The new movie “We Are Marshall” had a gala World premiere at the newly restored Keith-Albee the other night. The film depicts the rebuilding of the Marshall University football program after a tragic plane crash took the lives of the entire team, coaching staff and a number of fans back in 1970. I saw some footage of the premiere on one of the network Entertainment tabloid TV shows earlier this week.
Here’s an article from a local newspaper that includes a photo of the theater’s marquee. Here’s another from a local TV station’s website.
I remember the Playland arcade having two locations on Broadway; one near 42nd (next to the Rialto) and the other up between 47th and 48th, which had open entrances on both Seventh Avenue and Broadway. I had no idea that there were so many Playland storefronts over the years throughout Times Square until I started frequenting this site.
Thanks for the post, SpotOne! Great photo and loved seeing the floor plan. The photo brought back some memories as to interior decor – which I remembered as being minimal (though, at the time, I certainly wasn’t as attuned to such things as I am today). I did remember those long runways that led you into the auditorium under the raised loge section at rear.
Some great shows here, but I always preferred the Palladium in Manhattan. Probably because I could get their by subway and the traditional balcony gave folks with those tickets a closer vantage point to the stage.
Thanks Bill… I couldn’t remember the exact number. I think in it’s heyday (circa 1961 or 62), there were some 200 theaters (mostly conversions of older houses) that were so equipped.
There is a very small number of theaters around the country (and perhaps elsewhere) that are still capable of three-strip Cinerama presentations, but none – alas – in New York City. The two that come to mind right off the bat are the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood and the old Martin Theater in Seattle.
This ultra low-budget NY indie had its premiere at the 8th Street on January 31st, 1986. Despite the prominent placement of then-current punk stars The Ramones and Scandal in the ad, the film’s soundtrack and some of its sub-plot actually had more to do with Doo-Wop music than punk rock.
Here’s an ad that appeared in Newsday in 1986 for the Cinema City 5. There is a depiction of the theater’s facade, including the mural that appeared across the top of the building’s facade. Because it is a faded B&W newspaper ad, you can’t really make out much detail, but at least it gives an indication of what this dump looked like. Some of the cinematic figures illustrated in the mural included Karloff as the Frankenstein monster, Laurel and Hardy, Chaplin, John Wayne, W.C. Fields… I can’t remember if there was a Marilyn Monroe caricature or Jean Harlow (or both)… I think there was also a Gable face, Valentino and maybe a Bogart? And, am I nuts or was there a Godzilla image as well?!?
The depiction is somewhat misleading… While this was the main facade that faced Horace Harding and the L.I.E., the double doors shown under each of the individual marquee panels were actually exit doors for each auditorium. The box office and lobby entrance was actually around the corner to the left (and out of view here). Each of the five auditoriums advertised their fare on one of those separate panels above the exit doors.
If the words “Village East” were associated with an address in the 50’s, that would definitely be a misprint. The Village – either East or West – runs below 14th Street… if in fact they are referring to Greenwich Village.
Congratulations to Patrick and Ross and all of the volunteers at CT and congratulations to US, the CT faithful! Happy Holidays to all. Really looking forward to the coming year.
Jodar… I think a lot of theaters are added with little or no information because those who posted them just weren’t able to gather any data. Better to list the theater without a decent fact-sheet and let other CT members fill in all the blanks with their comments, then to leave it off . At some point, later on, Bryan or one of the other volunteers can backfill the introductory description and data with the information provided in the comment threads.
Here’s a current shot that depicts the buildings that formerly housed the three theaters that comprised Chelly Wilson’s porn monopoly of this block. The Venus was located in the light colored building on the right, which currently houses Daniela Trattoria. Skip a building to the left and you’ll see the former Eros Theater site, now occupied by Playwright Tavern and opposite the small parking lot is the Euro Diner in the building once occupied by the Capri Theater.
Props to Lost Memory, who posted some photos from this site on other pages here (including the Eros) and got me browsing for more. I also posted this on the Venus page.
Here’s a current shot that depicts the buildings that formerly housed the three theaters that comprised Chelly Wilson’s porn monopoly of this block. The Venus was located in the light colored building on the right, which currently houses Daniela Trattoria. Skip a building to the left and you’ll see the former Eros Theater site, now occupied by Playwright Tavern and opposite the small parking lot is the Euro Diner in the building once occupied by the Capri Theater.
Props to Lost Memory, who posted some photos from this site on other pages here (including the Eros) and got me browsing for more. I’m also posting this on the Capri page.
Fandango seems to be the only one of the major movie-listing sites to have been properly updated, listing the theater as Regal E-Walk Stadium 13 (which is how Regal itself lists the theater).
