Cinema 1, 2 & 3 by Angelika

“Rocky” opened its world premiere engagement here (Cinema II) thirty-five years ago today.

Cinema II had an NYC area exclusive on “Rocky” for the first three weeks of its release.

Some corrections:
“Nashville” opened—and this was unprecedented at the time—at Cinema 11 AND The Baronet in June 1975. Apparently both the Rugoff and W. Reade chains wanted the film badly enough that they were willing to share. That never happened again.
And Harvey Weinstein’s memory failed him. “Raging Bull” opened at the Sutton, not Cinema 1; “Midnight Cowboy” played the Coronet (from May 1969 until late January/early February 1970 when it was replaced by Antonioni’s “Zabriskie Point”); and “Rocky” played Cinema 11, not I (I remember seeing “Rocky” at a weekday sneak preview at Cinema 11 in mid-November 1976).
I can still remember the first time I went to Cinema 1. It was Xmas week 1975 to see Truffaut’s “Story of Adele H.” As a kid growing up in Ohio, I used to gaze longingly at the movie ads in the Sunday NYT, and developed a weird kind of relationships with all of those great old theaters. Each of them seemed to have their own particular identity/personality, and you could sometimes predict which movie would open where. (The Coronet played “The Conversation,” “The Graduate,” “Chinatown” and “Paper Moon;” the Sutton premiered “American Graffiti,” “Young Frankenstein” and “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore;” and Cinema 1 had exclusive first-run engagements of “A Clockwork Orange,” “Mean Streets,” “The
Exorcist” and “Days of Heaven,” among countless others.) By the time I finally got to go to some of those theaters myself, it was almost a religious experience. After “Adele H.,” I walked next door and
saw Bergmans' “Magic Flute” at the Coronet (another dizzying, momentous occasion for me!)
Sony Lincoln Square and the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas are OK, but nothing compares to the “Bloomingdales Belt” jewel boxes of my adolescence.

Hi tlsloews, I was born and raised in Kingsport. I worked for ABC Southeastern Theaters during my teenage years in Kingsport and then moved to Knoxville as manager of the West Town Theater (mostly Disney fare, we were really just babysitters and we made a killing at the concession stand). I don’t remember if there were any Loews theaters in Knoxville at the time. All this was many moons ago, as well, haha…late 70’s. I ended up moving to NYC in 1982 where I worked as a graphic designer. Moved back to TN about 5 years ago and miss NYC something awful.

As a 16-year-old from Tennessee on my first visit to New York City I saw “The Day of the Locust” at the Cinema I and I will never forget the impression that “big-city sophistication” had on me…the experience of waiting in a “ticket holders” line that stretched around the block and sitting in the packed house with hundreds of other people who appreciated the art of film. It was all so exciting!

The Cinema I and Cinema II were the most important movie theaters in New York in their day. It all went quickly down the toilet when Don Rugoff lost the company.

Was there to see a movie last Friday afternoon. The Screen was big and the house a good size and comfortable, though uninteresting. Not a bad experience, though only 6 people were in attendance.

dave-bronx, can you repost your collection of Cinema I & II photos that you had previously posted? I’d love to see something other than the exterior facade.

Curious that on the City Cinema’s web site there is an effort to thwart the city of Sacramento’s efforts to demolish the Tower theater. This from the company that destroyed and demolished the Sutton, and would likely do the same to Cinema 1,2&3 if it was in their economic interest.

BTW, Abe Geller is rolling in his grave, as is Donald Rugoff.

What “facade” was there to destroy here?

Geller was the architect of record – his name was on the plans. Schlanger was a consultant. Mr. Geller was well-versed in the International Style, having designed office buildings and other structures prior to his being contracted to design the Cinema I Cinema II. He consulted with Mr. Schlanger regarding the technical aspects unique to a theatre, i.e. sightlines, acoustics, seating arrangements, equipment, etc.

Considered that they have acquired the property under the building, and the statements from their web site in my previous post, I’d say the odds of it surviving another 5 years are slim. They announced 2 years ago they were going to convert it to retail – they got rid of the artwork and trashed the exterior facade in an attempt to prevent it from being landmarked.

The following is from the homepage of the Reading Int'l website, here, where they describe their business and objectives (note, in particular, the final sentence of the last paragraph below):

Reading International, Inc (AMEX: RDI) is in the business of owning and operating cinemas and live theaters and developing, owning and operating real estate assets. Our business consists primarily of

• the development, ownership and operation of cinemas in the United States, Australia and New Zealand, principally under the Reading Cinemas, Angelika Film Center, City Cinemas and Rialto names;

• the development, ownership and operation of commercial real estate in Australia, New Zealand and the United States, including entertainment-themed retail centers (“ETRC”) in Australia and New Zealand and

• the ownership and leasing to production companies through Liberty Theaters, Inc. of “Off Broadway” style live theaters in Manhattan and Chicago

We are different from most other cinema companies due to our real property emphasis. Calculated based on book value nearly 70% of our assets relates to our real estate activities. While most of our cash flow is currently derived from cinemas, our present business plan is to reinvest that cash flow principally in real estate assets, and to be opportunistic in terms of the acquisition and development of additional entertainment properties. Unlike other cinema companies, we are not compelled to continue and redevelop our cinema assets, where higher and better uses become available for such properties.