GCC Northeast 4

So does this mean GCC doesn't exist anymore? I'd like to know.

AMC Theatres purchased what was then the 66-theatre, 621-screen General Cinemas chain during bankruptcy court proceedings in 2002.

So GCC is 100% gone now? No chance of ever coming back? I found on Yahoo a page that said generalcinemas.com is under construction, and I didn't know if that meant they were making a comeback or not.

General Cinema was purchased by AMC.

Remember that candy band feature presentation thing they showed before each movie at GCC? Is there a website where you can download it?

That brings back memories! I'm sure AMC has it in their archives ... at least I hope they do.

Yeah, but I doubt it. AMC is snooty enough, I don't think they'd keep something like that. I tried to find a website that had it, but failed :-(
I miss GC like a thorn in my side. The local GC, which I have such fond memories of, still sits empty and abandoned today. They're gonna turn it into a fitness center, which pisses me off beyond comprehension.

Actually this theatre isn't demolished, it's still standing barely, looks in really bad condition after some people felt like setting fire to the front, and it just sits there, it hides BEHIND the shoppin center, they SHOULD tear it down, and maybe built a new one.

That AMC purchased GCC had at least one interesting consequence in South Jersey. At the Deptford Mall, up until the purchase there was the AMC multiplex and a short distance away the GCC. Now, they are listed as the AMC Deptford 8 and the AMC Deptford Mall 6

Here is a picture of how this theatre looks today
http://img214.exs.cx/img214/5880/jpggccne0pi.jpg

My father ownes 101.3654 as 10/3187. Are the shares of any value

I doubt it , given that GCC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and was then acquired by AMC. But to be sure, you shouldn't ask us, you should ask a stockbroker.

The Cinema I & II N.E. (located in the Northeast Shopping Center, also referred to, at the time, as the Korvette's Shopping Center) by General Cinema Corporation, opened in 1965, not 1955, as posted originally, above. If I'm not mistaken, it opened on Christmas Day, 1965, and its opening attractions were "Do Not Disturb" starring Doris Day and Rod Taylor in Cinema I and "Pinnochio In Outer Space" for children shown in the afternoon and late-afternoon in Cinema II. For the two evening shows in Cinema II (app. 7:30 and 9:30 P.M.), a more adult offering (obviously) was presented. That film was Hitchcock's "Marnie" (Tippi Hedren and Sean Connery).

The Cinema I & II N.E. was hailed (back in late 1965) as Pennsylvania's first twin theater. It was built as a twin (not part of any conversion from a full-sized entitity. Ironically, later, as noted above, it fell too, to that ultimate fate when it became G.C.C. I, II, III, and later yet, in its final "converted" form as G.C.C. I, II, III, IV.).

Originally, the Cinema I & II N.E. consisted of two full-sized/sizeable auditoriums on opposite ends of each other, separated by a common lobby and concession stand. It also boasted of having two giant screens and quality projection and sound. It had multi-aspect ratio (including CinemaScope) capabilities. Films were shown in 35mm only. It was not a 70mm-equipped theater, however. It was very popular in its day.

This theater was closed for some time when it was gutted by fire last summer (2004).

Is this place for sale and if so how do I find this out??

For all you fans of the Friday The 13th movies, this was playing at the GCC Northeast 4 on March 13, 1998:
http://www.exhumedfilms.com/friday.html

GCC must have used the layout of this theatre for many of their other theatres. The GCC Sunset Hills Cinema I & II in St. Louis looked identical to the Northeast I & II and later was converted to a four screen also.

The GCC Northeast is gone? I dated a girl in the Northeast and saw quite a few films at this complex, including The Verdict and Monty Python's Meaning of Life. There was a happening bar close by, the name of which I can't recall. There was also a very good Jewish deli near the theater, which is probably gone as well.

General Cinema built many theaters with the same basic layout in the '60's and '70's.

There is a website you can download the GCC candyband but I'll have to try to find it again. I'll also try to find the trailer before candyband that was in the mid '80's.

Demolished? Not the last time I went by there. Granted it is vacant and looked very disheveled but the building is still standing.

