Comments from BigGreenBag

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BigGreenBag
BigGreenBag commented about Flix Brewhouse Madison on Sep 14, 2024 at 1:34 am

This place is still open and I love going here, I hope it’s doing well. It’s not always too busy when I go. They do first run movies and frequent revivals, a lot of the time with events or with a full menu provided. Definitely madison’s best but it’s still a little tough to get used to table service in theater

BigGreenBag
BigGreenBag commented about Bartell Theatre on Sep 14, 2024 at 1:32 am

They do show some old films now– haven’t seen any yet but see some haloween screenings coming up there, still mainly theater

BigGreenBag
BigGreenBag commented about Capitol Theatre on Sep 14, 2024 at 1:30 am

Duck Soup Cinema still going strong but only 3x a year, this haloween is Caligari

BigGreenBag
BigGreenBag commented about Barrymore Theatre on Sep 14, 2024 at 1:29 am

Yes, that’s correct– the Wisconsin film festival has shifted this as one of their main venues… they also occasionally do one off festivals and screenings (upcoming one i know of is Napoleon Dynamite, presented by the cast) but mainly does performance

BigGreenBag
BigGreenBag commented about Highland Park Theatre on Jan 19, 2024 at 8:13 pm

Reading Matt Singers book “Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel and Ebert Changed Movies Forever” and this theater is named as the inspiration for their famous Balcony set. This was the childhood theater of set designer Michael Lowenstein, and he took the “Spanish design” of the theater and its original single auditorium and balcony layout

BigGreenBag
BigGreenBag commented about AMC Madison 6 on Jan 4, 2023 at 5:03 pm

FYI this is not the same theater– this building was completely demolished with the old mall, and replaced with the newly built Sundance.

THis is also from 1967– per the page for the old Hilldale theater, it was built in 1966, so opened in 1967… May 24 is also a Wednesday. Would love to get more pics of this building. http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/52862

BigGreenBag
BigGreenBag commented about AMC Madison 6 on Oct 21, 2022 at 7:48 pm

Rumors have been floating around for a while that this will be closed, and it was recently made official: AMC 6 will close forever December 31, 2022, to make way for a new 2-floor retail project.

https://captimes.com/entertainment/screens/amc-madison-6-movie-theater-at-hilldale-to-close-dec-31/article_3f8b5b10-2a23-5706-b5f6-a5d9f4fc4bc7.html

BigGreenBag
BigGreenBag commented about Marquee Theatre on Oct 21, 2022 at 7:44 pm

Screenings here are free for the public– usually a weekly classic movie, occasionally on film

BigGreenBag
BigGreenBag commented about Duck Pond Drive-In on Oct 21, 2022 at 7:42 pm

Calling this a theater is a bit of stretch– it never really had regular showtimes, but just weekly events playing classic movies.. price was relatively expensive too, for a movie projected on a jumbotron– significantly smaller and further away than a traditional screen.

Would not be surprised if they did this again on occasion in the future.

BigGreenBag
BigGreenBag commented about Barrymore Theatre on Aug 31, 2022 at 9:42 pm

Theater has been converted into a music venue fully… character from these early pics is still there at least. The area itself has been revitalized, and its probably the trendiest area of Madison at the moment

BigGreenBag
BigGreenBag commented about Nile Theatre on Aug 31, 2022 at 9:34 pm

Sad last comment about the Boyd on this page… about a month or so after that was written, a massive rainstorm tore a huge hole in the roof and damaged the interior… the owners could not repair it, so it continued to be exposed to the elements for years, which killed the theater outright. The owners sold, and for a while it was to be a theater for a local university, but the building was too damaged to be restored, and it was demolished in April 2022. Set to be apartments (which will at least retain the name)

I was born after the Nile was demolished and turned into a parking garage. The area around it is still thriving as the main drag of downtown bethlehem

BigGreenBag
BigGreenBag commented about Boyd Theatre on Aug 31, 2022 at 9:28 pm

Unfortunately, the deed is now done, and the Boyd is gone. growing up in Bethlehem in the late 90s/ early 2000s, had some great memories of this place– it was the first area theater to get Dolby, and retained a policy of not selling tickets until an hour or so before showtimes, so it was a great place to sneak into a big premiere.

It seemed lke it always did decent enough business, but a huge 2011 storm shut it down (storm in late august/early september IIRC, knocked out power for a few days), and badly damaged the roof, and management couldn’t address it in time, so the whether damage just got worse and worse until it was unrepairable… the balconies were shut down my entire life too, so I think the upper levels were weaker to begin with.

I remember a historic banner/sign that was always up front, that commemorated some big premiers back in the 30s, some movie stars and Mickey Mouse were on it… any pics of that?

Anyway, at least the master plan for this of apartment buildings is now set to incorporate the old signage and name:

https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/bethlehem/2022/03/redesigned-bethlehem-boyd-theatre-project-retains-iconic-look-photos.html

Nice overview from a local library https://www.bapl.org/a-farewell-to-the-boyd-theater/

BigGreenBag
BigGreenBag commented about Flix Brewhouse Madison on Aug 31, 2022 at 9:15 pm

This place did reopen mid/late 2021, and appears to have rebounded pretty strong. Relatively nice theater, with full dine in service, and beer actually brewed on site in vats

BigGreenBag
BigGreenBag commented about Saucon Valley 10 on Apr 12, 2022 at 6:52 pm

Converted to a regal md-2000s. This was a pretty nice theater, I think it was closed by Regal because of their larger finical issues, plus competition w/ a newer theater in a new shopping center nearby (in Center Valley, theater is now an AMC).

The bowling alley was a cool idea, but I went twice and it was a ghost town. It closed in 2019, but no way it wold have made it out of 2020. The place still looks the same, totally vacant, with some of it other neighbors going under too

BigGreenBag
BigGreenBag commented about Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas on Apr 12, 2022 at 6:42 pm

Two nice theaters, most DCP but tey do have a projector they’ll bring out for certain revivals.

Will typically have two indie movies on rotation for the week, with special screenings a few times a week.

BigGreenBag
BigGreenBag commented about Marcus Point UltraScreen Cinemas on Apr 12, 2022 at 6:26 pm

Still going strong. Good variety in the screens, all theaters have recliners, concessions are pretty cheap, plus there’s a full bar. $5 tuesdays

BigGreenBag
BigGreenBag commented about Orpheum Theatre on Apr 12, 2022 at 6:24 pm

Still open, but not showing movies. Same story as the Majestic Theater– both are now owned by Frank Productions, and both had their seats removed and re now concert venues

BigGreenBag
BigGreenBag commented about Majestic Theatre on Apr 12, 2022 at 6:19 pm

This place is renovated, but not really “showing movies.” This is now a concert venue, with all seats removed except the balcony. they have had special screenings for single nights, but it’s pretty rare (I think all prepandemic, and stuff like Rocky horror)