I think it’s important to preserve all the comments on each theatre – they are part of the historical record of each theatre. There is no written history on most of these theatres other than on this site. The exception I would make would be deleting the comments where people are sniping at each other and those having nothing to do with anything on this site, and the ones who want to know the upcoming schedule at RCMH or the El Cap. I realize however this would be a huge undertaking, sifting through all the posts of 11,546 theatres, so maybe it should be left as it is…(IMHO)…
The problem with the Quad, Lincoln Plaza and Angelica is the buildings they occupy were not intended to be theatres. So when converted they had to squeeze auditoriums in between pre-existing support columns and floors could not be properly raked. Engineering-wise, reconfiguring the structural members of the buildings could have been done, but it would have been hugely expensive, and surely beyond the means of the independent operators who originally developed these theatres.
Weren’t those made up by Pike Productions out of Chicago? I remember when we needed new ones, Gert Triger would send a letter to someone in Chicago, I think it was Pike… I wonder if they are still in business – and if they are if we could get some from them (even on video)– if they still have the negative.
The key word here was “new” – we already had an old beat-up Royal typewriter – it worked but I wanted an electric. The one they sent was older than the one we already had, plus they had just thrown it in a big box, no packing material, not even old rolled-up newspaper, and when it arrived the carriage was bent. I knew Saunders was a cheapskate and I didn’t really expect to get what I asked for but decided to give it a try. So I went out and bought my own IBM Selectric, and still have it.
For some reason, in theatres it is sacreligious to throw anything away. Look in back of the screen or in the cellar of any theatre – you will find old lamphouses, old office furniture, old posters, old paperwork, old buttermats and jet-sprays. Even if something was broken, it wasn’t thrown out, the manager would say to the usher, “After you set up the new one, put the old one behind the screen”. When we became the manager, we did the same thing.
Wasn’t the Holiday Lanes, after it closed, the place they used as a warehouse for all the old theatre and office equipment? I remember I had once requisioned a new typewriter, Saunders sent out a purchase order to some bowling alley in the Boston. A week later I received an old broken-down Royal typewriter, damaged in transit, that was promptly dispatched to the dumpster behind the theatre.
Some of that equipment looks as though it was dragged out of the warehouse (GCC had an old bowling alley where they stored old booth, concession, lobby and office equipment from theatres that had been closed down) – old Century pedastal and heads, with Xetron lamphouse and stand-alone rectifier pre-dates the theatre.
Thanks, davebazooka, for the additional photos. I’m beginning to wonder if the building will be demolished with the bank section left in place and incorporated into the new structure. The scaffolding is probably going to be installed around the building as a sidewalk-shed, to protect passers-by from any falling debris during the demolition. The clue will be if they don’t install it around the bank, then the bank will be retained.
The “free-form, undulating bank of seating” referred to in the comments of Mr. Crowther in davebazooka’s post above, was last seen in the lower lounge area of the Gramercy Theatre on 23rd St. I don’t know if it’s still there or not.
I should have known better than to hope that Clearview/Solow would do the right thing and install one of those Beekman signatures on the twin across the street. At the very least they could have used that style of lettering on the existing sign instead of a plain sans-serif type style.
Yeah, since that hairbag illegally destroyed some elements and let the place rot for 20 years, there isn’t much left to restore. Kudos to the do-nothing NYC Landmarks Commission, yet another worthless city bureaucracy….
StanMalone is right about the booth automation – the Rank diode-pin board would do all kind of tricks. There were also 7-day clocks and interval timers. On the first show of the day if you had a two-reel show and the system was set up correctly and was threaded up the night before it would start the exhaust fans, turn on the audio rack, house lights, the non-sync music, turn down the lights, start the show at the appropriate time, make the change-over and shut down after the second reel, bring up the lights and turn on the non-sync music at the end of the show. In theory, nobody had to go in the booth until it was time to rewind and thread up for the second show. One GCC I worked in where all was set properly, the projectionist had been inolved in a car accident on his way to work, but everything started up and the show ran as scheduled. GCC used this system in all their theatres that were built or converted in the seventies. Though slightly complicated, it was a more flexible set-up than the equipment today.
The two theatres are not side-by-side, they are at opposite ends of the building with the lobbies and support-structure for the high-rise in the middle, so combining the two to make a large auditorium is not possible.
The marquee has had the signage changed to a color digital sign, but the framing around the digital unit is way too plain for 42nd St. – it needs more neon and color. The LOEWS letters on the top of the marquee have also been changed to match the logo type. A photo can be seen here: View link
The club that you mention is actually underneath the Paris auditorium. Originally, the Paris had a big lounge in the lower level, similar to the 57th St. Playhouse. In a lease negotiation about 30 years ago, Pathe Cinema gave up that space in lieu of a rent increase, leaving the theatre with only the microscopic restrooms and lobby-ette downstairs. The space given up became a restaurant, and now, apparently, a night club.
I don’t know about 1938, but in the 1960s there was a billiard hall downstairs. At the Hipp’s Prospect entrance, under the marquee but before you got to the theatres doors there was a stairway down to the billiard hall entrance. I suppose it could have been a bowling alley at one time.
Unfortunately, the Cinema was completely demolished, and a new building built for the sporting goods store.
What is a “lifestyle center”?
