Mr. Deluca you are entirely correct- either I misremembered the article of it was in error. Still, Columbus is the subject- he is supposed to have adopted the surname “Colon” during his years in Spain, and to have associated himself with the ancient admiral Colonius.
My point is basically to state that it was never at any time the “Colonial”
Does anyone here know anything about the former theater on Clinton Ave? For a brief time during its recent rebuilding a bit of the modest spanish/moorish facade reappeared. Now it’s housing a black community organization and a SEFCU branch. I think it might have been a Paramount theater.
Eric- estott at localnet.com
There was only one theater by that name in Albany (thank God) and the fires did superficial cosmetic damage so the owner could close the building. Currently it’s up and running.
The Benedum family made their fortune in Oil- Benedum lived in Pittsburgh fifty years, running his extensive company. The foundation was set up in 1957 to remember his son, who died in 1918 at the age of 20. The foundation has a LOT of money, and gives it away to a variety of good causes in the Pennsylvania – W Virginia area. They don’t go plastering their names on a lot of projects, as a rule. http://www.benedum.org/ http://www.rootsweb.com/~wvmarsha/ww1-benedum.htm
BTW- Is it certain that the Colonia was in the Schine chain? They had their own theater a couple blocks away- Smalley’s. This was a talkie house only, as I recall it had a bad fire in the 1950’s and was converted to commercial use. I saw the brick facade in the 1980’s while they were rebuilding it- it was very plain. There were several nickelodeon theaters in the ‘teens, and a good facade picture of the Bijou exists- it had an elaborate stud lit facade. The building still exists with 20’s vintage sheet metal siding over that area- I’ve often wondered if a part of the bijou sign is still there.
The 1914-era views were in a picture file in the Checango County Historical Society. I also doubt that the organ was removed in 1970- I lived in Norwich at that time, went to the theater regularly & there was no console in the pit, just a piano. The old organ chambers were in former boxes flanking the stage & they had long ago been replaced by the air cooling system- the ornamental curtains would flutter when the fans came on they wre in the form of stylized keyboards- pleated ivory cloth with hanging black panels. Also- the organ was probably NOT a Wurlitzer- a Link organ was installed, this is for certain because Ed Link (son of the company owner) was sent to oversee the job- it was his first assignment for the company. It is a small theater so I think it is doubtful they had a second organ.
Back in the 1970’s this was a great place to see movies- three relatively small theaters in one building. Unfortunately the property values in Georgetown skyrocketed and the various theaters couldn’t survive.
This was quite an early theater- built sometime in the ‘teens. In it’s early days it used a gimmick in keeping with it’s location near a traffic circle- films were projected through a circular mask, the management advertising “Perfect Circle Projection”.
Yes, the addition currently is a theater. The original autitorium is a bit peculiar- it is a converted 19th C. church. If you look up at the ceiling you see draperies than cover what ever ornaments or trusses were up there, as well as improving the acoustics. Never was a fancy theater but the building has a certain quirky charm.
My fondest memory of this building in the 1980’s is a secondary marquee built into a rear exterior wall- in ornate letters it read “Upcoming STANLEY Photoplays”
The auditorium was nearly gutted when they converted to a concert hall- just the outline of the organ grilles and the rim of the dome remain. I guess they didn’t want anything that could possibly distract from the stage.
It’s currently open. There’s nothing left of the original interior, but very little was left before the multiplex was done- in the 1980’s it had a large open auditorium that was very plain- draped walls and a little deco on the ceiling. The facade still has nice deco terra cotta though.
If you go to the building today you can still see the former entrance- a tin facade has an HT monogram, and the cement sidewalk still says HUDSON THEATER in red and white.
I remember going to this theater in the 1960’s- especially to se BAMBI. It still was impressively elegant, at least to a child, but I recall that the beautiful marble railings were absolutely sticky with grime, and the bathroom was FOUL.
The name is the result of a contest- an Italian citizen suggested “Colonia” to honor Colon Italy, the birthplace of Columbus.
I’ve seen some pictures of the original 1914 interior, it was a pretty typical affair of foliate plasterwork. with a lot of decorative painting on the ceiling. The ornaments on the balcony front were removed in the 30’s after a minor fire & at that time the interior was redone in a deco style which primarily consisted of painting the plaster ornaments dark brown with silver highights and putting deco patterns on the ceiling. Oddly enough the original ceiling painting remained, a rennaisance dame sitting sidesaddle on a white horse with a bird in her hand. In it’s glory days the occasional live show graced it’s rather shallow stage, including Sousa’s Band, and a touring company of “Shuffle Along”.
