I saw several films here in the 80s, including The Gods Must be Crazy and Talkingheads' concert film Stop Making Sense. They had a lot of art-house type films here, and the balcony was unique in that it had been redone as a second auditorium, with a rear projector (or was the rear projector on the first floor?) As I remember, the candy was always stale.
I was there opening night to see Dune. I got there a bit late so I had to take a seat in the third row, off to the right. Boy, was it loud. The 80s was a great time for movies and movie houses, and this was among the best of them. Pity it did not stay open longer.
This was a very posh theater, with good sound systems, but not as well-engineered for sight lines as the Americana was (few were.) I remember seeing Lawrence of Arabia in its restored release here, which was a TREAT. That movie was actually shot in 65mm (the prints were 70mm, as was shown at this release,) and as you can imagine, the restored film was gorgeous, and they gave it the full treatment at this theater. Great showing! I also recall seeing Silverado and a few other films at this place, and it was always a top-notch movie house. It was built around the same time as the Lincoln 3 and a bit after the Southpark 3, so Presidio had 3 first-rate THX theaters with sound systems that put everything else to shame at the time.
I remember this place well, even though I was very young at the time. It was a nice theater back in the 60s when my dad took us to see 2001: A Space Odyssey here. I also recall seeing some Disney films in re-release. I was disappointed when they chopped it into three narrow hallway-type theaters. They just ruined a great cinema when they did that.
This was where Return of the Jedi opened in Austin, and I was there opening day. The bigger auditorium was big, but not as big as The Americana. I believe capacity was 650 or so, and it was a great place to experience a film.
I remember seeing a few films here, including a re-release of The Sound of Music. It was a pretty nice theater as I recall, and in later years I saw The Right Stuff and Krull here. There must have been a water leak in those later years, because I recall smelling mildew… not particularly pleasant.
I also went with my parents to see The Empire Strikes Back, but on the 4th night it was playing. I drove to Austin 3 more times to see it at this theater rather than see it at one of the inferior local ones. It was that special a place. I also remember seeing Patton and several other films here. In my opinion, it was the best-designed theater I’ve ever been in. The screen was gigantic, curved, and had a see-through curtain that would be drawn back as the previews started. As stated, capacity was huge, so it was quite an event to see a blockbuster there with 700 other patrons. The sight lines were perfect… the floor sloped very gently down toward the screen, and the projection booth was on the same level as the entrance. The place was perfectly engineered so that the projector beam would just clear peoples' heads as it was cast onto the screen. I really wish I had the blueprints to this place, because it was a masterpiece. Nice to see that at least the building survives.
I saw several films here in the 80s, including The Gods Must be Crazy and Talkingheads' concert film Stop Making Sense. They had a lot of art-house type films here, and the balcony was unique in that it had been redone as a second auditorium, with a rear projector (or was the rear projector on the first floor?) As I remember, the candy was always stale.
I was there opening night to see Dune. I got there a bit late so I had to take a seat in the third row, off to the right. Boy, was it loud. The 80s was a great time for movies and movie houses, and this was among the best of them. Pity it did not stay open longer.
This was a very posh theater, with good sound systems, but not as well-engineered for sight lines as the Americana was (few were.) I remember seeing Lawrence of Arabia in its restored release here, which was a TREAT. That movie was actually shot in 65mm (the prints were 70mm, as was shown at this release,) and as you can imagine, the restored film was gorgeous, and they gave it the full treatment at this theater. Great showing! I also recall seeing Silverado and a few other films at this place, and it was always a top-notch movie house. It was built around the same time as the Lincoln 3 and a bit after the Southpark 3, so Presidio had 3 first-rate THX theaters with sound systems that put everything else to shame at the time.
I remember this place well, even though I was very young at the time. It was a nice theater back in the 60s when my dad took us to see 2001: A Space Odyssey here. I also recall seeing some Disney films in re-release. I was disappointed when they chopped it into three narrow hallway-type theaters. They just ruined a great cinema when they did that.
This was where Return of the Jedi opened in Austin, and I was there opening day. The bigger auditorium was big, but not as big as The Americana. I believe capacity was 650 or so, and it was a great place to experience a film.
I remember seeing a few films here, including a re-release of The Sound of Music. It was a pretty nice theater as I recall, and in later years I saw The Right Stuff and Krull here. There must have been a water leak in those later years, because I recall smelling mildew… not particularly pleasant.
I also went with my parents to see The Empire Strikes Back, but on the 4th night it was playing. I drove to Austin 3 more times to see it at this theater rather than see it at one of the inferior local ones. It was that special a place. I also remember seeing Patton and several other films here. In my opinion, it was the best-designed theater I’ve ever been in. The screen was gigantic, curved, and had a see-through curtain that would be drawn back as the previews started. As stated, capacity was huge, so it was quite an event to see a blockbuster there with 700 other patrons. The sight lines were perfect… the floor sloped very gently down toward the screen, and the projection booth was on the same level as the entrance. The place was perfectly engineered so that the projector beam would just clear peoples' heads as it was cast onto the screen. I really wish I had the blueprints to this place, because it was a masterpiece. Nice to see that at least the building survives.