Uptown Theatre

A Marr & Colton theater organ size 3/11 was installed in the Uptown Theater in 1927.

This is a photo of the Uptown Theater in Utica.

Here is a new website for the Uptown Theater.

According to that website, the name is now The New Uptown Theatre (with "re" ending of the "t" word)...Also, why am I being asked for a password to view the photo linked above on 1/2/08? I want to compare it to a photo of an Uptown that was mistakenly identified as the Uptown in New York City.

The spelling is already "RE" at the top of this page. The photo link is dead. Here is a photo from 2004.

Thanks! I think that it could be the "mystery" Uptown. I can see similarities in the wall above the marquee and behind the "No More Children" electrical display. And it could be the same marquee, though modified over the years. The ID on the B&W photo might have been partially correct, New York the state instead of New York the city: http://www.flickr.com/photos/somethingstartedcrazyy/2151198714/sizes/l/

I also see similarities in the two photos. I don't know if this will help you or not but here is another modern photo. If you lightened the vintage photo, do you think that you could see more detail or would the image become distorted?

This is the most that I can do to bring out details of the building. Another similarity is the retail space to the left of entrance in both photos: http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/mysteryuptown.jpg
The "mystery" might be solved by e-mailing the B&W photo to the present management for comment.

I agree that the store is very similar. This building could have been altered over the years and it is difficult to tell for sure if it is the same theater in the vintage photo. As you suggested, I'm going to email the vintage photo to the Uptown management and see if they can identify it. Thanks for enhancing the photo.

I want to thank the manager of the Uptown Theater for answering my email. The theater in the photo is not this Uptown Theater. This was his reply:

"I am quite positive it is The Uptown Theatre in Chicago. The basic door structure, marquee, and surrounding tall buildings indicate a much larger city, therefore a different theatre. Old photographs of our place have triple doors, a standing marquee directly above the lateral one, different sign boards out front on either "pillar".

Thank you for the inquiry though, and keep searching. You never know what may turn up."

I found an old photo of the Uptown Theater in Chicago which is here. It doesn't look like the theater in the mystery photo to me.

The Chicago Uptown is one of the most famous of all movie palaces. I knew before even asking that it was definitely NOT the "mystery" Uptown. I have a problem with the Utica manager's response. Where does he see "surrounding tall buildings" in that B&W photograph? And when he says "I am quite positive it is The Uptown Theatre in Chicago," I doubt that he can speak with authority on this comparison. I will try sending the B&W photo to a couple of people that are familiar with Utica theatres and might have a different response.

The Theatre Historical Society of America has a photo gallery of "mystery theatres" on their website. That would be a good place to send the photo to.

So this theater was opened in 1927 and is still open but there is no description of its interior or how much of the original interior remains after it was turned into a multiplex. The outside looks quite handsome. Have any CT members been inside this theater? Utica's main palace, The Stanley, has a great intro desciption and beautiful interior photos.

THEATER FOR SALE

Every show for every movie starts the same time.That is just lazy and bad for bsns.........

You are always on top of these sales. :)

Here is an article about the sale.

The article says absolutely nothing about the history of the theater or the condition of the theater. So frustrating. If the original ornamentation is still in place then it might be eligible for registry on the state register of historic places and perhaps eligible for tax breaks or grants.

The Theater is still up for sale but got some type of grant
Also the Uptown has 3 screens not 5

Here is a June 2004 photo from the opening of "Fahrenheit 9/11":
http://tinyurl.com/8myh9n

Here is a 1983 photo.

Just thought I'd add my 2 cents' worth ...

I grew up about a block away from Utica's Uptown Theatre (the neighborhood isn't quite as "citified" as the photos make it appear). I agree that the photo in question most assuredly is not that of Utica's Uptown.

Sad to see that the theatre is up for sale. Typical, evidently, of big town-small city America in decline.

Everything's up to date in Culver City (shall we sing along?) CA, my current home. Here, where filmdom's heart beats strongly, fine old theatres are rescued, thanks to the largesse of the likes of Kirk Douglas, and put to good and continued use.

This is a working link for the Uptown Theater website. As nhman93 posted last December, screens should be three.

The Uptown became Utica's first 70mm theater in July of 1959 with "Sleeping Beauty". In 1957, there was an eleven day reserved seat showing of "Around the World in 80 Days". A 46 foot screen was installed with a magnificent stereophonic sound system, but not presented in Todd-AO. I suspect the it was a Cinestage version of the film, but as far as I was concerned, Todd-AO could not have bettered it. The screen was pretty deeply curved with a beautiful new curtain. The Uptown was built as a stadium style theater and every seat was near perfect viewing. It's still open as a first-run triplex.

jimvin... Might you have the premiere date for the Uptown's engagement of "Sleeping Beauty"? July what?

The opening date of "Sleeping Beauty" at the Uptown was July 1,1959.
I have 6 newspaper ads and an article about this. They really went all out in advertising the fact that the Uptown was the only theater in the area that had the special equipment to show the film "as Walt Disney visualized it's perfect presentation".

Photo of the Uptown Theatre courtesy Nick's Classic American Theatres.

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s254/Pavy1/Uptown.jpg