Regency I & II
1625 Chestnut St,
Philadelphia,
PA
19103
1625 Chestnut St,
Philadelphia,
PA
19103
9 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 37 comments found
My Grandfather managed the Regency in the late sixties/early seventies. I have wonderful childhood memories of going there some Saturday afternoons to see the Pink Panther cartoons they showed before the features and free runs at the candy counter.
That stupid street lamp ruined a great looking marquee,something you don’t see anymore at these 20plexes , so many of you seem to love.Ken mc thanks for the picture of a great theatre and McQueen Flick.
Here is a 1969 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/yek8ozk
Here is a June 1967 photo from Temple U:
http://tinyurl.com/ykqvch6
Here’s a photo of the Regency from November 1975. You may get a message about expired certificates before the picture loads, so download at your own risk:
http://tinyurl.com/jdydp
Yes, Mike, I did have Cinerama on the brain when I wrote that post about the Midtown. Sorry.
veyoung,
Elaborating on my previous post…I suspect you were thinking of the Cinerama format, rather than Todd-AO, when you mentioned Philadelphia having the world’s fifth install. Philly was indeed the fifth city to get Cinerama (at the Boyd in Oct. 1953, although it was actually the sixth theatre to have Cinerama installed as by that time New York City had two).
“Pablo mentioned that ‘[the Midtown] was once a Todd-AO house.’ This was, in fact, the 5th Todd-AO installation on the planet.” (veyoung, Nov 25, 2004)
The fifth Todd-AO installation? Are you sure? My research would suggest the Midtown was around the 20th or 21st. Check out the following list and note that Philadelphia is quite a ways down the list.
View link
I guess we all saw Altered States when it played at the Regency in 1980. I know I was there. I don’t remember much about the theaters except that they were near the Duke and Duchess.
My thoughts on Budco. I saw all the presentations that were previously mentioned, including Altered States, Apolgolis Now The Goldman had rockin seats and rockin rows, but the balcony was good). But think PORN Budco showed a porn @ the Orleans. And who could forget this wondeful double feature @ the Olde City… the advance showing of E.T. with The Story of O!!!!
I saw movies in both the Regency and the Midtown, only after they had been twinned by Budco, and agree with Vince that they were inappropriate divisions. They were very long wind tunnels. Howard
Re Midtown: Interesting that the theatre that was the 5th theatre on the planet to install 70mm (Todd-AO) process no longer has 70mm capability, and presumably doesn’t care. But it has video, rah!, rah!, rah!. No one seems to mention that its lack of wide-gauge projection lost it a high-class booking as it reopened. A travelling Philip Glass opera with 3-D 70mm projection had been scheduled to open at the Prince, but had to be moved to a more suitable location, a portable exhibition at an auditorium on the U. of Pennsylvania campus. I can talk for days about the Midtown, but don’t intend to mention the Prince while sober ever again.
TJ; The Midtown Theatre is listed under the name Prince Music Theatre on this web site. The Midtown was originally called the Karlton before it was purchased by William Goldman Theatres. Then the name was changed to Midtown. However, it is currently operating as a live performance and film festival location under the name Prince Music Theatre. Check it out on this site and it also has its own website.
Why is there no listing here for the Midtown? Is it listed under another name?
WOW
That has to be a first a lobby painted BLACK? Why on earth?????
Rg, I certain respect your opinion. Let me just state that I am talking here solely as an Audience Member. I am not a projectionist, or lab technician, or sound engineer, or directory of photographer…simply a revenue-producing audience member. And as such I can certainly relate to cost factors, but at the same time, I felt at many operations, but most particularly with the Budco people, a complete disdain, a total non-caring attitude towards people like me….the audience. To have utterly no concern whatsoever for the public’s intelligence, and to take the stand, “well, they don’t know what they’re talking about, they don’t care.” During the “Apoc. Now” commotion, I recall reading a statement from a Budco spokesperson who proudly claimed that the Goldman had the most up-to-date, state-of-the-art equipment available. Huh? Woefully incorrect aspect ratio for ‘scope….no magnetic soundheads….no optical Dolby. They might as well have run machinery built in 1930! This, to me, is the ultimate insult to the audience…to state, presumably with a straight face, that this particular theatre was second-to-none in terms of technology is a crime punishable by banishment out of the exhibition industry. OK, so maybe they didn’t have the money to achieve a better screen/masking ratio, or to install Dolby, or just to upgrade everything. This, however, doesn’t explain the laughable lapses in just plain taste which was a hallmark of Budco indoor theatres. To pick on the Goldman again, please explain then during the twinning why on earth take a perfectly decent and pleasant-looking lobby, and paint The Whole Damn Thing Black!!! Has anybody ever experienced a totally black lobby? It’s horrifying! I’ve been in dingy subway entrances which were more inviting. I understand fully that, particularly with family-run enterprises, the personality of the owner (or a close family member) impacts to a large degree the look, the feel of business. I understand that Mrs. Shapiro, wife of the SamErich chain head, was responsible for that chain’s interior decorations. So, she must have liked pale pastel, non-dramatic colors, and she had a thing for statues of greyhounds. But she never painted a lobby jet black! Rg, I am certainly glad you’re not taking this personally, but, there is no power or principality on Heaven or Earth that will change my absolute and utter immovable Disdain for All Things Budco. On the other hand, Budco probably did more to convert Delaware Valley folks to VCRs and cable television in the 1970s than any amount of advertising or promotions from RCA, Magnavox, and Zenith. OK, rant over. Phew!
veyoung, I grew up going to these center city theatres including the one and only Mastbaum. Inthe 60,s budco ran a tight ship. Indoor theatres (hardtops) the was trained to check the following ever day and night. All signage,lighting (inside and out)glass,carpet,seating screen face and the projectors pre show mucis. When the show started sound, focus, picture and print status. Unfortunately when the trend to twin theatres cost was more important than what the theatre looked like. Many theatre operators not just Budco did the same bad
job. I agree with you about how the theatres turned out. Many of the twins only had a single cinder block wall going down the middle.
