My notes from old newspaper accounts are that at opening, there were more than 1200 seats plus 200 seats in the loge.
Later, in Feb. 1972, Budco bought the Goldman moviehouses.
As a twin, it reopened October 2, 1974 with each auditorium being 500 or 600 seats.
Perhaps Uptown could hire a union projectionist for the 70 mm screenings?
And, comments on that page indicate AMC may not renew lease so next year, if someone else operates it…
I’m not sure if Avalon has 70mm. I don’t think they’ve shown anything in 70 mm since reopening. I also wish they’d return to using curtain for each movie.
Wow, brucec, I hope the huge screens, beautiful decor, and USE OF A CURTAIN BEFORE THE MOVIE SCREEN, can become an industry standard! I didn’t think anybody was building them anymore with curtains in front of the screen.
Looking at Europe, in addition to selections not already mentioned and excluding London for the time being where there are so many:
the historic auditorium of the Eldorado, Brussels
in Madrid: Callao, Capitol, Palacio de la Musica. Madrid has been closing movie palaces, some becoming legit, some may become retail, and so see them while you can!
For the moment considering only the States and not including Los Angeles (though I must mention the Avalon on Catalina Island) for full time moviehouses, I’ll suggest the following:
Coolidge Corner, near Boston, MA
Pickwick, Park Ridge (near Chicago)
Avalon, Washington DC/Chevy Chase, MD
Many historic movie palaces have programs of classics, and I will add the Loews Jersey in Jersey City, NJ from that category.
the Arcade is described as having closed in the 1980’s.
From: http://www.paducahmainstreet.com/theater.htm (which has a vintage photo):
The Arcade has been multiple uses including the theatre, offices, restaurants, offices, and retail stores.
and
The Arcade Theatre building is approximately 19,250 square feet. Parts of this structure are currently being used as offices, a retail store, and a barbershop.
http://www.kfvs12.com/Global/story.asp?S=6693329
Old arcade building to be revamped
By: Erica Byfield
By: Erica Byfield KVFS Channel 12 News June 21, 2007
PADUCAH, Ky. – It’s not often that we get to take a step back in time, but that’s exactly what we did Thursday.
We took an exclusive tour of the old arcade building in downtown Paducah with an investor that wants to bring some life back to it.
Sharon Graves can’t help but get excited, “It will be very dramatic to see all that cleaned up.”
She’s poured a lot of energy into this project.
“When I see the potential in this building it would be great place to work,” Graves said.
She explained plans to gut Paducah’s old arcade theater, built in 1911, in an exclusive tour.
Stage one, overhaul the front part of the building into retail and office space and then fix up the old theatre into more work space.
“We’ll just build from the inside and where going to put windows on the back,” she said.
If the Paducah City Commission approves Sharon Graves' proposal to buy the property, she says she hopes to sell off all the artifacts inside here… including the theatre seating, speakers… you name it… and she hopes it all goes to a local charity.
“It’s going to still be the same building but once it’s all painted the same color and new windows… it’s going to pop again.”
Sharon Graves adds she has an extra incentive to paint and rebuild this landmark.
“I’ve had so many people tell me that when they were little they could come here to the theatre” she said.
It won’t happen overnight, but Graves is sure once it’s done the old arcade will once again be the talk of the town.
Sharon Graves still needs approval by the Paducah City Commission before she can start renovating the old arcade building.
Many thanks to Brucec for his above comment and 8-6-04 list of movie palaces saved in downtowns of cities all over the US, posted at the Mayfair (Embassy 2-3-4) page: /theaters/501/ With very slight adjustments to theater names, I employed his list in this past Monday’s Weekly Update email to our supporters (www.FriendsOfTheBoyd.org).
Here’s the Weekly Update:
Below is a list of restored LARGE movie palaces in US CITIES' DOWNTOWN “entertainment zones” that a movie palace enthusiast drew up in August 2004 at cinematreasures.org The list may not have been complete then (and more movie palaces have since been restored), but it does show that many cities across the USA have saved, restored, and reopened their glorious historic movie palaces for entertainment!
