, except they spend it in crummy theaters —– for lack of alternative. WALT DISNEY has restored the large and famous EL CAPITAN in Los Angeles. It operates with great success across the street from the huge GRAUMAN’S CHINESE and a couple of blocks from the EGYPTIAN. There’s no reason to assume the PARADISE wouldn’t draw a big audience.
LAST MONTH I went by the PARADISE. The whole area is trashy. Yes, but remember that 30 years ago the Bronx was so crime-ridden that the GUARDIAN ANGELS were formed because girls and women weren’t safe on Grand Concourse or elsewhere in the Bronx at 3 pm on a sunny day. Since Rudy, unimpared crime isn’t tolerated in New York and the cops actually arrest criminals, unheard of 20 or 30 years ago.
For most of its life the LINCOLN was the #1 and best First Run movie theatre for the Black audience and ran the top pictures simultaneously with the “white” theatres on F Street. Although the so-called white theatres didn’t actually deny Blacks admission, it was commonly assumed they did. When segregation ended, Blacks tended to see movies elsewhere and the LINCOLN closed. The historical markers regarding the LINCOLN’s past as a LIVE theatre tend to fib. Most Black stars actually appeared not at the LINCOLN, but at the more famous (and now delapidated) HOWARD a few blocks east. It’s not likely that any person alive today ever saw a LIVE show at the old LINCOLN, but hundreds remember the HOWARD —– as do I.
The LEADER was a porn theater in the 1950’s, although porn was 99% milder back then compared to now. They had a waaaaaay long run in the early 50’s —– Lili St. Cyr takes a bath in LOVE MOODS.
Owner Louis Bernheimer did a nice job of upgrading his theater in the mid 1950’s with fancy new seats, etc. But when we last saw a movie there in 1956, we were aware of the increasing unchecked crime in that area and knew we’d never go back.
I can answer the question about the DUAL ADDRESSES. The STANTON was on C Street on Capitol Hill and served for decades as a normal neighborhood theater. Then in the late 50’s someone got the smart idea of calling it the STANTON ART THEATRE and booking a long running revival of BIRTH OF A NATION at inflated prices. Big success! It ran about a year or more. Then they tried other classic films as well. At some point, possibly because of crime, they moved the name STANTON and the classic film policy to the former JESSE theatre in NE. The JESSE, a neighborhood double feature house, became the STANTON. They played classics such as THE BLUE ANGEL at inflated prices (about 2 ½ times regular prices) with fair success. But as Washington became more engulfed in unchecked crime, the STANTON played X films breifly; then shut down. Jesse James would fear for his life in the JESSE’s neighborhood circa 1975.
The KENNEDY functioned for 2 or 3 decades as a church, but now it’s simply boarded-up. In its final days as a theater, back in the 50’s, as the neighborhood sank from bad to waaay worse, the management decided to end their loneliness by playing double features such as HIGH NOON + A PLACE IN THE SUN (then-current big hits) and charging just 50 cents (slightly less than the prevailing price); thus filling the neglected house to capacity.
The Black theaters on U Street were usually cheaper than the White ones on F Street, but in the case of GWTW in 1939 the admission at LOEW’S PALACE for Evening Shows was also $1.10 —– indeed expensive enough in 1939 to make folks angry. A middle class government job like a GS-12 paid $800 a year in 1939.
Amazingly, in New York at the glorious LOEW’S CAPITOL THEATRE on Broadway the price was also $1.10 at night. New York prices were almost always double the Washington price back then. Reserved seats at the ASTOR on Broadway were $1.10 to $2.20.
In summary, the price for GWTW at the Lincoln was enough to rate a picket line.
Nobody was “offended” by GWTW in 1939 except concerning the final line, “Frankly, m'dear, I don’t give a DAMN!” It wasn’t until recently that liberal wacko’s started to badmouth GWTW for depicting slavery (ohmygod, slavery! in the South! in 1861! SHOCKING!!!) In 1939 it was big news that HATTIE McDANIEL was the first Black to win an Oscar, and Black folks were honored with that; not offended.
If you look for the TOWN THEATER in Baltimore check the address and LOOK HARD. It doesn’t look anymore like the above photo. The front is completely flat and boarded up. Although, as noted above, I took Midge here on our date, I’ve driven by the front entrance 50 times without recognizing the site. Hopefully though, the well-sealed interior remains to be saved.
Washington’s HIPPODROME served briefly as (I think) the original location of ARENA STAGE, now moved to custom-built quarters in SW.
Regarding the small 300 seat size for a theater named HIPPODROME, please look up the HIPPODROME New York on this site. My dad first told me about the one in New York, short-lived, it had over 5000 seats and the largest stage on Earth. Never mind. Just click-on the write-up which is extensive.