Bill… I simply did a search on the NY Times site for “weekend movie clock,” using the “1851-1980” option and a great number of results came back predominantly (if not all) from 1976-1980. The results are all in “pdf” format. I also have a free online account, but I do have a home delivery subscription for the weekend. That grants me access to the “Times Select” program which allows me to access up to 100 archived articles per month that would otherwise be pay-per-item. I believe the movie clocks fall into the “Times Select” category. Even without the subscription, however, you should still be able to see a listing of all the results of an archive search.
There are no archived movie ads that I have found on the Times site, just to be clear.
Anyway… I’m still not convinced this was the theater where I caught my “Magical Mystery Tour” triple feature, because I’m not sure there was ever a balcony here.
A major motion picture (despite being something of an experiment from director Steven Soderbergh) opens on a day-and-date exclusive run at the Paris and Angelika this Friday.
I think I might make the trip in to see it. I only hope the film is half as good as the poster! Shades of “Casablanca” here, eh? The movie is shot in black & white using the techniques and equipment that were available during the 1940’s (no zoom lenses, no wireless mics). I understand there were a few modern post-production elements employed, but the concept sounds interesting and refreshing all the same.
As M76L commented back in January of last year, the Daily News lists this as the North Shore Tower Twin. Perhaps they are confused by the theater’s creative scheduling policy which allows a number of different films to be run throughout the day – creating a single screen multiplex, if you will, for Towers' residents. For example, the theater’s Sunday lineup was as follows:
“Bobby” at 12:30pm; “51 Birch Street” at 2:30; “The Illusionist” at 4:00; “The Departed” at 6:00; and, once again, “51 Birch Street,” at 8:30.
That schedule sure is tight. “Bobby” clocks in at 2 hours and “The Departed” at 2:29. They must practically run the films right up against each other with no previews or adverts. I guess they cater to a very narrow audience and fly under the industry radar? During the week, the theater reduces its screenings to two each evening, staggering those same films on different nights.
I have not yet seen “The Departed” and there is a screening here at 8:30 tomorrow… I might take the opportunity to catch up with that film and check out this theater as well.
I remember that Playland arcade to the right of the Rialto from back in the 1980’s. The Chinese joint next door was a Wendy’s at the time. The Rialto was such a weird theater – not that I ever attended a film there – in that I it had three marquees. The one on Broadway, seen in Warren’s photo, was dark a lot with the entrance closed. The twin marquees (for the Rialto I and II) were around the corner on 42nd Street, where the box office was located. I think Cineplex Odeon re-opened the B'way entrance when they took a stab at scheduling first-run fare here as the Warner Theater just before the whole place was shuttered for good. During these short years, I think the 42nd Street marquees were dark, since the block was becoming a ghost town at the time.
Anyone remember the big Playland arcade up near the RKO Cinerama that was open to both Seventh Avenue and Broadway? I think that was in the old Castro Convertible building, if I’m not mistaken, between 47th and 48th.
Great find, Warren. When I reorganized my photobucket account some time back, I broke all the links posted above. Here are the images again, which I shot back in August of 2005:
In the first photo – as well as in a photo on the page ForgottenFan posted – you can still see the Broadway Bowling Center entance and narrow carved stone facade as well as a vertical “BOWL” sign.
GregW… like it or not, it is a part of this theater’s history. Warren… did you notice that below the marquee and above the entrance doors it appears that the sign might read “Queens Village Theater?”
And Micheal D. Fein… I’ll never tell. The innocent must be protected!
A preservation alert was posted as a news item by ggreg today. The information here is very thin. Does anyone know the exact date (or year) this opened and how many seats it held? Was there a balcony or a rear loge section?
The historical information on the Beach Theatre’s CT page is virtually non-existant. You seem to have good knowledge as to the theater’s significance, ggreg. You’ll definitely want to be armed with a nice historical fact sheet for the hearing on Monday. Perhaps you can share more of what you know on the Beach’s CT page to try and gather more support for your efforts. Good luck with it.
The new movie “We Are Marshall” had a gala World premiere at the newly restored Keith-Albee the other night. The film depicts the rebuilding of the Marshall University football program after a tragic plane crash took the lives of the entire team, coaching staff and a number of fans back in 1970. I saw some footage of the premiere on one of the network Entertainment tabloid TV shows earlier this week.
Here’s an article from a local newspaper that includes a photo of the theater’s marquee. Here’s another from a local TV station’s website.
