Cinema Treasures | AMC Orleans 8

At this moment those who own the Pennypack Theatre building -- which was called the Holme Theatre until 1946 -- are digging in their heals determined to make it a sort of mini-mall rather than an all new digital cinema. Call it politics at its absolute worst. The current owners of that building are totally ignoring the fact that there's way too many dollar type stores, pizza chains, laundromats, etc., in this area already, what is known as oversaturation. As business policy goes, it will fail, and of course it will fail, that's the whole point. For it's the everyday taxpayers' dollars that are paying for it all, or will be paying for it all in terms of bail-outs when it fails, not the owners of these businesses. But so long as the taxpayers don't mind this even though they themselves don't derive any benefit, there's little to stop them. Meantime, how many consumers around here right now do you know of who are saying, "Golly gee, I only wish we had more dollar type stores around here, pizza chains, laundromats and so on"? Now some might argue that movie theaters can't make as much money as those other type businesses can. But that's missing the whole point. What movie theaters do is make a particular consumer business district that much more alluring. And proof of this right now can be seen in Ambler, PA with its newly restored Ambler Theatre. And the same in Phoenixville with its newly restored Colonial Theatre. These theaters in themselves aren't making a ton of money, but they're having a miraculous effect on turning around the long slumping economies all around them. Meantime, the main consumer business strip through Holmesburg has been in a slump since the 1950s, the same year the Pennypack Theatre closed. Coincidence? Hardly.

Anyway, what's happening with the Pennypack Theatre building right now is that there's strong resistence on the part of its owners plus the NE Phila politicians and local civic association against making it a movie theater again. And so long as that resistence outweighs the desire of those of us who want to see it become a theater again, those putting up the resistence will prevail. Only to give NE Philly what it has too much of already, which then, of course, will fail due to oversaturation -- each identical type business sapping business away from the other. And this we all pretty much know ahead of time. For I passed the Pizza Hut in Mayfair the other day and consumer traffic going in and out was dead. It was all brightly lit up for business, yet totally empty. For why would anyone bother going there when there's so many local pizza parlors all throughout NE Philly where you can buy real Italian pizza? And when I passed by the closed up Devon Theatre down that way the other day, I saw passersby pausing to read the sign in front, eager to know when it will finally be reopened once more. As for the Pennypack Theatre building right now, how many people passing by it can't wait till the dollar store opens up there, especially when there's another one practically right across the street from it where Andy's Hardware used to be, another at the nearby Holmesburg Shopping Center at Frankford Ave & Blakiston, another down where Mayfair's Pep Boys used to be, etc., etc., etc.? Are you seeing people lining up in rows of two or more to shop at the area dollar stores right now? Or packing into the local laundromats with baskets piled high with laundry to be done? For I'm sure not.

So in a roundabout sort of way, right there is the powerful campaign to make the Pennypack Theatre building a theater once more. And Texas Instruments, Christie Digital, the entire motion picture industry out in Hollywood and many others are all ready to step in and make it happen whenever you are. So however you can, speak up, and stay tuned...

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Nov 8, 2005 at 7:02pm

that was a very roundabout way. You made alot of , er, interesting points. However, you still haven't given any real proof or information about campaigns. That doesn't really help me or anyone else reading this who lives in the neighborhood that may wish to help the cause.

I'm not sure what you have against Pizza Hut. But it seems to me as though that the Commerce Bank and ShopRite are doing very well. Same can be said of the Wawa that just has opened up and the Dunkin Donuts.

So please provide some information as to how myself or others can join these "campaigns". Thanks.

posted by hdtv267 on Nov 9, 2005 at 12:34am

The major flaw of what the current owners of the historic Pennypack Theatre building plan to do with it -- to make it a mini-mall that has a Dollar Tree, Pizza Hut, upscale coffee shop, laundromat, etc. (all things which this area has plenty of already) -- is that no sort of public hearings were ever held in reaching that decision. Furthermore, every pre-existing business along that stretch of Frankford Ave was totally kept in the dark about it until after this decision was made. Meaning that over all the whole project is probably illegal. What is making the situation especially difficult, however, is that the Holmesburg Civic Association is 100% supportive of what the new owners plan to do with the Pennypack Theatre building, even though no efforts were ever made on its part to find out what the community at large thinks first. And that failure on the HCA's part, too, for the most part is probably illegal. But hey, when you have politicians overseeing Holmesburg such as Philadelphia Councilwoman Joan Krajewski, State Reprentatives Mike McGeehan and John Perzel, State Senator Mike Stack, U.S. Representative Allyson Schwartz and last but not least, Mayor John Street, the over all attitude appears to be, "Hey, what's wrong with a little illegality?"

Now I could advise you attend the next Holmesburg Civic Association meeting, to be held next Tuesday evening (Nov 15) at 7pm at the Holmesburg Rec Center at Rhawn & Ditman, to let your views be known there. But be forewarned it's rigged. And so from my perspective what that means is that in order for the Pennypack Theatre building to be properly restored to its rightful honor of being a movie theater once more, the only way it's likely really going to happen, at least if it's going to be done right, will entail overriding those resistence factions entirely. I.e., totally ignore them just as they're ignoring us.

At the national level, meantime, there very much is a powerful campaign to reverse the current trend of existing movie theaters closing down left and right, as well as to introduce totally new ones, especially now that digital cinema is ready for roll-out and already is taking hold in certain places in the U.S. Meantime, right here in Northeast Philadelphia we constitute a huge movie-going audience that's currently not being tapped into -- compliments of the above named politicians, at least with regard to the Holmesburg area. For in my own efforts to see that Holmesburg not be overlooked by the nationwide campaign, I have not met one Northeast Philadelphia resident -- NOT ONE -- who doesn't want to see that Pennypack Theatre building rightfully restored to being a movie theater once more. (As for Pizza Hut, I have nothing against them whatsoever. My only point was that it's silly for that chain to try to compete in an area where people can and prefer to buy real Italian pizza at actual locally-based pizza parlors. If they want to try, short of their being an obstacle to efforts to restoring an historic movie theater, my only response is power to them.)

Meantime, in terms of your being able to help reverse the trend of Northeast Philly theaters shutting down, let those who head up the movie industry know about it, rather than trying to talk sense to Northeast Philly politicians who couldn't care less what we the people living here think or want. For the more Hollywood knows there's a powerful market here just waiting to be tapped into, the more that will become the ultimate overriding factor. For ultimately it's we the people who count, not a silly small group of politicians who have forgotten us, and illegally so from the looks of it.

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Nov 9, 2005 at 7:12pm

Perhaps you should put this information ( Just the information only) concerning this on the Holme Theatre page. I don't want to clutter up the Orleans page with information about a totally other theatre.

Thanks.

posted by hdtv267 on Nov 9, 2005 at 11:24pm

You're right, and I fully apologize, for this page should be about the Orleans Theatre itself. Speaking of which, what is Eddie Jacobs basing his rumor on that it will be closing down next June to be replaced with a Target Store? Is the rumor he's spreading true, or simply his roundabout way of expressing how put off he is by how generic this theater is? For even I'll admit, even though it's the last theater right around here, that it would be difficult to get too sentimental about it if it does shut down. It's as if to say it was never designed in such a way that people could feel sentimental about its closing down. It lacks that certain "presence of soul" or whatever it is.

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Nov 10, 2005 at 9:29pm

The AMC Orleans 8 (Former William Goldman's/Budco Orleans Theatre) has been rumored to close first at the end of 2004, then in the summer of 2005, now in early 2006. The current Theatre #1-4 has been around since 1963, when William Goldman Theatres co. first opened the Orleans Theatre. The current #5-8 opened after Pathmark closed their supermarket, which now houses Orleans #5-8 and Pep Boys.

posted by MikeRa on Nov 11, 2005 at 5:56pm

Rode my bike out to the AMC Orleans 8 Theatre this beautiful sunny Saturday autumn afternoon, not only to get some great digital photos of it, but also to try to get some first hand accounts of what it's final fate shall be. For I asked someone from the NE Times to look into it yesterday, and AMC told them there's no plans of tearing the theater down to make way for a Target Store there come next June. However, that might only be with regard to the main theater building. For various people I spoke with today at that small shopping center on Bustleton Ave said the building with the "HOLLYWOOD" sign on top will get torn down along with a few others in close proximity starting next year to make way for an all-new Target Store. And "a few others" might be in reference to the row of mini theaters the Orleans has in that seperate building just behind Pep Boys (formerly Pathmark). And that to me doesn't look like it will be any real loss. For to try to squeeze several theaters into a building that small really was pushing it. I mean, could you see going there to see your favorite movie, anticipating seeing it on one of the bigger screens in the main theater building, only to be told that YOUR movie's being screened in that dinky little building just behind it?! I mean, talk about tacky! The main theater building, though, I think shows a lot of promise, particularly if they can make it a single-screen theater once more. It has a very nice lobby area. They should look for ways of tying that main theater building in with Roosevelt Mall more, for right now I get this sense that there's some type of stand-off going on between the two rather than the theater and the mall being mutually beneficial. It's a shame that Wachovia just across the street couldn't be made a **** restaurant once more, for I believe that would do it...

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Nov 12, 2005 at 6:52pm

The Wachovia Bank acroos the street from the William Goldman's/Budco/AMCOrleans was never a restaurant. It opened as a First Pennsylvania Bank branch. The Doral's Catering facility is now a Philadelphia Park Turf Club Northeast OTB facility.

posted by MikeRa on Nov 13, 2005 at 7:28pm

Good Memory! Meantime, er, what's a park turf club OTB facility?

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Nov 14, 2005 at 5:17pm

OTB stands for Off Track Betting. Its a facility that enables folks to bet on horse races without going to the track.

Philadelphia Park is a horse race track located in Bensalem, PA off of Street Road. They need to sanction these facilities. Turf Club is the name for these facilities/parlours.

I'm not sure who you check with about these facts, but they are misinformed or have a selective memory.

The Wachovia was a new build. The former Pathmark is the other 4 screens at the Orleans. I know this because when I would attend these theaters (before the Woodhaven was built) I would joke about having to go down the produce aisle to get to my seat.

posted by hdtv267 on Nov 15, 2005 at 12:03am

It's hard to imagine how anyone arriving to the Orleans and finding out the movie they came to see is being exhibited at one of those dinky small theaters they have in back where the Pathmark used to be could do so without feeling hugely let down. And do they charge the same admission at those littler theaters that they do at the bigger ones? If so, it's hard to conceive how this could even be legal! In fact, I'd feel really let down if the movie I came to see was being shown in one of the not quite as small theaters they built on the side of the original Orleans. But I guess all this is to be expected when it's the only theater complex around for a very wide radius. Still, it really isn't right, and it's sad that folks in this area put up with it. And perhaps the OTB parlor built so near to it reveals the degree that gambling operations such as that, not to mention slots parlors, downgrade everything that's right around them. In brief, I'm seeing here, just as was proven in Atlantic City, that gambling, except with regard to itself, is bad for other businesses right around it, draining away the lifeblood from what had some degree of life before. And what a terrible context to see a movie in! I mean, is it any wonder that 50 Cent's "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" was the main feature being shown there last Saturday? And in its two main theaters at that? I guess that all told the way the Orleans is being run now works out for those who like getting ripped off. But what about having a theater in Northeast Philly to satisfy the needs of the more quality conscious consumers residing around here? Or is it now the case that there aren't any left, that all such consumers have now vacated Northeast Philadelphia for good because there's nothing left around here to make them want to stay? For oh how so much a poorly run theater -- but which wasn't always -- seems to reveal!

