For those of you with access to films at Kanopy.com you can watch Abel Ferrara’s The Projectionist, mentioned in the NYT link in CC’s Oct 29, 2020 post. Numerous shots of vintage Times Sq theaters and other NYC theaters (including the Alpine) owned by Nick Nicolau.
Translation:
The Princess Theater in the Jonquière district to the west of the city, inaugurated in 1943 and closed in the early 1960s. It reopened in the early 1970s under the name Cinéma Elysée and closed at the end of the 1980s. It belonged to Leo Choquette and France-Film. Adult films have been shown here.
Thanks for posting this kinospoter. Had never seen one of the ToddAO screen. By the time I saw my first movie at the Coronet (early 1960’s) it had been removed.
ridethectrain….I wouldn’t go into a movie theater right now whether they were selling refreshments or not and believe me, one of the joys of a recently retired (about 1 year ago) lifestyle was going to at least one film a week at various SF theaters. SF is in the least restrictive category for California’s counties however the mayor seems to have listened to her Dept of Public Health head from the get go last January and imposed even stricter restrictions across the board than the state’s standards. That and recent news reports of almost universal mask wearing (appx 95%) has kept the level of infections and deaths at one of the lowest per capita for a large city in the US. Apparently because of Halloween/parties and people letting their guard down SF’s positive percentage rate has tripled in the last month so would not be surprised if theaters (and other businesses) were ordered to close completely again or be further restricted if this trend continues (very limited indoor restaurant dining was curtailed just this past week). Stay safe.
Added to above:
“RESTRICTED
For indoor movie theater complexes with multiple individual theaters, the capacity limit for the entire complex is 25%, and the limit for each individual theater or auditorium is 50 people.”
The plan was to allow 50% capacity by mid November but due to an increase in covid infections in the city that plan has been rolled back to 25% along with the other requirements.
The origins of the Colonia Condesa, in Mexico City, date back to the 1920s and 30s when a pile of buildings began to be erected in the area that was once occupied by the Hipódromo de la Condesa de Miravalle. (hence the name of the colony) Its central location next to Colonia Roma and its bohemian and intellectual air (something like a Chilango equivalent of New York’s Soho or the Latin Quarter of Paris) have made it the favorite place since then. of the most “popoff” of the middle and upper classes of stale ancestry, daddy and mommy’s juniors, inveterate bohemians, as well as a large number of tourists from different parts of the world. Of course, before the coffee sitting at the tables on the sidewalks and pedas in Irish-style pubs or in clubs to the beat of Groove Lounge music, it was the cinema. Designed by the architect S. Charles Lee (who also built the Lindavista, Chapultepec and Tepeyac cinemas, and whose motto was: “The show starts from the street”) and inaugurated on December 25, 1942, the Lido Cinema became the reference point for the neighbors (and not so neighbors) of the place. The architectural composition of the huge enclosure evidenced the influences of the then so fashionable Art Deco style and the Spanish revival, the most characteristic compositional element of this property being a tower over 20 meters high, similar to a minaret that presides over the entrance to the place, which was framed by a large canopy. In the building the latest releases from Hollywood were screened and there used to be double programs dedicated to this or that artist or director of the time, with the inevitable (at that time, of course) matinee programs dedicated to the homeless.
stevenj
commented about
Lido 2on
Oct 23, 2020 at 11:26 am
Translation:
In mid-December 1942, a front-page advertisement read: “Why does Lupita want to be taken to the Lido Cinema? Because, a woman of great imagination, she wants to frequent social centers in which an environment prevails that, in addition to being distinguished, elevates the mind and spirit to fantasy regions … "
stevenj
commented about
lobbyon
Oct 23, 2020 at 11:24 am
Translation:
The “small” lobby and candy store of the place. Irresistible the temptation, before or after the movie, to have some sandwiches or gashes, smoke and have a coffee amid so much sucker ornament.