Today I found convincing evidence that HANK WILLIAMS AND HIS DRIFTING COWBOYS played 4 shows a day for a week at the HIPPODROME in 1949. (First run movies normally were shown 5 times a day with 4 stage shows in between.) HANK WILLIAMS was the greatest country singer (read that GREATEST SINGER, period) who ever lived. This is a piece of history that ought be shared with LeAnn Rimes, Trisha Yearwood and any other latter-day country stars who play the HIPPODROME.
The WARNER most likely was not JFK’s favorite. He was known to favor James Bond movies and was said to sneak over (with the Secret Service) to catch them at RKO Keith’s. That was the rumor back in the early 1960’s when I worked across from the White House and Keith’s.
THE AMBASSADOR was a beautiful and pleasant place to see a movie. Enter on 18th Street and the box office was inside, a florist shop was directly to the right of the box office, so the lobby always smelled and looked good. The interior was magnificent and there were balcony seats. Almost always playing the same first run as the WARNER downtown (or later the METROPOLITAN) admission prices here were about 5% lower. I saw maybe 50 to 75 first runs here and box office was solid. The Martin Luther King riot and looting spree, lasting days on end, killed most in-city business; but besides that the beautiful surrounding Mount Pleasant neighborhood became the #1 drive-by-shooting zone in Washington. Young people have no idea. Law enforcement was liberal (read that NIL). With racial and other crime justified daily on TV and in the Washington Post, and with corrupt city government, Washington DC was a wreck for 20-odd years. Not even Congressional workers on Capitol Hill were protected, not Senators, not Congressmen. Thus our great theaters died —– except the Warner, boarded up for years, but the office building above it kept demolition at bay.
TEN COMMANDMENTS: No, RKO Keith’s didn’t have another booking obligation. Indeed they expected TEN COMMANDMENTS to play there for a year. Negative reviews simply killed the short-term box office until word-of-mouth belied the “critics.”
After TEN COMMANDMENTS failed as an advanced price reserved seat attraction at RKO Keith’s, Paramount moved it one block north to the Playhouse Theater, not to the Ambassador. Interesting to recall that TEN COMMANDMENTS —– a longterm smash hit by any standard —– initially failed because of negative reviews. That’s right; the so called critics said it wasn’t much good.
THE ONTARIO was never an old neighborhood theater, never played “The Tingler” (it played the nearby Ambassador) and did not close for lack of parking.
Opened in the 1950’s by the KB Chain, the ONTARIO was to be their new addition to Washington DC’s first run theater scene. They were successful in booking outstanding exclusive first runs such as…
THE SOUND OF MUSIC
THE LONGEST DAY
THE KEY (William Holden, Sophia Loren)
WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION
BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S…. to name just a few.
The superb location on Columbia Road just 2 blocks from DC’s glorious 16th Street corridor not only placed it in the beautiful Mount Pleasant neighborhood but also at the crossroads of public transport. It was a pleasure to go there.
In the aftermath of the MLK Riots of 66, crime spread like weeds throughout Washington, and law enforcement was liberal (read that NIL). The Columbia Road area became the #1 drive-by-shooting zone of the city, and the murder rate went through the roof. There was no lack of parking during the ONTARIO’s final years. You could park a block or two away (as I used to) and risk your life or wallet.
With the demise of Washington’s crime-prone coke-using mayor Marion Barry [D] crime has fallen and the Mount Pleasant area is pretty safe again. The ONTARIO is a bargain bazaar kind of place now.
For many years the LANGLEY was the finest neighborhood theater in the Maryland (Washington DC) suburbs. Certainly no Cinema Treasure, it was all the same special in its grand size, huge curved screen, and the magnificent red screen-curtain first installed when they played SOUTH PACIFIC. KB Theaters targeted the upper middle class audience and favored quality over action. This is why it was chosen as one of 3 theaters to first run THE GODFATHER in 1972 which did not get booked into Washington’s deteriorated downtown, wrecked by the Martin Luther King riot 6 years prior. When the LANGLEY opened and for 20 to 25 years later it was fortunately located in a low crime yuppie neighborhood. But when the middle class moved away, the theater had problems with crime keeping customers away, as well as endless problems inside the theater with trouble-minded customers. The manager/owner told me they were glad to be getting out —– as similar problems doomed other KB Theaters such as the ATLAS, SENATOR, NAYLOR, FLOWER, ONTARIO, et cetera. Many thanks to KB for running high quality theaters for many good years.
