The Historical Society of DC is setting up a first floor room with an exhibit about the Howard. The staff didn’t have a date for the opening nor does their website have any information. For all of the DC area CT members – keep an eye out.
IMAX now at theater near you
Times of Trenton 9/27/08
HAMILTON — The future is here. In fact, you can practically be surrounded by it.
Central New Jersey has its first IMAX theater at the AMC Hamilton 24 on Sloan Avenue.
The theater, known for its giant, curved screen and surround-sound system that gives the viewer the feeling of being in the middle of the action, marked its turf with a splash yesterday with the opening of the high-tech, high-octane thriller “Eagle Eye.”
The IMAX theater in Hamilton is part of a partnership between the nation’s second-largest movie theater chain and IMAX Corp. to install digital IMAX systems in 33 markets nationwide through 2010. It was installed over the summer along with IMAX systems at AMC multiscreen theaters in Neshaminy Mall in Bucks County, Pa., and in Cherry Hill.
“We looked at some of the top-performing theaters across the country and made the selections based on where we thought the auditoriums would be a good fit,” said AMC spokesman Justin Scott, who would not disclose further box-office details.
The digital system differs from the earlier-generation IMAX, which utilizes multiple reels that need changing; the new system has no reels.
The IMAX theater at the Hamilton complex can accommodate 375 people.
Each IMAX screen and digital sound system is customized to the theater in which it will be placed, according to Scott.
The screen at AMC Hamilton is 58 feet wide by 33 feet high, whereas the screen at Neshaminy is approximately 59 feet by 27 feet, he said. “What generally happens is the screen is about 25 percent bigger than in regular auditoriums,” Scott said.
Part of what is driving this explosion of IMAX screens around the nation is content.
“IMAX is putting out more first-round Hollywood movies in the IMAX format,” Scott said.
Future digital IMAX offerings will include the animated “Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa” in November; “The Day the Earth Stood Still” in December; “Night at the Museum 2” in May; and the next installment of the Harry Potter movie series in July.
Moviegoers who get motion sickness from the “you are there” sensation of IMAX can opt to view the same movie in a regular theater of the complex, Scott said.
Tickets for the IMAX version cost $3 more than regular prices, which range from $5 to $9.75.
The presence of an IMAX system can be an attraction for theaters, especially in a year when attendance has declined.
According to the California-based box-office tracking service Media By Numbers, attendance for the lucrative summer season — from the first weekend in May to Labor Day weekend — was down 3.5 percent from last year, with 586.8 million tickets sold compared with 608.1 million last year. For the year to date, attendance is down approximately 5 percent from 2007.
However, in terms of pure dollars, this summer season was the best ever, with films such as “Iron Man” and “The Dark Knight” helping the industry pull in $4.2 billion compared with $4.18 billion last summer, a minimal increase.
The economic downturn is part of the reason attendance is down, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers.
“It’s definitely taking a hit on attendance right now,” he said. “Typically, we believe the movie industry is recession-proof. … In these times people are not hesitating to spend $10 on ‘Dark Knight,’ but they might become a little more selective with how they spend money on films in general.
“When people are worried about their mortgage payments,” he said, “they may not see as many movies as before.”
But although regular theaters may be putting fewer people in the seats, the IMAX theaters are still doing well.
“They have so distanced themselves from that notion that they are just about documentaries,” Dergarabedian said.
“Regardless of the overall market, their attendance is up,” he said. “The kinds of film in IMAX, they will pay a premium for those kinds of event movies,” he said of moviegoers.
Hopefully they can raise the funds to fix up this grand old theater:
View link
This theatre may reopen soon:
View link
Here is the link to that story:
View link
Old programs:
View link
View link
1946 Program:
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View link
Old program listing 1921 movies:
View link
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1976 magazine cover:
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1926 postcard:
View link
Old lobby poster:
View link
Old lobby poster:
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Old photo:
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Old postcard dated 1940:
View link
Here is the Wikipedia listing:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben%27s_Chili_Bowl
Cover story of the local Fly Magazine – November 2008 edition.
Article states that the Strand closed in 1976. After 4 year renovation, the complex reopened with the Strand in 1980 and the Capitol in 1981.
The Historical Society of DC is setting up a first floor room with an exhibit about the Howard. The staff didn’t have a date for the opening nor does their website have any information. For all of the DC area CT members – keep an eye out.
Towne CLOSED ? 1945-? 1969 700 seats
Marshall and Roed Theatres, Inc. owned this theatre in 1969.
excerpted from View link
safe to assume that the Hanover Twin was a different theater.