For many (including myself) the period of maximum splendor of this movie theater came during the 70’s, when the property was remodeled and renamed Cine Bella Epoca. Apart from the programming offered in other commercial theaters, the criteria followed by the programmers of this cinema was to screen the great classics of the golden age of Hollywood, as well as the most outstanding of the 50s and 60s. Imagine the experience that was seeing things like Lawrence of Arabia, Gone with the Wind, The Godfather 1 and 2, Doctor Zhivago, Cleopatra, The Ten Commandments, Seven Brides for seven brothers, Singing in the rain, Ben Hur (rigorously viewed of Easter in this cinema), some James Bond films (with Sean Connery), sporadic midnight performances of erotic cinema and one more putamadral, and to be able to verify the pissed-off difference it was between seeing this type of film in its glorious format of 70mm CinemaScope, and the raunchy versions that had to be blown on tiny televisions back then. This photograph was taken during the 80’s in the lobby of the Lido Cinema (Bella Epoca at that time), already remodeled. Impossible to forget the huge frames of quantity of seventh art luminaires that stood out in the place, the wooden walls and the earth red color of the carpet. Charles Chaplin and Cantinflas had to watch the bathroom doors.
Unfortunately, as was the common denominator during the mid-80s, the Bella Epoca Cinema was not saved from the overwhelming competition that was, first, video cinema, with a gradual decrease in public attendance at the venue, and whose debacle Like that of a whoremonger from similar places, it arrived at the end of the 90’s with the arrival of the modern exhibition channels in Multiplex mode and their cutting-edge technology; And although, as in others, the new orientation of the venue was to focus on showing recent quality international film productions distributed by the Mexican Institute of Cinematography, spiced up this initiative with a more or less massive campaign of TV spots. (“Theaters and giant screens!” “The cinema as best seen!”) This did little to counteract the situation. By 1999, the average box office performance of the Bella Epoca cinema was only 5.75% of its total capacity (that is, a mother’s talk, just), which led to the once spectacular and sought-after “meeting place for all the ladies elegant ”to definitively close its doors in the middle of that same year with the screening of Claude Sautet’s film Nelly et Monsieur Arnaud (titled in Mexico The pleasure of being with you). Notice the alarming aspect of neglect and neglect that the elegant film precinct of yesteryear presented on its facade from the period between 1999 and 2003, at that time, a candidate who was not even ordered to become another Elektra branch or, in another fucking sanctuary of the faith of “pay to stop suffering.”
On February 23, 1999, our then “brand new” head of the DF Government, Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, acquired the Futurama, Paris and stoned Bella Época cinemas for 90 million pesos (the latter, the most devalued and cheapest of the package, with an average cost for its facilities of just over eleven million pesos) in order to promote Mexican cinema, through a company called Cinemas Nueva Opción, made up of producers and actors related to cinema. The supposed initiative (promoted to the four winds during a taquiza duo by the much better actress than Senator Maria Rojo and by Chayito Robles) was to divide these spaces into 26 cinemas, which would only be used for the projection of national films Classic and recently released (oh, aha…), chimerical project which, (obviously) never crystallized. The Bella Epoca continued to accumulate dust, garbage, cobwebs and graffiti outside, until the Fondo de Cultura Económica (of which, it must be said, most of its books and other publications are not at all economic) acquired the site on September 11, 2003, paying for the little joke the amount of 33.3 million pesos to the bastards of the Federal District government, who although they were never interested in remodeling or doing something to safeguard the place, at the end of the day and pa ‘ not to vary, they knew how to do a good business with the sale of the property at triple its original price.
