Theatre chains need to worry about above comments. Presentaiton is a key elemnet missing in many of our theatres across the country. The experience of going to a theatre must competed with DVD’S in todays world. In the old days bad behavior in a theatre wasn’t tolerated.brucec
Oh my I am dizzy reading the posts to both the Wheaton and Du Page theatre posts. I have seen many theatre restorations around the world and the theatre that restores the origianl auditorium for me works best. I always suggest adding auditoriums rather than chopping the origianl theatre when possible. The more versatile the theatre is the better. I wish everyone well and remember everyone wants the Wheaton restored but people take different paths to achieve the same goals. What works in one town might work a little different in another town.brucec
Which theatre worked better as a twin the Strand/Warner/Cinerama or Loew’s State? How did the downstair theatres compare and the balcony theatres? brucec
What is the latest on the Fox Oakland? Have they started the ruins project, becuase I believe the City Council has approved it. I sure hope the project gets under way before Jerry Brown leaves office as Mayor of Oakland. Restoring the Fox-Oaklnad would give Downtown Oakland a huge boost along with the Uptown project and put a positive spin on the City which suffers an image problem.brucec
I think the closing of the Roxy in 1960 was due to a few factors. The Windjammer run wasn’t a success and hurt the Roxy as a future theatre for roadshow runs because of its size. The owners of Radio City thought it was a good idea to get rid of its competition.All other Times Square palaces had dropped there stage shows except for the Roxy. Starting in the late 1950’s the studios were cutting back on film production with less product to go around. Starting in the late 1950’s the studios big event films were being released as reserved seat roadshow attractions playing up to a year in a single theatre. The Capitol and Loew’s State reduced the size of there theatres to become roadshow theatres. I often wonder why that didn’t happen to the New York Paramount. I would be curious to see the box-office of the Roxy from 1957-1960 and the product they were playing after “Windjammer”.The Roxy showcased Fox films for most of its life and Fox wasn’t doing very well during the late 1950’s which would help explain the sale of the theatre to the owners of Radio City besides complying with the consent decree. I guess by 1960 there wasn’t room in New York City to have two huge movie palaces the Roxy and Radio City having stage shows and movies. I remember in the 1970’s when the Rockefeller’s wanted to tear down Radio City they pointed to the destuction of the Roxy,Capitol and Paramount saying that they had outlived the stage and screen policy and was a White Elephant and should die a natural death as the other stage and screen movie palaces had.I would love to see a discussion of this, and could the Roxy have survived as a viable stage and screen theatre at least until the late 1960’s.brucec
I think it would be great if they restored the State Lake theatre marquee. ABC could advertise on it and it would add a lot of color to State Street and a great addition to the Chicago Theatre marquee across the street. It would look great on television when they were broadcasting. Someone in the Chicago area should suggest this to ABC.brucec
I think Pacific’s Sherman Oaks Megaplex had something to do with the closing of the Mann Valley West. Old multiscreen theatres cannot compete with the Megaplex. Im surprised the valley West lasted as long as it did. I mourn the loss of the La Raina and Studio theatres along Ventura Blvd, they also were Mann theates.brucec
What is the current seating capacity of the Wang?. I can’t believe a theatre seating over 4000 seats was reduced to 2900 which is listed on this site. Smaller theatres list more seats than the Wang.brucec
I have a question concerning the Utah, what would be its seating capacity if it was restored? I thought the Utah was larger than the Capitol theatre. The Capitol is a little on the small side for touring Broadway shows,producers like theatres with a seating capacity betweeen 2200-3000 on the road. I think the Utah is larger so it shouldn’t be such a problem to restore. The larger Utah would be able to attract more touring shows than the current Capitol theatre.brucec