The list was drafted to advocate reuse of a closed Times Square movie palace. The list drafter opined that Radio City Music Hall was outside New York City’s entertainment zone of Times Square. In addition to Radio City, reopened Midtown Manhattan movie palaces include the Hollywood (church) and New Amsterdam. Please realize there are MANY MORE restored movie palaces in the US: in neigbhorhoods, towns, suburbs, etc. in addition to those movie palaces listed below in cities' downtowns.
Defined as the traditional locale of movie palaces and other theaters, Philadelphia’s “entertainment zone” would include Chestnut West. The BOYD THEATRE should join the list!
Seattle: Paramount and Fifth Ave
Portland: Arlene Schnitzer (Paramount)
San Francisco: Orpheum, Warfield and Golden Gate
Oakland: Paramount and Fox Oakland (restoration in progress)
San Jose: California (opens in Sept)
Hollywood: Chinese, El Capitan, Pantages, Egyptian (not fully restored)
Los Angeles: Orpheum, United Artists (church) and many unrestored
San Diego: Fox (Copley), Balboa and Spreckels
Phoenix: Orpheum
Dallas: Majestic
San Antonio: Majestic and Aztec (under restoration}
Denver: Paramount
St. Louis: Fox and Powell (St.Louis)
Kansas City: Midland
Minneapolis: Orpheum, State and Pantages
Chicago: Chicago, Oriental and Palace
Detroit: Fox, State and Opera House (Capitol)
Cleveland: Palace, State, Allen and Ohio
Columbus: Ohio, Palace and Southern
Indianapolis: Indiana and Circle
Buffalo: Shea’s Buffalo
Pittsburgh: Heinz Hall (Loew’s Penn), Benedum (Stanley) and Byham (Gayety)
Baltimore: Hippodrome
Providence: Ocean State (Providence)
Boston: Wang (Metropolitan), Majestic (Saxon), and Opera House (BF Keith)
Washington DC: Warner
Richmond: Carpenter (Loew’s)
New Orleans: Saenger and (unrestored) Loew’s State
Jacksonville: Florida
Tampa: Tampa
Miami: Gusman (Olympia)
Birmingham: Alabama
Omaha: Orpheum and Rose (Paramount)
Albany: Palace
Syracuse: Landmark (Loew’s State)
Salt Lake: Capitol
Louisville: Palace
Memphis: Orpheum
Jersey City: Loew’s Jersey and Stanley (church)
Albuquerque: Kimo
Again, it is sad that the Mayfair is being gutted. However, the efforts by many of you will not be wasted. Many thanks to Brucec for his above 8-6-04 list of movie palaces saved in downtowns of cities all over the US, and for his comments on Philadelphia’s Boyd Theatre page /theaters/1209/ I used his wonderful list in my Weekly Update email www.FriendsOfTheBoyd.org this past week, to illustrate how almost every American city has saved at least one downtown movie palace! the Boyd is downtown Philadelphia’s sole surviving movie palace, and needs to be saved, restored, and reopened.
Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore plans to glam up a theater in Traverse City, Mich.
“We’re going to restore this magnificent building to its old glory,” Moore told a crowd on May 30, according to the Associated Press.
The Flint-born director’s film festival, which he launched two years ago, acquired the State Theatre on May 26. It plans to turn the building, which opened in 1949 and showed its last film in 1996, into a state-of-the-art movie house with one of the largest screens in the country.
“As a kid, I grew up going to the theater until it was closed,” says John Robert Williams, film festival board member. “It’s a slice in time from my youth. We don’t want to change it. It’s in phenomenal shape.”
The film festival leased the State Theater last year from Rotary Charities of Traverse City, which acquired the building in 2006. It has essentially donated the building to the film festival.
“We started asking Rotary Charities if we could borrow or rent the State Theatre because it was a crime to be showing movies in Traverse City and not do it in the State Theatre,” Williams says. “[Previous owners] were going to rip it up and turn it into a performing arts center. It was a plan to fail.”
The roof needs repairs, and the festival plans to install a sprinkler system later this year. In the meantime, it has been spiffing up the theater, installing a custom-made screen that measures 46 feet wide.
Mike [Moore] has had lunch with George Lucas, and George is going to be supplying, free of charge, a THX sound system and a standard Dolby sound system,“ Williams says. "We’ve got all the connections. It’s going to be the place to see a movie.”