stevenj
commented about
el lidoon
Oct 23, 2020 at 9:10 am
English translation:
In its beginnings, this new “Meeting Center for all the elegant ladies” (according to its slogan), had black light, artificial climate, (a true luxury then) ventilation system, as well as a good number of security entrances and exits, with the capacity to receive 1,325 spectators. Since its inauguration, the Lido cinema was, together with the Lindavista, one of the main apples of the discord between national and foreign film production companies and distributors, which dedicated entire pages to them in the most important newspapers of the country in which, incidentally , announced the exclusive premieres that they were fighting to allocate for each of these rooms. The Lido began its activities with the screening of the film Hunting for a boyfriend (His cardborad lover), by Georges Cukor and starring Norma Shearer and Robert Taylor. Until infinity … and beyond …! As can be seen in this image taken from the interior of the enclosure in the 40s, the only limit for the architect S. Charles Lee was imagination (and ah pa'pinche imagination that this bastard was loaded!) Check out the garigoledas details that They “adorned” the walls of the cinema.
bigjoe55….Don’t know what month in 1980 you were there but this blog post for the Vista Theatre says that Mike Thomas (who ran several SF theatres) “rescued” it in 1980 and turned it into a revival house.
bigjoe59….If I remember correctly, Titanic opened around Christmas time in 1997 at the Presidio on Chestnut St and had a fairly long run of several months. You probably saw it there.
jordanlage…..I just purchased a book, Gold Mountain Big City published this year, about Ken Cathcart, a 1930’s-60’s mapmaker/photographer/chronicler of Chinatown history whose 1947 illustrated map of Chinatown this fascinating book details. The Mandarin Theatre is included on Cathcart’s map and the author of the book (Jim Schein) includes a couple of photos and an already uploaded postcard in Photos. The text for the Mandarin reads in part, “It was a traditional Chinese theatre employing live actors, depicting traditional stories and operatic tales with elaborate costumes and sets. The 1920’s and 30’s constituted the golden age of Chinese opera in the United States, with female performers leading the charge (as opposed to the male dominated opera theaters in China at the time).
Interview with David Hegarty, house organist from today’s (Jan 22, 2021) SFGate:
SFGate
For those of you with access to films at Kanopy.com you can watch Abel Ferrara’s The Projectionist, mentioned in the NYT link in CC’s Oct 29, 2020 post. Numerous shots of vintage Times Sq theaters and other NYC theaters (including the Alpine) owned by Nick Nicolau.
Trailer
Translation: The Princess Theater in the Jonquière district to the west of the city, inaugurated in 1943 and closed in the early 1960s. It reopened in the early 1970s under the name Cinéma Elysée and closed at the end of the 1980s. It belonged to Leo Choquette and France-Film. Adult films have been shown here.
Thanks for posting this kinospoter. Had never seen one of the ToddAO screen. By the time I saw my first movie at the Coronet (early 1960’s) it had been removed.
This photo was posted May 2019.
ridethectrain….I wouldn’t go into a movie theater right now whether they were selling refreshments or not and believe me, one of the joys of a recently retired (about 1 year ago) lifestyle was going to at least one film a week at various SF theaters. SF is in the least restrictive category for California’s counties however the mayor seems to have listened to her Dept of Public Health head from the get go last January and imposed even stricter restrictions across the board than the state’s standards. That and recent news reports of almost universal mask wearing (appx 95%) has kept the level of infections and deaths at one of the lowest per capita for a large city in the US. Apparently because of Halloween/parties and people letting their guard down SF’s positive percentage rate has tripled in the last month so would not be surprised if theaters (and other businesses) were ordered to close completely again or be further restricted if this trend continues (very limited indoor restaurant dining was curtailed just this past week). Stay safe.
Added to above: “RESTRICTED For indoor movie theater complexes with multiple individual theaters, the capacity limit for the entire complex is 25%, and the limit for each individual theater or auditorium is 50 people.”
Posted at SF.gov, the latest requirements for SF indoor movie theaters:
SF Movie Theater Reopenings
The plan was to allow 50% capacity by mid November but due to an increase in covid infections in the city that plan has been rolled back to 25% along with the other requirements.
