I suppose we shall have to wait and see. I have found
the discussion of the Chinese' new IMAX installation
fascinating to say the least. it kind of resembles
my opinion of the IMAX screens in Manhattan. the only
real or true IMAX screen is the one at the Loew’s
Lincoln Square on Bway and 68th St. the other IMAX
screens in Manhattan are not quite so.
i’m sorry to hear of the theater being gutted
by fire especially since the structure could have
been renovated and saved. as we say in NYC i bet
it was “a business fire”. whenever an historic
renovatable building in NYC is gutted by fire
that always my guess as to what happened.
every grand old theater no matter how state of
the art when it opened has to be fine tuned every
so often to keep it viable as a 1st run venue.
to which my question- other than the auditorium
is any other part of the theater being renovated?
from what I have read and from Howard H.’s comments
the Grand Lake in Oakland appears to be a true gem.
so its fascinating that of all the grand old movie
theaters/palaces built in the 1914-1941 building
boom the Chinese is the only one built from the get
go as a 1st run venue and has continued to operate
as such since the day it opened. when you consider
the countless grand old movie theaters/palaces that
were built in all 50 states that the Chinese is the
only one to operate as a 1st run venue since the day
is opened is beyond remarkable.
I also remember the original exclusive 1st run engagement of “Close Encounters”. it was Nov. of 1977 and there were lines around the block for just about every screening on the weekend.
its nice that Bow Tie will continue to operate
this theater well into the future. one would have
thought the age of the multiplex would have
doomed into oblivion theaters such as the Ziegfeld.
how this theater has stayed open when you consider
the land underneath it is worth way more than
the theater could ever bring in is one of the
great mysteries.
I thank Robert A. for his reply. while I know of
the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland i wasn’t aware it
opened as a 1st run theater and has continued to
operate as such since the day it opened as has the Chinese.
i thank Howard H. for the info. i was under the
assumption that the Uptown in D.C. had opened as
a 1st run theater but according to you it only
became 1st run in the late 50s.
therefore that makes the Chinese distinctive in
that its the only grand old movie theater/palace
built in the 1914-1941 building boon that opened
as a 1st run theater and has continued to operate
as such since the day it opened.
I have to agree with Escott N. that as long as
the new owners preserve the original architectural
design,ornamentation, elements etc….. while in
the process of upgrading the sound and projection
systems one can’t complain to much.
also there’s one very interesting distinction about
this theater that i’m betting few people realize. the
the heyday of building grand old movies theaters/
palaces was approx. 1914 -1941. when I first came
upon this delightful website I created a task for
myself- to find any grand old movie theaters/palaces
that were built from the get go as 1st run venues
and have continued to operate as such since the
day they opened. needless to say I have centered
my search on big cities. of the searching I’ve done
so far I have found a grand total of 2- the Uptown
in D.C. and this theater. amazing when you think
about it.
was the original Vitascope Hall of 1896
built from the ground up with the sole intent
of showing flickers or was it simple a
already existing retail space redone as a
movie theater?
the Crescent/Gem was designed and built to
showcase films as well as vaudeville and as
such opened on the night of Dec. 16, 1909.
so doesn’t that make it the 1st theater built
brick by brick from the ground up in Manhattan
for the purpose of showing movies?
for the next several years after the faithful
night of April 23, 1896 at Koster and Bial’s
Music Hall i should think any “movie theaters”
that existed in Manhattan were simply music halls
and vaudeville/legitimate theaters converted to
show flickers as they were known.
I read the article for which Mike posted the link
in which Charles B. Moss Jr. the CEO of Bow Tie is
interviewed. he states the Chelsea multiplex will
get a redo since unlike the Ziegfeld Clearview has let
let it grow shabby over the years. I just went to the
theater this past Sat. 6/29 to see “I’m So Excited”
and the theater was in fine shape. in fact the
redesign done by Clearview after they took over
from Cineplex Odeon is still in great shape. so how
is the Chelsea in shabby condition?
the Ziegfeld is in fact in “shabbier” shape per se
since they’ve never bothered fixing the curtain.
shouldn’t the last line in the intro be changed?
the original Cinerama roadshow engagement of “2001”
did not end when the Capitol was closed previous
to being demolished. it immediately continued at
the Warner Cinerama at 47th St. and Bway.
