I had a “mini-tour” of the Uptown about a month ago.
It no longer has 3 screens. It is being renovated and
is now opened up as a single screen theater again.
Much work is still to be done. No movies have been shown for a number of months, but various types of live performances have while renovating is on-going.
A stage has been built and the very large screen removed. The screen, that I hope is temporary, is only the width is the stage However I’m happy that the theater is being revived and not closed. When I get more info, or visit it again, I’ll have an update.
The opening date of “Sleeping Beauty” at the Uptown was July 1,1959.
I have 6 newspaper ads and an article about this. They really went all out in advertising the fact that the Uptown was the only theater in the area that had the special equipment to show the film “as Walt Disney visualized it’s perfect presentation”.
Sleeping Beauty opened at the Uptown Theater on July 1, 1959 and was advertised as being presented in Technirama 70 and Full Stereophonic Sound. It was the Uptown’s first 70mm film. It played for three weeks.
The James Theater opened on Christmas Day, 1926. It closed in 1950 and was converted to a Jewish synagogue. Following this, it was used as a senior center and briefly as a performing arts theater known as the James Street Theater.
I just looked up some info. in my Avon folder. The theater was opened on 11/24/1915 with Ethel Barrymore in The Final Judgment. The first Vitaphone (talkie) film in Utica was shown there on 4/21/28. Gone With the Wind moved there from the Stanley on 2/16/40. Both the Stanley and Avon were part of the Warner chain at that time along with a third theater called the Utica which was actually larger than the Avon. The Avon closed on 12/7/65.
I have the original opening article and ad for this theatre and it states that there were 3500 seats, unless they padded the facts.
Who knows for sure?
To Lost Memory: I live in the Utica area and there were 2 Orpheum theaters. The old downtown theater on 34 Lafayette Street and a later theater on the corner of South and Miller Streets at the fringe of the Cornhill section of the city. The second theater closed on 6/12/53 and was part of the Kallet theater chain. The original Orpheum was located in the Majestic Hotel building on Lafayette Street which also housed the larger Majestic Theater. The old Orpheum was on the second floor of the building and the Majestic on the ground floor. The area that the hotel was built upon was originally the Utica Opera House. I hope I clarified this. for you
The Avon closed in late 1965. In June of that year “My Fair Lady” was presented on a reserved performance basis. It was shown in 35mm, but magnetic sound was installed, but no surround speakers. The movie ran for 15 weeks-the longest ever at the Avon. Through the years, the theater was part of the following chains: Robbins, Fox, Schine’s, Stanley Warner (being the last).
The Uptown became Utica’s first 70mm theater in July of 1959 with “Sleeping Beauty”. In 1957, there was an eleven day reserved seat showing of “Around the World in 80 Days”. A 46 foot screen was installed with a magnificent stereophonic sound system, but not presented in Todd-AO. I suspect the it was a Cinestage version of the film, but as far as I was concerned, Todd-AO could not have bettered it. The screen was pretty deeply curved with a beautiful new curtain. The Uptown was built as a stadium style theater and every seat was near perfect viewing. It’s still open as a first-run triplex.
The original Olympic was opened in 1925 and burned to the ground only 12 days later. The second Olympic was built on the same location and opened about one year later. In November of 1953, the Olympic boasted as being the first and only complete CinemaScope installation in the Mohawk Valley. It remained open until early 1971 and closed as part of the Kallet theater chain.
I had a “mini-tour” of the Uptown about a month ago. It no longer has 3 screens. It is being renovated and is now opened up as a single screen theater again. Much work is still to be done. No movies have been shown for a number of months, but various types of live performances have while renovating is on-going. A stage has been built and the very large screen removed. The screen, that I hope is temporary, is only the width is the stage However I’m happy that the theater is being revived and not closed. When I get more info, or visit it again, I’ll have an update.
This theater was named Bender first, then Park and closed as the State.
BEN-HUR opened at the Uptown Theatre in Utica, NY on October 13, 1960 on a reserved seat engagement.
The second (and last) Olympic Theater opened on May 18, 1926 and closed on February 23, 1971 as part of the Kallet theater chain.
The opening date of “Sleeping Beauty” at the Uptown was July 1,1959.
I have 6 newspaper ads and an article about this. They really went all out in advertising the fact that the Uptown was the only theater in the area that had the special equipment to show the film “as Walt Disney visualized it’s perfect presentation”.
The comment about the Uptown Theater on July 1. 1959 should have included that it was the Uptown in Utica, NY. Sorry.
Sleeping Beauty opened at the Uptown Theater on July 1, 1959 and was advertised as being presented in Technirama 70 and Full Stereophonic Sound. It was the Uptown’s first 70mm film. It played for three weeks.
The James Theater opened on Christmas Day, 1926. It closed in 1950 and was converted to a Jewish synagogue. Following this, it was used as a senior center and briefly as a performing arts theater known as the James Street Theater.
The Utica Theater mentioned previously was originally the Lumberg, then the Gaiety before settling for the Utica Theater name.
I just looked up some info. in my Avon folder. The theater was opened on 11/24/1915 with Ethel Barrymore in The Final Judgment. The first Vitaphone (talkie) film in Utica was shown there on 4/21/28. Gone With the Wind moved there from the Stanley on 2/16/40. Both the Stanley and Avon were part of the Warner chain at that time along with a third theater called the Utica which was actually larger than the Avon. The Avon closed on 12/7/65.
I have the original opening article and ad for this theatre and it states that there were 3500 seats, unless they padded the facts.
Who knows for sure?
To Lost Memory: I live in the Utica area and there were 2 Orpheum theaters. The old downtown theater on 34 Lafayette Street and a later theater on the corner of South and Miller Streets at the fringe of the Cornhill section of the city. The second theater closed on 6/12/53 and was part of the Kallet theater chain. The original Orpheum was located in the Majestic Hotel building on Lafayette Street which also housed the larger Majestic Theater. The old Orpheum was on the second floor of the building and the Majestic on the ground floor. The area that the hotel was built upon was originally the Utica Opera House. I hope I clarified this. for you
The Avon closed in late 1965. In June of that year “My Fair Lady” was presented on a reserved performance basis. It was shown in 35mm, but magnetic sound was installed, but no surround speakers. The movie ran for 15 weeks-the longest ever at the Avon. Through the years, the theater was part of the following chains: Robbins, Fox, Schine’s, Stanley Warner (being the last).
The Uptown became Utica’s first 70mm theater in July of 1959 with “Sleeping Beauty”. In 1957, there was an eleven day reserved seat showing of “Around the World in 80 Days”. A 46 foot screen was installed with a magnificent stereophonic sound system, but not presented in Todd-AO. I suspect the it was a Cinestage version of the film, but as far as I was concerned, Todd-AO could not have bettered it. The screen was pretty deeply curved with a beautiful new curtain. The Uptown was built as a stadium style theater and every seat was near perfect viewing. It’s still open as a first-run triplex.
The original Olympic was opened in 1925 and burned to the ground only 12 days later. The second Olympic was built on the same location and opened about one year later. In November of 1953, the Olympic boasted as being the first and only complete CinemaScope installation in the Mohawk Valley. It remained open until early 1971 and closed as part of the Kallet theater chain.