I don’t think the Uptown has survived this long to have the theatre torn down for a multiplex. The downtown loop is in the process of restoring the last unrestored theatre in the loop the Shubert(Majestic,La Salle Bank). The City should next restore the Uptown with major tax credits, grants from the federal government. There are a lot of talented people in Chicago and I am sure as the years go on the demand for theatre space will increase. During the last decade Broadway’s theatre disrtict went from 30 active broadway theatres to 40 acitive broadway theatres when the Henry Miller opens in the next few years. The Uptown is one of the largest theatres in the country along with the Detroit Fox,St. Louis Fox,Boston Wang,Atlanta Fox,and New York’s Radio City Music Hall.I think the City of Chicago has to take the lead in order to get others interested in the theatre. The Uptown could be used for concerts,movies,weddings,graduations and a film production site like the Los Angeles Theatre. The area around the Uptown is improving.If a multiplex had to built use the theatre as part of the multiplex by adding 14 screens on to the existing theatre.The Uptown could be used for both live stage and movies. The city of Chicago would again have to take the lead. The City could try to get a major corpoarate sponsor such as the Boeing Corp.brucec
The Alameda theatre should look pretty good if the city is going to spend 8-9 million on the restoration. Disney spent 6 million on ripping out the 1940’s modern design and restored the 1920’s architecture on the El Capitan in Hollywood ten years ago.I can’t believe fixing the holes in the ceiling is not in the budget. Has the City applied for federal grants to help with the restoration. Im not happy about the stadium seating being put in the main auditorium I think slope seating along the lines of the original would be more appropriate. Stadium seating was put in the Egyptian in Hollywood and it looks horrible. The front part of the balcony was never divided, the box theatres were built in the rear of the balcony. The Alameda ceiling and walls seem to be a simple deco design which could easily be restored. Is most of the money being spent on ripping out the roller rink floor and putting in stadium seating?. The last film I saw at the Alameda was back in 1974 “Thats Entertainment”. I hope restoring the marquee is in the budget. Good luck to everyone I hope the theatre is headed in the right direction.brucec
Many small towns across this country have restored there main street theatres. Many cities have regrets that they tore down there only historic theatre. Most of these restored theatres are multi purpose theatres with concerts,plays,weddings,graduations and yes movies. It is good to ask tough questions but it is helpful to be constructive. I associate these historic theatres with our countries greatest generation and there parents. These historic theatres along with churches,train stations,museums and other civic buildings are the heart and soul of the community. My Mom comes from a small town of about 19,000 and they tore down there historic mainstreet and built this ugly cement box mall that is an embarrassment to the town. They would give anything to have there historic mainstreet back. They can’t restore what is no longer there. These old mainstreets, tourists love to visit and have helped revitalize many small towns which looked like they were dying.brucec
The New Amsterdam is a landkmark due to the interior of the theatre. Disney did incoporate the 1940’s-1950’s marquee as part of the history of the theatre. The New Amsterdam is more historic than the El Capitan. I had a small part in helping get Disney to restore the El Capitan. The El Capitan is both a restoration and a renovation. The marquee is a new marquee which I love but it is not historic. It is quite beautiful at night and is a tribute to the marquee’s of the past using the technology of today. I wish the Nederlander’s would have restored all the flashing neon on the Pantagees when they restored the theatre a few years ago. I wish Paramount and Warner Bros would restore the Chinese Dragon neon marquee they had removed when they restored the Chinese Theatre across the street. I have attended all the theatres along Hollywood Blvd for the past 40 years.brucec
Paul you are very lucky to have such a beautiful theatre. Was the State considered the crown jewel of film palaces in Sydney as well as Australia?brucec