Tear up some seats and put up the wall. Seats were never replaced properly and in some cases the new screens were put in front of the stage. Let me know what you think. rg
Rg, do you remember the “Apocalypse Now” disaster at the split Goldman?Had you seen the Midtown BEFORE the twinning? Did you experience “Alternate States” in 70mm with “baby boom” Dolby at the Regency? How about the advertised “snuff” film booked at a downtown Budco before the police confiscated the prints? Not to say that you, personally, were (are still) not an excellent manager and district manager, but in terms of indoor projection and sound, not to mention showmanship, they were worse than abysmal. The “Apocalypse Now” disaster I refer to concerns a lawsuit that Budco tried to bring against Philadelphia film reviewers who were outraged that that particular United Artists jewel was being booked into a theatre that was not only plug-ugly, but could barely show “scope”, and was not equipped for either 70mm, or 35mm Dolby stereo, or 4-channel magnetic. The critics prevailed, and audiences stayed away from the Goldman in droves, as Samuel Goldwyn would have said. Sorry, rg, but as a friend of mine told me at the time, “I wouldn’t set foot into the Goldman if it was the last building on earth with oxygen!”
Hey veyoung, Budco wasn’t that bad.I worked for them as a manager and also as a district manager. They knew how to run D-I’s. The trouble with some of the indoor theatres was budco just managed & booked the theatres. Budco did not OWN all the theatres under its name. Let me know your thoughts. rg
“I believe the Fox, etc, were demolished long before Liberty Place was being planned.” Very true. It was replaced by a tall dark-glass structure that some people began to call the “Darth Vader” building. Bill Milgram, owner of the Fox and the Fox Building, had plans to build a downtown multiplex, the Omni, nearby; but the plans never came to fruition. Milgram still operates in other parts of Pennsylvania. By the way, I just noticed the opening introductory comment to the Regency. The impression is given that the theatre was twinned by the Budco chain and then converted to 70mm. No way. The Budco chain NEVER did anything forward-thinking in its theatres. It was possibly the worst chain to ever operate in the State. (Don’t get me started on Budco!) I don’t have a complete, list but one of the pre-Budco 70mm attractions at the William Goldman-owned Regency was “Concert for Bangladesh”. It’s sound system was second to none…even the 4-track “Nashville” brought the house down.
The Fox, Milgram and Stage Door Cinema were demolished to make way for a totally different office building than Liberty Place. I believe the Fox, etc, were demolished long before Liberty Place was being planned.
The Fox, Milgram, and Stage Door Cinema were demolished first to make way for One Liberty Place. The Duke, Duchess, and Regency Twin were demolished in 1988 to make way for Two Liberty Place.
Additional comments for downtown Philadelphia theatres:
In the above description for the Regency, it is written “under Budco, was twinned and converted for 70MM.” The Regency had 70mm capabilities long before Budco. “Under Budco,” a great many theatres were completely devastated. Someone wonders what the Midtown looked like twinned…beyond your wildest nightmare. And, to boot, the surround speakers on the side walls remained after the splitting. But each half-theatre did not install surrounds on the new center wall. This meant, that each theatre had surrounds on ONE wall only!
Pablo mentioned that “this was once a Todd-AO house.” This was, in fact, the 5th Todd-AO installation on the planet. A very costly conversion….some time later after Mr. Todd had been ousted from the Todd-AO corporation, he began to tout his 35mm anamorphic system called “Cinestage.” Shortly before his death, Todd held a demonstration of it at an Asbury Park NJ theatre for exhibitors including William Goldman, owner of the Midtown. Goldman and Todd got into a shouting match, the former being incensed that he had to shell out so much $ not only for the 70mm installation but also for the remodeling of the theatre, when he could have gotten much the same results from using 35mm Cinestage. The Goldman was worse, a sheer catastrophe under Budco. It also became something of a legal “celebrity” because in 1979 several Philadelphia film reviewers loudly and publicly and justifiably bemoaned the fact that UA had idiotically and without any regard for the audience had allowed its “Apocalypse Now” to premiere at the twinned Goldman. Budco claimed that these newspaper articles prejudiced the potential audience from coming to the Goldman. This was probably true as the boxoffice grosses reported by “Variety” were considerably lower than those in other metropolitan areas of similar size. In addition to all the faults of long, narrow hallway theatres, the theatre rows had been curved to match the curve of the humongous 70mm screen installed for “Sleeping Beauty” in 1959. So now you had two “theatres” in which the seats faced the tiny screens at a distinct angle. I don’t know in whose favor the lawsuit ended. But, through the help of every Angel in Heaven, Budco no longer operates theatres in the area. Amen.
BTW, anyone got any photos of the Stanley auditorium after its 1959 super-swank remodeling?
BTW again, is there anybody on earth who will say a kind word about the Samson Street “Roxy.”? Warners seems to delight in letting its films play there. If I had the money I would fly Robert Zemeckis there to see his “Polar Express” in that hell hole. I bet he wouldn’t make another film again as long as he lives if he saw it there.
Yes they were like that. The Midtown was the worst conversion I’ve ever seen. It was one whole block long, each side 16 seats across and 37 rows deep with screens way above the seats near the ceiling. You had to see it to believe it. And this was once a Todd-AO house.
When I read Variety’s B.O. reports 20 years ago, in the Philadelphia reports, the Regency and Midtown listed 600 seats per theatre as well. But 600 seats in a narrow auditorium? Were the theatres like that after they were twinned?