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Nov 15, 2005 at 6:04pm

Up in New York City, the Off Track Betting facilities are as common as a 7 Eleven. New York City Off Track Betting has 90 OTB facilities, 3 Tele-theatres locations, and 6 resturant locations throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island. Also, NYC has Aqueduct Racetrack, which shares its parking lot with The Home Depot, and has the REG Cross Bay II 7 Theatre down the street from it. The William Goldman's/Budco/AMC Orleans 8 is in this same situation.

Screens 5 to 8 of the Orleans 8 opened 11 years after the Woodhaven Mall 4 Cinemas / AMC Woodhaven Mall 4 / AMC Woodhaven 10 opened. Woodhaven opened in 1973, Budco Orleans #5-8 opened in 1984.

posted by MikeRa on Nov 16, 2005 at 3:54am

Philadelphia is not New York City, though, in that it has so much positive going for it that can offset any negative impact OTB parlors can have. Or so it seems.

My main concern however is that Northeast Philadelphia at the present time in terms of its movie theaters has nothing that can be described as "quality-conscious-consumer friendly." No one with any class would be caught dead walking into the AMC Orleans right now the way it's being run, except perhaps as a joke. One thing that might change the way the AMC Orleans is currently being run at some future point is if the Fox Chase Cancer Center v. Burholme Park dispute going on farther up Cottman Avenue gets resolves with those favoring saving the park prevailing the victors. But right now with all bets being placed on the bad guys winning in that dispute, the AMC Orleans has itself positioned for what it expects to prevail in a very opportunistic sort of way. Not that it ever really was a classy theater. I think in the beginning it tried to be classy when pressures were on it to be, but in later years, when Perzel and other mistakenly-elected politicians such as that came along, was told, "Okay, you can relax now," at which point it split its main theater building into two and added those two smaller theaters to its side and then those really dinky ones in back where the Pathmark used to be. But to give credit where it's due, at least it continued onward as a theater rather than becoming an OTB facility or what have you. And that's a lot more than can be said of the nearby Crest, which became a fur coat store, and the Mayfair, which became an Eckards. Or the Pennypack over in the Holmesburg section, which, since the '50s has been everything but a theater. So at the very least, hats off to the AMC Orleans for staying on course by remaining a theater! All told, as you can see, there are so many different ways you can look at it....

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Nov 16, 2005 at 6:16pm

The AMC Orleans 8 was already going downhill well before Bob Green and Philadelphia Park Racetrack opened Turf Club Northeast. In NYC, at their OTB locations (that looks like 7-Eleven), you cannot eat or drink in there, unless you buy your soda from a vending machine. The 3 teletheatres and the 6 restaurants also will not let you bring in outside food, soda or beer, but you can buy lunch or dinner, have a few beers, and place you bets easily.

On a sidenote: The Philadelphia Park Turf Club Brandywine is locted in the former United Artists-Eric Concordville 4 Theatre building. And the Philadelphia Park Turf Club South Philadelphia is a block away from Citizens Bank Park, and 2 blocks away from Lincoln Financial Field, Wachovia Spectrum and Wachovia Center.

posted by MikeRa on Nov 16, 2005 at 6:31pm

I didn't make up the rumour of orleans closing and being torn down because I hate it, not at all.
The theatres in the 2nd building (the back one) are actually a bit better, while they are a bit smaller the screen seems bigger.
Orleans just hasn't kept up, maybe if in the mod 90's they did a renovation to it, and kept up with it then it wouldn't be so bad, as the 2 buildings aren't great but that wou;dn't be so bad if both building housed comfortable theatres, and I don't mean stadium seating, but more like how woodhaven 10 theatres are.
Oh well, it will be interesting to see what happens in 2006.

posted by Eddie Jacobs on Nov 16, 2005 at 7:33pm

Several weeks ago the closest digital theater to us was up in Elizabeth, NJ, over 61 miles away. But since then it's come a bit closer in that the United Artists King of Prussia Stadium 16, which is 18 miles away from us, now has it. So I'm going to venture a guess from that that whatever theaters here in Philadelphia switch over to digital are those that plan to stick around, and whatever ones don't will be the ones shutting down. So if AMC Orleans is telling everybody that it has no plans of shutting down next year, but isn't scheduled to switch over to digital anytime soon, the latter is the real giveaway as to what the actual truth is. As for the two theaters built on the side of the original Orleans having bigger screens than the original theater building did, that's because they were designed specifically to be theaters unto themselves. But if you take the original Orleans theater and make it into a single screen theater once more -- as it was originally intended to be anyway -- it will easily be able to stay competitive and be right up there with the best theaters around in terms of over all screen size. And to be sure, a lot of the quality-conscious-consumers who stopped coming to it when it was split up into two smaller theaters will start going to it once more. I know that I certainly will if it's showing the movie I want to see, but which the Pennypack Theatre closer to home to me (which when restored will be a single screen theater) isn't. And I'm sure there will be times when it will be vice versa for those residing over in the Orleans Theatre area. For to me it would be damned foolish for the Orleans Theatre to shut down completely next year just at the dawn of digital cinema. For the restored Pennypack Theatre just in itself as the only digital cinema around is going to have a very limited capacity regarding how many consumers it can serve at any one given time. It's got enough going for itself that it can be one of several digital cinemas with a single screen right in this over all NE Philly region, both in terms of its parking capacity and location, but for it to really work out well for everybody the AMC Orleans should set its sights on becoming a single screen cinema theater, too. And what about the old Castor Theatre nearby? For if it has adequate parking space, that should be restored to being a theater as well, this time around an all-new digital one. And what a pity the Crest up there on Rising Sun Avenue didn't get to stick around long enough to see the digital age. I saw "The Last Picture Show" there, and how ironic it is now as I look back in that, unknownst to me at the time, I was actually living that movie as I was seeing it...

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Nov 17, 2005 at 6:14pm

If I'm correct every amc theatre HAD To switch over to digital slides in auguest or a few montsh ago.
At orleans they didnt have any slides before the commercials/previews, screen was blank and theyw ere just playing movietunes (I saw Saw II there)

posted by Eddie Jacobs on Nov 18, 2005 at 3:33pm

Are they running commercials at the Orleans? If so, it totally contradicts another major reason why anyone -- short of those who love getting ripped off -- would be motivated to go out to see a movie at a theater. At that big convention the theater operators held out in Chicago, in their giving the green light to digital, wasn't one of the agreements reached that if they chose to, at their own discretion, they could opt out of running commercials at their respective theaters if they said okay to digital? I'm pretty sure that was the agreement reached, meaning that if the AMC Orleans is running commercials it's doing something it doesn't have to and that obviously no reputable theater operator would. Making an excellent argument why the Orleans needs to have a competing theater operating in close proximity. Not that this second theater in the area would cause the Orleans to clean up its act, but at least it would provide Northeast Philly's more intelligent citizenry with a theater they could feel satisfied with. Showing previews/trailers is acceptable. But commercials!? At a theater!? Woe! That's blasphemy!!!

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Nov 18, 2005 at 5:10pm

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Nov 18, 2005 at 5:14pm

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Nov 18, 2005 at 6:51pm

Almost every theatre owned by AMC, Loews Cineplex and Regal Entertainment Group now shows commercials before the movie. The main company responsible, National CineMedia, is jointly owned by AMC Theatres and Regal Entertainment Group.

posted by MikeRa on Nov 29, 2005 at 4:03pm

Both movie theaters and movies are in many ways commercials in and of themselves, and it's really no problem just so long as the theater attendees don't feel it's in their face and disruptive of what they came out to see. To give an analogy, it is said that make-up is applied properly only if no one can tell that the person wearing it has it on. In like fashion, advertising is at its best when the person who's being advertised to doesn't know that they are. For instance, if you look at old photos of the Mayfair Theatre as it was in the beginning, you'll see these banners hanging down from just below the marquee that boldly read: "AIR CONDITIONED." It was advertising to be sure, but hardly in a way that the theater attendees were put off by. And it all had to do with how the advertising was strategically placed. But had those theater attendees been subjected to lengthy film clips about all the great things about air conditioning prior to when the movie began there's no question they would've totally hated it! But because the Mayfair Theatre did not choose to go that route -- thank Gawd! -- that Mayfair Theatre, because of how it was run, probably did more to step up the sale of air conditioners than anything we can think of. I call it the "lost enlightenment" in terms of how to best run a movie theater. And well composed movie can do advertising in a whole variety of ways without the viewer ever being aware of it. And I'm not talking about subliminal advertising, where a single frame in the film, too quick for the conscious eye to catch, reads: "Shop at Macy's!" or what have you. Rather, I'm talking about such things as Sean Connery in a James Bond movie not making any special effort to hide the fact that he's driving an Astin-Martin. Is this advertising in movies? You bet it is! And right within the movie at that. But who notices when it doesn't throw off or cheapen the story? And anybody who thinks that Sean Connery's driving an Astin-Martin in those James Bond movie didn't help the sale of Astin-Martins a thousand times more than any straightforward Astin-Martin commercial ever did is totally ignoring the actual statistics. For advertising is at its absolute best when people aren't consciously aware they're being advertized to. And it's at its absolute worst when they are. Among the things that has really hurt the success of movie theaters in recent years is the use of straightforward commercials in them. For I don't know anyone at all who wants to see them, do you? So why would any theater chain in its right mind shove in peoples' faces what they don't want to see? When it comes to theaters, there are right ways to advertise, and there are wrong ways. And the only reason why any theaters seem to be getting away with it right now is because all theaters are pressured to do the same, in many instances contractually locked in to doing the same. And this is the impasse that somebody somewhere has got to break. And if they do, it will go a long way in making going to the movies very exciting once more. Many theaters now think it's not too bad for the attendee if the commercials are run before the movie begins. But oh, they are so wrong! At no time, before the film, after the film, between films if it's as double-feature, or whatever, should straightforward commercials in theaters ever be shown. Simply put, straightforward commercials kill the theaters, and they kill the movies. And what customer wants to pay good money in exchange for that?

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Nov 30, 2005 at 5:35pm

Because the advertisers are paying big money to advertise in the theatres. And the theatre chains are compeating with DVD's and On-Demand video rentals, who also advertised on the DVd's and on the On-Demand rentals.

posted by MikeRa on Nov 30, 2005 at 6:18pm

I think we all can agree that if commercials shown at theaters can somehow be gotten beyond that movie theater attendence will dramatically increase accordingly.