i appreciate Escott N.’s thoughts on the 3-D retro-
fitting of “The Wizard of Oz”. i saw “Man of Steel”
this past weekend and the 3-Dness of the 3-D was
negligible. so i simply don’t see how they can use
elements of a film made in 1939 to successfully do
a retrofit.
i wonder if anyone especially the theater’s
management has realized that the info on the
plaques next to the auditoriums entrances aren’t always? for instance the plaque for the Loew’s
Capitol says it was torn down at the end of
1967. so i wonder how i saw “2001: A Space
Odyssey” in its original Cinerama roadshow
engagement at the Capitol the last week of
April 1968? i am highly surprised even shocked
to a certain degree that the plaques weren’t
fact checked before they were put up.
i’m wondering how many of my fellow posters
attended all 3 roadshow engagements hosted by
this theater-A Man for All Seasons, The Charge
of the Light Brigade and The Trojan Women.
The Fine Arts is the only art house that i can think of that hosted more than 1 roadshow engagement.
i hope this isn’t a silly question. if the
auditorium is being done over into an IMAX
theater does that mean it can only play IMAX
movies? if that is correct then doesn’t that
limit the commercial viability of the theater?
“Robin Hood” with Douglas Fairbanks opened in
L.A. at Grauman’s Egyptian Theater. in fact it
was the theater’s debut film and played there
for 2 years.
I saw The Great Gatsby yesterday 5/11 at the
12:00p.m. showing. i arrived the theater a few
minutes before film began and was pleasantly
surprised how many people were in the audience.
in fact the crowd for the next showing 3:15
was a decent size as well. this is notable
when you consider how many other theaters in
Manhattan the film is playing at.
thanks for the info about roadshow engagements in the Hollywood/L.A. area. being a New Yorker i have always been interested in which theaters in the Hollywood/L.A. area were the ones traditionally used by the studios for reserved seat movies as me and my friends called them.
speaking of which. i believe it was somewhere on
this site that i saw an ad from the fall of 1960
announcing the start of mail orders for the roadshow
run of “Exodus” at the Wiltern Theater on Wilshire Blvd. to the best of your recollection was that
the only roadshow enagagement that the Wiltern
ever hosted?
a history question. down thru the years
Grauman’s Chinese(i refuse to call it by
any other name) hosted many exclusive
first run engagements of big films when
studios still opened their big releases in
only one theater. this is where my question
comes in- other than the roadshow engagement
of “West Side Story” did the Chinese host
any other roadshow engagements?
well i was in the area again this past weekend
and decided to see exactly what was at 100 3rd Ave.
in my post on the other page i noted there was a
fairly tall new structure in the middle of the
block which i had viewed from the other side of
the street. well guess what? that new structure
which is either 6 or 7 stories is in fact 100
3rd Avenue. its now a fancy upscale bar. the
door was open and i noticed a doorman/bouncer.
its possible he knew nothing about the history of
the building but it didn’t hurt to ask. so i asked
him if the new structure was in fact a completely
new building. well he did in fact know of the
Lyric Theater. i hope i correctly understood him
in that the trendy upscale bar and the additional
floors are built within and upon the original
building and not is not completely new.
the famous photo with the Chaplin cut out
next to the box office always made the theater
look bigger than it actually was. it was
viable as a theater in that it was quite long
as opposed to wide so a decent number of seats
could have been accomodated.
as always thanks for the info. as i said in my
previous post i wasn’t completely ruling out the
existence of a Lyric Theater on 3rd Ave. between
12th & 13th i just didn’t see how it was
possible. all of the buildings on the left side
of 3rd Ave. between 12th & 13th St. are rather
small/narrow so i do see how only one building
could possible have housed a movie theater of
any note. is it possible that when it was the
Lyric has captured in the famous photo that the
auditorium per se was in fact a combination of
two buildings? i only remember it as the Bijou
a gay porn house and assumed the Bijou was
housed in only half of the original building.
also take a look at the photo again. since it
was taken in the late 30s shouldn’t there be a shadow from the 3rd Avenue El?
Hello-
I suppose we shall have to wait and see. I have found the discussion of the Chinese' new IMAX installation fascinating to say the least. it kind of resembles my opinion of the IMAX screens in Manhattan. the only real or true IMAX screen is the one at the Loew’s Lincoln Square on Bway and 68th St. the other IMAX screens in Manhattan are not quite so.