Translation:
The origins of the Colonia Condesa, in Mexico City, date back to the 1920s and 30s when a pile of buildings began to be erected in the area that was once occupied by the Hipódromo de la Condesa de Miravalle. (hence the name of the colony) Its central location next to Colonia Roma and its bohemian and intellectual air (something like a Chilango equivalent of New York’s Soho or the Latin Quarter of Paris) have made it the favorite place since then. of the most “popoff” of the middle and upper classes of stale ancestry, daddy and mommy’s juniors, inveterate bohemians, as well as a large number of tourists from different parts of the world. Of course, before the coffee sitting at the tables on the sidewalks and pedas in Irish-style pubs or in clubs to the beat of Groove Lounge music, it was the cinema. Designed by the architect S. Charles Lee (who also built the Lindavista, Chapultepec and Tepeyac cinemas, and whose motto was: “The show starts from the street”) and inaugurated on December 25, 1942, the Lido Cinema became the reference point for the neighbors (and not so neighbors) of the place. The architectural composition of the huge enclosure evidenced the influences of the then so fashionable Art Deco style and the Spanish revival, the most characteristic compositional element of this property being a tower over 20 meters high, similar to a minaret that presides over the entrance to the place, which was framed by a large canopy. In the building the latest releases from Hollywood were screened and there used to be double programs dedicated to this or that artist or director of the time, with the inevitable (at that time, of course) matinee programs dedicated to the homeless.
Translation:
In mid-December 1942, a front-page advertisement read: “Why does Lupita want to be taken to the Lido Cinema? Because, a woman of great imagination, she wants to frequent social centers in which an environment prevails that, in addition to being distinguished, elevates the mind and spirit to fantasy regions … "
Translation:
The “small” lobby and candy store of the place. Irresistible the temptation, before or after the movie, to have some sandwiches or gashes, smoke and have a coffee amid so much sucker ornament.
Translation:
For many (including myself) the period of maximum splendor of this movie theater came during the 70’s, when the property was remodeled and renamed Cine Bella Epoca. Apart from the programming offered in other commercial theaters, the criteria followed by the programmers of this cinema was to screen the great classics of the golden age of Hollywood, as well as the most outstanding of the 50s and 60s. Imagine the experience that was seeing things like Lawrence of Arabia, Gone with the Wind, The Godfather 1 and 2, Doctor Zhivago, Cleopatra, The Ten Commandments, Seven Brides for seven brothers, Singing in the rain, Ben Hur (rigorously viewed of Easter in this cinema), some James Bond films (with Sean Connery), sporadic midnight performances of erotic cinema and one more putamadral, and to be able to verify the pissed-off difference it was between seeing this type of film in its glorious format of 70mm CinemaScope, and the raunchy versions that had to be blown on tiny televisions back then. This photograph was taken during the 80’s in the lobby of the Lido Cinema (Bella Epoca at that time), already remodeled. Impossible to forget the huge frames of quantity of seventh art luminaires that stood out in the place, the wooden walls and the earth red color of the carpet. Charles Chaplin and Cantinflas had to watch the bathroom doors.
Translation:
Unfortunately, as was the common denominator during the mid-80s, the Bella Epoca Cinema was not saved from the overwhelming competition that was, first, video cinema, with a gradual decrease in public attendance at the venue, and whose debacle Like that of a whoremonger from similar places, it arrived at the end of the 90’s with the arrival of the modern exhibition channels in Multiplex mode and their cutting-edge technology; And although, as in others, the new orientation of the venue was to focus on showing recent quality international film productions distributed by the Mexican Institute of Cinematography, spiced up this initiative with a more or less massive campaign of TV spots. (“Theaters and giant screens!” “The cinema as best seen!”) This did little to counteract the situation. By 1999, the average box office performance of the Bella Epoca cinema was only 5.75% of its total capacity (that is, a mother’s talk, just), which led to the once spectacular and sought-after “meeting place for all the ladies elegant ”to definitively close its doors in the middle of that same year with the screening of Claude Sautet’s film Nelly et Monsieur Arnaud (titled in Mexico The pleasure of being with you). Notice the alarming aspect of neglect and neglect that the elegant film precinct of yesteryear presented on its facade from the period between 1999 and 2003, at that time, a candidate who was not even ordered to become another Elektra branch or, in another fucking sanctuary of the faith of “pay to stop suffering.”