Yes, that’s it, Art Theatre Guild – I forgot, it was a long time ago…
I think it’s important to preserve all the comments on each theatre – they are part of the historical record of each theatre. There is no written history on most of these theatres other than on this site. The exception I would make would be deleting the comments where people are sniping at each other and those having nothing to do with anything on this site, and the ones who want to know the upcoming schedule at RCMH or the El Cap. I realize however this would be a huge undertaking, sifting through all the posts of 11,546 theatres, so maybe it should be left as it is…(IMHO)…
Does anyone know if the Loew’s State is in an area where flooding is severe?
The problem with the Quad, Lincoln Plaza and Angelica is the buildings they occupy were not intended to be theatres. So when converted they had to squeeze auditoriums in between pre-existing support columns and floors could not be properly raked. Engineering-wise, reconfiguring the structural members of the buildings could have been done, but it would have been hugely expensive, and surely beyond the means of the independent operators who originally developed these theatres.
I’m not surprised – they haven’t got a clue what they’re doing – and they don’t care….
BTW, I would like to see the pics too!
You can post the pics to
http://i8.photobucket.com/
I’m pretty sure it’s a free site
In the parking lot on the lobby-side of the theatre, what is that little wooden shack sitting there in front of the lobby?
Yup – that’s her…
Weren’t those made up by Pike Productions out of Chicago? I remember when we needed new ones, Gert Triger would send a letter to someone in Chicago, I think it was Pike… I wonder if they are still in business – and if they are if we could get some from them (even on video)– if they still have the negative.
The key word here was “new” – we already had an old beat-up Royal typewriter – it worked but I wanted an electric. The one they sent was older than the one we already had, plus they had just thrown it in a big box, no packing material, not even old rolled-up newspaper, and when it arrived the carriage was bent. I knew Saunders was a cheapskate and I didn’t really expect to get what I asked for but decided to give it a try. So I went out and bought my own IBM Selectric, and still have it.
For some reason, in theatres it is sacreligious to throw anything away. Look in back of the screen or in the cellar of any theatre – you will find old lamphouses, old office furniture, old posters, old paperwork, old buttermats and jet-sprays. Even if something was broken, it wasn’t thrown out, the manager would say to the usher, “After you set up the new one, put the old one behind the screen”. When we became the manager, we did the same thing.
Wasn’t the Holiday Lanes, after it closed, the place they used as a warehouse for all the old theatre and office equipment? I remember I had once requisioned a new typewriter, Saunders sent out a purchase order to some bowling alley in the Boston. A week later I received an old broken-down Royal typewriter, damaged in transit, that was promptly dispatched to the dumpster behind the theatre.
Some of that equipment looks as though it was dragged out of the warehouse (GCC had an old bowling alley where they stored old booth, concession, lobby and office equipment from theatres that had been closed down) – old Century pedastal and heads, with Xetron lamphouse and stand-alone rectifier pre-dates the theatre.
The Brandts' must have had money in that picture – with a few exceptions all the theatres playing it are Brandt!
Thanks, davebazooka, for the additional photos. I’m beginning to wonder if the building will be demolished with the bank section left in place and incorporated into the new structure. The scaffolding is probably going to be installed around the building as a sidewalk-shed, to protect passers-by from any falling debris during the demolition. The clue will be if they don’t install it around the bank, then the bank will be retained.
The “free-form, undulating bank of seating” referred to in the comments of Mr. Crowther in davebazooka’s post above, was last seen in the lower lounge area of the Gramercy Theatre on 23rd St. I don’t know if it’s still there or not.
I should have known better than to hope that Clearview/Solow would do the right thing and install one of those Beekman signatures on the twin across the street. At the very least they could have used that style of lettering on the existing sign instead of a plain sans-serif type style.
Yeah, since that hairbag illegally destroyed some elements and let the place rot for 20 years, there isn’t much left to restore. Kudos to the do-nothing NYC Landmarks Commission, yet another worthless city bureaucracy….
StanMalone is right about the booth automation – the Rank diode-pin board would do all kind of tricks. There were also 7-day clocks and interval timers. On the first show of the day if you had a two-reel show and the system was set up correctly and was threaded up the night before it would start the exhaust fans, turn on the audio rack, house lights, the non-sync music, turn down the lights, start the show at the appropriate time, make the change-over and shut down after the second reel, bring up the lights and turn on the non-sync music at the end of the show. In theory, nobody had to go in the booth until it was time to rewind and thread up for the second show. One GCC I worked in where all was set properly, the projectionist had been inolved in a car accident on his way to work, but everything started up and the show ran as scheduled. GCC used this system in all their theatres that were built or converted in the seventies. Though slightly complicated, it was a more flexible set-up than the equipment today.
The two theatres are not side-by-side, they are at opposite ends of the building with the lobbies and support-structure for the high-rise in the middle, so combining the two to make a large auditorium is not possible.
The new digital sign (installed 2/2005) on the marquee can be seen here: View link
The marquee has had the signage changed to a color digital sign, but the framing around the digital unit is way too plain for 42nd St. – it needs more neon and color. The LOEWS letters on the top of the marquee have also been changed to match the logo type. A photo can be seen here: View link
hahahahaha!…………
The club that you mention is actually underneath the Paris auditorium. Originally, the Paris had a big lounge in the lower level, similar to the 57th St. Playhouse. In a lease negotiation about 30 years ago, Pathe Cinema gave up that space in lieu of a rent increase, leaving the theatre with only the microscopic restrooms and lobby-ette downstairs. The space given up became a restaurant, and now, apparently, a night club.
I don’t know about 1938, but in the 1960s there was a billiard hall downstairs. At the Hipp’s Prospect entrance, under the marquee but before you got to the theatres doors there was a stairway down to the billiard hall entrance. I suppose it could have been a bowling alley at one time.