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Dec 2, 2005 at 10:51pm

But the commercials are show BEFORE the start time
once the start time hits, the previews begin.

posted by Eddie Jacobs on Dec 3, 2005 at 7:49pm

Right, its not like its American Movie Classics and they are interrupting the movie with commercials.

posted by hdtv267 on Dec 4, 2005 at 3:53am

It's not just AMC that shows the commericals before the films. Regal Entertainment Group (Edwards, Regal, United Artists), Loews Cineplex, Pacific Theatres, National Amusements Theatres and Mann Theatres also shows commericals before the films.

The main media advertiser for the theatres, National CineMedia, is jointly owned by American Multi-Cinema Inc. and Regal Entertainment Group.

posted by MikeRa on Dec 4, 2005 at 6:11am

We put up with commercials on network television because it's free to us, and thus we accept that as part of the deal. But with movies at the theater, because we're paying for the experience, for commercials to be shown at any time during the presentation is a total insult. It's essentially double-charging. And let's get real about, those responsible for the commercials shown at the theaters fully know this. The simple solution, though, is for competing theaters to be able to rise up to provide fully commercial-free entertainment at a fair price. And if this isn't possible then it's time to wake up to the realization that we're living under a dictatorship. For as I see it, if I'm paying to see a movie, and then I'm forced to "pay again" by being subjected to commercials, and reputable theater operators are blocked from providing me, and other Americans such as me, better theaters to go to, that aint what I call free enterprise and democracy!

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Dec 4, 2005 at 4:55pm

Ok then tehatrebuff, what do you rpopose they show prior to the showtime than? I dont see the harm in showing commercials before the showtime, and the slides are just assumed to be there, of course tho I feel the digital ones while flashy are less varied than the old slides, as it would show more stuff, and much more trivia questions and find the coke cups and such.

posted by Eddie Jacobs on Dec 9, 2005 at 6:18am

Interesting how the public attitude has changed, from the days when a beautiful theatre auditorium with background music was all they wanted while awaiting the start of the show. Guess maybe some of today's moviegoers have gotten so used to television, that they think commercials in a movie theatre are normal. Or else it's another symptom of ADS.

posted by gabby on Dec 9, 2005 at 8:00am

In reply to Eddie Jacobs, I couldn't have put it better than Gabby just did. Thanks, Gabby!

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Dec 9, 2005 at 4:58pm

Meantime, to you, Eddie, if you like being subjected to commercials while you're at the movie theater, that's fine, and the AMC Orleans 8 from the sounds of things is custom made for you. And it would indeed be a dictatorship we're living under if you didn't have that free choice. At the same time it still comes down to its being a dictatorship we're living under if we have no choice other than that. And most people I feel quite certain prefer not seeing commercials when at the movies. But there's no way of knowing that for sure right now with the AMC Orleans 8 being the only theater right in this area at the moment. And this not being the result of free enterprise or laissez faire from what I can see, or even deregulation for that matter, but through deliberate government action blocking that which is far better from coming to the surface. And my argument is, take that dictatorial governmental activity away, and the AMC Orleans 8 the way it's now being run wouldn't last another day.

So all told, it's hard to believe, surreal actually, that Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where this theater is located, is where this country's liberty once was born. For it's hardly a free city now, when thousands upon thousands of Northeast Philadelphians have to choose between that crappily run theater or nothing when they'd just like to be able to go out and take in a nice movie nearby once in a while. and that's the only monstrosity they can look to around here for such. And it really really is starting to get very embarrassing!

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Dec 9, 2005 at 5:45pm

Dear Orleans Theatre archivists, I'd like to add comments along with a picture. How can i do this?

Thanks, Hughie

posted by Hughie on Dec 13, 2005 at 3:48pm

hughie:

Just type your comments in the "Comment*" box below and when you do be sure to include a link to a website containing the photograph you'd like everyone to see.

When you get done, press "Submit" and there ya go!

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Dec 14, 2005 at 4:46pm

Thank you, Theaterbuff1, appreciate the tip!

posted by Hughie on Dec 15, 2005 at 12:35pm

Happy to oblige, and looking forward to your comments and the picture!

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Dec 16, 2005 at 4:46pm

The Orleans Theatre celebrated its grand opening with a dinner hosted by William Goldman at the Philmont Country Club at 6:00 P.M. and opening ceremonies at the theatre at *:00 P.M. on Wednesday, May 15, 1963.

There were 1,862 seats in the single auditorium. The screen dimensions were 30 ‘ X 63 ‘ and the length of throw from the lens was 181 feet. In the flat format, the picture size was 27X46 feet, in 70MM it was 27X60 feet and in 70MM scope, it was 26X62 feet.

The lamp hose was a Super Cinex High Intensity Arc Projection Lamp manufactured by Ashcroft Co, Inc of Long Island New York.

The projector heads were Norelco 35/70 manufactured by North American Phillips Co.

This particular model projector had the unique quality in that it could operate at 30 frames per second and was explicitly designed for the movie “Oklahoma” which was shot at 30 fps.

The two Norelco projectors were in full operation up until the time that AMC replaced them in 1993. The last 70MM film to play was Dick Tracy.

The first movie to open the Orleans was “The Day Of Wine And Roses”.

During the time it was a Goldman Theatre, the Orleans was considered the flagship of the small, but prestigious Goldman chain. No other theatre outside the downtown area came close to the quality of the sound, picture size, projection equipment and comfort of the Orleans. Keep in mind, most theatres outside the center city area were, by then, older “neighborhood” second run theatre has-beens.

Experiencing a movie like The Dirty Dozen was spectacular for its astounding visual and sound experience. The speakers were behind the perforated walls of the auditorium and during the battle scenes one would vibrate in their seat as the sound of artillery shells came ripping down the sides of the long auditorium walls, ending with their “landing” on the screen with a heart stopping blast. The Dirty Dozen was presented in 70Mm six track stereophonic sound. This meant that there were literally six magnetic strips of tape on the film. Each strip of tape was dedicated to its own function for , say, voice, sound effects, music, incidental sounds and so on. The sound of a magnetic track was, at the time, the truest way to capture the actual studio master mix of the original sound that the director intended.

One unforgettably outstanding film experience was watching 2001 A Space Odyssey for the first time. The film has not been viewed until it has been viewed on a 26X62 foot screen. Another beautifully presented visual treat was David Lean’s Doctor Zhivago. In 1967, Gone With The Wind was re-released in select markets. The Orleans hosted this wonderful historical extravaganza to the delight of all who came to see it. The prints were re-struck and the sound track was reproduced from the original master studio track. The aspect ratio of the movie was shown in its original 4:3 format. This meant that the image was a square in the middle of the screen and a lot of empty screen on both sides of the image However, the luxurious cinematography, shot in technicolor, and the breathtaking Max Steiner musical score left no patron with a feeling that they lacked anything in their experience as they left the theatre.

In a couple of years, economics took a front row seat in changing the once vast landscape of the large auditorium. In Kansas City, Missouri, a man named Stan Durwood purchased some retail space in a mall where he wished to make into a theatre. The year was 1963 and through happenstance, Mr. Durwood chose to purchase the space next door to his recently purchased store and saw possibilities. Why not make two theatres and separate them by a wall? Stan Sourwood was the first to create the ubiquitous “Twin” theatre that would catch fire across the country. Why not? thought theatre owners. It was a no-brainer. Take an existing theatre and cut it in half so that concession stand activity was increased and owners didn’t feel the pain of being stuck with a dog for the entire six or eight weeks. Stan Durwood was the classic showman. He lived in a modest home and drove a Nissan, a car way beneath what his actual status might normally call for. He died of cancer in the late 1999 and, oh I almost forgot, he was the CEO of AMC Theatres. His father Ed Durwood founded Durwood Theatres in 1920 and in years to come Stan took over the operation upon his father’s death and the chain was renamed American Multi Cinema.. It is now a worldwide chain with theatres in a number of countries.

So, following in the footsteps of other theatre owners, Goldman Theatres twinned the Orleans and it opened as The Orleans Twin Theatres on May 24, 1972. The opening attractions on May 24 were Cabaret and Woody Allan’s Play It Again Sam. Also, at this time, the William Goldman sold his beloved chain to another smaller operation named Budco Theatres. The “Budco” name was derived from the theatre chain’s owner, Earl Schlanger, who was fondly called Buddy as a child.

The two auditoriums had approximately 950 seats each upon being twinned. Employees and patron who were used to the massive screen width were stunned to watch a movie in what became known disparagingly as a bowling alley. The screen image just didn’t look or feel right when watching a movie. Gone were the days of the wide screen experience.

In 1977, Budco decided to add two more auditoriums to the existing building. From this point on, there was little thought to amenities. Just put up the walls and throw up a screen it’s a numbers game now, baby. In 1984, Budco purchased the Pathmark grocery store behind the Orleans and created four more auditoriums.

In the spring of 1987, AMC Theatres bought out Budco Theatres and once again, the Orleans went through somewhat of an incarnation. Money was sunk into new concession stands, seats were pulled to make leg room more comfortable, auditoriums were repainted and a new HVAC unit was installed on the roof.

Truthfully speaking, the Orleans was a grand old lady and it’s not her fault that indecision about her future has made her appear a little rough around the edges today. Will the company close her down or should we infuse a lot of cash to upgrade her. Why do an extreme make over when we may close the theatre down in a year or so, we could be putting that money into a theatre that we know is going to be around a lot longer. There were plans by AMC in the early 90's to create a twelve screen complex utilizing the current location. The layout was to have a number of screens in the original building in which the screens would be along a wall facing the Bustleton Ave. side. Then, there would be a number of screens in another series of auditoriums with the screens along the walls facing Bleigh Street. The projection booth would run straight down the middle of what would be above the rear of all the auditoriums. One obstacle stood in the way: the residents in the surrounding neighborhood. The were strong in their opposition to, yet even more, parking and loud youths going to their cars and racing down the street in front of their homes.

The expansion plan collapsed. Perhaps, more life can be breathed into the old girl but in reality, I think, the movie theatre as we know it will be gone in a few short years, just like the wide screens, balconies and smoking section of theatres. The digital age is showing no mercy on the antiquated platform of 35MM film snaking through a projector. Certainly, some theatres are installing digital projection systems but at an estimated one hundred thousand dollars per auditorium, theatre owners are not in a hurry to upgrade.

My thoughts on this are a gradual disappearing of movie theatres replaced by the home theatre and only a couple of movie venues per city. With the sophisticated home theatre systems coming on the market today, one can reproduce the same sound and better image quality of your favorite multiplex, minus the crying babies, cell phones ringing, high ticket and concession prices, rude customers kicking your seat, paying a baby sitter, paying for parking , and you can enjoy all of it in your pajamas.

posted by Hughie on Dec 17, 2005 at 3:13pm

Great review on the Orleans Theatre, Hughie! I saw several films there back when it was single-screen, Oliver!, The Charge of the Light Brigade, and my favorite one of all, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines! I never saw any films there after they began splitting it up into smaller theaters, but from the way you describe it, I consider myself lucky for that!