The Traverse City Film Festival runs from July 31 to Aug. 5.
I’ve heard from a West Chester resident that “The art deco auditorium had seen better days by the 80’s, but you could still see the grandeur, and the size of the place itself was amazing.” The fellow says the auditorium was torn down and made it into a parking lot, and that the lobby was renovated into offices, which is where the Philadelphia Inquirer has their Chester County office today. He further tells me that “The only interior architectural detail that survived is the railing on the stairs, which were originally the balcony stairs.”
If as I think, the exterior is legally protected, then I would hope, and think, that the large circle on the exterior with sculptural reliefs of figures, would be protected.
If those photos can be scanned, and placed on flickr or another website & linked here, many of us would enjoy looking at them. I’d rather look at the pretty theater than the projection room, but I’m sure many here would be pleased to look at the photos of the projection room, too!
Never mind. I found it in Monday’s Daily News at Dan Gross' column-
Logan Theater to live again
Entertainment promoter Jimmy “Hollywood” Brooks and Dr. Owen Williams are fixing up the old Logan Theater (4732 N. Broad) and hope to reopen it as a live-music venue called Claretildaville as early as November, Brooks says. The property, which was built in 1924, later became a church. Brooks and Williams acquired the spot two years ago and have purchased the old curtains from the Copa Room at the recently shuttered Sands in Atlantic City. The venue is named after Williams' late wife, Claretilda.
here’s the rendering:
View link
Rendering from 9-15-1937 The Exhibitor of what was desribed as the new 750 seat Rio Theatre
Glazer’s hardback book says Crest opened 11-23-1937. This rendered was in 9-15-1937 The Exhibitor:
View link
Marquee 1st line: Clark Gable, Myna Loy
2nd line: Parnell
3rd line: March of Time (space) Mickey Mouse
My notes from old newspaper accounts are that at opening, there were more than 1200 seats plus 200 seats in the loge.
Later, in Feb. 1972, Budco bought the Goldman moviehouses.
As a twin, it reopened October 2, 1974 with each auditorium being 500 or 600 seats.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/billyqiu/90350970/
That’s a January 2006 photo
Perhaps Uptown could hire a union projectionist for the 70 mm screenings?
And, comments on that page indicate AMC may not renew lease so next year, if someone else operates it…
I’m not sure if Avalon has 70mm. I don’t think they’ve shown anything in 70 mm since reopening. I also wish they’d return to using curtain for each movie.
One of the best film experiences of my life was seeing the restored, El Cid, shown in 70mm in 1993 at the Avalon.
Bring back the cool Deco vertical blade sign seen in 1955 photo!
Wow, brucec, I hope the huge screens, beautiful decor, and USE OF A CURTAIN BEFORE THE MOVIE SCREEN, can become an industry standard! I didn’t think anybody was building them anymore with curtains in front of the screen.
Let’s hope they keep intact whatever interior Art Deco features exist in this gem.
Demolition further along, sadly:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/supertsaar/728415102/
Looking at Europe, in addition to selections not already mentioned and excluding London for the time being where there are so many:
the historic auditorium of the Eldorado, Brussels
in Madrid: Callao, Capitol, Palacio de la Musica. Madrid has been closing movie palaces, some becoming legit, some may become retail, and so see them while you can!
For the moment considering only the States and not including Los Angeles (though I must mention the Avalon on Catalina Island) for full time moviehouses, I’ll suggest the following:
Coolidge Corner, near Boston, MA
Pickwick, Park Ridge (near Chicago)
Avalon, Washington DC/Chevy Chase, MD
Many historic movie palaces have programs of classics, and I will add the Loews Jersey in Jersey City, NJ from that category.
What a shame. Will the gorgeous Fire Curtain stay in the building? Just curious, don’t need it, have our own pretty one at the Boyd.
the Arcade is described as having closed in the 1980’s.