Irvin R. Glazer's book: Philadelphia Theatres has the Northeast 4 Theatre opening in 1955. He also has Goldman's Andorra opening in 1962 and Goldman's Orleans opening in 1963, and GCC Franklin Mills 10 opening in 1991. I know for fact that GCC Franklin Mills 10 opened after April 1990, but before July 1990, so i would assume his imformation was wrong.

its not demolished, I heard that from a very bad source, I apologize

The interior of the Cinema I & II (GCC Northeast 4) is pretty much demolished from the fire, but the outside is still standing. This eyesore should be demolished.

I just drove by the old GCC Northeast 4 this morning and noticed that they're are workers doing something in there. There is a huge pile of seats right outside the front entrance and a very large "N" leaning against the front. Guess it will become something soon, or a pile of rubble.

That nearby deli is still there and it still rocks. It's called "Casino Deli" on Grant Avenue. Lotsa old folks there but, the food is awesome.

The last I heard, Social Security plans to move its Branch Office from Bustleton Avenue to there. Meantime, so far as theater designs go, it has got to be the most stripped down, unimaginative, blandest, least creative theater design in the world! I know that I saw a lot of movies there back through the 1970s, but have no distinct memories of the theater itself as it appears there was nothing to remember. I remember the movies themselves distinctly well, however. As for the year they're saying it was built - 1955 - that sounds all wrong to me, and 1965 sounds far more like it. In fact I'm pretty sure of that, and here's why: When this theater was built it was an expansion of the E.J. Korvettes Shopping Center. And since "E.J. Korvettes" was not a person's name, but rather, stood for "eight Jewish Korean War veterans" - that is, eight Jewish Army buddies who founded the shopping complex after their returning back home from the Korean War - the year 1955 simply doesn't fit the time line of that. I remember E.J. Korvettes when it was all new, and that was around 1960 or so. And there was definitely no theater there at that time, I'm absolutely sure of it. Maybe it existed in the planning phases, but that's about it.

Anyway, I went and looked at this theater building about a month ago and took digital photos of it from all angles, but aside from its having plenty of parking space it had so much working against it that I returned home thinking there's no way it could ever positively be reworked to become a theater once more. It would have to be so reworked that it would be no different than building a theater from scratch. And I'd say a thousand times less costly if that were the case. So I would suggest that Social Security should be allowed to fully move its Northeast Philadelphia Branch Headuarters into that building, and once they're fully moved into it, at that point bring out the wrecking ball and demolish the whole thing to the ground.

Let's clarify. Are you saying the federal government agency should move into the former movie theater, and then that the former movie theater should be demolished???

I used to take the El from West Philly to the last stop (Market/Frankford or Bridge/Pratt, I can't recall)and then the bus to Welsh Road and Roosevelt Boulevard to see my gal. I remember that I could see a number of old theaters on either side of the train en route. On my return trip, I used to wait in a phone booth on the corner of Welsh Road as the bus was sporadic at night. In the winter, that phone booth saved me from hypothermia. The night bus was usually full of nurses from Byberry, the mental hospital up the road. Is Byberry still in existence?

Closed, site waiting for reuse.

Thanks for the update.

The General Cinema Northeast 4 Theatre (Cinema I & II) was a good theatre. I saw Star Wars Return Of The Jedi there back in 1983.

Ken MD, the Philadelphia State Hospital (Byberry) closed in several stages, the East end closed in the early to mid 1970's, the West End closed in the early to mid 1990's. The Philadelphia State Hospital Estern end is now the Byberry East Industrial Park. I used to go into the abandoned Byberry East buildings back in the mid 1980's.

To Howard B. Haas:

Actually what I really should've said in my earlier commentary above was that after the federal government moved its Northeast Philadelphia headquarters into the former GCC Northeast 4 building -- along with all Philadelphia attorneys who practice Social Security Disability law -- at that point it would make perfectly good sense to bring out the wrecking ball and go ahead and knock the whole building to the ground.

