I do too; however, it has to be remembered, as it was pointed out to us who part of a historic theater tour in Detroit some years back, that whether it was porn or chop-socky films or explotaion fare, that these types of films kept a number of classic theaters operating, with the HVAC and other systems running and in some degree of repair in most cases so that, when the time came and resources became available, they could be restored to a nobler use.
I recall that growing up in Cleveland, that many neighborhood theaters ran films (especially those that typically ran double features) on a Sunday-Monday-Tuesday and then changed features for Wednesday-Thursday-Friday-Saturday; there was a lead-in insert sequence in front of the previews that would indicate which sequence of days a particular set of films would be running. If a film did well, it would be “held over” with this fact appearing in the newspaper ads and with a banner over the posters. Based on the note on the poster, this is quite likely how the Pasack ran films during that era.
It is apparently is now closed and for sale. According to this article, at least one resident wants the city’s help in helping to acquire it and restoring the Parma as a mixed use venue: View link
This article reports that the Joyce’s current principal tenant may have to leave due to proposed rent increases though apparently the name of the theater would remain the same: View link
It is possible that the pit elevator and the pneumatic lifts for the stage lifts were made by different companies. Those stage lifts were undoubtedly custom jobs. But as many theaters have and have had pit elevators, it would not surprise me if the pit elevator was manufactured by Otis or Westinghouse.
It is not a question of aging the glass; Vitrolite is a pigmented glass and there are no known manufacturers of it anymore.
Tim Dunn, cited in the article above, has an interesting website: http://www.vitrolitespecialist.com/intro/intro.htm that discusses the history and use of Vitrolite and the pages have pictures of the work he has done in reusing Vitrolite, including a number of movie theater restorations.
Perhaps another auditorium was added, but based on the pictures of the marquee above and the one of it in this article, the theater appears to be a twin. B&B Theatres is closing this theater in Augist, 2010: http://www.marshallnews.com/story/1652138.html
It won’t be closed for long though; Phoenix Big Cinemas of Knoxville, Tennesee is reopening it next week as the Dos Lagos Stadium 15, and plans upgrades: View link
Re: The J. Evans Miller Collection of Cinerama Theater Plans: the collection includes plans for a number of theaters that were designed but never built; it is one of the interesting things about that collection because it reveals some aspects of Cinerama history that otherwise would not be known. For example, there are plans for the Vogue Theater in Cleveland (which would have been a conversion) but what actually happened was that Stanley-Warner decided not to convert the Vogue but build a new, purpose-built Cinerama house, which was built and called the Great Northern. I would bet that though the plans were drawn up to build the Eastland for Cinerama, they were not executed. Roland Lataille’s list of Cinerama theaters, which I have found to be very accurate, does not list the Eastland, so it is highly unlikely that it ever advertised any film shown there as being “in Cinerama,” though it might have shown a 70mm print of some the single strip titles.
This article about the ongoing restoration work and the official website both indicate that this theater is again being referred to as the Lerner Theater: View link
This theater shall be reopening before the end of the month under the management of Phoenix Big Cities, based in Knoxville, TN; upgrades are planned. It will be now known as the Dos Lagos Stadium 15: View link
Joseph Musil, who passed away recently, was consulted for a time by Pacific Theatres when they first considered renovating the Dome. Apparently, he envisioned a more elegant design concept, even for the new theaters that would be built adjacent to the Dome. A sketch of his proposed curtain design for the Dome is on this webpage, along with some additional commentary about his concept for the revamping of the theater (scroll down the page to see the sketch): View link
As of June 24, 2010, this became the Alberta Rose Theatre, a three hundred seat venue for primarily live music: View link. The official website is: http://www.albertarosetheatre.com/
I do too; however, it has to be remembered, as it was pointed out to us who part of a historic theater tour in Detroit some years back, that whether it was porn or chop-socky films or explotaion fare, that these types of films kept a number of classic theaters operating, with the HVAC and other systems running and in some degree of repair in most cases so that, when the time came and resources became available, they could be restored to a nobler use.
Sorry; I should not have assumed that “for sale” implied that the theater was closed, although, sadly that is often the case.