From: http://www.paducahmainstreet.com/theater.htm (which has a vintage photo):
The Arcade has been multiple uses including the theatre, offices, restaurants, offices, and retail stores.
and
The Arcade Theatre building is approximately 19,250 square feet. Parts of this structure are currently being used as offices, a retail store, and a barbershop.
http://www.kfvs12.com/Global/story.asp?S=6693329
Old arcade building to be revamped
By: Erica Byfield
By: Erica Byfield KVFS Channel 12 News June 21, 2007
PADUCAH, Ky. – It’s not often that we get to take a step back in time, but that’s exactly what we did Thursday.
We took an exclusive tour of the old arcade building in downtown Paducah with an investor that wants to bring some life back to it.
Sharon Graves can’t help but get excited, “It will be very dramatic to see all that cleaned up.”
She’s poured a lot of energy into this project.
“When I see the potential in this building it would be great place to work,” Graves said.
She explained plans to gut Paducah’s old arcade theater, built in 1911, in an exclusive tour.
Stage one, overhaul the front part of the building into retail and office space and then fix up the old theatre into more work space.
“We’ll just build from the inside and where going to put windows on the back,” she said.
If the Paducah City Commission approves Sharon Graves' proposal to buy the property, she says she hopes to sell off all the artifacts inside here… including the theatre seating, speakers… you name it… and she hopes it all goes to a local charity.
“It’s going to still be the same building but once it’s all painted the same color and new windows… it’s going to pop again.”
Sharon Graves adds she has an extra incentive to paint and rebuild this landmark.
“I’ve had so many people tell me that when they were little they could come here to the theatre” she said.
It won’t happen overnight, but Graves is sure once it’s done the old arcade will once again be the talk of the town.
Sharon Graves still needs approval by the Paducah City Commission before she can start renovating the old arcade building.
Many thanks to Brucec for his above comment and 8-6-04 list of movie palaces saved in downtowns of cities all over the US, posted at the Mayfair (Embassy 2-3-4) page: /theaters/501/ With very slight adjustments to theater names, I employed his list in this past Monday’s Weekly Update email to our supporters (www.FriendsOfTheBoyd.org).
Here’s the Weekly Update:
Below is a list of restored LARGE movie palaces in US CITIES' DOWNTOWN “entertainment zones” that a movie palace enthusiast drew up in August 2004 at cinematreasures.org The list may not have been complete then (and more movie palaces have since been restored), but it does show that many cities across the USA have saved, restored, and reopened their glorious historic movie palaces for entertainment!
The list was drafted to advocate reuse of a closed Times Square movie palace. The list drafter opined that Radio City Music Hall was outside New York City’s entertainment zone of Times Square. In addition to Radio City, reopened Midtown Manhattan movie palaces include the Hollywood (church) and New Amsterdam. Please realize there are MANY MORE restored movie palaces in the US: in neigbhorhoods, towns, suburbs, etc. in addition to those movie palaces listed below in cities' downtowns.
Defined as the traditional locale of movie palaces and other theaters, Philadelphia’s “entertainment zone” would include Chestnut West. The BOYD THEATRE should join the list!
Howard B. Haas
www.FriendsOfTheBoyd.org
Seattle: Paramount and Fifth Ave
Portland: Arlene Schnitzer (Paramount)
San Francisco: Orpheum, Warfield and Golden Gate
Oakland: Paramount and Fox Oakland (restoration in progress)
San Jose: California (opens in Sept)
Hollywood: Chinese, El Capitan, Pantages, Egyptian (not fully restored)
Los Angeles: Orpheum, United Artists (church) and many unrestored
San Diego: Fox (Copley), Balboa and Spreckels
Phoenix: Orpheum
Dallas: Majestic
San Antonio: Majestic and Aztec (under restoration}
Denver: Paramount
St. Louis: Fox and Powell (St.Louis)
Kansas City: Midland
Minneapolis: Orpheum, State and Pantages
Chicago: Chicago, Oriental and Palace
Detroit: Fox, State and Opera House (Capitol)
Cleveland: Palace, State, Allen and Ohio
Columbus: Ohio, Palace and Southern
Indianapolis: Indiana and Circle
Buffalo: Shea’s Buffalo
Pittsburgh: Heinz Hall (Loew’s Penn), Benedum (Stanley) and Byham (Gayety)
Baltimore: Hippodrome
Providence: Ocean State (Providence)
Boston: Wang (Metropolitan), Majestic (Saxon), and Opera House (BF Keith)
Washington DC: Warner
Richmond: Carpenter (Loew’s)
New Orleans: Saenger and (unrestored) Loew’s State
Jacksonville: Florida
Tampa: Tampa
Miami: Gusman (Olympia)
Birmingham: Alabama
Omaha: Orpheum and Rose (Paramount)
Albany: Palace
Syracuse: Landmark (Loew’s State)
Salt Lake: Capitol
Louisville: Palace
Memphis: Orpheum
Jersey City: Loew’s Jersey and Stanley (church)
Albuquerque: Kimo
Tucson: Fox and Rialto
Again, it is sad that the Mayfair is being gutted. However, the efforts by many of you will not be wasted. Many thanks to Brucec for his above 8-6-04 list of movie palaces saved in downtowns of cities all over the US, and for his comments on Philadelphia’s Boyd Theatre page /theaters/1209/ I used his wonderful list in my Weekly Update email www.FriendsOfTheBoyd.org this past week, to illustrate how almost every American city has saved at least one downtown movie palace! the Boyd is downtown Philadelphia’s sole surviving movie palace, and needs to be saved, restored, and reopened.