So thanks for bringing that to my attention as it did need greater clarification. :)

Theaterbuff1, are you advocating destruction of a federal building and death to federal employees by use of a "wrecking ball"? Are you suggesting you might man the "wrecking ball" or bomb a federal bulding? Or that you might seek other people to do so? If so, there are government agencies that may wish to interview you, starting with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the F.B.I, and the Philadelphia Police.

We're drifting off-topic, gentleman. Let's keep things civil here.

Thanks!

Patrick

well he has been throwing the word "Taliban" alot lately. So yes, perhaps someone should look into this.

I found the Candy Band trailer, folks! http://www.youtube.com/w/?v=3AYatvM-A48

Hi folks, I posted about the Boyd a while back and just discovered this thread. If anyone has personal photographs of Philly theaters [not found in published books] I'd love to see them! Just for kicks... I live in LA now with countless memories of Northeast & downtown theaters. Thanks. please email pix to philnoir@earthlink.net

Thanks!

Hey Philnoir, as I'm sure you can guess, I have tons of photos I took of Philly theater buildings, particularly those here in Northeast Philadelphia. But as I'm sure you can guess, thanks to Northeast Philadelphia's "Taliban," every one of these theater buildings is looking very sad right now.

Just to start you off with a few, here's a link to a site where you can see how the Holme/Pennypack Theatre building looked when I photographed it in the autumn of 2005: Http://www.flickr.com/photos/TheaterBuff1/ Of all theater buildings here in Northeast Philadelphia it is by far the most historic, it being this part of the city's first "talkie," and designed by one of the 20th century's top movie theater architects, William Harold Lee (no relation to LA's S. Charles Lee so far as I know.)

Interesting to note, and perhaps it's to the Northeast Philadelphia Taliban's credit, of all Northeast Philadelphia's theater buildings only one was ever fully torn down -- the Crest Theatre on Rising Sun Avenue, designed by David Supowitz. All others are still standing in this or that very beat up and/or put to misuse fashion, with only one exception, the UA Grant Plaza Cinema 9 on Grant Avenue near to Bustleton Avenue, which not only remains in full operation as a movie theater but is impeccably maintained. At the opposite extreme is what remains of the GCC Northeast, now a burnt-out hulk, that was beaten up so badly that all signs that it was once a half-decent theater to go to are totally missing now. And I do mean totally! As it is now it can only be described as "beyond sad."

I worked for a General Cinema theater in Mount Prospect, IL during 1986 as a minimum wage ticket-ripper, popcorn popper, concessions person, etc. (that old building was replaced by a multiplex more than a decade ago)

At the time, their trailer was the GCC logo...arranged to resemble a movie projector camera...and it had a memorable little jingle, too. I kept the film of that trailer for years after they threw them out. I don't think I still have it, though.

My memories of that year are mainly of watching the ENDINGS of the films over 100 times, just prior to cleaning the theater between showings. I've seen the end of TOP GUN 150 times... "you can be my wingman anytime." over and over.

I remember that "Back to the Future" stayed in that theater for over 7 months... well into 1986. I also remember "The Money Pit," "Howard the Duck," "Pretty in Pink," and midnight showings of the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" which was 11 years old even back then. It was a fun time for me.

I'll miss GCC.

Erik in Chicago

Prior to its closing, I'd seen hundreds of movies at the GCC Northeast 4. (I even worked there for a while when I was in high school!) The place had an "old school" feel, but only when compared to the newer theaters in the area. One thing that always bugged me was that the place used to have these fantastic mega-high ceilings, all of which were covered up by regular (LOW) paneled ceilings some time in the '80s.

Although it was certainly no sort of 'movie palace' -- I still have a lot of fond memories of this theater. My cousin and I could see 2 or 3 movies on one Saturday, and we did that an awful lot. I still live VERY close to the shopping center, and I've noticed a lot of recent work at the site. The building was gutted by fire and then again by (de-)construction workers; as of this moment the only thing that seems to remain from the original theater are the four walls, most of which have all-new rectangular spots where a bunch of windows will go. Just a few days ago I said to my sister "looks like they're gonna put a medical building here." Looks like I was close...