Hanover Twin CLOSED ? 1990-? 2000
short lived according to this website:
View link
Lumberton Cinema I & II CLOSED ? 1985-? 1998
Brandt Theatres owned this theatre in 1985.
excerpted from View link
Dover I & II CLOSED ? 1980-? 1998
Owners:
1980-1985 Music Makers Group, Inc., The
1990 Loew’s
1995-1998 Sony Theatre Management Corp
excerpted from http://movie-theatre.org/usa/nj/tomsriver.pdf
I found this address:
Lumberton Twin Cinema
1636 Route 38
Mt Holly, NJ 08060
Message: 609-261-3344
See my comment under the Towne Theatre. I can’t believe that a town of this size could support two distinct theaters.
This site places the theater as part of Associated Theaters of New Jersey as of 1945.
http://movie-theatre.org/usa/nj/unioncity.pdf
Appears to have some new affiliation with Movie City in Edison:
http://www.moviecitynj.com/
website – appears to be affiliated with Parsippany Cinema 12:
http://www.moviecitynj.com/
IMAX now at theater near you
Times of Trenton 9/27/08
HAMILTON — The future is here. In fact, you can practically be surrounded by it.
Central New Jersey has its first IMAX theater at the AMC Hamilton 24 on Sloan Avenue.
The theater, known for its giant, curved screen and surround-sound system that gives the viewer the feeling of being in the middle of the action, marked its turf with a splash yesterday with the opening of the high-tech, high-octane thriller “Eagle Eye.”
The IMAX theater in Hamilton is part of a partnership between the nation’s second-largest movie theater chain and IMAX Corp. to install digital IMAX systems in 33 markets nationwide through 2010. It was installed over the summer along with IMAX systems at AMC multiscreen theaters in Neshaminy Mall in Bucks County, Pa., and in Cherry Hill.
“We looked at some of the top-performing theaters across the country and made the selections based on where we thought the auditoriums would be a good fit,” said AMC spokesman Justin Scott, who would not disclose further box-office details.
The digital system differs from the earlier-generation IMAX, which utilizes multiple reels that need changing; the new system has no reels.
The IMAX theater at the Hamilton complex can accommodate 375 people.
Each IMAX screen and digital sound system is customized to the theater in which it will be placed, according to Scott.
The screen at AMC Hamilton is 58 feet wide by 33 feet high, whereas the screen at Neshaminy is approximately 59 feet by 27 feet, he said. “What generally happens is the screen is about 25 percent bigger than in regular auditoriums,” Scott said.
Part of what is driving this explosion of IMAX screens around the nation is content.
“IMAX is putting out more first-round Hollywood movies in the IMAX format,” Scott said.
Future digital IMAX offerings will include the animated “Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa” in November; “The Day the Earth Stood Still” in December; “Night at the Museum 2” in May; and the next installment of the Harry Potter movie series in July.
Moviegoers who get motion sickness from the “you are there” sensation of IMAX can opt to view the same movie in a regular theater of the complex, Scott said.
Tickets for the IMAX version cost $3 more than regular prices, which range from $5 to $9.75.
The presence of an IMAX system can be an attraction for theaters, especially in a year when attendance has declined.
According to the California-based box-office tracking service Media By Numbers, attendance for the lucrative summer season — from the first weekend in May to Labor Day weekend — was down 3.5 percent from last year, with 586.8 million tickets sold compared with 608.1 million last year. For the year to date, attendance is down approximately 5 percent from 2007.
However, in terms of pure dollars, this summer season was the best ever, with films such as “Iron Man” and “The Dark Knight” helping the industry pull in $4.2 billion compared with $4.18 billion last summer, a minimal increase.
The economic downturn is part of the reason attendance is down, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers.
“It’s definitely taking a hit on attendance right now,” he said. “Typically, we believe the movie industry is recession-proof. … In these times people are not hesitating to spend $10 on ‘Dark Knight,’ but they might become a little more selective with how they spend money on films in general.
“When people are worried about their mortgage payments,” he said, “they may not see as many movies as before.”
But although regular theaters may be putting fewer people in the seats, the IMAX theaters are still doing well.
“They have so distanced themselves from that notion that they are just about documentaries,” Dergarabedian said.
“Regardless of the overall market, their attendance is up,” he said. “The kinds of film in IMAX, they will pay a premium for those kinds of event movies,” he said of moviegoers.
“It’s that giant-screen experience.”