In its first year of operation, Universal lost a bundle on the Capitol and sold the operating lease to Loew’s, which re-opened the theatre as Loew’s Capitol on September 3rd, 1928. This provided the Capitol with a higher quality of stage bookings, some of which were revues originating at the Capitol Theatre in NYC. In Atlanta, Loew’s continued to operate the Grand Theatre, but dropped vaudeville for a mix of new movies and classic revivals. Loew’s operated the Capitol for nearly two years, leaving in August, 1930 to manage the floundering Fox Theatre (but without the Loew’s name attached). Universal then briefly ran the Capitol before making a five-year deal with RKO Theatres with a movies-only policy.
The Uptown was the largest movie theatre ever designed by the architectural firm of Rapp & Rapp. It was also one of only three theatres by Rapp & Rapp with more than 4,000 seats, the two others being the Brooklyn Paramount and the Michigan in Detroit.
The Roxy’s first Disney cartoon feature, “Peter Pan,” shot in standard ratio, played there in 1953 with support from an ice-skating stage revue. But the Roxy had dropped stage shows with the arrival of CinemaScope,
so “Lady and the Tramp” was accompanied only by a Disney live-action travelogue in CinemaScope.
Some excellent views of the Suffolk’s marquee and entrance turn up in the first episode of Season Two of the cable TV series, “Orange Is the New Black.” Amusingly, two young girls bribe someone to buy them tickets for an R-Rated movie.
It ought to be mentioned in the introduction that the Uptown was the largest movie/vaudeville theatre in Chicago, and the 12th largest in the USA, according to records kept by Theatre Historical Society of America. And in Chicago, the Uptown was larger than any such in the entertainment hub known as “The Loop.”
After a stint as the Manhattan with mostly Walt Disney reissues, the theatre was re-named Republic and became the Broadway showcase for the higher budgeted releases of Republic Pictures. The Brandt circuit continued to operate the house, but Republic Pictures paid for some auditorium refurbishing and modifications of the entrance and marquee. Seating capacity was reported as 1,064. “Atlantic City” grossed an excellent $16,000 in its first week and held for four weeks, dropping to $9,000 by the last. But “Storm Over Lisbon” and other Republic releases that followed never surpassed $10,000 on opening week. The deal was terminated, with Brandt retaining the name Republic and booking whatever it could grab from any major or minor source.
Since first opening in 1919, the Capitol had been supplementing movies with stage shows, as themed revues or in the variety format. Depression conditions dictated the change, which endured until 1943 when the wartime boom in attendance caused the Capitol to resume stage shows to compete more effectively with the Roxy, Radio City Music Hall, Paramount, and Strand.
Note “In Person Today” for four of the stars at right side of ad. During this period in its history, the Roxy had dropped stage shows in the belief that the wonders of CinemaScope would more than compensate.
The Irving Berlin musical had a formal world premiere at the Roxy as a charity benefit on the night of December 16th, 1954. But the exact date of this photo was the next day, December 17th, when Ethel Merman, Dan Dailey, Mitzi Gaynor, and Johnnie Ray gathered in the box office lobby for an hour to greet patrons and sign autographs.
An ad is being posted as verification.
Fluorescent murals flanked the proscenium…The firm of John & Drew Eberson handled the complete modernization of the theatre, in anticipation of the New York World’s Fair. Costs were shared by the Skouras circuit, which operated the Merrick, and Century Theatres, which owned it.
The Capitol first opened on June 27th, 1927, as part of the Universal Theatre Circuit. Releases of the parent Universal Pictures received priority. All stage bookings were made through the Pantages vaudeville agency.
Constructed within the four walls of a commercial building that had been gutted by fire, the Majestic opened on February 8th, 1915, with photoplays only. The cinema operated as the Majestic for nearly fifteen years, but the conversion to sound bankrupted the owners, who sold the operating lease to E.M.Loew. After some renovations, the theatre re-opened as E. M. Loew’s on March 22nd, 1930. “Majestic” was scrapped, and never attached to the new branding.
Lubliner & Trinz built the Diversey Theatre, which first opened on July 30th, 1925, with stage and screen presentations of “Loop” quality. In December, 1929, Balaban & Katz took a six-year lease, at an annual rental of $56,000. After spending $50,000 on renovations, B&K re-opened the theatre with movies only, under the new name of Century, on February 7th, 1930.
The newly built Regal opened on September 15th 1928. At the time, it was reported to be the first Hartford cinema equipped for both Movietone and Vitaphone. The feature, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” was in Movietone, but supporting vaudeville shorts were in Vitaphone. The Regal also had an Austin pipe organ.
The Strand had its grand opening on September 1st, 1914, with claims of being the largest theatre in Hartford presenting movies exclusively. Its three manual Austin pipe organ was reported to be the largest in the state of Connecticut. Arthur L. Collins, known for his work at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, was full-time organist. The Strand also had a resident orchestra under the direction of Samuel J. Leventhal.
Paramount’s B&W epic dealt with the Puritan witchcraft trials in Massachusetts during the 17th century…Stage shows were still part of the Metropolitan’s policy, despite Depression conditions.
In its first year of operation, Universal lost a bundle on the Capitol and sold the operating lease to Loew’s, which re-opened the theatre as Loew’s Capitol on September 3rd, 1928. This provided the Capitol with a higher quality of stage bookings, some of which were revues originating at the Capitol Theatre in NYC. In Atlanta, Loew’s continued to operate the Grand Theatre, but dropped vaudeville for a mix of new movies and classic revivals. Loew’s operated the Capitol for nearly two years, leaving in August, 1930 to manage the floundering Fox Theatre (but without the Loew’s name attached). Universal then briefly ran the Capitol before making a five-year deal with RKO Theatres with a movies-only policy.