I saw Bachelor Party there, as well as Clue, Ferris Bueller, F13th Pt.6, The Witches of Eastwick ... and way too many others to recall.

I saw "The Devil's Brigade" there soon after it opened in the mid-60s and was under a different name, while I'm pretty sure the last movie I ever saw there was "Carrie," which was likely sometime in 1974 or '75. And at the time it was up and running it was a pretty good theater. Though not a palace, in a streamlined sort of way it did have some class to it. I can remember seeing its green neon sign at night when passing by on the Boulevard which always was very inviting. But when it folded, and I never understood fully why it did, whatever class that theater building had went with the management when they vacated it. And the last time I went to see it, at that point a burnt-out hulk, I found it all but impossible to even begin to match up how it looked at that point with what I remembered it to be in the mid-70s. For what I saw wasn't sad, it was far beyond anything sad. In studying its architecture I had hoped to pick up at least one or two good ideas. But I remember how very let down I was. For what inspirations are to be found in looking at very basic cinderblock walls? Still, why did it fold, why did it fold, when it seems it had been a very well managed theater? They always say of older theaters that they can't compete with the newer multiplexes. But in this case it was one of the newer multiplexes! So clearly something strange had to happen there to cause it to fold the way it did, some strange thing that politicians and other sinister types of today tell us we have no need to know about. Still, I would like to know what exactly forced it to fold so abruptly. Just for reference sake that is.

The GCC was always a little strange; i thought it was on the verge of closing since I started going there in the early 70s... man, did I see a lot of movies here... snuck into Return of the Jedi on opening day when I was broke in 11th grade.... weird area, crappy mall.. is chucky cheese and that lousy pinball/ pool arace still in that mall? The last flick I saw there was either Event Horizon or The Arrival... I never saw The Town That Dreaded Sundown but I remember the poster hanging outside (creepy poster) in that neat poster display cases they had... me and my buddies used to go see the midnight showings of The Wall or Romero's zombie movies... it was the second time that I went to see Night of the Living Dead... they were pretty good with the midnight shows in the early 80s... Scarface... I even caught a neato double feature (1976) of War of the Worlds and When Worlds Collide at the 'ol Gcc Northeast... sad but time marches on.... check out my free weird philly area based fiction: www.lostharvest.com

What's really surreal is if you venture over to where the remnnants of the GCC Northeast is now and you have memories of when that was a really classy suburban mall, which it was in the beginning -- late 1950s-early 1960s. The mall itself, originally called E.J. Korvettes, stood for "eight Jewish Korean war veterans," and was the concoction that eight army buddies dreamed up. In the beginning years there was a plaza-like area between the E.J. Corvettes department store itself and where the theater rose up -- called "Cinema I & II" at the outset -- that had a large outdoor birdcage as its centerpiece filled with colorful tropical birds. And the theater itself, with its simplistic streamlined design, was all very novel at the time. And every aspect of the complex held up very beautifully for a long stretch of time.

But then I don't know what happened. It just all went south in one foul swoop it seems, perhaps more symbolized by the birdcage itself then anything else. I remember looking in that birdcage one day and it was just dead within and fully neglected. I don't remember seeing dead birds, but the exotic plants inside had all given way to the everyday weeds of that area. And yes, it was creepy.

But why did this happen? For the location of that mall complex was good. It was right on Roosevelt Boulevard (Route #1) a major U.S. highway, after all, had more than ample parking, and so on. You can't say it couldn't compete with the malls because it was a mall. And you can't say the GCC Northeast Theatre couldn't compete with the multiplexes because it was a multiplex. But something between the late 1950s ideals and its strange demise went really weird. And that's been a weird weird place around there ever since. Yet so strange, given how it is right alongside the busy Boulevard. They always say "location location location," while this was location, and still is, really.

I don't know, really bad politics, I guess. What else could it be? And though I haven't been back over that way for a long time now, I guess that theater's still the burned out hulk it was when I saw it last and shot some photos of it. It just looked so hopeless when I saw it last that I took my photos and then got the hell away from there...er, that is, before the dreaded sundown had a chance to settle in. And you're right, I think back now and it was creepy.