I always thought City of LA made a big mistake when they put all there money into the Music Center on Bunker Hill and none into Broadway which was both the shopping district and theatre district. Chicago revived and opened the large loop movie palaces for concerts and musicals. Cleveland revived Playhouse Square,Boston has revived its theatre district as many cities accross the United States. The Music Center is like this big fortress which didn’t due much to help downtown for many decades. If the City had invested on Broadway these past decades into restoring the theatre district downtown would have revived much faster than it has. The city should have invested heavely in restoring the buildings along Broadway and giving major tax breaks in attracting new business on Broadway as well as Spring Street. The street needs more invsestments like the Million Dollar and the restored Orpheum. The investment into Bunker Hill these past decades sucked the life out of these historic buildings in the old downtown and turned most of them into retail swap meets.If I was LA I would be ashamed that I let my major downtown street Broadway be so rundown for the last 40 years.brucec
The Godfather did play many cities on an exclusive run. The Godfather played the Savoy(Opera House,BF Keith) in Boston,Chicago theatre in Chicago,Fox in Philidelphia,Coronet in San Francisco,Loew’s Hollywood(El Capitan) and Village in L.A. and other cities across country. Even though the roadshow presentation was dead by 1972 many films were still released on exclusive runs in prestige theatres across the country. More and more the prestige theatres were no longer located downtown as the decade came to a close.brucec
1 The Love Bug
2 Funny Girl
3 Bulitt
4 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
5 Romeo and Juliet
6 True Grit
7 Midnight Cowboy
8 Oliver
9 Goodbye, Columbus
10 Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Note how the Old Hollywood met the New Hollywood in film releases
1 Auntie Mame
2 The Shaggy Dog
3 Some Like it Hot
4 Pillow Talk
5 Imitation of Life
6 The Nun’s Story
7 Anatomy of a Murder
8 North By Northwest
9 Sleeping Beauty
10 Rio Bravo
Note that in 1959 that female stars had top billing in five of the top grossing films Rosaland Russell,Marilyn Monroe,Doris Day,Lana Turner and Audrey Hepburn. In the modern era men dominated the top grossing films. Note “Ben Hur” released in 1959 did most of its business in 1960 and 1961.brucec
1 Auntie Mame
2 The Shaggy Dog
3 Some Like it Hot
4 Pillow Talk
5 Imitation of Life
6 The Nun’s Story
7 Anatomy of a Murder
8 North By Northwest
9 Sleeping Beauty
10 Rio Bravo
Note that in 1959 that female stars had top billing in five of the top grossing films Rosaland Russell,Marilyn Monroe,Doris Day,Lana Turner and Audrey Hepburn. In the modern era men dominated the top grossing films. Note “Ben Hur” released in 1959 did most of its business in 1960 and 1961.brucec
1 Jolson Sings Again
2 Pinky
3 I Was A Male Warbride
4 The Snake Pit
5 Joan of Arc
6 The Stratton Story
7 Mr. Belvedere
8 Little Women
9 Words and Music
10Neptune’s Daughter
1 Gone With The Wind
2 Babes in Arms
3 Drums Along the Mohawk
4 The Hunchback of Notre Dame
5 Jesse James
6 Mr. Smithe Goes to Washington
7 Stagecaoch
8 The old Maid
9 The Rains Came
10The Wizard Of Oz
I agree with Vincent todays film director’s can’t compare with the master film director’s from Hollywood’s Golden Era. Due to Hitler’s Nazi Germany the great European directors fled Europe to make there films in Hollywood at the height of the studio system.It was a rare time that produced quality mass audience films of all types. The Hollywood of today produces few quality films each year and todays A list films such as Batman Begins,Spiderman2 and War of the Worlds would of been the B films during the studio sytsem.brucec
I noticed that many Paramount Theatres closed in the mid-1960’s,in NYC,Buffalo,San Francisco,Los Angeles and other cities. Was this a major real estate sell off of United-Paramount. If anyone would know Im sure Warren would.brucec
The big five combo/film palaces in New York City were Radio City Music Hall,Roxy,Capitol,Paramount and Strand. This truly was the golden era. The glory days from the late 1920'a to the mid 1950’s.I thank all the veterans in describing what the theatres were like, you bring them back to life for me. Based on the photos I have seen the Roxy,Paramount and Capitol would have been my favorites.brucec
Theatre chains need to worry about above comments. Presentaiton is a key elemnet missing in many of our theatres across the country. The experience of going to a theatre must competed with DVD’S in todays world. In the old days bad behavior in a theatre wasn’t tolerated.brucec
