The basement lounge was long gone by the time I got there. They had photos of it upstairs in the Pathe office (the office with the windows above the marquee) and it was quite a beautiful room. It was a lounge with sofas and chairs rather than a cafe with tables and chairs. Unfortunately I can’t remember a lot of the details.
Warren, was this actually demolished or was it stripped and reconfigured into the present Criterion building? The reason I ask is that when the Bonds store upstairs was converted into a discotheque in the late 70s, I was surprised to see that it was a large, tall and column-free space, and I always wondered if it had been a theatre at one time. Why would such a space, expensive to build in those days, be constructed for a retail clothing store?
I was referring to the blatant segregation as described by AlAlvarez in his post above that went on in 1905. The Paris Theatre was a relatively small venue at the time that it was built, having only 586 seats, and the films that played there had a limited appeal. I’m sure the balcony was built for no other reason than as a solution of how to get 586 seats in a small space. The overall demographics of Manhattan in those days were different, it was more blue-collar than it is today. While the Park Avenue crowd went to ‘a film’ the Paris everyone else was going to ‘the movies’ at Times Sq. and neighborhood theatres.
Yeah, but wasn’t that foolishness over with in Manhattan by 1948 when the Paris opened? I worked at the Paris when Pathe & C5 were still running it but I never heard that story.
Does Forest City/RMS still own the Parmatown Mall? It is not listed in the FCE website portfolio of properties. If not, who did they sell it to? Also, have leased out the empty stores now that they have Wal-Mart and Dick’s Sporting Goods in that western end of the mall?
I’m not putting it all on the union – It began as cost-containment on the part of the owners, which today has now developed into outright greed. And today the overall quality of the union projectionist has improved since the old ones have finally retired or passed away and the reduction in the number of jobs has caused a lot of the bad apples (and some of the good ones) to move on to something else. But it happened too late – like closing the barn door after the horse ran away. Had the union transformed itself 10-15 years earlier when theatre-people were still running things I don’t think they would have been quite so gung-ho to make severe reductions. Keep in mind that today there are no theatre-people running the circuits anymore – they’ve all been pushed aside and money-men are running the show, and this is what we get – the Wal*Mart-ing of the theatre business.
RCDTJ,
I am old-school, having worked in the theatres since the 60s – I’d always had a union man in the booth and if it was up to me there would still be a union man in the booth. I don’t want to do their job, and I don’t want to be bothered teaching people how to run those machines. I agree that the owners were looking to cut costs. My issue is that the union made it easy for the owners to decide that they no longer need a union man. The union didn’t make themselves indispensable. By not forcing the elderly ones, who were clearly in decline, to retire; by continuing to send guys around who have been kicked out of every theatre in town; by not insisting that these guys get themselves together or get out for the good of the membership. Years ago they used to stash these guys away in the porn houses, where the audience was doing everything in the world except watching the movie, so it didn’t matter, but those places were no longer available when they switched to VHS. When we had a crazy man in the booth we would call up to request someone else we were told there was nobody else available, or his seniority gives him the choice, or some other excuse, they were basically saying F.U. to the theatre. The owners probably figured why pay $25./hr for a lousy presentation when they can get the same presentation from the manager or usher for a lot less and maybe train them to do it better. I’ve worked in other cities with other locals where the membership consisted, in large part, of professionals, who put up an excellent presentation, knew how to handle the film and maintain the equipment, and we seldom had to worry about the booth operations. In New York, however, it was always a crap-shoot.
To your other point, you are absolutely correct about the greed of most companies today, which is driving all this. But when UA started all this manager/operator stuff in the Long Island theatres in the mid-90s the greed was not so blatant. When the circuits went bankrupt and then the bean-counters took over is when it really started getting cut-throat.