The Uptown was the largest movie theatre ever designed by the architectural firm of Rapp & Rapp. It was also one of only three theatres by Rapp & Rapp with more than 4,000 seats, the two others being the Brooklyn Paramount and the Michigan in Detroit.
The Roxy’s first Disney cartoon feature, “Peter Pan,” shot in standard ratio, played there in 1953 with support from an ice-skating stage revue. But the Roxy had dropped stage shows with the arrival of CinemaScope, so “Lady and the Tramp” was accompanied only by a Disney live-action travelogue in CinemaScope.
Emergency doors exited into Merrick Boulevard (then known as Merrick Road).
Some excellent views of the Suffolk’s marquee and entrance turn up in the first episode of Season Two of the cable TV series, “Orange Is the New Black.” Amusingly, two young girls bribe someone to buy them tickets for an R-Rated movie.
This was a trade journal ad covering two pages.
The Uptown Theatre had its grand opening on August 18th, 1925, a date that was somehow not included with the ad posted in the Photos Section.
It ought to be mentioned in the introduction that the Uptown was the largest movie/vaudeville theatre in Chicago, and the 12th largest in the USA, according to records kept by Theatre Historical Society of America. And in Chicago, the Uptown was larger than any such in the entertainment hub known as “The Loop.”
The Ziegfeld, which was never intended to be a cinema, opened one month before the Roxy Theatre.
After a stint as the Manhattan with mostly Walt Disney reissues, the theatre was re-named Republic and became the Broadway showcase for the higher budgeted releases of Republic Pictures. The Brandt circuit continued to operate the house, but Republic Pictures paid for some auditorium refurbishing and modifications of the entrance and marquee. Seating capacity was reported as 1,064. “Atlantic City” grossed an excellent $16,000 in its first week and held for four weeks, dropping to $9,000 by the last. But “Storm Over Lisbon” and other Republic releases that followed never surpassed $10,000 on opening week. The deal was terminated, with Brandt retaining the name Republic and booking whatever it could grab from any major or minor source.
Since first opening in 1919, the Capitol had been supplementing movies with stage shows, as themed revues or in the variety format. Depression conditions dictated the change, which endured until 1943 when the wartime boom in attendance caused the Capitol to resume stage shows to compete more effectively with the Roxy, Radio City Music Hall, Paramount, and Strand.
Note “In Person Today” for four of the stars at right side of ad. During this period in its history, the Roxy had dropped stage shows in the belief that the wonders of CinemaScope would more than compensate.
The Irving Berlin musical had a formal world premiere at the Roxy as a charity benefit on the night of December 16th, 1954. But the exact date of this photo was the next day, December 17th, when Ethel Merman, Dan Dailey, Mitzi Gaynor, and Johnnie Ray gathered in the box office lobby for an hour to greet patrons and sign autographs. An ad is being posted as verification.
Fluorescent murals flanked the proscenium…The firm of John & Drew Eberson handled the complete modernization of the theatre, in anticipation of the New York World’s Fair. Costs were shared by the Skouras circuit, which operated the Merrick, and Century Theatres, which owned it.
The Capitol first opened on June 27th, 1927, as part of the Universal Theatre Circuit. Releases of the parent Universal Pictures received priority. All stage bookings were made through the Pantages vaudeville agency.
Constructed within the four walls of a commercial building that had been gutted by fire, the Majestic opened on February 8th, 1915, with photoplays only. The cinema operated as the Majestic for nearly fifteen years, but the conversion to sound bankrupted the owners, who sold the operating lease to E.M.Loew. After some renovations, the theatre re-opened as E. M. Loew’s on March 22nd, 1930. “Majestic” was scrapped, and never attached to the new branding.
Lubliner & Trinz built the Diversey Theatre, which first opened on July 30th, 1925, with stage and screen presentations of “Loop” quality. In December, 1929, Balaban & Katz took a six-year lease, at an annual rental of $56,000. After spending $50,000 on renovations, B&K re-opened the theatre with movies only, under the new name of Century, on February 7th, 1930.
The newly built Regal opened on September 15th 1928. At the time, it was reported to be the first Hartford cinema equipped for both Movietone and Vitaphone. The feature, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” was in Movietone, but supporting vaudeville shorts were in Vitaphone. The Regal also had an Austin pipe organ.
The Strand had its grand opening on September 1st, 1914, with claims of being the largest theatre in Hartford presenting movies exclusively. Its three manual Austin pipe organ was reported to be the largest in the state of Connecticut. Arthur L. Collins, known for his work at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, was full-time organist. The Strand also had a resident orchestra under the direction of Samuel J. Leventhal.
Paramount’s B&W epic dealt with the Puritan witchcraft trials in Massachusetts during the 17th century…Stage shows were still part of the Metropolitan’s policy, despite Depression conditions.
Equipped with 40 seats, the room could also be booked in advance for private parties.
Published on January 22nd, 1932, this directory featured neighborhood theatres in the vicinity of Boston, MA.
The Paramount release opened on January 20th, 1966, replacing the Christmas holiday show that included “Darn That Cat” on screen.
The pioneer art cinema was a contemporary of the Roxy Theatre, which had opened in March of that same year.
Hey, Abbott! Who’s on first?