Before 1953, a few stage shows during the stage-and-screen years were PATTI PAGE, JOHNNIE RAY, JONI JAMES, other top popular stars. The post-1953 stage shows were BETTY HUTTON, MARTHA RAYE and a CALYPSO show, all with stage-and-screen policy, meaning 4 stage shows a day. The JUDY GARLAND stage show was reserved seats 2-a-day. In addition, the METROPOLITAN OPERA played 2 days each year and occasionally a famous ballet troup such as SADDLER WELLS.
The TIVOLI was without question the grandest and most beautiful neighborhood theatre that ever existed in Washington, DC. With marble lobby, both mezzanine and balcony, orchestra pit, full stage, drapery you could not afford today, and rest rooms bigger than many multiplex auditoriums —– a dazzler. The problem was the location. This once prime neighborhood was increasingly deteriorating into crime-ridden slums. This was capped with the Martin Luther King riots and looting —– with 14th & Park Road near the epicenter of the uncontrolled arson and looting. After Stanley Warner’s gave up on the TIVOLI it operated as a bargain theatre aimed at the black audience; but to no avail. The crime was too severe, and big theaters have crime issues others don’t. For example, the oversized basement rest rooms were perfect for attacking patrons in a time and place where law enforecment was considered old-hat. In the longrun, the neighborhood has seen a revitalization which is hard to believe. Homes that used to be hard core slums totally renovated into housing most folks can’t afford.
As to the renovation of the TIVOLI, I say What good is it? I fondly remember seeing about 100 movies in the old TIVOLI. But there is not any “New” TIVOLI. No, it’s just a staging area for video stores, a drug store, et cetera. A 250 seat Hispanic theater in the former balcony? That’s nice, but so what? The TIVOLI now has a nice entrance, facade, lobby —– BUT NO THEATER! It’s pointless.
For most of its life this theater was the HISER-BETHESDA. Under Henry Hiser’s one-theatre management this small house thrived big time. Hiser had a gimmick that anyone else might have used but nobody ever did: He listed his movie title IN SUPERSIZED PICA and made it a standout in the neighborhood theater listings. When the Blacks targeted Mr. Hiser’s theater for their annoying “sit-in” shakedowns, Hiser suggested they pick on somebody bigger, then shut down. Later, as the KB Baronet, this theatre had astounding —– and ironic —– success. In the 1970’s the great downtown theaters of DC (Loew’s Palace, RKO Keith’s et cetera) —– the exact same kind of grand theaters mourned all over Cinema Treasures —– were starving for customers in the aftermath of the Martin Luther King Jr Riots and looting spree. As Death descended upon the great theaters, the KB Baronet’s upscale suburban location was able to book exclusive first runs of blockbuster Hollywood hits. (see above posting for a few titles). Later, as real estate in Bethesda turned to gold, the old Hiser would become the site of the Hyatt Bethesda highrise. No longer $3.00 a movie but $200 to $400 a room.
With their wonderful lobby from the old EMPIRE theatre, the new AMC 25 screen complex is a good place to BUY A TICKET but methinks NOT a good place to SEE A MOVIE. Their near 5000 seats divides up into 200 per auditorium. Broom closets. But I give credit where credit is due: the 3 story lobby and entrance is both historic and beautiful —– in contrast with the new LOEW’S complex directly across the street, which offers little at the entrance and little inside.
The KAYWOOD was the nicest and most architectually distinct theatre in the Sidney Lust chain. The street is Varnum with an A. The KAYWOOD went under as street crime engulfed the neighborhood, still a good place to buy dope or get murdered, but real bad for living. Operating as a Christian church now, just what the neighborhood needs. Plenty of sinners to work on.
The VIERS MILL, where I saw maybe 30 movies, was an undistinguished el cheapo modern theatre, but one of the very few new theaters built in the 1950’s. No reason to miss this one.
YOUNG PEOPLE might not know what caused the loss of LOEW’S KINGS and all the other great movie palaces in New York City. It was BAD GOVERNMENT, the kind of rotten leadership New Yorkers voted for decade after decade. The 1960’s saw a 100,000 drop in New York’s population. The 1970’s a drop of 800,000; almost a million people left New York during those 20 years. Who left? Middle and upper class white people. Replaced by who? Thousands of welfare recipients. Crime during that era was 500% higher than since Rudy cleaned things up. Niel Simon did a smash hit comedy abiut the insanity of even VISTING New York. NYC was the laughing stock of the world. Garbage, crime, unions, worse. NBC-TV did a movie “Train of Terror” which taught teen punks how they could rob and intimidate Subway riders —– with nobody stopping them. Within 12 hours, the NYC Subway system was a world of fear, as Subway crime climbed into the stratosphere. Remember, NYC’s government was so stupid the city literally went bankrupt. The Feds had to rescue NYC from their own brain-dead government with big-time loans and demands for reform. Meanwhile, LOEW’S as well as RKO and others watched their beautiful theaters turn into serious financial losses. Now that New York has regained their senses, restoration of LOEW’S Wonder Theaters would be great. But be aware of just why they all went to the dogs.