Oh my I am dizzy reading the posts to both the Wheaton and Du Page theatre posts. I have seen many theatre restorations around the world and the theatre that restores the origianl auditorium for me works best. I always suggest adding auditoriums rather than chopping the origianl theatre when possible. The more versatile the theatre is the better. I wish everyone well and remember everyone wants the Wheaton restored but people take different paths to achieve the same goals. What works in one town might work a little different in another town.brucec
Which theatre worked better as a twin the Strand/Warner/Cinerama or Loew’s State? How did the downstair theatres compare and the balcony theatres? brucec
What is the latest on the Fox Oakland? Have they started the ruins project, becuase I believe the City Council has approved it. I sure hope the project gets under way before Jerry Brown leaves office as Mayor of Oakland. Restoring the Fox-Oaklnad would give Downtown Oakland a huge boost along with the Uptown project and put a positive spin on the City which suffers an image problem.brucec
I think the closing of the Roxy in 1960 was due to a few factors. The Windjammer run wasn’t a success and hurt the Roxy as a future theatre for roadshow runs because of its size. The owners of Radio City thought it was a good idea to get rid of its competition.All other Times Square palaces had dropped there stage shows except for the Roxy. Starting in the late 1950’s the studios were cutting back on film production with less product to go around. Starting in the late 1950’s the studios big event films were being released as reserved seat roadshow attractions playing up to a year in a single theatre. The Capitol and Loew’s State reduced the size of there theatres to become roadshow theatres. I often wonder why that didn’t happen to the New York Paramount. I would be curious to see the box-office of the Roxy from 1957-1960 and the product they were playing after “Windjammer”.The Roxy showcased Fox films for most of its life and Fox wasn’t doing very well during the late 1950’s which would help explain the sale of the theatre to the owners of Radio City besides complying with the consent decree. I guess by 1960 there wasn’t room in New York City to have two huge movie palaces the Roxy and Radio City having stage shows and movies. I remember in the 1970’s when the Rockefeller’s wanted to tear down Radio City they pointed to the destuction of the Roxy,Capitol and Paramount saying that they had outlived the stage and screen policy and was a White Elephant and should die a natural death as the other stage and screen movie palaces had.I would love to see a discussion of this, and could the Roxy have survived as a viable stage and screen theatre at least until the late 1960’s.brucec
I think it would be great if they restored the State Lake theatre marquee. ABC could advertise on it and it would add a lot of color to State Street and a great addition to the Chicago Theatre marquee across the street. It would look great on television when they were broadcasting. Someone in the Chicago area should suggest this to ABC.brucec
I think Pacific’s Sherman Oaks Megaplex had something to do with the closing of the Mann Valley West. Old multiscreen theatres cannot compete with the Megaplex. Im surprised the valley West lasted as long as it did. I mourn the loss of the La Raina and Studio theatres along Ventura Blvd, they also were Mann theates.brucec
What is the current seating capacity of the Wang?. I can’t believe a theatre seating over 4000 seats was reduced to 2900 which is listed on this site. Smaller theatres list more seats than the Wang.brucec
I have a question concerning the Utah, what would be its seating capacity if it was restored? I thought the Utah was larger than the Capitol theatre. The Capitol is a little on the small side for touring Broadway shows,producers like theatres with a seating capacity betweeen 2200-3000 on the road. I think the Utah is larger so it shouldn’t be such a problem to restore. The larger Utah would be able to attract more touring shows than the current Capitol theatre.brucec
