I hadn’t been to this theatre in years but went recently as they had the Fanthom Event of “Frankenstein” and “Bride of Frankenstein”. Place seemed to be in pretty good shape. thebrat is correct about avoiding theatres 11-12-13. Very poorly designed chopped up auditorium. Problem is you never know which theatre is playing your film until after you get inside. Now I ask.
Uh oh! According to today’s Daily News (12-2-12) the Paradise has been leased to The World Changers Church of New York. At least it’s a televangelist church so us theatre lovers can get glimpses of this majestic house on TV. Here is a link to the article:
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx/world-changers-church-new-york-occupy-paradise-article-1.1211185
Can’t wait for the Alamo! Have only heard good things about the chain, especially their no tolerace policy of cell phones. BTW the picture above is ridiculous. That pic is two blocks away and facing the wrong side of the street!
Goofy experience here. Went to a double feature of “The Odd Couple” and “Smashing Time”. About a half hour into the first film the screen went dark. We were told it would be a few minutes as a bulb needed to be replaced. Well, it turned into an hour as the manager said they had no extra bulbs and had to get one from another theatre! No aplogies, just a lot of annoyed patrons!
I saw “A Woman Under the Influence” at the Dale. They had a ridiculous round illuminated clock on the top left corner of the screen! Not only the time but it said The Dime Savings Bank. Made a long movie even longer!
According to the most recent Bronx Journal News, the property has been sold and the theatre is going to be demolished to make room for some sort of major shopping plaza. That leaves only three theatres for the entire borough! BTW I live in the area and the picture above is about a mile away from the actual site!
Sorry but this photo is not of the Forum in Utica, NY. It is actually the Forum Theater on 47th Street and Broadway in New York City. In the background you can see the old Strand Theatre (converted to a twin and renamed The Penthouse and The Cinerama).
No, it’s not near Tremont. That would be the Jerome Theatre (later renamed The Art Theatre). Tremont is about one mile North. The Zenith was down the road from The Luxor (170th just off the Concourse).
Why should someone get a refund because he didn’t like the movie? If this was any theatre’s policy they would be out of business within a few weeks! I’ve seen a lot of crap but never once even thought about a refund. Imagine people wanting their money back after seeing an Adam Sandler movie movie because they found it stupid! C'mon!
The building has been cleaned up (except the graffiti covered vertical sign) and has reopened as a supermarket. The owners have a large wall honoring the history of the theatre with some lovely pictures and posters. You can easily make out the theatre highlights and projection booth.
Went to this theatre for the first time today. I don’t know about the smaller auditoriums but theatre #1 was very nice. Curtains! When do we have curtains anymore? Very nice size screen too. Not much info on the site about the current quality of the theatre but I was impressed.
While The Paradise never had a traditional 3-D marquee, it was built with not one, but two flat against the wall signage marquees. These must have been very difficult to maneuver because in the 1960’s the upper sign was bricked up and the lower one was replaced with a hugh while electric sign which lit up the whole area. You can see both versions in the links to the theatre. As I said, currently there is nothing at all which contributes to the darkness. Also there were originally sun beam lights (gorgeous) but in lieu of replacing these lights ugly yellow rays were painted. Again no illumination. .
I drove by the night of the concert last week. Big crowd getting ready to go in. But there wasn’t much lighting on the front of the theatre. Half of the theatre name lettering was out and they haven’t got a marquee of any kind, just a long hanging poster. They really need to do a facelift on the front.
I was there about three weeks ago and nothing was going on. I hope you are right. I’ll check again this weekend. And my eyesight is just fine. Thanks for caring.
Sorry, But the above website provided by Rabbit is not for the Loew’s Paradise, but a cabaret theatre in Florida.
I live near the Paradise and drive by often and it’s just sitting there waiting to be vandalized. I grew up going to that theare in the ‘50s, '60s & 70s and after all the work put in to restore it, to see it not being used is heartbreaking. Does ANYONE know anything about what’s really going on there?
I haven’t been in this theatre in years, but I do remember what a dump it was. Back then. Recently I went back, only because “Every Little Step” was only playing there. I went with much trepidation. What a wonderful surprise! This theatre is now a joy to go to. New paintjob, carpeting, seats, sound system and even digital projection. I’ve now been back a few times. If only parking were better. My question, of course is, if Clearview can do it to this theatre, why not to their god-awful nearby Cinema 100 in Greenburg?
I hadn’t been to this theatre in years but went recently as they had the Fanthom Event of “Frankenstein” and “Bride of Frankenstein”. Place seemed to be in pretty good shape. thebrat is correct about avoiding theatres 11-12-13. Very poorly designed chopped up auditorium. Problem is you never know which theatre is playing your film until after you get inside. Now I ask.