I recall that growing up in Cleveland, that many neighborhood theaters ran films (especially those that typically ran double features) on a Sunday-Monday-Tuesday and then changed features for Wednesday-Thursday-Friday-Saturday; there was a lead-in insert sequence in front of the previews that would indicate which sequence of days a particular set of films would be running. If a film did well, it would be “held over” with this fact appearing in the newspaper ads and with a banner over the posters. Based on the note on the poster, this is quite likely how the Pasack ran films during that era.
It is apparently is now closed and for sale. According to this article, at least one resident wants the city’s help in helping to acquire it and restoring the Parma as a mixed use venue: View link
An article about the Poncan on the occasion of celebrating eighty-seven years: View link It now does show movies from time to time.
This theater has been rebuilt from the ground up, now with six screens instead of the original nine, and reopened on July 30, 2010.
View link
This article reports that the Joyce’s current principal tenant may have to leave due to proposed rent increases though apparently the name of the theater would remain the same: View link
It is possible that the pit elevator and the pneumatic lifts for the stage lifts were made by different companies. Those stage lifts were undoubtedly custom jobs. But as many theaters have and have had pit elevators, it would not surprise me if the pit elevator was manufactured by Otis or Westinghouse.
Only one that I know of: the 1921 Rapp & Rapp Tivoli: /theaters/944/
It is not a question of aging the glass; Vitrolite is a pigmented glass and there are no known manufacturers of it anymore.
Tim Dunn, cited in the article above, has an interesting website: http://www.vitrolitespecialist.com/intro/intro.htm that discusses the history and use of Vitrolite and the pages have pictures of the work he has done in reusing Vitrolite, including a number of movie theater restorations.
Perhaps another auditorium was added, but based on the pictures of the marquee above and the one of it in this article, the theater appears to be a twin. B&B Theatres is closing this theater in Augist, 2010: http://www.marshallnews.com/story/1652138.html
It won’t be closed for long though; Phoenix Big Cinemas of Knoxville, Tennesee is reopening it next week as the Dos Lagos Stadium 15, and plans upgrades: View link
Fridley Theatres will be closing the Spencer 3 in August of 2010; according to this article about the closing, it became a triplex in 1979: View link
Re: The J. Evans Miller Collection of Cinerama Theater Plans: the collection includes plans for a number of theaters that were designed but never built; it is one of the interesting things about that collection because it reveals some aspects of Cinerama history that otherwise would not be known. For example, there are plans for the Vogue Theater in Cleveland (which would have been a conversion) but what actually happened was that Stanley-Warner decided not to convert the Vogue but build a new, purpose-built Cinerama house, which was built and called the Great Northern. I would bet that though the plans were drawn up to build the Eastland for Cinerama, they were not executed. Roland Lataille’s list of Cinerama theaters, which I have found to be very accurate, does not list the Eastland, so it is highly unlikely that it ever advertised any film shown there as being “in Cinerama,” though it might have shown a 70mm print of some the single strip titles.
This article about the ongoing restoration work and the official website both indicate that this theater is again being referred to as the Lerner Theater: View link
This theater shall be reopening before the end of the month under the management of Phoenix Big Cities, based in Knoxville, TN; upgrades are planned. It will be now known as the Dos Lagos Stadium 15: View link
The operator of the Rotunda theater now wants to be considered as the operator of the Senator: View link
The Rotunda’s operator now wants to be considered as the operator of the Senator: View link
Thee Vitrolite exterior, though, has been cleaned and restored: View link
An article about the theater and the restoration of its original Vitrolite exterior: View link
Joseph Musil, who passed away recently, was consulted for a time by Pacific Theatres when they first considered renovating the Dome. Apparently, he envisioned a more elegant design concept, even for the new theaters that would be built adjacent to the Dome. A sketch of his proposed curtain design for the Dome is on this webpage, along with some additional commentary about his concept for the revamping of the theater (scroll down the page to see the sketch): View link
Yes; this article about the building mentions that fact: View link
As of June 24, 2010, this became the Alberta Rose Theatre, a three hundred seat venue for primarily live music: View link. The official website is: http://www.albertarosetheatre.com/
An article about Mr. Musil’s passing that first appeared in the LA Times: View link
Mr. Kiefaber weighs in on the situation: View link