One point of curiosity, my distinctly recalling that its stage had curtains - and light brown ones if my memory serves me correctly - when they showed Gone With the Wind there in its original 4:3 format, why couldn't they have done it so the curtains were only opened up as much as necessary?

Now as for what you say about digital cinema projection systems, which I'm a firm believer in, it's not too expensive for a theater to switch over to if making money is not that theater's bottom line. Keep in mind that for expensive as it is that it's a onetime expense. So that allows for a lot flexibility.

As for the disappearing of movie theaters, I regard that as wishful thinking on Hollywood's part. And the reason why has to do with how unstoppable piracy threatens Hollywood's whole fiscal future if it's banking everything on that. It has absolutely got to get behind the theaters again if it hopes to survive, it has no other choice. And while that's wishful thinking on theater operators' parts, the big difference is it's wishful thinking with a whole lot of substance behind it. For if Hollywood can't make money, Hollywood can't produce movies. And if Hollywood can't produce movies, where does that leave home theater? The only exception is network television because it can run commercials. But you see how quality suffers with network television given the restrictive and dictatorial powers advertisers have. Which may enable Hollywood to survive, but at the same time it will make home theater a lot less attractive than you describe it. And keep in mind that computer games are a major threat to home theater...

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Dec 18, 2005 at 5:30pm

Very very nice hughie.

posted by Eddie Jacobs on Dec 19, 2005 at 5:11pm

Now the latest news is that the AMC Orleans, hollywood bistro and the strip with pep boys, jo ann fabrics and other stores will be demolished in the fall, to make way for a Wal*Mart (sigh, I wouldve liked a Target)

posted by Eddie Jacobs on Jan 22, 2006 at 8:53pm

And yet...

I believe all of us can readily agree that the original main portion of the Orleans Theatre building should be kept standing and made a single-screen movie theater once more. That is, a single-screen theater where concession stand and ticket prices are kept low, and no commercials are ever shown. Surely there's not a single one of us who would object to that, is there? And Wal*Mart could subsidize it's operation. For hey, seriously, why the heck not?

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Jan 23, 2006 at 8:10pm

Ok, great, if we are in fantasyland, maybe for Christmas, Santa Claus can bring a magnificient single screen movie palace to the area!! And, maybe he can stand in front and let everybody in for free and give them super cheap refreshments! Why not?

Or, if we want to live in the real world, and if we are lucky, a new stadium seat multiplex might arise somewhere in the area if the Orleans closes. Otherwise, people will need to travel some distance to a movie theater.

posted by HowardBHaas on Jan 26, 2006 at 3:22pm

This letter was written to TheatreBuff1, whose real name was deleted out of privacy concerns for him. I felt a need to share this letter with other film / theatre buffs within this site. We all share a similar passion for theatres and the history surrounding them.

Dear ****,

A source informed me that the new tenant for that land will be Target, not Wal-Mart.

AMC lost their lease so they no longer have a dog in that fight.
In my mind, the Orleans has an a special place in my heart due to my own relationship with the building going back to 1967. Having said that, I never did think of the Orleans as having the same unique theatre lineage as the grand cathedrals of old.
It is my opinion that the Orleans represented a new era of theatre architecture that eliminated the "useless" facades, interior murals, sweeping prosceniums and bold touches of any number of ancient architecture in exchange for a more utilitarian, functional appeal. The Orleans was one large box with seats and a large screen. It was movie exhibition reduced to its essence.

Here in Phoenix, a similar theatre as the Orleans in every way was torn down over a lot of community objections. Ironically, the last movie to play the was Titanic. I saw only one movie, Storm Troopers, at this theatre, The Cine Capri, and, ****, you would have seen the many similarities to the Orleans. This theatre was, like "The Big O", was built in the early sixties, had one screen, about as many seats as the original Orleans, had a gold curtain like the Orleans, even the exterior had the same flavor. The outside walls had the same kind of mosaic tile as the Orleans.

My God, there were editorials in the paper, letters to the editor trashing the theatre owner's decision to raze the theatre but all for naught. The theatre had to go, it stood in the middle of the most desirable and expensive commercial real estate within Arizona. The area is known as the Biltmore Area and you can probably Google it, along with the old Cine Capri theatre.

I think the Boyd Theatre is a worthy cause. Any sizable city lucky enough to have a theatre, such as the Boyd still standing, should feel compelled to maintain its grandeur. I have a few books on theatre history, ****, including Irvin Glazer's Philadelphia Theaters. No picture in a book can do justice or give praise like actually being inside one of these monumental shrines to the motion picture. It's like seeing pictures of the Grand Canyon over your lifetime and finally seeing it for real. There's no comparison, it's like never having seen those pictures of the Grand Canyon in your entire life. All I could say to people after having been to the Grand Canyon for the first time was that it was looking at the face of God. Some people seen viewing the canyon are actually seen crying over it's beauty. Well, I ,and I'm sure you, ****, feel the same way about historical theatres. So, yes, there should and must be a preservation of a slice of our American culture that pays tribute to the great architects who created a dream environment into which people would enter to view a dream scape of a far off land, leaving their worries at the "palace gate" for those few hours.

****, I get goose bumps and tear up when I see film montages that bestow praise on the movie industry over many years in just a few minutes. These tributes act to reinforce how truly important movies are in our culture. Usually, Chuck Workman will have something put together for the academy awards, some sort of homage to the industry or actor or actress life in film. This is our culture. Movies are the mile markers of our lives. Where was I in my personal life when I saw Patton at the Orleans in 1970? Where was I when I saw PT 109 at the Tower in 1963? Who was I dating when I saw Alfie ? I never did get to see The Sting on that rainy March night as I sat in the car in the parking lot of the Eric Pennsauken Theatre with my long time girlfriend. That was the night she broke my heart and told me she found someone else. Boy, talk about getting "stung"! I remember vividly coming out into the afternoon sunshine, shaking after having just witnesing the carnage of Bonnie And Clyde at the Goldman Theatre on October 12, 1967. It was Columbus Day and I cut school to see the movie I had been waiting for since reading about these two law breakers at the Northeast Library in the summer of 1965.
Bonnie And Clyde was a first that I could recall that portrayed violence and bloodshed in as real a way as could be done at the time. One thought I had, as I rubbed my wet palms together leaving the theatre was how could anybody ever consider leading a life of crime after seeing that movie.

Yeah, ****, movies not only can be memorable on their own but they help us to relive the times, good or bad, of days gone by, to sort of give our lives dimension, fill in the blanks and add perspective. Movies, for better or worse, have influenced and shaped our character to a degree. We found our heros on the screen and the kind of girl we wished to marry, the kind of people to stay away from and on and on.

Movies have a place in our lives and I believe the places they appeared have a place in our lives, as well.

Regards,
Hughie.

posted by Hughie on Jan 26, 2006 at 3:53pm

Well said, friend.

posted by ken mc on Jan 26, 2006 at 4:00pm

Thank you for your kind comments about the Boyd Theatre. The City did not feel "compelled to maintain its grandeur." Three owners in a row fought historic designation. With designation denied, and the theater closed, and the owner obtaining a demolition permit, the Art Deco showplace appeared doomed. I organized the Committee to Save the Sameric, and later, the Friends of the Boyd, and countless hours later, the Boyd, under new ownership, will reopen, and the Friends of the Boyd continue to assist for a comprehensive restoration, and a program to include films, public tours, and exhibits of the theater's history. www.FriendsOfTheBoyd.org

As to the Orleans, I think you are correct. I went to see it as after it had been divided. From what I know, the Cine Capri was nicer.

posted by HowardBHaas on Jan 26, 2006 at 4:03pm

Artist's rendering of Orleans Theatre before opening.

<img src="http://img465.imageshack.us/img465/8704/orleanso3ui.jpg" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" />

posted by Hughie on Jan 27, 2006 at 11:29am

Your link did not work. Can you try it again?

posted by ken mc on Jan 27, 2006 at 1:49pm

Your link did not work. Can you try it again?

posted by ken mc on Jan 27, 2006 at 1:50pm

http://img465.imageshack.us/img465/8704/orleanso3ui.jpg
just copy and paste taht and it comes up. nice looking
also tonight the AMC Orelans sign on the marquee was off.

posted by Eddie Jacobs on Jan 27, 2006 at 4:04pm

Eddie, It's a cool looking picture of the AMc Orleans 8 when it was conceived as Goldman's Orleans Theatre. also today, AMC now has the former Loews Cherry Hill 24 Theatre.

posted by MikeRa on Jan 27, 2006 at 5:20pm

Indeed mike
Here is a comparison picture of the orleans then and now.
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/4420/orleansthenandnow3gr.jpg

posted by Eddie Jacobs on Jan 27, 2006 at 5:52pm

Eddie, we missed you at Neshaminy 24 today, being it was the first day taking passes from Loews Cineplex.

posted by MikeRa on Jan 27, 2006 at 6:26pm

In response to the gentleman who currently heads up the organization to restore the Boyd -- and whom I have nothing but the highest regards for for his having helped save it from demolition -- now that the Boyd Theatre's fate is in good hands as he's been assuring us, I hope his group is doing everything it can to see that it gets the historic designation it rightfully deserves.

Meantime, the Orleans Theatre is a different type theater entirely, in that it holds sentimental rather than historic value. Add to this that it's a sentimental value that exists at this moment almost entirely in memories of long long ago.

As long long ago demonstrated, it has the power to instill sentimental values, but only when run properly. And that has clearly not been the case with regard to the Orleans ever since it split itself up into smaller theaters.

But I think it would be very naive to try to suggest that if the Orleans original theater portion were to be spared the wrecking ball, restored to a single-screen theater once more, and run very well -- that is, easily affordable ticket and concession stand prices, no commercials exhibited in addition to movies, a polite staff, and so on -- that consumers would avoid that theater like it's the plague. But to understand this, you have to be able to think like the consumer does. For there's such a thing as taking supply-side economic theory too far. Do that, and the AMC Orleans 8 Theatre story as we're seeing it now is the end result.

Unless they're run as charities, unlike how it is with many other businesses, movie theaters cannot be run in and of themselves. And likewise they can be of little to no benefit to others when this is the case, whether it be to the City, Hollywood, or whoever. When left to totally fend for themselves, they become far more a detriment than a benefit.

And that's exactly what we did see with the AMC Orleans 8 in most recent times.

But to go ahead and tear it down completely is not the right answer. Rather, we should look back to when it was a major asset, and then provide rational explanations why, if it were made that way again, it could not become such a major asset anew. For I argue that if it was made that way again that theater would do very very well. But it can't become the theater it once was again if those who stand to benefit from its being operated in that way refuse to provide their fair support of it. To quote the man who currently heads up the organization restoring the Boyd, that is unrealistic. Whoever's to benefit must pay their fair share. Otherwise, it's clearly a no go.