here’s the theater link: /theaters/9231/
click the link for a nice photo.
View link
Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore plans to glam up a theater in Traverse City, Mich.
“We’re going to restore this magnificent building to its old glory,” Moore told a crowd on May 30, according to the Associated Press.
The Flint-born director’s film festival, which he launched two years ago, acquired the State Theatre on May 26. It plans to turn the building, which opened in 1949 and showed its last film in 1996, into a state-of-the-art movie house with one of the largest screens in the country.
“As a kid, I grew up going to the theater until it was closed,” says John Robert Williams, film festival board member. “It’s a slice in time from my youth. We don’t want to change it. It’s in phenomenal shape.”
The film festival leased the State Theater last year from Rotary Charities of Traverse City, which acquired the building in 2006. It has essentially donated the building to the film festival.
“We started asking Rotary Charities if we could borrow or rent the State Theatre because it was a crime to be showing movies in Traverse City and not do it in the State Theatre,” Williams says. “[Previous owners] were going to rip it up and turn it into a performing arts center. It was a plan to fail.”
The roof needs repairs, and the festival plans to install a sprinkler system later this year. In the meantime, it has been spiffing up the theater, installing a custom-made screen that measures 46 feet wide.
Mike [Moore] has had lunch with George Lucas, and George is going to be supplying, free of charge, a THX sound system and a standard Dolby sound system,“ Williams says. "We’ve got all the connections. It’s going to be the place to see a movie.”
The Traverse City Film Festival runs from July 31 to Aug. 5.
I’ve heard from a West Chester resident that “The art deco auditorium had seen better days by the 80’s, but you could still see the grandeur, and the size of the place itself was amazing.” The fellow says the auditorium was torn down and made it into a parking lot, and that the lobby was renovated into offices, which is where the Philadelphia Inquirer has their Chester County office today. He further tells me that “The only interior architectural detail that survived is the railing on the stairs, which were originally the balcony stairs.”
If as I think, the exterior is legally protected, then I would hope, and think, that the large circle on the exterior with sculptural reliefs of figures, would be protected.
If those photos can be scanned, and placed on flickr or another website & linked here, many of us would enjoy looking at them. I’d rather look at the pretty theater than the projection room, but I’m sure many here would be pleased to look at the photos of the projection room, too!
Never mind. I found it in Monday’s Daily News at Dan Gross' column-
Logan Theater to live again
Entertainment promoter Jimmy “Hollywood” Brooks and Dr. Owen Williams are fixing up the old Logan Theater (4732 N. Broad) and hope to reopen it as a live-music venue called Claretildaville as early as November, Brooks says. The property, which was built in 1924, later became a church. Brooks and Williams acquired the spot two years ago and have purchased the old curtains from the Copa Room at the recently shuttered Sands in Atlantic City. The venue is named after Williams' late wife, Claretilda.
Could you please advise when & where this article? Today’s Daily News? I can’t find it online. Does it say who is going to operate it> Thank you.