Mr. Deluca you are entirely correct- either I misremembered the article of it was in error. Still, Columbus is the subject- he is supposed to have adopted the surname “Colon” during his years in Spain, and to have associated himself with the ancient admiral Colonius.
My point is basically to state that it was never at any time the “Colonial”
Does anyone here know anything about the former theater on Clinton Ave? For a brief time during its recent rebuilding a bit of the modest spanish/moorish facade reappeared. Now it’s housing a black community organization and a SEFCU branch. I think it might have been a Paramount theater.
Eric- estott at localnet.com
There was only one theater by that name in Albany (thank God) and the fires did superficial cosmetic damage so the owner could close the building. Currently it’s up and running.
The Benedum family made their fortune in Oil- Benedum lived in Pittsburgh fifty years, running his extensive company. The foundation was set up in 1957 to remember his son, who died in 1918 at the age of 20. The foundation has a LOT of money, and gives it away to a variety of good causes in the Pennsylvania – W Virginia area. They don’t go plastering their names on a lot of projects, as a rule.
http://www.benedum.org/
http://www.rootsweb.com/~wvmarsha/ww1-benedum.htm
BTW- Is it certain that the Colonia was in the Schine chain? They had their own theater a couple blocks away- Smalley’s. This was a talkie house only, as I recall it had a bad fire in the 1950’s and was converted to commercial use. I saw the brick facade in the 1980’s while they were rebuilding it- it was very plain. There were several nickelodeon theaters in the ‘teens, and a good facade picture of the Bijou exists- it had an elaborate stud lit facade. The building still exists with 20’s vintage sheet metal siding over that area- I’ve often wondered if a part of the bijou sign is still there.
The 1914-era views were in a picture file in the Checango County Historical Society. I also doubt that the organ was removed in 1970- I lived in Norwich at that time, went to the theater regularly & there was no console in the pit, just a piano. The old organ chambers were in former boxes flanking the stage & they had long ago been replaced by the air cooling system- the ornamental curtains would flutter when the fans came on they wre in the form of stylized keyboards- pleated ivory cloth with hanging black panels. Also- the organ was probably NOT a Wurlitzer- a Link organ was installed, this is for certain because Ed Link (son of the company owner) was sent to oversee the job- it was his first assignment for the company. It is a small theater so I think it is doubtful they had a second organ.
Back in the 1970’s this was a great place to see movies- three relatively small theaters in one building. Unfortunately the property values in Georgetown skyrocketed and the various theaters couldn’t survive.
This was quite an early theater- built sometime in the ‘teens. In it’s early days it used a gimmick in keeping with it’s location near a traffic circle- films were projected through a circular mask, the management advertising “Perfect Circle Projection”.
Yes, the addition currently is a theater. The original autitorium is a bit peculiar- it is a converted 19th C. church. If you look up at the ceiling you see draperies than cover what ever ornaments or trusses were up there, as well as improving the acoustics. Never was a fancy theater but the building has a certain quirky charm.
My fondest memory of this building in the 1980’s is a secondary marquee built into a rear exterior wall- in ornate letters it read “Upcoming STANLEY Photoplays”
The auditorium was nearly gutted when they converted to a concert hall- just the outline of the organ grilles and the rim of the dome remain. I guess they didn’t want anything that could possibly distract from the stage.
It’s currently open. There’s nothing left of the original interior, but very little was left before the multiplex was done- in the 1980’s it had a large open auditorium that was very plain- draped walls and a little deco on the ceiling. The facade still has nice deco terra cotta though.
If you go to the building today you can still see the former entrance- a tin facade has an HT monogram, and the cement sidewalk still says HUDSON THEATER in red and white.
I remember going to this theater in the 1960’s- especially to se BAMBI. It still was impressively elegant, at least to a child, but I recall that the beautiful marble railings were absolutely sticky with grime, and the bathroom was FOUL.
The name is the result of a contest- an Italian citizen suggested “Colonia” to honor Colon Italy, the birthplace of Columbus.
I’ve seen some pictures of the original 1914 interior, it was a pretty typical affair of foliate plasterwork. with a lot of decorative painting on the ceiling. The ornaments on the balcony front were removed in the 30’s after a minor fire & at that time the interior was redone in a deco style which primarily consisted of painting the plaster ornaments dark brown with silver highights and putting deco patterns on the ceiling. Oddly enough the original ceiling painting remained, a rennaisance dame sitting sidesaddle on a white horse with a bird in her hand. In it’s glory days the occasional live show graced it’s rather shallow stage, including Sousa’s Band, and a touring company of “Shuffle Along”.