But it wasn't always...

Lostharvestmovie, the Chuck e Cheese is still at the Northeast (Korvette's) Shopping center. the former GCC Northeast 4 (Cinema I & II) Theatre is being conveted into a Social Security center

There's already some other type of creepy governmental operation near to the former GCC Northeast building which, as you say, is being converted to a creepy Social Security center. It might be called PATH, but I'm not fully sure, only that it's all very creepy.

And to think that whole area had been refreshingly part of the modern world at one time. And now it's like it is today -- totally creepy in the middle of broad daylight and God knows what it must be like around there at night. And these days is there any sort of rule of law around there other than fear itself? I wish I could learn more about some of the things that went down right before that theater went under. Today the modern world races to and fro by that once fully up to date section of Northeast Philadelphia along always-busy Route 1 but nowadays always steadfastly oblivious to it. I'd be surprised if penetration of those who do stop ever goes beyond Chuck e Cheese itself. And the Burlington Coat Factory that now occupies the former E.J. Korvette's building just doesn't seem like it would be much of a draw. But, I suppose it's just how a certain group of people like it. Passing motorists on busy Roosevelt Boulevard won't veer off into areas that don't look very interesting.

So does anybody have any photos of the Northeast Cinema they can post on flickr or photobucket?

Dave, the last batch of photos I shot of the burnt-out hulk of what had once been the GCC Northeast -- taken in 2006 or so -- the theater looked so awful, believe me I don't think you'd want to see them! The GCC Northeast and what befell it is a classic case of, the laws are there to protect you except when you really need them. For as you poke around the ruins of what had been the GCC Northeast you can only ask, what happened the hell happened here, exactly? You see the remnants of what had been a bike stand out front, the front entrance itself vandalized beyond all recognition, the creepiness of those who reside or run businesses around there now, and the only thing you're compelled to feel is, just get away from this, just get away from this, you didn't see this, whatever happened here you're better off not knowing, just letting it go, get away from that thing. Either that, or try to frustratingly make sense of all the meanness you encounter when you try to get to the bottom of what really did happen there. And unless you're an on the up-and-up fed with plenty of backup, I would suggest that wouldn't be very healthy...

I remember in my early years with GCC when I did the jobs on the floor, and later after I joined the projectionists union, always hearing from my DM about Northeast. He would always tell us how this theatre was one of the better grossing theatres in the entire circuit. Being here in N.J. we were in the same division, and I can say, this theatre was always the talk. It sounds really sad to hear what has become of it. Is it really so bad that its unhealthy to be near? And if so why do they leave it, or has it since been demolished and put to rest.

I was paraphrasing John Wayne in the movie RIO LOBO when I used the term "unhealthy" in this instance. What I was getting at was that something very strange was behind this theater's demise and the subsequent fire, but whatever that strange thing is, it's the kind of thing you could end up getting killed over if you ask too many questions about it.

I haven't been over there to see it since the last time I took a series of photos of it -- heeding my own advice as it were -- but I assume it looks very much the same as it did the last time I saw it. Just rotted away a bit more. For seriously, given the unresolved mysteries that still surround it, and "nobody knowing anything," a "Cold Case" type situation if you will, would you want to try introducing anything new in that same spot? No offense, but with your residing in what some now refer to as the "Soprano State," is this all that hard for you to understand?

When it comes to where Northeast Philadelphia, which this theater was named after, stands at this point in time, keep in mind it's no longer the northeastern extension of Philadelphia with rural areas outside it in all directions the way it once was. All those onetime rural areas just outside it have been heavily developed, meaning that anything that Northeast Philadelphia tries to do now get shot down by those heavily developed areas outside it. By rights, and by law, those onetime rural areas outside Northeast Philadelphia were supposed to have been kept rural, America needs to protect what farmland it has. But it didn't happen for whatever reason, and now Northeast Philadelphia is falling victim to that, along with other outlying parts of the city. Any efforts to try to get it back up its feet again -- and well-run theaters in Northeast Philadelphia would certainly help in this regard -- get quickly shot down. And right now the mayor of Philadelphia is such (Mayor Nutter) that if he gets any demands coming at him from Northeast Philadelphia combined with demands coming at him from the intensely developed areas outside it, the only demands he heeds are those coming from those intensely developed areas outside the city which aren't even part of the city, while giving Northeast Philadelphia the full invisible treatment, just to drive home what type of a mayor he is.