Now whether it's to be a Wal*Mart or a Target store that's to be taking over that site, whoever it's to be could foot the entire bill of restoring and covering its day-to-day operations in such a way so that on their behalf it could serve as a major showroom for their products, ranging from carpeting to tile to curtains to toilets to DVDs they sell of movies being exhibited there and so on and so forth. And it could all be done very tastefully. In fact, the more tastefully, the better for whichever retailer is taking over that site. And is what I'm suggesting realistic? Of course it's realistic, but its success depends upon the intelligence level of whoever the retailer is going to be. For if that much is totally lacking then I would say yes, it's unrealistic to suggest the Orleans can be saved. It's fate will match up with the other Orleans of note...

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Jan 27, 2006 at 8:53pm

It is my impression that customers don't have a hard time finding WalMart and Target stores, which serve themselves as showrooms. Those companies neither need to, nor will, ensure a future for the Orleans.

posted by HowardBHaas on Jan 28, 2006 at 3:59am

So what is the latest on the AMC Orleans? Is it now an is or was?

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Mar 2, 2006 at 7:22pm

The AMC Orleans 8 Theatre is still open, as of 3/27/2006, but for how long, I don't know.

posted by MikeRa on Mar 26, 2006 at 6:22pm

Reviewing the above posted comments all the way back to the beginning, we can see that the rumors of the AMC Orleans 8 closing have been going on since September 26, 2004, and with Eddie Jacobs being the originator -- and perpetuator -- of them. And now the AMC Orleans 8's closing is starting to look like just another one of those urban legends. For I was just over at the Orleans last Thursday (March 23, 2006) and no one I spoke with had any knowledge that it was soon to be closing, if ever.

As for the Pep Boys that's near to there, I did get it confirmed -- by the Pep Boys people directly -- that it's going to be expanding soon. But out in the direction of its large parking lot in back, not in a direction that will overtake any businesses right near to it. No need to.

As for the Hollywood Bistro right next to the Orleans, at worst it simply looked like it was closed while I was there and could do well to replace some of the missing letters on its "HOLLYWOOD" sign on top.

And why the marquee over the Orleans' main theater entryway remains blank I have no idea, but it's been that way for many months now, and ultimately probably means nothing at all. Or anything sinister at least.

So what I myself can only conclude is that the AMC Orleans is an is and likely will remain as such.

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Mar 27, 2006 at 6:02pm

With slots parlors soon to be introduced throughout the state of Pennsylvania in a big way, and with it being asked what impact this will have on the state's cinemas -- http://cinematreasures.org/news/14515_0_1_0_M/ -- I'm now wondering if there's any possible correlation between the offtrack betting facility that's near to the AMC Orleans Theatre and that theater's demise. As the legalization of gambling in Atlantic City, NJ taught us (or at least I hope it did) it's always bad news to build gambling facilities anywhere near residential areas or traditional consumer business districts. So given that, there probably is some correlation between that OTB facility and the AMC Orleans' decline.

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Apr 21, 2006 at 9:31pm

We recently moved to the part of NE Philly right near the Orleans...in fact we can walk to the theater in about 5 mins from our new house!

I saw CARS at the Orleans a week ago with my 7 yr old, and the place was packed...and this was a Tuesday afternoon matinee! I like the place...it looks dated from the outside but its fine inside!

I really like the fact that we can walk to a neighborhood theater..this area really reminds me of my childhood in so many ways. There is also a really old theater called the HIWAY in nearby Jenkintown.

posted by AWatson on Jul 13, 2006 at 1:47am

The Orleans Theatre is a survivor that's for sure, and I give its current management full credit for that. And I'm much happier about new people to the area who want to see it kept going as a theater -- despite its having been chopped up into a multiplex -- than those anxious to see it razed and replaced by a Wal*Mart or Target Store. Meantime, you have me curious: When you say it was packed for CARS, do you mean packed as in "packed in like cattle with making the buck the main objective and the heck with how the experience is for the theatergoers themselves"? Or do you mean packed as in "a really healthy turn out"? For right now we're looking to take Northeast Philadelphia in a direction where the former is seen as a huge turn off by those newly coming to here but the latter is seen as a very good sign. For see, I've been spreading the word about acquiring and making the Holme Theater -- which isn't all that far from the Orleans -- a classy neighborhood theater once more, it's not having been a theater since the late 1950s. But since the Orleans is the only theater around, and this has been the case for over several decades now, the Orleans is what a lot of people think of when you say "movie theater." And so it's no wonder, then, that they react like it's the plague when I and others say, "Hey, let's make the Holme Theatre a theater once more, too!" For in the Holme Theatre's case it would have to be run in a way that's totally classy. Meaning that, unlike the AMC Orleans 8, it would have to be single screen, could never run commercials in addition to film fare, and could never gouge on concession stand prices. Plus it would have to be much more selective in the quality of the films it exhibits. With the Orleans they just show whatever's new and demand. And that's fine, there's a need for that. But at the same time it works in the Orleans' case because it's situated at a major NE Philly shopping mall. The Holme Theatre's location on the other hand is the exact opposite. The area right around it is heavily residential not to mention very historic, and to a high level, scenic, given its closeness to Pennypack Park which is not all that far from it. And, incidentally, it was designed by the same architect who designed the HIWAY you mention.

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Jul 13, 2006 at 6:03pm

no, Lee only worked on a redesign of the Hiway, and was one of several architects over time on that theater. The Hiway is closing this month for yet another renovation.

Mainstream fare survived longer at the Orleans because it has 8 screens. Commercial exhibitors rely on concessions for profits, and can't be inexpensive with such.

If there's going to be another movie theater in NE Philly, it would more likely have as many screens or more as the Orleans. That's just economics, at least for mainstream fare. I don't know that arthouse films would have enough audience.

posted by HowardBHaas on Jul 13, 2006 at 6:26pm

You're right about the Hiway, Howard, and I stand corrected. At the same time it helps me appreciate the Holme Theatre all the more in that it's a pureplay. And because the Holme Theatre was designed by one of the top movie theater architects of the 20th century -- unlike the Orleans (which to the best of my knowledge no one wants to take credit for) -- there's solid grounds for the Holme Theatre's holding status above and beyond being "just a business like any other." Which, in turn, would allow it to have the leverage it needs not to have to debase the moviegoing experience by gouging on concesssion prices, running commercials in addition to film fare, being chopped up into a multiplex and so on. Of course, this would hinge on how it's restored. Understandably, given how it has not been a movie theater since the late 1950s, much of what was in place originally is missing today, while there are scant few records of what's been lost. But to be sure, anything that remains from when it was a theater last would be fully preserved and restored. The ONLY possible exception to this would be if there's any trace of the original proscenium left that would conflict with its being made a widescreen theater. Alas, it would be great if only William Harold Lee himself were alive today and he could oversee the full restoration and updating. But, life goes on, and we who are living today can pretty accurately project -- based on the role W.H. Lee played with the Hiway and other theaters -- what he would do if given the task of restoring and updating the Holme Theatre today.

Now in terms of economics, there's no one set type. There very much is a type of economics that forces a theater to cheapen itself, as we clearly see in the case of the AMC Orleans 8. But that's only one variation. And such type economics really doesn't work in the vicinity of the Holme Theatre's location. And we can now pretty much conclude it never will, and thank God for it. For it was tried for there, it failed miserably, and now it's in the process of dying out. The reason why is because Holmesburg, like a great deal of the rest of Northeast Philadelphia, is far more suitable as a residential area where money is not that relevant, than its being geared for commerce. In brief, it has never been a suitable place for anyone to come to to try to make a fortune. Rather, that's the province of Center City Philadelphia and so on. And once upon a much better time in Philadelphia's history, Kensington and North Philadelphia.

So the Holme Theatre has to be run in alignment with that reality. It has no other choice -- not that I'm complaining, mind you! At the same time the restored Holme Theatre would not be an "arthouse theater" per se. It would indeed exhibit mainstream films, but at the same time would do it selectively on the basis of these films having high artistic merit. And most mainstream films I must point out DO have that merit. So the Holme Theatre would be specially geared to bring that artistic quality to the forefront. For instance, did you know that 50 Cent's "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," which was released last November, was in many ways a brilliant African Americanized version of the "Ben Hur" story brought to modern times? For you certainly wouldn't know this given how it was exhibited at the Orleans last fall. Shown there all wrongly the way it was, it came across as a movie that was pro-drug culture. And it likewise drew a very pro-drug oriented crowd. And Walt Disney's "Chicken Little," produced in 3-D, completely fell on its face when shown at the AMC Orleans 8 last year. Which is fine for moviegoers willing to settle for that sort of movie exhibiting. But the whole purpose of the restored Holme Theatre would be to show the mainstream films the way the producers, and directors, and actors and so forth want them to be exhibited, and where that, rather than making the buck, is the major objective.

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Jul 14, 2006 at 6:12pm

TheatreBuff, I happen to know members of the AMC Orleans 8 management, and they came from AMC Neshaminy 24.

In fact, AMC Neshaminy 24 provided managers to; AMC Orleans 8, AMC Franklin Mills 14, AMC Hamilton 24, AMC Plymouth Cinema 12, AMC Loews Lincoln Square 12, AMC Santa Anita 14, AMC Bay Street 16, and AMC Deptford 8 Theatres.

posted by MikeRa on Jul 14, 2006 at 6:42pm

Hey, guys...I live two blocks away from the Orleans 8. I'm very friendly with the security guards there. Just last night I found out that at the end of this month, they are replacing the current security crew(all off-duty or retired Philadelphia Police Officers) with a single armed guard. POSSIBLY in September, date is subject to change, the Orleans 8 will be no more and they will be building a Wal*Mart. Now, I'm not exactly sure about the rest of you, but I have lots of memories at that theater and can't stand to lose it. Oh, and, when I say two blocks away, I'm right behind the PetSmart that's right next to it. But anyhoo. I've been frequenting that theater every weekend since 1996. I refuse to go anywhere else. If they tear the theater down and build a Wal*Mart, that would make bad happenings for everyone in the area.

posted by JonFox on Jul 15, 2006 at 1:49pm

posted by JonFox on Jul 15, 2006 at 1:50pm

Well I hope you're not the only one in the area who feels that way, JonFox, for at least it's a theater that people around it can still go to. My second oldest brother worked there as an usher sometime back in the mid-60s when it was still a single screen theater. And when it was a single screen, and still fresh and new, it actually had some class to it. I remember seeing "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines" there sometime during the latter half of the 1960s. But apparently it just wasn't designed well to stand the test of time. You can readily see how its design was influenced very heavily by cost-consciousness -- meaning, "Why hire someone such as William Harold Lee to design it when for just a tiny fraction of that cost Joe Schmoe the gas station/port-a-john designer can design a theater 'every bit as good'?" And though I don't know for a fact, I assume the theater's name, "Orleans," was not after the city of New Orleans in this country or Orleans in France (of Joan of Ark fame), but rather, the Philadelphia area builder A.P. Orleans who recklessly ruined so much of Northeast Philadelphia's onetime natural beauty with his really poorly planned out housing developments following the end of World War I onward. For prior to then all this up here had been the original Main Line, you know. And then came the idiots, thinking only of money, who simply didn't get it. (And some who apparently still don't.)

