Landmark Theatre

Here’s another link to video coverage, which is preceded by a brief commercial: syracuse

They’ve taken out the back wall of the theater to expand the backstage out over the storefronts in the back. The addition is in a postmodern style that doesn’t fit in with the classic architecture of the building. They’re hoping the expanded stage will attract more live events.

Great photo Bran,another LOEWS STATE.

A 2009 photo is here.

Loew’s in 1968

Landmark in 1981

How gratifying to see such a large number of events listed on the marquee!

A couple of summers ago I was walking past the Landmark Theatre (I almost typed “Loew’s State” since that’s still how I think of it) and the marquee had its soffit removed, possible for repairs. What was exposed was the arched soffit of the original marquee, still intact! It would be great to see the marquee restored to its original appearance, and to have the vertical sign replicated as was done with Shea’s Buffalo

Another view of the Landmark Theater can be seen here.

I saw many movies there back in the day. I remember the photos of all the MGM stars posted along the walls near the entrance. Was there ever a more ornate place built in Syracuse ? RKO Keiths and the Paramount were the closest competition. Great times.

the Landmark Theater was always amazing for me, especially as a child. We went to a lot of shows there in elementary school ( I remember going to Pippy Longstockings the night after a Marilyn Manson concert took place and being afraid of what we would find there ^_^). The theater seems so enormous even now that I’m grown (well, 18 is kind of grown), but it seemed as large as the world itself as a mystified 1st grader. I also had the opportunity to perform there several times, and being on the stage is an experience in and of itself. The decor is fantastic with the cherubs and other mystical creatures, and there’s something to examine everywhere that you look. It is fabulous that the Landmark is considered a landmark and will be preserved for future generations of wide eyed children to take a glimpse into the great days of the enormous movie house.

Seating capacity for the Landmark was 2,908 in 1936 according to the FilmTV Daily Yearbook of Motion Pictures and Television. The interior is a virtual duplicate (slightly smaller) of the Loew’s 175th St. Theatre in New York City.

Here is an excerpt from a 1990 article about the marquee:

A loftier beautification idea surfaced last week when the head of the Landmark Theatre proposed installing a curved, 1940s-era marquee over the theater entrance at 362 S. Salina St. at a cost of about $100,000. “I think this project is great,” Landmark Executive Director Frank Malfitano said of the beautification. “But it lacks a centerpiece.” Malfitano said the marquee could be the centerpiece that draws the public’s attention to the improved downtown. A similar project in Chicago has great success, he said.

Malfitano said the marquee could draw attention to the theater, which may draw in more shows, more customers and more people downtown. City Development Director Joe Mareane said the city wants to name the 300 block of South Salina Street the Landmark Theatre district. He said the city is interested in the marquee plan, but that none of the $10 million can go to the project. The law says that money has to be spent on city-owned property or public rights of way, he said. Mareane said the city has a special plan for the 300 block. It has asked the state for $300,000, which would be lent to businesses there at low interest for facade improvements.

Since my link went kaput, here is the text:

CHAPIN ATTRACTS NEARLY 3,000

It was a downtown phenomenon. The throng of people â€" almost 3,000 of them â€" came to hear Harry Chapin sing. They also came to save Loew’s State Theater. The line for tickets began forming before 6 p.m. A little after 7 p.m. the line of people stretched three and four
deep along S. Salina and W. Fayette streets. By 7:30 p.m. the line curved around the block, past the corner of W. Fayette and Clinton streets and almost over to Jefferson Street. By 8 p.m. ushers were hunting inside the theater for empty seats to accommodate the people streaming into the sold out house.

The people in the audience paid $6, $7 and $8 dollars apiece to hear Chapin. The benefit concert was organized by Syracuse Area Landmark
Theater (SALT), a group that is trying to raise $100,000 to restore and revive Loew’s State.

SALT is attempting to raise the money by Nov. 12 in order to buy the
theater. The cost for the theater section of the building is $65,000. Another $35,000 is sought for roof and other repairs. The building is owned by Button Real Estate Co. If it is not bought by
the November deadline, it is expected to be torn down, probably to make way for a parking lot.

Inside the theater, people gazed in awe at the ornately carved columns, filigree railings and brocade walls. Before Chapin’s erformance, a band played in the foyer â€" like in the good old days when live music was heard in the theater. Loew’s was one of the great movie houses. Built with a blend of Oriental, Arabic and other exotic motifs, Loew’s opened in February, 1928. Its architect, Thomas W. Lamb, built more than 300 movie theaters in the United States after completing Loew’s.

According to Peter Baum, vice president of SALT’S Board of Directors,
Loew’s was the first of the great Oriental-style movie theaters. Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood,Calif., and two huge Loew’s “Oriental palaces” in New York City followed. An octagonal design covers the expanse of the ceiling in Loew’s. The walls of the theater itself are decorated with huge arches, depicting lion-like animals, graceful designs and arabesques. An immense proscenium arch
frames the stage. Curving columns and a pool that was used as a fish pond decorate the balcony level. The fourstory tall Grand Foyer, with a painting straight out of “The Arabian Nights,” greets people as they enter.