Hello-
i’m sorry to hear of the theater being gutted by fire especially since the structure could have been renovated and saved. as we say in NYC i bet it was “a business fire”. whenever an historic renovatable building in NYC is gutted by fire that always my guess as to what happened.
Hello-
I would like someone to explain to me how they can successfully to a 3-D retrofit for a film released in 1939.
Hello Again-
every grand old theater no matter how state of the art when it opened has to be fine tuned every so often to keep it viable as a 1st run venue. to which my question- other than the auditorium is any other part of the theater being renovated?
Hello-
from what I have read and from Howard H.’s comments the Grand Lake in Oakland appears to be a true gem.
so its fascinating that of all the grand old movie theaters/palaces built in the 1914-1941 building boom the Chinese is the only one built from the get go as a 1st run venue and has continued to operate as such since the day it opened. when you consider the countless grand old movie theaters/palaces that were built in all 50 states that the Chinese is the only one to operate as a 1st run venue since the day is opened is beyond remarkable.
Hello-
I also remember the original exclusive 1st run
engagement of “Close Encounters”. it was Nov. of
1977 and there were lines around the block for
just about every screening on the weekend.
its nice that Bow Tie will continue to operate this theater well into the future. one would have thought the age of the multiplex would have doomed into oblivion theaters such as the Ziegfeld.
how this theater has stayed open when you consider the land underneath it is worth way more than the theater could ever bring in is one of the great mysteries.
Hello-
I thank Robert A. for his reply. while I know of the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland i wasn’t aware it opened as a 1st run theater and has continued to operate as such since the day it opened as has the Chinese.
Hello-
i thank Howard H. for the info. i was under the assumption that the Uptown in D.C. had opened as a 1st run theater but according to you it only became 1st run in the late 50s.
therefore that makes the Chinese distinctive in that its the only grand old movie theater/palace built in the 1914-1941 building boon that opened as a 1st run theater and has continued to operate as such since the day it opened.
Hello from NYC-
I have to agree with Escott N. that as long as the new owners preserve the original architectural design,ornamentation, elements etc….. while in the process of upgrading the sound and projection systems one can’t complain to much.
also there’s one very interesting distinction about this theater that i’m betting few people realize. the the heyday of building grand old movies theaters/ palaces was approx. 1914 -1941. when I first came upon this delightful website I created a task for myself- to find any grand old movie theaters/palaces that were built from the get go as 1st run venues and have continued to operate as such since the day they opened. needless to say I have centered my search on big cities. of the searching I’ve done so far I have found a grand total of 2- the Uptown in D.C. and this theater. amazing when you think about it.
was the original Vitascope Hall of 1896 built from the ground up with the sole intent of showing flickers or was it simple a already existing retail space redone as a movie theater?
Hello-
the Crescent/Gem was designed and built to showcase films as well as vaudeville and as such opened on the night of Dec. 16, 1909. so doesn’t that make it the 1st theater built brick by brick from the ground up in Manhattan for the purpose of showing movies?
for the next several years after the faithful night of April 23, 1896 at Koster and Bial’s Music Hall i should think any “movie theaters” that existed in Manhattan were simply music halls and vaudeville/legitimate theaters converted to show flickers as they were known.
Hello-
I read the article for which Mike posted the link in which Charles B. Moss Jr. the CEO of Bow Tie is interviewed. he states the Chelsea multiplex will get a redo since unlike the Ziegfeld Clearview has let let it grow shabby over the years. I just went to the theater this past Sat. 6/29 to see “I’m So Excited” and the theater was in fine shape. in fact the redesign done by Clearview after they took over
from Cineplex Odeon is still in great shape. so how is the Chelsea in shabby condition?
the Ziegfeld is in fact in “shabbier” shape per se since they’ve never bothered fixing the curtain.
Hello-
shouldn’t the last line in the intro be changed? the original Cinerama roadshow engagement of “2001” did not end when the Capitol was closed previous to being demolished. it immediately continued at the Warner Cinerama at 47th St. and Bway.