I remember the Playland arcade having two locations on Broadway; one near 42nd (next to the Rialto) and the other up between 47th and 48th, which had open entrances on both Seventh Avenue and Broadway. I had no idea that there were so many Playland storefronts over the years throughout Times Square until I started frequenting this site.
Thanks for the post, SpotOne! Great photo and loved seeing the floor plan. The photo brought back some memories as to interior decor – which I remembered as being minimal (though, at the time, I certainly wasn’t as attuned to such things as I am today). I did remember those long runways that led you into the auditorium under the raised loge section at rear.
Some great shows here, but I always preferred the Palladium in Manhattan. Probably because I could get their by subway and the traditional balcony gave folks with those tickets a closer vantage point to the stage.
Thanks Bill… I couldn’t remember the exact number. I think in it’s heyday (circa 1961 or 62), there were some 200 theaters (mostly conversions of older houses) that were so equipped.
There is a very small number of theaters around the country (and perhaps elsewhere) that are still capable of three-strip Cinerama presentations, but none – alas – in New York City. The two that come to mind right off the bat are the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood and the old Martin Theater in Seattle.
This ultra low-budget NY indie had its premiere at the 8th Street on January 31st, 1986. Despite the prominent placement of then-current punk stars The Ramones and Scandal in the ad, the film’s soundtrack and some of its sub-plot actually had more to do with Doo-Wop music than punk rock.
Here’s an ad that appeared in Newsday in 1986 for the Cinema City 5. There is a depiction of the theater’s facade, including the mural that appeared across the top of the building’s facade. Because it is a faded B&W newspaper ad, you can’t really make out much detail, but at least it gives an indication of what this dump looked like. Some of the cinematic figures illustrated in the mural included Karloff as the Frankenstein monster, Laurel and Hardy, Chaplin, John Wayne, W.C. Fields… I can’t remember if there was a Marilyn Monroe caricature or Jean Harlow (or both)… I think there was also a Gable face, Valentino and maybe a Bogart? And, am I nuts or was there a Godzilla image as well?!?
The depiction is somewhat misleading… While this was the main facade that faced Horace Harding and the L.I.E., the double doors shown under each of the individual marquee panels were actually exit doors for each auditorium. The box office and lobby entrance was actually around the corner to the left (and out of view here). Each of the five auditoriums advertised their fare on one of those separate panels above the exit doors.
Please update the seat count to 114 per C/O information posted on Oct 4, 2006.
If the words “Village East” were associated with an address in the 50’s, that would definitely be a misprint. The Village – either East or West – runs below 14th Street… if in fact they are referring to Greenwich Village.
Congratulations to Patrick and Ross and all of the volunteers at CT and congratulations to US, the CT faithful! Happy Holidays to all. Really looking forward to the coming year.
Jodar… I think a lot of theaters are added with little or no information because those who posted them just weren’t able to gather any data. Better to list the theater without a decent fact-sheet and let other CT members fill in all the blanks with their comments, then to leave it off . At some point, later on, Bryan or one of the other volunteers can backfill the introductory description and data with the information provided in the comment threads.
Cheers, everyone!
Yikes. Sorry about that. Polk Theater and Mayfair Theater.
Not sure if Jackson Heights, Queens, fits your geographic needs, but there is a former deco-era nabe called the Polk Theater[url] that closed this past February after 30-odd years as a porn house. You might also inquire with the owners of the [url=/theaters/4029/]Bombay Theater in Fresh Meadows, Queens. It is currently operating with Bollywood fare, but operates on such a sporadic schedule, that I sometimes wonder how well they are doing. Perhaps they’d be willing to unload. Of course, I have no idea if these are owner/proprietors or lease situations.
Here’s a current shot that depicts the buildings that formerly housed the three theaters that comprised Chelly Wilson’s porn monopoly of this block. The Venus was located in the light colored building on the right, which currently houses Daniela Trattoria. Skip a building to the left and you’ll see the former Eros Theater site, now occupied by Playwright Tavern and opposite the small parking lot is the Euro Diner in the building once occupied by the Capri Theater.
Props to Lost Memory, who posted some photos from this site on other pages here (including the Eros) and got me browsing for more. I also posted this on the Venus page.
Here’s a current shot that depicts the buildings that formerly housed the three theaters that comprised Chelly Wilson’s porn monopoly of this block. The Venus was located in the light colored building on the right, which currently houses Daniela Trattoria. Skip a building to the left and you’ll see the former Eros Theater site, now occupied by Playwright Tavern and opposite the small parking lot is the Euro Diner in the building once occupied by the Capri Theater.
Props to Lost Memory, who posted some photos from this site on other pages here (including the Eros) and got me browsing for more. I’m also posting this on the Capri page.