I don’t think the Uptown has survived this long to have the theatre torn down for a multiplex. The downtown loop is in the process of restoring the last unrestored theatre in the loop the Shubert(Majestic,La Salle Bank). The City should next restore the Uptown with major tax credits, grants from the federal government. There are a lot of talented people in Chicago and I am sure as the years go on the demand for theatre space will increase. During the last decade Broadway’s theatre disrtict went from 30 active broadway theatres to 40 acitive broadway theatres when the Henry Miller opens in the next few years. The Uptown is one of the largest theatres in the country along with the Detroit Fox,St. Louis Fox,Boston Wang,Atlanta Fox,and New York’s Radio City Music Hall.I think the City of Chicago has to take the lead in order to get others interested in the theatre. The Uptown could be used for concerts,movies,weddings,graduations and a film production site like the Los Angeles Theatre. The area around the Uptown is improving.If a multiplex had to built use the theatre as part of the multiplex by adding 14 screens on to the existing theatre.The Uptown could be used for both live stage and movies. The city of Chicago would again have to take the lead. The City could try to get a major corpoarate sponsor such as the Boeing Corp.brucec
The Alameda theatre should look pretty good if the city is going to spend 8-9 million on the restoration. Disney spent 6 million on ripping out the 1940’s modern design and restored the 1920’s architecture on the El Capitan in Hollywood ten years ago.I can’t believe fixing the holes in the ceiling is not in the budget. Has the City applied for federal grants to help with the restoration. Im not happy about the stadium seating being put in the main auditorium I think slope seating along the lines of the original would be more appropriate. Stadium seating was put in the Egyptian in Hollywood and it looks horrible. The front part of the balcony was never divided, the box theatres were built in the rear of the balcony. The Alameda ceiling and walls seem to be a simple deco design which could easily be restored. Is most of the money being spent on ripping out the roller rink floor and putting in stadium seating?. The last film I saw at the Alameda was back in 1974 “Thats Entertainment”. I hope restoring the marquee is in the budget. Good luck to everyone I hope the theatre is headed in the right direction.brucec
Many small towns across this country have restored there main street theatres. Many cities have regrets that they tore down there only historic theatre. Most of these restored theatres are multi purpose theatres with concerts,plays,weddings,graduations and yes movies. It is good to ask tough questions but it is helpful to be constructive. I associate these historic theatres with our countries greatest generation and there parents. These historic theatres along with churches,train stations,museums and other civic buildings are the heart and soul of the community. My Mom comes from a small town of about 19,000 and they tore down there historic mainstreet and built this ugly cement box mall that is an embarrassment to the town. They would give anything to have there historic mainstreet back. They can’t restore what is no longer there. These old mainstreets, tourists love to visit and have helped revitalize many small towns which looked like they were dying.brucec
The New Amsterdam is a landkmark due to the interior of the theatre. Disney did incoporate the 1940’s-1950’s marquee as part of the history of the theatre. The New Amsterdam is more historic than the El Capitan. I had a small part in helping get Disney to restore the El Capitan. The El Capitan is both a restoration and a renovation. The marquee is a new marquee which I love but it is not historic. It is quite beautiful at night and is a tribute to the marquee’s of the past using the technology of today. I wish the Nederlander’s would have restored all the flashing neon on the Pantagees when they restored the theatre a few years ago. I wish Paramount and Warner Bros would restore the Chinese Dragon neon marquee they had removed when they restored the Chinese Theatre across the street. I have attended all the theatres along Hollywood Blvd for the past 40 years.brucec
Paul you are very lucky to have such a beautiful theatre. Was the State considered the crown jewel of film palaces in Sydney as well as Australia?brucec