Translation:
On February 23, 1999, our then “brand new” head of the DF Government, Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, acquired the Futurama, Paris and stoned Bella Época cinemas for 90 million pesos (the latter, the most devalued and cheapest of the package, with an average cost for its facilities of just over eleven million pesos) in order to promote Mexican cinema, through a company called Cinemas Nueva Opción, made up of producers and actors related to cinema. The supposed initiative (promoted to the four winds during a taquiza duo by the much better actress than Senator Maria Rojo and by Chayito Robles) was to divide these spaces into 26 cinemas, which would only be used for the projection of national films Classic and recently released (oh, aha…), chimerical project which, (obviously) never crystallized. The Bella Epoca continued to accumulate dust, garbage, cobwebs and graffiti outside, until the Fondo de Cultura Económica (of which, it must be said, most of its books and other publications are not at all economic) acquired the site on September 11, 2003, paying for the little joke the amount of 33.3 million pesos to the bastards of the Federal District government, who although they were never interested in remodeling or doing something to safeguard the place, at the end of the day and pa ‘ not to vary, they knew how to do a good business with the sale of the property at triple its original price.
English translation:
In its beginnings, this new “Meeting Center for all the elegant ladies” (according to its slogan), had black light, artificial climate, (a true luxury then) ventilation system, as well as a good number of security entrances and exits, with the capacity to receive 1,325 spectators. Since its inauguration, the Lido cinema was, together with the Lindavista, one of the main apples of the discord between national and foreign film production companies and distributors, which dedicated entire pages to them in the most important newspapers of the country in which, incidentally , announced the exclusive premieres that they were fighting to allocate for each of these rooms. The Lido began its activities with the screening of the film Hunting for a boyfriend (His cardborad lover), by Georges Cukor and starring Norma Shearer and Robert Taylor. Until infinity … and beyond …! As can be seen in this image taken from the interior of the enclosure in the 40s, the only limit for the architect S. Charles Lee was imagination (and ah pa'pinche imagination that this bastard was loaded!) Check out the garigoledas details that They “adorned” the walls of the cinema.
SF Chronicle archives.
1983 photo credited to Chris Stewart.
Photo dated May 12, 1988 by Scott Sommerdorf, SF Chronicle.
Photo credited to Clem Albers SF Chronicle. Dated 1974.
Normally I would put in a direct link but CT thought it was spam so you’ll have to cut and paste into your browser.
bigjoe55….Don’t know what month in 1980 you were there but this blog post for the Vista Theatre says that Mike Thomas (who ran several SF theatres) “rescued” it in 1980 and turned it into a revival house.
www.losangelestheatres.blogspot.com/2017/02/vista-theatre.html
bigjoe59….If I remember correctly, Titanic opened around Christmas time in 1997 at the Presidio on Chestnut St and had a fairly long run of several months. You probably saw it there.
jordanlage…..I just purchased a book, Gold Mountain Big City published this year, about Ken Cathcart, a 1930’s-60’s mapmaker/photographer/chronicler of Chinatown history whose 1947 illustrated map of Chinatown this fascinating book details. The Mandarin Theatre is included on Cathcart’s map and the author of the book (Jim Schein) includes a couple of photos and an already uploaded postcard in Photos. The text for the Mandarin reads in part, “It was a traditional Chinese theatre employing live actors, depicting traditional stories and operatic tales with elaborate costumes and sets. The 1920’s and 30’s constituted the golden age of Chinese opera in the United States, with female performers leading the charge (as opposed to the male dominated opera theaters in China at the time).
Photo credited to SF History Center, SF Public Library.
Photo credited to Alex Hobbs, Found SF.