So yes, under those conditions, would you want to try starting up anything new -- theater or otherwise -- in that spot where the GCC Northeast was? If so, all I can say is be my guest, while you better have plenty of back up that you know you can absolutely count on when the chips are down. The last owner/operator of the GCC Northeast obviously didn't.

Points well taken.

A good portion of the former Cinema I & II (GCC Northeast 4) is now in use as a Social Security Office. This office is in the portion of the building that used to be Cinema II (Later Screens #3 & 4).

The portion of the building that was Cinema I (Later Screens #1 & 2) is still burned out from the fire that occured 5 to 6 years after this theatre closed.

Ah, so that's what the latest is, though it's weird that SS would move into one half while leaving the other half a complete mess. Maybe with the SS now being anchored there, it might be safe for somebody to take over the other half and put something new in that. On the good news from, aside from sentimental value, the building itself was of no historic value, not even in the realm of cinema treasures. Architecturally, there was simply nothing to it, at least going by the outside. I wasn't able to get in to see more. Architecturally, the AMC Orleans had been a bit better, but not much. Still, it's a shame there aren't any theaters around that area now at all. But given Northeast Philadelphia's current political climate I don't see how there could be. Farther north there's still the United Artists Grant Plaza Cinema 9, plus the AMC Franklin Mills, but how much on solid ground they are at this point is hard to say. For so far Philadelphia's new mayor, Mayor Nutter, has shown he's no friend to the Northeast. So who knows?

The unused portion of the building actually now says "Space Available"

As "available space" goes, is it still a burnt out shell looking like it's on the brink of collapse? Or did they clean it up some?

It looks ok from when I see it on the bus (route 14).

Eddie Jacobs, are we to understand that you might have interests in acquiring that available space that was part of the GCC Northeast and remake it a movie theater once more? If so, I think that's great news, and I wish you all the best with you're endeavor! Let us know how it progresses!

No understaning on that, someone with the money can do that, lol

Eddie Jacobs, if you can make sense of the current politics governing Northeast Philadelphia, enough so as to bypass its corruption, raising the money needed to restore that available space as a neighborhood theater once more shouldn't be a problem. Er, unless in addition to that money you'd also have to come up with other money to pay off certain shady people regularly, in which case no matter how much money you raise would be sufficient. But if you know how to cut through all that crap, you certainly would grab the market of what right now is a huge void -- most especially now that the AMC Orleans is [ahem] gone.

I saw Paul Newman in "The Verdict" at this theater in 1982. Rest in peace.

in the 80's and early 90's we used to go to the GCC at blue star shopping center in berkeley heights, NJ on route 22. The theatre was always packed, i think they had 4 or 5 screens. Big front foyer with tall glass, quadruple ticket booth outside. good movies had lines of people across the access road that went to back of the building and stretched donw the sidewalk fronting other mall stores. In the 90's they had promotions of ticket books where you pay $25 and got maybe 10 tickets for the movies. (i think that was the cost) that worked out to about half price. i think movies were $5 in the mid 90's. i went there all the time, more often then the westfield or cranford cinemas.

In mid 90's it just suddenly disappeared, i always wondered what happened, because there was no competition around for quite many miles. It was suddenly renovated into additional stores for the mall.

I grew up four blocks from the site of The GCC Northeast.It opened in 1965,not 1955.I saw many great films(e.g.,Chinatown)there and a few bad ones too.I lived in the area until May 1982 and probably saw my last film there in the early 90s(my mother still lived near there).I was quite saddened whem I read of its closing in a Daily news article-lots of great memories there.