For Northeast Philadelphia is long overdue to come roaring back in a huge way, and to have some of the best cinemas around when all is said and done. But the advent of those best cinemas, of course, hinge on other changes in Northeast Philadelphia that must take place as well. Given your current location I'm sure you're aware of the Fox Chase Cancer Center v. Burholme Park controversy not that far from there, and how much the Fox Chase Cancer Center's insane proposal to try to expand at its current location will reeeeeeeally harm that area, and a thousand times worse than a Wal*Mart replacing the Orleans Theatre will! It has to do with the stretch of Cottman Avenue (which the Orleans is just a block back from) between Roosevelt Boulevard and Burholme Park. We've got to get that issue wrapped up the right way, which is why I'm telling everybody to vote for Raj Bhakta -- who favors saving Burholme Park -- this November (2006). For like you, he's from this area, too. And we've got to get him in and U.S. Representative Allyson Schwartz (who fully stands with the Cancer Center) out. For she's not from here. She doesn't know anything at all about here. She doesn't care anything at all about here. She's from New York, and she takes all her orders from Bryn Mawr.

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Jul 15, 2006 at 6:23pm

The Orleans has been open as a movie theater for more years than the Holmes was.

In his hardback book on Philly theaters, Irv Glazer lists Thalheimer and Weitz as architects. Among other theaters, they earlier designed the Devon, and later, Center City Philadelphia's Regency. Even earlier, they had designed Art Deco theaters. Architects, however, work within the budget specified by the client.

There were other theaters built by Goldman that were twinned shortly
after he sold the chain to Budco, including in Center City
Philadelphia the Goldman & Regency. He built large single screen movie houses, and didn't do any twinning that I am aware of.

posted by HowardBHaas on Jul 16, 2006 at 3:11am

When I said the Orleans was "packed" for CARS during an afternoon weekday showing, I meant it had lots of people...in other words, we weren't the only ones in there!

posted by AWatson on Jul 17, 2006 at 5:42am

Ah, Thalheimer and Weitz! But then again we do have to concede that the Devon Theatre's best feature isn't its architectural design. At least externally. Which is why for many years it was relegated as an adult movie house and nobody minded much. Not when the Mayfair Theatre not far from there was still in full swing, and the Orleans was still single screen. And of course the Merben was still open, and the Tyson and the Crest and so on. And I believe the Oxford, too, though I have no recollections of going to that theater. Or the Castor. By the way, does that book say who designed the GCC Northeast? For of all the Northeast Philly theaters that was designed so lack-of-talentedly that I'd really be surprised if anyone actually took credit for it. Yet, when it was up and running I do remember it being a pretty nice theater just to give full credit to whoever was managing it. But you're fully right about the Holme, it hardly got to serve much as a theater at all. And most probably because of the fact that it was in a predominantly residential area and when it was a theater it had no parking at all. So I think in many ways the automobile killed it. For I can't see how television could have, given how TV was back in the '50s. For we so forget now just how bad television was back then. Spoiled with the quality of how it is today, I don't think most of us today could stomach for five seconds trying to get something from a 1950s TV set, with rabbit ears, blurry round screen about 10 inches in diameter, and everything in fuzzy low-resolution black and white. Yet the movies at the theaters were very good quality by then. Technicolor, stereo sound, sharp clear picture, and acting and scripts that far surpassed anything on TV, etc. We can actually still watch those movies today, and be every bit as enraptured by them as when they were fresh. But if you try watching old TV shows from the '50s you have to ask, how did people ever get anything out of it?

Anyway, getting back on topic with the Orleans Theatre, my view is that if people like that theater, and they attend it regularly -- which sounds to be the case when you went there to see CARS, AWatson -- then that's the bottom line to me: what the people want. For if that isn't given top priority, then what the hell kind of country are we? Or are we becoming? For that's the whole thing with Burholme Park not that far from there. People love it, while Allyson Schwartz (whoever the hell she is) snootily says, "No, that doesn't count for anything." While my outlook is, well if that doesn't, then nothing does. And as for the Orleans, now that we know -- thanks to Howard's research -- that it WAS designed by a somewhat noteworthy architectural team, that brings it up several notches from the evaluations it was given before, that is, that combined with the fact that it's very popular, going by what everyone is saying. As JonFox above put it so movingly, "If they tear the theater down and build a Wal*Mart, that would make bad happenings for everyone in the area." And in the whole of things, what overrides that? What? For if many people love the Orleans Theatre, that's the bottom line. There's no other.

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Jul 17, 2006 at 5:57pm

TheaterBuff1, I sent you an invitation.

Hughie

posted by Hughie on Jul 23, 2006 at 11:34am

Come visit the site I'm dedicating to the Orleans Theatre at: http://www.msnusers.com/TheOrleansTheatre

Come, join, share and enjoy !

Hughie

posted by Hughie on Jul 24, 2006 at 5:56am

Great new website, Hughie! But why are my hunches telling me that it's going to evolve into the "Save the Orleans" website if actual efforts are made by its current ownership to raze it to displace it with a Wal*Mart or whatever? For given its location, at a major shopping center with plenty of free parking, I'd say pressures are such that it couldn't possibly be other than a multiplex. And going by some of the recent comments posted here, if there's heavy residentialized areas near to this theater, this theater itself as it is right now is the major reason why. For people like to have nice things they enjoy in close walking distance to where they live, and it sounds to me that that's how many people living near the AMC Orleans 8 feel about it. And one absolute rule of smart business is that you NEVER EVER shut down a business that is heavily trafficked and popular with everyone!

At the current time it's not the type theater tailored to my own personal tastes, but then look at where it's located -- at a major shopping mall where people such as me would go to to shop only. But for others this is just the right setting for theaters they can identify with. And in the AMC Orleans 8's case apparently many do. I would like to see Northeast Philadelphia have the other types of theaters, too -- that is, single screen, very classy and palatial like. But palatial theaters require palatial settings, not hustle-bustle shopping mall type areas.

Not far from the Orleans you have two classic old theater buildings -- the Tyson and Castor -- and either one of them could be brought back as theaters thar are palatial like. But the Orleans' setting is such that strong demand is upon it that it always be very contemporary. I myself loved it back when it was single screen, but I can't recall this love being any more intense than how I felt toward the Mayfair, Merben, Tyson and so on. I.e., if I went to the Orleans it's because it just happened to be showing the movie I wanted to see at the moment. And since it was single screen it was as good as any, for originally it was very palatial like inside, plus Roosevelt Mall -- which was part of the Lit Brothers and Gimbels line up alongside Cottman Avenue -- was a lot classier back in those days.

And it's important to have theaters that are like the AMC Orleans 8 around today to insure that palatial style theaters don't get overpacked. For I mean, could you see trying to run a palatial style theater while getting bombarded with those who far prefer a much more generic multiplex style theater? For such puts everyone in a totally awkward position. On the other hand it's unsmart business and worthless-style politics to write off the more discriminating theatergoers as "irrelevent" and "insignificant." Which is precisely why Pennsylvania House Speaker John Perzel, who's governing so much of Northeast Philadelphia, and has been the past 23 years or so, has got to go come this November. Either that, or have his gerrymandered district whittled down to the small one or two Northeast Philadelphia pockets that his style "leadership" is suitable for. For a new type of demand is striking Northeast Philadelphia now, and he just isn't cut out for it, just as U.S. Representative Allyson Schwartz, who currently represents here, clearly isn't. What we're getting from them now "leadership-wise" is kind of like that last snow fall that happens late in April after the trees have started to bloom, and the fallen snow only lasts an hour and a half or so.

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Jul 24, 2006 at 8:12pm

Well, theaterbuff, I don't know why your hunches are telling you what they're telling you. Why don't you come on over and join the club? I sent you a personal invitation to be the first member of the site but you seem to have rebuffed my offer.

Later,
Hughie

posted by Hughie on Jul 25, 2006 at 2:05pm

By the way, the link to The Orleans Theatre web site is: http://www.msnusers.com/TheOrleansTheatre/

Please, visit and tell your friends about us.

Hughie

posted by Hughie on Jul 26, 2006 at 1:05pm

Hughie, if you're referring to a personal e-mail you sent me, I never received it. Meantime, I've been to your site and I think it's very good. Only trouble was, I wanted to post a comment at your site telling you congratulations but couldn't figure out any way to.

Meantime, just to say a few things about it here, most people who grew up with the Orleans Theatre the way you and I did, Hughie, are gone now, while those who love it today love it for what it is now, which is a whole lot different from the classic old Orleans you and I remember. But let's just be grateful it's still a theater at all. For as Northeast Philly theaters go it is a survivor, I will say that for it, and a person would have to be pretty hardened in the heart not to admire it for that. Or to even think of replacing it with a Wal*Mart or Target Store or whatever at this late stage.

Because we're living in modern times and it is located at a major shopping mall where business and making money is the most important focus, the way it is now seems to be the only fitting way for it to be. For you must keep in mind that it was part of a gestalt before, that is, an alignment that included Gimbels and Lit Brothers, which back in their day were very very upscale. For those who don't remember, think "Are You Being Served?" But Gimbels is now long gone, and Lits is long gone, and they ain't ever coming back. (You'll have to excuse my lingo, but I just got back home from a Springsteen tribute concert.) But with that part of the gestalt missing you simply can't run the Orleans today the way it once was. And all I was saying many many posts back at this webpage was that if there are plans to tear it down, at least leave the main auditorium intact.

But in all, if people love this theater now, 8 screens and all, you NEVER TEAR DOWN OR DISPLACE THAT WHICH PEOPLE LOVE, NEVER! For love is everything, even in business it is. It's not my kind of theater the way it is now, and I'm pretty sure it's not yours the way they have it chopped up into little theaters at this point.

But see for yourself. 2006. Other people like it, and they're using it regularly. And that's the whole bottom line really. And it's the same with Burholme Park farther up Cottman Avenue from there. In that case, the Fox Chase Cancer Center, which around here everybody hates, wants to shove aside that which everybody loves, while some people every bit as shallow as the Fox Chase Cancer Center Nobel twits have thoughts of doing the same with the Orleans. And they're assuming they can. But they're assuming wrong.

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Jul 26, 2006 at 5:39pm

Used to see tons of movies here when I was a kid (my grandmother lived three blocks away), but I can't remember the last time I set foot in the place. I think it was one of the Police Academy movies.