I don’t know about DC, but in New York the union shot themselves in the foot. While they have a number of very good operators who are well worth the money, they are over-shadowed by an inordinate number of schmucks who have no more business being in the booth than the concession attendant. And the union does nothing about them except to move them to another theatre to become someone elses headache. This includes elderly operators (over 80 yrs) who refuse to retire, with failing vision and can no longer focus or frame properly; another beginning Alzheimer’s and I had to go behind him to make sure the keys were flipped on the reel spindles so the reels didn’t fall off the machine in the middle of the show, and that the gate and pad rollers were all closed. There were others who would be passed out drunk in the balcony, another didn’t know how to change a xenon bulb, another loon who smashed up the machines with a lead pipe. I could go on and on. Every manager had a shit-list, and if someone on that list showed up to cover a vacation you knew you were going to be in for an adventure and better have a good supply of refund envelope, emerg tix or passes on hand because you were gonna need them. If the theatres were paying a high wage and got a highly qualified operator, the jobs probably would not have been phased out. In NYC however, with the exception of a few high-profile houses, this was seldom the case.
I remember it had a coffered ceiling with a dome in the center. All the seats were on the main floor, there was no balcony. There was a bus stop for the 51 bus in front. After it switched to porn, the women waiting for the bus would stand under the marquee only if it was raining, otherwise they stood in front of the barber college next door.
In May 1965, The Valley Independent reports: The Liberty, Donora, a double feature with Sean Connery in “Operation Snafu” and Vincent Price in “Tombo of Ligeia” (in Colorscope, no less).
In May 1965, the Valley Independent reports: At the Hilltop Drive-in, Carroll Township, “Strange Bedfellows” with Rock Hudson and Gina Lollabrigida. The cost was only $1.10 per carload.
The basement lounge was long gone by the time I got there. They had photos of it upstairs in the Pathe office (the office with the windows above the marquee) and it was quite a beautiful room. It was a lounge with sofas and chairs rather than a cafe with tables and chairs. Unfortunately I can’t remember a lot of the details.
The marquee here looks like a B.F.Keith circuit type of marquee.
Warren, was this actually demolished or was it stripped and reconfigured into the present Criterion building? The reason I ask is that when the Bonds store upstairs was converted into a discotheque in the late 70s, I was surprised to see that it was a large, tall and column-free space, and I always wondered if it had been a theatre at one time. Why would such a space, expensive to build in those days, be constructed for a retail clothing store?
I was referring to the blatant segregation as described by AlAlvarez in his post above that went on in 1905. The Paris Theatre was a relatively small venue at the time that it was built, having only 586 seats, and the films that played there had a limited appeal. I’m sure the balcony was built for no other reason than as a solution of how to get 586 seats in a small space. The overall demographics of Manhattan in those days were different, it was more blue-collar than it is today. While the Park Avenue crowd went to ‘a film’ the Paris everyone else was going to ‘the movies’ at Times Sq. and neighborhood theatres.
Yeah, but wasn’t that foolishness over with in Manhattan by 1948 when the Paris opened? I worked at the Paris when Pathe & C5 were still running it but I never heard that story.
…and that same VP came on board at Loews about 6-8 months before AMc took them over…
Does Forest City/RMS still own the Parmatown Mall? It is not listed in the FCE website portfolio of properties. If not, who did they sell it to? Also, have leased out the empty stores now that they have Wal-Mart and Dick’s Sporting Goods in that western end of the mall?
I’m not putting it all on the union – It began as cost-containment on the part of the owners, which today has now developed into outright greed. And today the overall quality of the union projectionist has improved since the old ones have finally retired or passed away and the reduction in the number of jobs has caused a lot of the bad apples (and some of the good ones) to move on to something else. But it happened too late – like closing the barn door after the horse ran away. Had the union transformed itself 10-15 years earlier when theatre-people were still running things I don’t think they would have been quite so gung-ho to make severe reductions. Keep in mind that today there are no theatre-people running the circuits anymore – they’ve all been pushed aside and money-men are running the show, and this is what we get – the Wal*Mart-ing of the theatre business.