Uh oh! According to today’s Daily News (12-2-12) the Paradise has been leased to The World Changers Church of New York. At least it’s a televangelist church so us theatre lovers can get glimpses of this majestic house on TV. Here is a link to the article: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx/world-changers-church-new-york-occupy-paradise-article-1.1211185
Can’t wait for the Alamo! Have only heard good things about the chain, especially their no tolerace policy of cell phones. BTW the picture above is ridiculous. That pic is two blocks away and facing the wrong side of the street!
Goofy experience here. Went to a double feature of “The Odd Couple” and “Smashing Time”. About a half hour into the first film the screen went dark. We were told it would be a few minutes as a bulb needed to be replaced. Well, it turned into an hour as the manager said they had no extra bulbs and had to get one from another theatre! No aplogies, just a lot of annoyed patrons!
I saw “A Woman Under the Influence” at the Dale. They had a ridiculous round illuminated clock on the top left corner of the screen! Not only the time but it said The Dime Savings Bank. Made a long movie even longer!
The Payless store was the entrance and lobby. The CVS is the auditorium
According to the most recent Bronx Journal News, the property has been sold and the theatre is going to be demolished to make room for some sort of major shopping plaza. That leaves only three theatres for the entire borough! BTW I live in the area and the picture above is about a mile away from the actual site!
OMG! I actually have a copy of this LIFE magazine! Thanks for the reminder.
The Valentine ended it’s existance as a triplex.
Sorry but this photo is not of the Forum in Utica, NY. It is actually the Forum Theater on 47th Street and Broadway in New York City. In the background you can see the old Strand Theatre (converted to a twin and renamed The Penthouse and The Cinerama).
No, it’s not near Tremont. That would be the Jerome Theatre (later renamed The Art Theatre). Tremont is about one mile North. The Zenith was down the road from The Luxor (170th just off the Concourse).
Why should someone get a refund because he didn’t like the movie? If this was any theatre’s policy they would be out of business within a few weeks! I’ve seen a lot of crap but never once even thought about a refund. Imagine people wanting their money back after seeing an Adam Sandler movie movie because they found it stupid! C'mon!
The building has been cleaned up (except the graffiti covered vertical sign) and has reopened as a supermarket. The owners have a large wall honoring the history of the theatre with some lovely pictures and posters. You can easily make out the theatre highlights and projection booth.
This was never an AMC Theatre. After General Cinema went under this became (and still is) a Clearview Cinemas theatre.
Great photos. Now if only more events were scheduled there.
Does anyone know why the show was cancelled?
Went to this theatre for the first time today. I don’t know about the smaller auditoriums but theatre #1 was very nice. Curtains! When do we have curtains anymore? Very nice size screen too. Not much info on the site about the current quality of the theatre but I was impressed.
While The Paradise never had a traditional 3-D marquee, it was built with not one, but two flat against the wall signage marquees. These must have been very difficult to maneuver because in the 1960’s the upper sign was bricked up and the lower one was replaced with a hugh while electric sign which lit up the whole area. You can see both versions in the links to the theatre. As I said, currently there is nothing at all which contributes to the darkness. Also there were originally sun beam lights (gorgeous) but in lieu of replacing these lights ugly yellow rays were painted. Again no illumination. .
I drove by the night of the concert last week. Big crowd getting ready to go in. But there wasn’t much lighting on the front of the theatre. Half of the theatre name lettering was out and they haven’t got a marquee of any kind, just a long hanging poster. They really need to do a facelift on the front.
I went to the website yesterday (10-21) and it was fine. Today. I get that server problem. Probably just a computer glitch.
I think I will drop by. And, hey, no offense taken.
I was there about three weeks ago and nothing was going on. I hope you are right. I’ll check again this weekend. And my eyesight is just fine. Thanks for caring.
Sorry, But the above website provided by Rabbit is not for the Loew’s Paradise, but a cabaret theatre in Florida.
I live near the Paradise and drive by often and it’s just sitting there waiting to be vandalized. I grew up going to that theare in the ‘50s, '60s & 70s and after all the work put in to restore it, to see it not being used is heartbreaking. Does ANYONE know anything about what’s really going on there?
I haven’t been in this theatre in years, but I do remember what a dump it was. Back then. Recently I went back, only because “Every Little Step” was only playing there. I went with much trepidation. What a wonderful surprise! This theatre is now a joy to go to. New paintjob, carpeting, seats, sound system and even digital projection. I’ve now been back a few times. If only parking were better. My question, of course is, if Clearview can do it to this theatre, why not to their god-awful nearby Cinema 100 in Greenburg?
Justin: What is “Xanadu”?