Sorry to hear it's being shut down, though. For people in this immediate area, there aren't many moviegoing options (especially considering that the UA Grant sucks eggs).

posted by ScottWeinberg on Aug 28, 2006 at 8:19am

Theater That Won't Be Missed by Many
Another example of a multiplex run into the ground but still grinding out flicks, AMC Orleans 8 rivals Movies at Cheltenham Square for grunge.

from Philadelphia Weekly today:
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/view.php?id=13454

posted by HowardBHaas on Nov 22, 2006 at 5:18am

My too fondly remembering the Orleans when it was all new and single-screen and part of the Roosevelt Mall complex when it, too, was all new, it would be too surreally disturbing an experience for me to set foot in that theater today, now a chopped up multiplex, as from my perspective -- in part instilled by the Orleans in a different era -- life is meant to go forward and up, not back. And boy, did the architectural design of the Orleans Theatre NOT stand the test of time with regards to that! Some things of old when you see them again they strike a note of nostalgia. But the Orleans is such that when you see it again it strikes a note of disappointment. When you see it again you think, man, why can't it be anything like it was in memories? That is, for those remembering it as a "once great theater," it is far better not seeing it at all as it really is -- and was -- if that's the case. But rather, to use those memories to build an all new theater that matches what you think the Orleans had once been.

However, to say it "won't be missed by many" is to say we've adopted a chaste system in this country, something we didn't have before. It's kind of analogous to Yogi Berra's saying, "Nobody comes out to baseball games anymore because they're too crowded." For the fact is that the AMC Orleans 8 of today, and far moreso than ever, draws huge audiences. That's precisely why these days it looks so constantly rundown. That rundown appearance you see is not the look of abandonment but over-love.

To be sure, if the Orleans ever goes the way of the wrecking ball it won't be missed by those whose concept of life is to go forward and up. But to the raging masses whose outlook in life is "yeah, yeah, yeah, we don't care about any of that," it will be missed plenty, in "Sullivan's Travels"-like fashion.

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Nov 22, 2006 at 7:58pm

Oops! Quick correction: I meant to say "caste system," not "chaste system"! Chaste system was back in the late '60s when the Orleans showed "I Am Curious Yellow," and a whole bunch of heavyset NE Philly housewives turned out to protest, one angry NE housewife's sign reading: "I Am Furious Red"...

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Nov 22, 2006 at 9:19pm

What I've heard is the AMC Orleans 8 is not closing any time soon.

posted by MikeRa on Dec 23, 2006 at 5:50pm

But it might be changing considerably on the road ahead in terms of its current clientele due to the all new Pearl Theatre @ Avenue North a state-of-the-art 7-screen megaplex that rose up on Broad Street in December of '06. And even moreso if a sizeable shopping mall rises up in North Philly to rival Roosevelt Mall. Under the previous arrangement so much money was being drained out of North Philly, which, in turn, was proving detrimental both for North Philly and Northeast Philadelphia. The old Roosevelt Mall with its accompanying Orleans Theatre respected the fact that it was in a predominantly residential area, which of course is Northeast Philadelphia's most appropriate calling, and which of course hasn't changed. But over the past 15 years or so Roosevelt Mall, in its quest to make money with a "the hell with anything else" approach, fully lost sight of that. But the all new Pearl signals the needed change that was long overdue.

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Jan 5, 2007 at 8:59pm

Well, after all these years of rumours, it seems like Orleans is finally going to close in 2 months.

posted by Eddie Jacobs on Aug 17, 2007 at 11:49pm

Oh, here we go again. You really have it in for this theater, don't you, Eddie? But despite your noise, that theater's staying put, just like Burholme Park up Cottman Avenue from there is. Live with it.

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Aug 18, 2007 at 12:58am

No, I dont have it in for this theatre, this time it really is, unlike the other times, managers are saying it, and how we may be getting some workers from there.
Laos I've been hearing how Target is indeed going where the orleans is.
I don't care if you believe me or not, we shall find out in a couple months, whether im right or im wrong.

posted by Eddie Jacobs on Aug 18, 2007 at 9:10am

Yep, just like we did the last time, Eddie.

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Aug 18, 2007 at 11:34pm

The June 1999 Philadelphia Magazine rated the AMC Orleans 8 a "3" on a 1 to 5 scale, with comment "A former cutting-edge theater that has dulled considerably."

posted by HowardBHaas on Aug 25, 2007 at 2:29pm

I'm really surprised they gave it even that high a rating. For you know a theater's got to be pretty bad when someone who goes by the user name of "Theaterbuff1" and lives in an area of the city where that's one of only three theaters around, the AMC Orleans 8 being the closest one, but he wouldn't even dare consider going to see a movie there, given how it's been run the past 20 years or so!

Still, although it's light years away now from how it was when I saw such films as OLIVER! and THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES there in the late 1960s when it was a single screen theater and very classy inside at that, a lot of people love that theater as it is today. And one thing I definitely don't do is argue with love. Or at least not when it's love of the only surviving theater from the days of my youth in a part of the city where once there had been so many but now this is the last surviving one.

And sometimes....well, you just have to put aside your own outlook and see things as Joel McCrea came to see them in that classic 1941 movie, SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS. For that's the whole point of movies, after all, isn't it?

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Aug 25, 2007 at 8:00pm

well informed sources inform me that the AMC Orleans will close soon (within a month or so?) for demolition, to be replaced by a Target.

posted by HowardBHaas on Aug 28, 2007 at 3:18pm

^Yep like I said last week, but unlike the other times I have speculated about the orleans rumours of closing, this time more people are saying it, including managers (Even ones that currently are at orleans).

posted by Eddie Jacobs on Aug 28, 2007 at 9:29pm

Ah, so much for a theater that a lot of people love then. So much for all the steadfast loyalties they've shown towards it all these many years, making it the last Northeast Philadelphia movie theater of yore still in operation and which they no doubt had hoped to continue to show steadfast loyalty to for the next 50 years or so. So to that we're now to the point that we say yeah yeah yeah, the hell with all that. Knock that sucker down and slap up a Target Store in its place -- which nobody wants, nobody asked for, but they're going to get shoved at them anyhow. Because that's what some mindless twit out on the Main Line or wherever wants them to have. I am soooooo glad I am not among Philadelphia's current movers and shakers because I couldn't stand to be that wormy and pathetic. But then these are pure lowlifes in nice suits, nice cars, nice houses making these decisions, and with the brains of maggots. And so quite seriously what else can we expect from them but this kind of thing?

And the name "Target," how appropriate in this case. As in, look for something people love, and then target it. Knock that sucker down, put up something nobody's going to like in its place, and that's "justice."

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Aug 29, 2007 at 9:15pm

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Aug 29, 2007 at 9:26pm

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g176/dld2006/100_5997.jpg
SOmone took this over at phillyblog, September 3rd (Labour Day) seem to be the last day, wow, thats quicker than I thought it would be.

posted by Eddie Jacobs on Sep 1, 2007 at 11:21pm

And Movietickets.com has no showtimes after monday, wow so this is really the end, RIP Orleans 8, for thats where I saw movies when I was a kid, and The Simpsons Movie will have been the final movie I saw there.

posted by Eddie Jacobs on Sep 1, 2007 at 11:24pm

Eddie, unless you're British, Canadian, New Zealander, Australian or whatever, we spell it "Labor" Day in this country, NOT "Labour" Day, just so you'll know for next year, and therafter. And yes, it's a very keen observation you made. When evil forces move, they do so quickly. And at long last it does look like you're right, the AMC Orleans 8 is all about to become history soon.

I think at the very least it would be great if the main building (the original Orleans Theatre) could be spared the wrecking ball and restored as a single screen theater once more. But the key word there is "think," and that's asking far more of Philadelphia's current movers and shakers than they're clearly capable of. So as you say, Eddie, RIP Orleans 8.

Meantime, my fondest memory of it will always be of when I walked over there at age 11 to see THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES. It was a single-screen theater at that time and all new within, its just having been freshly built the year before. I saw countless other movies there, too, of course. But that particular memory I hold of the Orleans stands out the most for some reason, probably because it was the FIRST movie I ever saw there, but of that I'm not fully sure. And being as I was a little kid unaccompanied by any parents, I remember feeling intimidated entering into such a well-groomed all-new theater all alone, as if to say I had to prove to the management that I could act proper when coming to the theater just on my own that way, just to give a greater sense of what that era was like. And needless to say I was well behaved from start to finish, from the Red Skelton opening to the Red Skelton close. So alas, c'est la vie, Orleans Theatre, huh? I'm grateful, though, that I got to experience it when it was the best time to. The wrecking ball can't knock that down.

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Sep 2, 2007 at 12:57am

I was tired, I meant labor, si the final 8 movies that will show at the AMC Orleans 8 is: Balls Of Fury, The Bourne Ultimatum, Illegal Tender, The Invasion, Rush Hour 3, The Simpsons Movie, Superbad and War.

posted by Eddie Jacobs on Sep 2, 2007 at 9:19am

so*

posted by Eddie Jacobs on Sep 2, 2007 at 9:20am

Could we add the web site I created for The Orleans Theatre?

The link is: http://www.msnusers.com/TheOrleansTheatre/documents.msnw

Although I put the site together a couple of years ago I don't purport to claim ownership. I look at the site as a community effort to be enjoyed by the select group of folks who have a special spot in their hearts for The Orleans Theatre of old.

A few people have already signed up as members and I encourage others, particularly on this site, to visit, sign up and share their thoughts and memories with the rest of us.

See you at the Orleans !

posted by Hughie on Sep 2, 2007 at 1:43pm

Yes, I remember my first time there (the original Orleans building), too. A 35mm 4-track engagement of "How The West Was Won." They ran it really well including the overture, intermission, entr'acte, and walk-out music.

posted by veyoung on Sep 2, 2007 at 2:56pm

Hughie, you put together a great website regarding the Orleans, which I remember quite well from having visited it several years ago. But the trouble is, which I was just reminded of when I tried to revisit it just now, is that you have to go through an icky sign-up process with MSN before they let you ever get to it, which entails your having to consent to whatever spam they see fit to clog up your e-mail in-box with. So given that, why not create a whole new website dedicated to the memory of the Orleans that functions like a normal one does? That is, one without all those hassles that I don't think it's fair people should have to put up with. Thanks, Hughie! And we'll all be looking forward to your new website soon!

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Sep 2, 2007 at 8:09pm

Well today is labor day, the final day for the orleans. Balls Of Fury will be the last new movie that orleans got.

posted by Eddie Jacobs on Sep 2, 2007 at 11:11pm

The first 70mm 6-track Stereophonic Sound presentation at the Orleans (in 1963) was "55 Days At Peking". The next was "Mutiny On The Bounty". The ads commonly made a reference to "On Philadelphia's largest screen". Others (when it was still a full-sized theater) were "It's A Mad Mad, Mad, Mad, World", "Doctor Zhivago" "The Dirty Dozen", "West Side Story", "Spartacus", "Oklahoma", "Can-Can", "Cheyenne Autumn", "My Fair Lady", "Finian's Rainbow", "Grand Prix", "Gone With The Wind", and "2001: A Space Odyessy".
Of all the theaters to feature 70mm capabilities, including center city theaters, the Orleans ("hands-down") used it the most! ...even after twinning("Indiana Jones and The Last Crusades", "Cocoon", and "Dick Tracy").

posted by Eric Boyd on Sep 3, 2007 at 3:24am

Sorry about the hassles, TB1.

