GCC Northeast 4

The Northeast Shopping Center (aka Korvette Shopping Center, for a period) opened in October of 1959 theatre-less and anchored by E.J. Korvette’s Department Store. In 1964, an announced expansion brought both a public library a Philadelphia’s first twin-screen movie theater in 1964/65. The concept was to have a road show title on one screen and a continuously-running feature on the other. It opened as Cinema I & II on Christmas Day 1965 with Edna Knowles as the cashier and “Do Not Disturb” with Doris Day and “Pinocchio in Outer Space” starring Pinocchio.

The theatre hosted German films as a recurring series, became the General Cinema Northeast I, II, III (1973), and the GCC Northeast 4 (1976) all with Knowles as cashier. Korvette’s departed in 1980. A new Tower Records store came in and did some tie-ups with the theater. The GCC Northeast 4 closed on May 31, 1999 at the end of its leasing period. And yes, Edna Knowles made it all the way from opening in 1965 to its closing date of May 31, 1999. The business was so slow, however, that she had to work concessions as the theatre didn’t sell almost any tickets on weekdays so the box office was closed around 1997.

The last “feature” on the marquee by long-time employee Joe “Zuck” Zuckschwerdt - in charge of the GCC attractor for some 25 years - read, “Goodnight, Edna. Thanks for 35 Great Years.”

Reading hearing this was one of GCC’s top money making location. Corrct???

Here’s a video about the “Butterfly design” cinemas built by General Cinema.

I managed the Northeast Cinema 4 from the early 1980’s into the 90’s with Fontana, Frank Casino, Rafferty, and Fred Buffum. I also first met my wife there. I also opened and managed the new 4 Orleans Theaters opened behind the old Orleans Theater wich was co-managed by Wayne Agnew. I additionally managed the Baderwood in Jenkintown for the last year it was owned by General Cinema and also co-managed the Andorra theater in Roxborough. I have since worked for a credit union for a few years and now work for a city utility for the last 28 years. There was no job to compare with my time working at the movie theaters, so many good people, so many good times. A special thanks to the core of the Northeast employee crew, Edna Knowls the long-time box office girl who worked there for years, Marty Marizzio the weekday afternoon usher, and Florence(Flo) the Monday through Friday afternoon candy girl. Projectionist Marty King, Fred Asterito, and Russ Ward. And noone will forget the long-time maintenance man Joe Zuck who worked for the theater up until the very end. I sat in the parking lot after the building had been burned out and I admit I cried, the memories, the joys, the relationships, thanks for remembering.

TheaterBluff1: It seems that every comment you post has to have a political spin. Boring! Let’s get back to movie theaters and let’s skip your personal views on politics!

in the 80’s and early 90’s we used to go to the GCC at blue star shopping center in berkeley heights, NJ on route 22. The theatre was always packed, i think they had 4 or 5 screens. Big front foyer with tall glass, quadruple ticket booth outside. good movies had lines of people across the access road that went to back of the building and stretched donw the sidewalk fronting other mall stores. In the 90’s they had promotions of ticket books where you pay $25 and got maybe 10 tickets for the movies. (i think that was the cost) that worked out to about half price. i think movies were $5 in the mid 90’s. i went there all the time, more often then the westfield or cranford cinemas.

In mid 90’s it just suddenly disappeared, i always wondered what happened, because there was no competition around for quite many miles. It was suddenly renovated into additional stores for the mall.

Eddie Jacobs, if you can make sense of the current politics governing Northeast Philadelphia, enough so as to bypass its corruption, raising the money needed to restore that available space as a neighborhood theater once more shouldn’t be a problem. Er, unless in addition to that money you’d also have to come up with other money to pay off certain shady people regularly, in which case no matter how much money you raise would be sufficient. But if you know how to cut through all that crap, you certainly would grab the market of what right now is a huge void — most especially now that the AMC Orleans is [ahem] gone.

Eddie Jacobs, are we to understand that you might have interests in acquiring that available space that was part of the GCC Northeast and remake it a movie theater once more? If so, I think that’s great news, and I wish you all the best with you’re endeavor! Let us know how it progresses!

As “available space” goes, is it still a burnt out shell looking like it’s on the brink of collapse? Or did they clean it up some?

Ah, so that’s what the latest is, though it’s weird that SS would move into one half while leaving the other half a complete mess. Maybe with the SS now being anchored there, it might be safe for somebody to take over the other half and put something new in that. On the good news from, aside from sentimental value, the building itself was of no historic value, not even in the realm of cinema treasures. Architecturally, there was simply nothing to it, at least going by the outside. I wasn’t able to get in to see more. Architecturally, the AMC Orleans had been a bit better, but not much. Still, it’s a shame there aren’t any theaters around that area now at all. But given Northeast Philadelphia’s current political climate I don’t see how there could be. Farther north there’s still the United Artists Grant Plaza Cinema 9, plus the AMC Franklin Mills, but how much on solid ground they are at this point is hard to say. For so far Philadelphia’s new mayor, Mayor Nutter, has shown he’s no friend to the Northeast. So who knows?

Points well taken.

I remember in my early years with GCC when I did the jobs on the floor, and later after I joined the projectionists union, always hearing from my DM about Northeast. He would always tell us how this theatre was one of the better grossing theatres in the entire circuit. Being here in N.J. we were in the same division, and I can say, this theatre was always the talk. It sounds really sad to hear what has become of it. Is it really so bad that its unhealthy to be near? And if so why do they leave it, or has it since been demolished and put to rest.