Thomas W. Lamb

Wow, he was one of the greatest theater designers of all time!

Jim Rankin is right, THS is a fantastic resource!

Are you really named Tom Lamb?

Please write a wonderful book about your grandfather and the theaters he designed!

In Philadelphia, there are a variety of places to go for information. One website and library is http://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/index.cfm

The late Irvin R. Glazer lists in his hardback Philadelphia Theatres A-Z that your great grandfather designed or co-designed the now demolished Fox in downtown Philadelphia and the Trans-Lux newsreel (later altered as Eric’s Place) and a few theaters in the neighborhood. One was the State, a fabulous but gone Art Deco movie palace. The Fox was a very successful and important movie palace, and any book about Lamb’s theaters should mention it.

Downtown Philadelphia’s surviving movie palace, the Boyd (www.FriendsOfTheBoyd.org), was not designed by Lamb, but is owned and operated by the same company (now Live Nation) that in the last few years restored and reopened the Hippodrome in Baltimore and what is now known as the Opera House in Baltimore, both by Lamb. They were also operating the Pantages in Toronto. I visited in 2002 the Uptown in Toronoto, before its demolition, which was a tragedy for three people as well as the movie palace.

Most important, the architecture library at Columbia University is the custodian of most of your great-grandfather’s papers after his firm was dissolved. I had been doing some research on his last project and can’t immediately lay my hands on the notes which disclosed the name of the people who control the use of these documents, but a few calls to Columbia, and you should be able to dig right into the materials. (The project he was working on when he died in February, 1942, was a Queens Boulevard theater as a joint venture by RKO and Skouras, later to be known as the Midway, and possibly completed by West Coast architect Charles Lee.

Correction to my post above: “…great contribution of his great-grandfather…” Sorry, Mr. Lamb.

Glad to have you aboard Mr. Lamb, I can’t say much more than already has been said above…..Mr. first Movie Palace experience was with the Ohio Theatre in Cloumbus that your great grandfather designed…that was his masterpiece…….well they are all masterpieces…anyway it is a real testement to your great grandfathers work that I had the same reaction as the people who first entered this great theatre 75 years ago… absolute disbelief….I was hooked from then on and now I am proud to be a volunteer usher at the Ohio and Palace (another T.L. theatre)….ya gotta write a book or something, we here at CT are always thirsty for knowledge.

Mr. Tom Lamb: Yes, do write a book about your great-grandfather, Thomas Lamb. If you haven’t ever see the Landmark Theatre in Syracuse which was a Lamb Theatre, please make a trip there and by all means tell them who you are! And I agree with Norcelco that its a shame that many Lamb theatre are now gone for parking lots! It makes no sense! Glad you found CT and that you will contribute often! If you go to the listing of architects on the CT site and type in the Lamb name, it will give you a list of Lamb theatres. And by all means try to gather all of the information your father would have about Thomas Lamb, your great-grandfather! It’s an honor to have you as a CT member. Welcome!

Mr Lamb I had the pleasure of working at the New York Academy of Music on 14th street in NYC for about 8 years of my life. It was not just a building but a piece of art. Being able to have the time to explore the basment as well as the catwalks above the audience. It was a grand old place that had lots of history. Did you know that when the Beatles came to Amrerica in 1964 and did the Ed Sullivan show The Rolling Stones played at the Academy. In the years i was there some people sed to say it was a cold building. I never found it that way at all. When I was working there i was told that the Academy and then later renamed the Palladium had landmark status. That came in to play when the new owners attempted to install a new air conditioning system. They knocked out a wall witout contacting the NYC landmark commission and by the time the dust settled they had already gone to far with the instalation to revove it and replace the wall so it stayed. Some of the biggest names in the music industry played there in the sixties till the early 80’s when it changed hands and became a disco. To me that was the death of a great place. Seems as though landmark status or not NYU took it over and demolished it to make new dorms. They did the same thing to the old Luchows that was there for like 100 years. I have seen some of the other theatres in NYC that your great grand father built and designed. I wish I could have met him. His work reflects his greatness.

Don’t forget to visit the Stanley Theatre in Utica NY
(the sister to the Ohio in Columbis) and Proctor’s in Schenectady. Don’t forget the Mark Hellinger (now Times Square Church) in NYC!

cnyarts: How does one find the Mark Hellinger (Times Square Church) as I couldn’t find it listed on CT?

In what way was Thomas Lamb “quite a character”. I know that architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright was very unique and could be described as “quite a character” also.

After finally finding and viewing the Hollywood (Hellinger) site as there were 2 Hollywood theatres listed for NYC I see that it was built by Warner though the architect was Thomas W. Lamb. The fact that this former theatre is now a church is quite interesting and I wonder if anyone can provide photos of the interior to see how the Times Square Church has changed it to accommodate their spiritual needs?

And some wonderful photos of this theatre can be viewed on the Hollywood Theatre (Hellinger) site by CT member, “EdSolero” on 1/10/06.

well,well, well. Tom Lamb ,im the great grandson of John Cort. Your Great grandfather built the Cort Theatre on 48th street for my grand father. “Im currently looking for information on him and his many theatres and productions. Do you have any memoribilia about this partnership,stories. Ill ask my father also John Cort if he has any stories> cheers Chris Cort

Has anyone heard of a russian emigre, Nicholas Vassilieve, who may have done alot of design work for Thomas Lamb?