Fandango seems to be the only one of the major movie-listing sites to have been properly updated, listing the theater as Regal E-Walk Stadium 13 (which is how Regal itself lists the theater).
Bill… I simply did a search on the NY Times site for “weekend movie clock,” using the “1851-1980” option and a great number of results came back predominantly (if not all) from 1976-1980. The results are all in “pdf” format. I also have a free online account, but I do have a home delivery subscription for the weekend. That grants me access to the “Times Select” program which allows me to access up to 100 archived articles per month that would otherwise be pay-per-item. I believe the movie clocks fall into the “Times Select” category. Even without the subscription, however, you should still be able to see a listing of all the results of an archive search.
There are no archived movie ads that I have found on the Times site, just to be clear.
Anyway… I’m still not convinced this was the theater where I caught my “Magical Mystery Tour” triple feature, because I’m not sure there was ever a balcony here.
A major motion picture (despite being something of an experiment from director Steven Soderbergh) opens on a day-and-date exclusive run at the Paris and Angelika this Friday.
Good German – NY Times 12/10/06
I think I might make the trip in to see it. I only hope the film is half as good as the poster! Shades of “Casablanca” here, eh? The movie is shot in black & white using the techniques and equipment that were available during the 1940’s (no zoom lenses, no wireless mics). I understand there were a few modern post-production elements employed, but the concept sounds interesting and refreshing all the same.
As M76L commented back in January of last year, the Daily News lists this as the North Shore Tower Twin. Perhaps they are confused by the theater’s creative scheduling policy which allows a number of different films to be run throughout the day – creating a single screen multiplex, if you will, for Towers' residents. For example, the theater’s Sunday lineup was as follows:
“Bobby” at 12:30pm; “51 Birch Street” at 2:30; “The Illusionist” at 4:00; “The Departed” at 6:00; and, once again, “51 Birch Street,” at 8:30.
That schedule sure is tight. “Bobby” clocks in at 2 hours and “The Departed” at 2:29. They must practically run the films right up against each other with no previews or adverts. I guess they cater to a very narrow audience and fly under the industry radar? During the week, the theater reduces its screenings to two each evening, staggering those same films on different nights.
I have not yet seen “The Departed” and there is a screening here at 8:30 tomorrow… I might take the opportunity to catch up with that film and check out this theater as well.
I remember that Playland arcade to the right of the Rialto from back in the 1980’s. The Chinese joint next door was a Wendy’s at the time. The Rialto was such a weird theater – not that I ever attended a film there – in that I it had three marquees. The one on Broadway, seen in Warren’s photo, was dark a lot with the entrance closed. The twin marquees (for the Rialto I and II) were around the corner on 42nd Street, where the box office was located. I think Cineplex Odeon re-opened the B'way entrance when they took a stab at scheduling first-run fare here as the Warner Theater just before the whole place was shuttered for good. During these short years, I think the 42nd Street marquees were dark, since the block was becoming a ghost town at the time.
Anyone remember the big Playland arcade up near the RKO Cinerama that was open to both Seventh Avenue and Broadway? I think that was in the old Castro Convertible building, if I’m not mistaken, between 47th and 48th.
Warren… that’s definitely the New Amsterdam. The curvey deco pattern on the box office (to the right under the marquee) is the definite giveaway.
Great find, Warren. When I reorganized my photobucket account some time back, I broke all the links posted above. Here are the images again, which I shot back in August of 2005:
Former Strand facade
Strand roofline down Broadway
Side wall and alley from rear
Rear screen wall
In the first photo – as well as in a photo on the page ForgottenFan posted – you can still see the Broadway Bowling Center entance and narrow carved stone facade as well as a vertical “BOWL” sign.
The upper facade looks almost like it belongs to a fake studio back-lot set… All plywood and paint, held up by supporting two by fours behind it.
GregW… like it or not, it is a part of this theater’s history. Warren… did you notice that below the marquee and above the entrance doors it appears that the sign might read “Queens Village Theater?”
And Micheal D. Fein… I’ll never tell. The innocent must be protected!
A preservation alert was posted as a news item by ggreg today. The information here is very thin. Does anyone know the exact date (or year) this opened and how many seats it held? Was there a balcony or a rear loge section?
The historical information on the Beach Theatre’s CT page is virtually non-existant. You seem to have good knowledge as to the theater’s significance, ggreg. You’ll definitely want to be armed with a nice historical fact sheet for the hearing on Monday. Perhaps you can share more of what you know on the Beach’s CT page to try and gather more support for your efforts. Good luck with it.