Thanks to Ron for the list of films playing Loew’s Capitol. Too bad it only goes back to 1957. It was 1953 and before when Loew’s Capitol was in its glory. They usually played one of the best MGM or FOX First Runs plus a stage show (about 35 to 45 minutes) with Sam Jack Kaufman and his orchestra hosting popular music stars like Patti Page, Johnny Ray, Joni James, Tony Bennett, et cetera. Motion picture show times were 11:00, 1:45, 4:30, 7:15 and 10:00 almost always. A late show added on Saturday. First show Sunday at 1:45 pm.
Sometimes they’d have an oversized epic such as Cecil B. deMille’s “Samson and Delilah” and STILL have a stage show, with variation to the otherwise reliable show times. Admission to Loew’s Capitol during the era of stage shows was about 5% to 10% more than other first run theaters; a bargain.
In the heyday of LOEW’S PARADISE, major movies either played LOEW’S or at RKO. ALL, by the way, were double features except on Broadway. A LOEW’S display ad would list all the theaters playing a certain moves, similar to ads today, a long list. Invariably, the listing contained “Bronx: PARADISE Queens: VALENCIA”. These two theatres ALWAYS had the exclusive on whatever movie they were showing, and filling lots of seats. Can this happen again? Movie box office is rich, not dead. People drop $10 a ticket like never before, except they spend it in crummy theaters —– for lack of alternative. WALT DISNEY has restored the large and famous EL CAPITAN in Los Angeles. It operates with great success across the street from the huge GRAUMAN’S CHINESE and a couple of blocks from the EGYPTIAN. There’s no reason to assume the PARADISE wouldn’t draw a big audience.
LAST MONTH I went by the PARADISE. The whole area is trashy. Yes, but remember that 30 years ago the Bronx was so crime-ridden that the GUARDIAN ANGELS were formed because girls and women weren’t safe on Grand Concourse or elsewhere in the Bronx at 3 pm on a sunny day. Since Rudy, unimpared crime isn’t tolerated in New York and the cops actually arrest criminals, unheard of 20 or 30 years ago.
For most of its life the LINCOLN was the #1 and best First Run movie theatre for the Black audience and ran the top pictures simultaneously with the “white” theatres on F Street. Although the so-called white theatres didn’t actually deny Blacks admission, it was commonly assumed they did. When segregation ended, Blacks tended to see movies elsewhere and the LINCOLN closed. The historical markers regarding the LINCOLN’s past as a LIVE theatre tend to fib. Most Black stars actually appeared not at the LINCOLN, but at the more famous (and now delapidated) HOWARD a few blocks east. It’s not likely that any person alive today ever saw a LIVE show at the old LINCOLN, but hundreds remember the HOWARD —– as do I.
The LEADER was a porn theater in the 1950’s, although porn was 99% milder back then compared to now. They had a waaaaaay long run in the early 50’s —– Lili St. Cyr takes a bath in LOVE MOODS.
Owner Louis Bernheimer did a nice job of upgrading his theater in the mid 1950’s with fancy new seats, etc. But when we last saw a movie there in 1956, we were aware of the increasing unchecked crime in that area and knew we’d never go back.
I can answer the question about the DUAL ADDRESSES. The STANTON was on C Street on Capitol Hill and served for decades as a normal neighborhood theater. Then in the late 50’s someone got the smart idea of calling it the STANTON ART THEATRE and booking a long running revival of BIRTH OF A NATION at inflated prices. Big success! It ran about a year or more. Then they tried other classic films as well. At some point, possibly because of crime, they moved the name STANTON and the classic film policy to the former JESSE theatre in NE. The JESSE, a neighborhood double feature house, became the STANTON. They played classics such as THE BLUE ANGEL at inflated prices (about 2 ½ times regular prices) with fair success. But as Washington became more engulfed in unchecked crime, the STANTON played X films breifly; then shut down. Jesse James would fear for his life in the JESSE’s neighborhood circa 1975.
The SHERIDAN served as a church for a couple of decades, but is today a store.
The KENNEDY functioned for 2 or 3 decades as a church, but now it’s simply boarded-up. In its final days as a theater, back in the 50’s, as the neighborhood sank from bad to waaay worse, the management decided to end their loneliness by playing double features such as HIGH NOON + A PLACE IN THE SUN (then-current big hits) and charging just 50 cents (slightly less than the prevailing price); thus filling the neglected house to capacity.