I always thought City of LA made a big mistake when they put all there money into the Music Center on Bunker Hill and none into Broadway which was both the shopping district and theatre district. Chicago revived and opened the large loop movie palaces for concerts and musicals. Cleveland revived Playhouse Square,Boston has revived its theatre district as many cities accross the United States. The Music Center is like this big fortress which didn’t due much to help downtown for many decades. If the City had invested on Broadway these past decades into restoring the theatre district downtown would have revived much faster than it has. The city should have invested heavely in restoring the buildings along Broadway and giving major tax breaks in attracting new business on Broadway as well as Spring Street. The street needs more invsestments like the Million Dollar and the restored Orpheum. The investment into Bunker Hill these past decades sucked the life out of these historic buildings in the old downtown and turned most of them into retail swap meets.If I was LA I would be ashamed that I let my major downtown street Broadway be so rundown for the last 40 years.brucec
The Godfather did play many cities on an exclusive run. The Godfather played the Savoy(Opera House,BF Keith) in Boston,Chicago theatre in Chicago,Fox in Philidelphia,Coronet in San Francisco,Loew’s Hollywood(El Capitan) and Village in L.A. and other cities across country. Even though the roadshow presentation was dead by 1972 many films were still released on exclusive runs in prestige theatres across the country. More and more the prestige theatres were no longer located downtown as the decade came to a close.brucec
Here are a couple of suggestion for good double bills
Just a couple of double bills from different decades.brucec
Here is a list of the top grossing films of 1969
1 The Love Bug
2 Funny Girl
3 Bulitt
4 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
5 Romeo and Juliet
6 True Grit
7 Midnight Cowboy
8 Oliver
9 Goodbye, Columbus
10 Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Note how the Old Hollywood met the New Hollywood in film releases
Here is a list of top grossing films in 1959
1 Auntie Mame
2 The Shaggy Dog
3 Some Like it Hot
4 Pillow Talk
5 Imitation of Life
6 The Nun’s Story
7 Anatomy of a Murder
8 North By Northwest
9 Sleeping Beauty
10 Rio Bravo
Note that in 1959 that female stars had top billing in five of the top grossing films Rosaland Russell,Marilyn Monroe,Doris Day,Lana Turner and Audrey Hepburn. In the modern era men dominated the top grossing films. Note “Ben Hur” released in 1959 did most of its business in 1960 and 1961.brucec
Here is a list of top grossing films in 1959
1 Auntie Mame
2 The Shaggy Dog
3 Some Like it Hot
4 Pillow Talk
5 Imitation of Life
6 The Nun’s Story
7 Anatomy of a Murder
8 North By Northwest
9 Sleeping Beauty
10 Rio Bravo
Note that in 1959 that female stars had top billing in five of the top grossing films Rosaland Russell,Marilyn Monroe,Doris Day,Lana Turner and Audrey Hepburn. In the modern era men dominated the top grossing films. Note “Ben Hur” released in 1959 did most of its business in 1960 and 1961.brucec
Here is a list of the top grossing films of 1949
1 Jolson Sings Again
2 Pinky
3 I Was A Male Warbride
4 The Snake Pit
5 Joan of Arc
6 The Stratton Story
7 Mr. Belvedere
8 Little Women
9 Words and Music
10Neptune’s Daughter
A Decade later brucec
Here is a list of the time grossing films of 1939
1 Gone With The Wind
2 Babes in Arms
3 Drums Along the Mohawk
4 The Hunchback of Notre Dame
5 Jesse James
6 Mr. Smithe Goes to Washington
7 Stagecaoch
8 The old Maid
9 The Rains Came
10The Wizard Of Oz
They also released about 500 films in 1939.brucec
I agree with Vincent todays film director’s can’t compare with the master film director’s from Hollywood’s Golden Era. Due to Hitler’s Nazi Germany the great European directors fled Europe to make there films in Hollywood at the height of the studio system.It was a rare time that produced quality mass audience films of all types. The Hollywood of today produces few quality films each year and todays A list films such as Batman Begins,Spiderman2 and War of the Worlds would of been the B films during the studio sytsem.brucec
I noticed that many Paramount Theatres closed in the mid-1960’s,in NYC,Buffalo,San Francisco,Los Angeles and other cities. Was this a major real estate sell off of United-Paramount. If anyone would know Im sure Warren would.brucec
The big five combo/film palaces in New York City were Radio City Music Hall,Roxy,Capitol,Paramount and Strand. This truly was the golden era. The glory days from the late 1920'a to the mid 1950’s.I thank all the veterans in describing what the theatres were like, you bring them back to life for me. Based on the photos I have seen the Roxy,Paramount and Capitol would have been my favorites.brucec