Hello-
i appreciate Escott N.’s thoughts on the 3-D retro- fitting of “The Wizard of Oz”. i saw “Man of Steel” this past weekend and the 3-Dness of the 3-D was negligible. so i simply don’t see how they can use elements of a film made in 1939 to successfully do a retrofit.
Hello-
i have been wondering how can they retrofit a film from 1939 into 3-D? it seems to me to be just greed to get as much $$$ out of the public.
in fact i have seen few films actually shot in
3-D where the 3-D was worth higher surcharge.
Hello-
i wonder if anyone especially the theater’s management has realized that the info on the plaques next to the auditoriums entrances aren’t always? for instance the plaque for the Loew’s Capitol says it was torn down at the end of 1967. so i wonder how i saw “2001: A Space Odyssey” in its original Cinerama roadshow engagement at the Capitol the last week of April 1968? i am highly surprised even shocked to a certain degree that the plaques weren’t fact checked before they were put up.
Hello-
i’m wondering how many of my fellow posters attended all 3 roadshow engagements hosted by this theater-A Man for All Seasons, The Charge of the Light Brigade and The Trojan Women.
The Fine Arts is the only art house that i can
think of that hosted more than 1 roadshow engagement.
Hello From NYC-
i hope this isn’t a silly question. if the auditorium is being done over into an IMAX theater does that mean it can only play IMAX movies? if that is correct then doesn’t that limit the commercial viability of the theater?
“Robin Hood” with Douglas Fairbanks opened in L.A. at Grauman’s Egyptian Theater. in fact it was the theater’s debut film and played there for 2 years.
I saw The Great Gatsby yesterday 5/11 at the 12:00p.m. showing. i arrived the theater a few minutes before film began and was pleasantly surprised how many people were in the audience. in fact the crowd for the next showing 3:15 was a decent size as well. this is notable when you consider how many other theaters in Manhattan the film is playing at.
to Joe Vogel-
thanks for the info about roadshow engagements
in the Hollywood/L.A. area. being a New Yorker
i have always been interested in which theaters
in the Hollywood/L.A. area were the ones traditionally used by the studios for reserved
seat movies as me and my friends called them.
speaking of which. i believe it was somewhere on this site that i saw an ad from the fall of 1960 announcing the start of mail orders for the roadshow run of “Exodus” at the Wiltern Theater on Wilshire Blvd. to the best of your recollection was that the only roadshow enagagement that the Wiltern ever hosted?
Hello From NYC-
a history question. down thru the years Grauman’s Chinese(i refuse to call it by any other name) hosted many exclusive first run engagements of big films when studios still opened their big releases in only one theater. this is where my question comes in- other than the roadshow engagement of “West Side Story” did the Chinese host any other roadshow engagements?
hello to Tinseltoes-
you certainly make a valid point. so this past weekend i did some further investigating. the notes of which are posted on the Lyric/Bijou’s own page.
Hello-
well i was in the area again this past weekend and decided to see exactly what was at 100 3rd Ave.
in my post on the other page i noted there was a fairly tall new structure in the middle of the block which i had viewed from the other side of the street. well guess what? that new structure which is either 6 or 7 stories is in fact 100 3rd Avenue. its now a fancy upscale bar. the door was open and i noticed a doorman/bouncer. its possible he knew nothing about the history of the building but it didn’t hurt to ask. so i asked him if the new structure was in fact a completely new building. well he did in fact know of the Lyric Theater. i hope i correctly understood him in that the trendy upscale bar and the additional floors are built within and upon the original building and not is not completely new.
the famous photo with the Chaplin cut out next to the box office always made the theater look bigger than it actually was. it was viable as a theater in that it was quite long as opposed to wide so a decent number of seats could have been accomodated.
to Al A.–
as always thanks for the info. as i said in my previous post i wasn’t completely ruling out the existence of a Lyric Theater on 3rd Ave. between 12th & 13th i just didn’t see how it was possible. all of the buildings on the left side of 3rd Ave. between 12th & 13th St. are rather small/narrow so i do see how only one building could possible have housed a movie theater of any note. is it possible that when it was the Lyric has captured in the famous photo that the auditorium per se was in fact a combination of two buildings? i only remember it as the Bijou a gay porn house and assumed the Bijou was housed in only half of the original building.
also take a look at the photo again. since it was taken in the late 30s shouldn’t there be a shadow from the 3rd Avenue El?