TB1,you should always have the option to refuse spam from ANY web site when signing up to be a member. Certainly, there is always the obligatory check box in agreeing to the sites terms but I don't have any requirements for new members. It should be easy and quick.

I've had the site for a couple of years and haven't had one piece of junk mail. The only time I get mail is when we get a new member.

And, by the by, as you wait for my new and improved Orleans web site, please, don't hold your breath.

posted by Hughie on Sep 3, 2007 at 5:14pm

Hughie, from what I can tell, MSN has changed the sign-up process since I visited your website several years back. Because I don't remember having to consent to accept spam to get to your Orleans website that time around. But the other night when I tried re-visiting it, there was no getting around that MSN requirement so as to go further. And believe me, I get enough spam as it is, soooo...

Anyway, getting back onto the topic of the Orleans Theatre again, architecturally speaking it had been Northeast Philadelphia's first generic theater. The GCC Northeast not long after the second. All Northeast Philadelphia's theaters prior to then had been designed by real architects and had much to admire architecturally. But neither the Orleans or GCC Northeast could lay any sort of claims to having been "architectural marvels," not even by the greatest stretch. On that front, if anything, they served as milestones of great architecture being put aside in Northeast Philadelphia's case. Sort of like what happened in Florence, Italy under the Medici in reverse. While I'll be the first to say that the Orleans Theatre had an air of class to it in its first few years of its operation, great architecture certainly was not a factor in that. Not even in the least. For look at it, folks. Architecturally, it was just a large cinderblock box, nothing more, and with superficial embellishments added onto it afterward to try to give it some personality. But truth be said, REAL theaters are a bit more than simply that, just to do the big reality check here. What the Orleans lacked architecturally was well made up for by how well it was run in the first years. But when that aspect was politically phased out, what was the point of anyone with any substance going there anymore? Just to go slumming, a.k.a. SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS?

I think it's sad that the Orleans is coming down because of the fact that Philadelphia's forgotten and cast-aside people will have one less thing to help keep their spirits afloat -- although I found it sad that this was in the form of those only out to rip them off. In its last 20 years of operation, Chicago's Hull House it clearly was not. And of course the Target Store that's going to replace it soon is going to be the same thing. Worse, actually, in that the Target Store will be a major sales outlet for selling Chinese slave-labor produced goods to a people who in yesteryear would've produced these same things. A situation bad both for China and the U.S., of course. In China's case, people of high intelligence are being forced to put all their intelligence aside for the sake of satisfying the mindless U.S. consumer market, while here in America people of low intelligence but with great manufacturing productivity skills if given the opportunity are being forced to somehow fit into an ever-ongoing American services-based economy only. As if. So in that sense there's perhaps a bit of symbolism in AMC's choosing Labor Day to shut the Orleans 8 down. And probably not purely coincidental.

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Sep 3, 2007 at 9:51pm

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/2301/orleansbyebyerm1.jpg
Here is a picture from today (Sept 4th 2007). I like the thanks to the managers, cause I know 4 of them, all good people.

posted by Eddie Jacobs on Sep 4, 2007 at 11:56am

Thanks...sniff sniff...Eddie.

posted by Hughie on Sep 4, 2007 at 1:49pm

Here is the group of pictures I took earlier today of the now closed orleans
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12676573@N07/

posted by Eddie Jacobs on Sep 4, 2007 at 5:01pm

Thank you very much for posting those photos. I was out of town for the Labor Day weekend. I am very happy to see someone actually go out and do something for this site and its readers instead of just come on here and ramble wildly, pontificate and rabble rouse. Thanks agin.

posted by hdtv267 on Sep 4, 2007 at 5:40pm

From a member on http://www.phillyblog.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12676573@N07/

posted by AWatson on Sep 4, 2007 at 6:19pm

I feel the exact same way, hdtv267, so thanks for pointing that out! At the same time I deeply admire those who weren't afraid to go against all odds and come right and speak the truth at this and other Cinema Treasures' webpages -- if for no other reason just to tell it like it really is. Which IS important. For it's regarding such people that movies -- as an advanced art form -- actually got through and opened some eyes, rather than merely being worthless entertainment just to make the buck while keeping everyone down and dumb. And opening peoples' eyes to what's really important, that's what it's all about, really, when it comes to movie theaters. Take that vital dimension away, and what's the point of keeping the AMC Orleans 8, the Boyd, the DuPage Theater in Lombard, Illinois and so on around? And let it be said of the Orleans that in the truest sense it was long torn down before this now to come.

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Sep 4, 2007 at 10:55pm

Half of the 1-4 building of the orleans is already torn down (The small part, that was added in 1980, its a big hole on the side and you can see into the building, in the theatre.

posted by Eddie Jacobs on Dec 11, 2007 at 6:49pm

Assuming by now you've heard that Philadelphia City Council has illegally given the Fox Chase Cancer Center (just up Cottman Avenue from the Orleans Theatre) the full leeway to expand onto neighboring Burholme Park, there is far more in the area of the Orleans Theatre that is about to be destroyed and replaced with shear horror besides just that theater. I can't believe this is happening in the U.S. -- while as things progress you'll see exactly what I'm talking about if you can't now. For brace yourselves, anybody who has ties to that area, it's going to be pretty bad. No, make that very very bad. This is why I haven't been saying anything about the Orleans Theatre in recent times.

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Dec 11, 2007 at 11:21pm

Well I went and took pictures today of the AMC Orleans being demolished, you can see theme at this link http://flickr.com/photos/12676573@N07/sets/72157603438409164/

posted by Eddie Jacobs on Dec 12, 2007 at 10:22am

Also of note is the left part of that building is already gone (theatres 1&2 I believe) that was added in 1980, so right there is the shell of the original orleans.

posted by Eddie Jacobs on Dec 12, 2007 at 12:56pm

Eddie, when you consider what's unfolding up the street from there, I couldn't even begin to imagine what it must be like trying to be a businessman with any sort of business operation in that area at this particular moment in time. It's great for you to be able to look straight on at the Orleans getting demolished in a very detached sort of way. But I don't think you and many others understand the magnitude of the new precedence the Fox Chase Cancer Center up the street from there is in the process of setting, while business operators in that area have no choice but to resign to this.

AMC knew just what it was doing bailing out when it did, while my heart goes all out to whoever bought what they sold -- in this case the former AMC Orleans 8 property.

In your fascination with watching this matter unfold from a "safe" and "seemingly secure" distance, from my third party view -- watching both you and this event unfold -- it's a bit like watching that scene in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK when the Ark of the Covenant is finally opened. Remember that one Nazi's face, the one wearing glasses, when he proclaims, "It's beautiful!"? It is often said that life imitates art. And that's what I'm seeing here. What more can I say.

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Dec 12, 2007 at 9:06pm

Well by now the Orleans 1-4 building is completley demolished, as well as the hollywood bistro and stores around it (Ja-Ann Fabrics and whatnot) The 5-8 Building is still up because Pep Boys will remain open until theirs is built and ready to open. Interstingly enough the old blockbuster across the street is now a MovieStop (From GameStop, you can buy, sell and trade movies)

posted by Eddie Jacobs on Dec 19, 2007 at 8:07pm

Eddie Jacobs, how you can talk about the demolition of a movie theater in this fashion totally eludes me. Though in its last days the Orleans certainly was far from being at its best, there was a great deal of deliberation behind that way in which it went downhill.

Back in 2005, when I returned to have a look at the Orleans Theatre after my having been away from that area for many many years, when I saw how dreadfully awful it looked, my initial gut reaction was to blame its operators -- AMC or whoever. You can see that reaction I had in some of the previous messages I posted at this page. But the more familiar I became with the matter the more I realized I was blaming the victim.

We have a major problem here in the city of Philadelphia in terms of its political leadership (some politicians, I'm not condemning all), plus a certain organized religion holding dominion here that should've been brought up on massive charges several years back but wasn't. And the Orleans Theatre winding up the way it did most certainly is symptomatic of those two things combined. The Orleans could've gone in a different direction than it did. But that's when looking at the matter objectively. With the opening of the Pearl @ Avenue of the Arts factor added to the mix, the Orleans could've been restored to being a classy single-screen theater once more. The stage was perfectly set for that. Such, however, would've been an intelligent move. But alas, intelligent moves are not permissable under Northeast Philadelphia's current oppressive occupation. And here you are, as if your own fate is not in any way threatened by it, enjoying every moment of watching the old Orleans get knocked down. Weird!

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Dec 19, 2007 at 9:39pm

The smart move would've been to renovate orleans 8, I dont know about a single screen, but if it had 8 very good theatres, even without stadium seating, it could've lasted longer.
I am not happy to see orleans in a rubble, hell when I went up bustleton from cottman and didnt see orleans above everything, it didnt seem right, and yes I am a but sad, as that was THE theatre I always went to when I was younger, but from what I hear the neighborhood is the one that was keeping orleans down, they wanted to move into the old kiddie city building (wher petsmart is) but apparently the neighborhood was against it. If it was moved it would surely still be open

posted by Eddie Jacobs on Dec 20, 2007 at 6:54pm

Well, that's reassuring to hear from you, Eddie, for up until now I was going to say! In my case I feel priveleged in a way to remember when Roosevelt Mall was all fresh and new and the Orleans Theatre was accordingly, though even when at its height in the early '60s it was still no competition for the Mayfair.

In terms of saving the Orleans in terms of making it a single-screen theater once more I was thinking in terms of it becoming a single-screen digital cinema theater. Which would be much better than a multi-screen analog theater. Far more versatility. But Northeast Philly is real weird right now when it comes to anything innovative like that. The way it is around here right now, you could say, "Hey, let's [fill in your own choice of something positive and exciting]!" and expect yourself to be kicked and cursed at from here to Kingdom Come. Just as the Orleans Theatre just was.

On the good news front in all this, the architecture of the Orleans Theatre wasn't such that it couldn't be easily replicated. Building-wise, every aspect of it strictly adhered to a very simplistic formula -- namely the use of cinder-block -- with any sort of artistry -- other than the movies shown there -- fully ironed out. Contrast that to the Mayfair, and also the Merben, which had some really great murals. And in the Mayfair's case many other architectural features too countless to name.

The Orleans had none of that.

But it WAS nice when it was all new, and I fondly remember going there when it was. But now that area of the city, SCHWEW!... I think of how it is now, and hell on earth is the only thing that comes to mind. That is, a hell on earth with people actually sticking up for it. What could be worse?!

posted by TheaterBuff1 on Dec 20, 2007 at 11:49pm

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