RCDTJ,
I am old-school, having worked in the theatres since the 60s – I’d always had a union man in the booth and if it was up to me there would still be a union man in the booth. I don’t want to do their job, and I don’t want to be bothered teaching people how to run those machines. I agree that the owners were looking to cut costs. My issue is that the union made it easy for the owners to decide that they no longer need a union man. The union didn’t make themselves indispensable. By not forcing the elderly ones, who were clearly in decline, to retire; by continuing to send guys around who have been kicked out of every theatre in town; by not insisting that these guys get themselves together or get out for the good of the membership. Years ago they used to stash these guys away in the porn houses, where the audience was doing everything in the world except watching the movie, so it didn’t matter, but those places were no longer available when they switched to VHS. When we had a crazy man in the booth we would call up to request someone else we were told there was nobody else available, or his seniority gives him the choice, or some other excuse, they were basically saying F.U. to the theatre. The owners probably figured why pay $25./hr for a lousy presentation when they can get the same presentation from the manager or usher for a lot less and maybe train them to do it better. I’ve worked in other cities with other locals where the membership consisted, in large part, of professionals, who put up an excellent presentation, knew how to handle the film and maintain the equipment, and we seldom had to worry about the booth operations. In New York, however, it was always a crap-shoot.
To your other point, you are absolutely correct about the greed of most companies today, which is driving all this. But when UA started all this manager/operator stuff in the Long Island theatres in the mid-90s the greed was not so blatant. When the circuits went bankrupt and then the bean-counters took over is when it really started getting cut-throat.
I don’t know about DC, but in New York the union shot themselves in the foot. While they have a number of very good operators who are well worth the money, they are over-shadowed by an inordinate number of schmucks who have no more business being in the booth than the concession attendant. And the union does nothing about them except to move them to another theatre to become someone elses headache. This includes elderly operators (over 80 yrs) who refuse to retire, with failing vision and can no longer focus or frame properly; another beginning Alzheimer’s and I had to go behind him to make sure the keys were flipped on the reel spindles so the reels didn’t fall off the machine in the middle of the show, and that the gate and pad rollers were all closed. There were others who would be passed out drunk in the balcony, another didn’t know how to change a xenon bulb, another loon who smashed up the machines with a lead pipe. I could go on and on. Every manager had a shit-list, and if someone on that list showed up to cover a vacation you knew you were going to be in for an adventure and better have a good supply of refund envelope, emerg tix or passes on hand because you were gonna need them. If the theatres were paying a high wage and got a highly qualified operator, the jobs probably would not have been phased out. In NYC however, with the exception of a few high-profile houses, this was seldom the case.
I remember it had a coffered ceiling with a dome in the center. All the seats were on the main floor, there was no balcony. There was a bus stop for the 51 bus in front. After it switched to porn, the women waiting for the bus would stand under the marquee only if it was raining, otherwise they stood in front of the barber college next door.
It seemed like there were more than 800 seats there…
Lincoln (now Third Federal) Savings Bank was built on the site after the theatre was demolished.
The Squirrel Hill opened in 1940.
The Village opened in 1966.
The Denis opened in 1940.
The Harris opened in 1930 and closed in 1961.
The princess was located at 424 McKean Ave and operated from 1935 to 1945
The Liberty opened in 1935; in the late 1940s it was a Stanley-Warner house.
The Liberty opened in 1935; in the late 1940s it was a Stanley-arner house.
In May 1965, The Valley Independent reports: The Liberty, Donora, a double feature with Sean Connery in “Operation Snafu” and Vincent Price in “Tombo of Ligeia” (in Colorscope, no less).
The capacity of the Hilltop was 200 cars. It was torn down and a retirement home built on the site.
In May 1965, the Valley Independent reports: At the Hilltop Drive-in, Carroll Township, “Strange Bedfellows” with Rock Hudson and Gina Lollabrigida. The cost was only $1.10 per carload.
You’re welcome, Patsy; however they are not my photos, I was speeding around the web and found them.
Some recent photos of the Bkln Paramount:
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