Thanks,
Richard

Chris cort please respond your name sounds familiar

Hello all,

Sorry not to have come back sooner and checked my posting for comments, but life has been very hectic for the last year.
There is a new development: I will be interviewed for a documentary on TW and the Stanley Theater in Utica next week, and am really looking forward to the whole experience. They contacted me through this post.
On to some of the above postings…Richard, you may find information at the Avery library of Columbia University in NYC. Wikipedia Thomas W. Lamb and you will find more information there.
And Patsy, thanks for keeping the flame of this posting going!
and many thanks to all for checking in.
Cheers, Tom

Bill, thanks for this new information. I did some more investigation online regarding TW,and came up with this website: View link
The site lists several buildings held by Emporis that list TW Lamb as the architect. It appears that there is precedent for work other than theaters for the firm. Among the notable buildings is the Paramount Hotel in NYC. Given this information, a church commission would not be out of the realm of possibilities. I would steer you to the Avery Library at Columbia Universtiy in Manhattan. TW’s former partner in the firm donated TW’s work to the archive there. I would be quite interested in any other stories your father may have told you about his work with the Lamb firm. Thanks for responding to the post. Tom

Bill, I just rec’d a spreadsheet from Avery with a listing of all the drawings they have on file. In that list, is the Methodist Episcopal Church in Arlington NJ. No date is given for the project drawings. Hope this helps.

Hi Tom:
Here are a couple of web sites about the Empire Cinema, Leicester Square, London. The first mentions your great grandfather as the architech, thus validating what my father had in his notes ( which also said “I put the job through after an English associate failed ”!). The second has a number of photographs of a rebuilding/ refurbishing in the 1980’s or 90’s. I don’t know how closely they followed the old design but it certainly is in the grand style, something your great grandfather and my father could take great pride in.

I’m checking out that “Episcopal church in Arlington, NJ”. It looks like a dead end. Arlington is a suburb of Kearny on the edge of the Meadowlands . Not exactly the place one would build a cathedral-like church!. I’m still looking. If you run across anything let me know.

Best regards,

Bill

View link
View link

Tom, Please email me at to discuss the Utica project. Thanks, Karen

I just read the book EMILLEE KART and the SEVEN SAVING SIGNS thanks to all that reccommended it I hear its being made into a play? From one of the posts its debuting in a struggling Lamb theatre? anywho the book WAS better than Narnia and in par with Harry Potter.

Good Evening, Mr. Lamb. My name is Louis Belloisy and I am the house photographer and historian for the wonderfully restored Palace Theater in Waterbury, Connecticut. Our grand theater was designed by your Great Grandfather and opened in January of 1922.

I was thrilled to come across your post in Cinema Treasure about Thomas Lamb.

I am constantly doing research on our theater and would like to know more about your G.G and Salvatore Z. Poli who commissioned Mr. Lamb to design our theater.

Please take a few minutes to peruse my web site on the Palace Theater. There are many photos of the newly restored theater. We were closed down and empty for 18 years and recently re-opened in November of 2004.

my web site is: www.palacewaterbury.com

and the web site for the actual theater is: http://www.palacetheaterct.org/

Please respond,

thank you,

Louis Belloisy

Dear Tom,

What a pride you must have in your name !

Here in Syracuse, we still have the honor of a 1928 Thomas Lamb theater, the Landmark (i.e. Loew’s). It was one of 5 or 6 theaters that once made South Salina Street an Upstate Broadway. But just a few doors South of it was another Lamb theater – the B.F. Keith’s. It was as beautifully Neoclassic as Loew’s is posh Baroque/Near Eastern exotic. (I’m not a formally trained student of architecture, so no doubt I’m getting my stylistic categories wrong, but I’m sure you get my drift.) Anyhow, I remember the Syracuse Keith’s – God, she was a beauty. It’s “face” on the west side of South Salina Street was a huge, fan-shaped set of windows. Its interior was mostly white wood (?), and its acoustics were known to be fabulous. It opened on January 26, 1920 with vaudevile star Belle Baker as the main attraction. It remained till 1967, when, during the ugly, bone-headed days of Urban Renewal, it (she !) and two blocks' worth of lively, varied storefronts were demolished for a big 4-story department store which itself is now “sleeping with the fishes.” (I was 7 years old when it was taken down.) The Keith’s huge Wurlitzer organ was saved, though, and now resides in the Empire Theater on the State Fair Grounds), along with some other Keith’s artifacts. Although the Keith’s seated almost 2000, and there was talk even back then of the need for a new Civic Center to house the Syracuse Symphony, still, the Old Girl was demolshed anyway. So-o-o…less than a decade later, we had to build a new Civic Center which ended up with “OK” acoustics and nowhere near the beauty. It seems that restoration just wasn’t “interesting” enough to the leadership of the time. (On the other hand, laying in new concrete…You get the idea.)

Anyhow, are you (or anyone reading this) aware if the Syracuse Keith’s had any surviving “twins” or “sisters” or even “close cousins” elsewhere? If so I’d love to make a pilgrimage.

my web address : [e-mail]

Thanks,

Mark E. Farrington

I’m aware that trying to find Mr. Lamb by this avenue years after the original post isn’t likely to bear fruit, but if he or nyone that knows how I might contact him, kindly email me at . I manage a Lamb building and would very much like to contact his descendent.

Thanks!

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