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Theaters
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January 5, 2005
Breaking News Announcement Expected For Boyd
PHILADELPHIA, PA — The following was sent in by Howard Haas:
“Many of you are reading news accounts today in the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Daily News which report that there is an announcement expected today at 1 PM.
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January 4, 2005
Ziegfeld Theater Sticks To Single Screen
NEW YORK, NY — The New York Daily News recently published an article on the Ziegfeld Theater and how it continues to defy multiplex trends and remain a single screen venue.
Thanks to “saps” and “br91975” for submitting this article.
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December 29, 2004
An Art House Flourishes In Pleasantville (and Peekskill)
PLEASANTVILLE, NY — The success story that is the Jacob Burns Film Center is discussed in this recent New York Times article. [Reg. Req.]
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December 24, 2004
Seasons Greetings From Retrovisions
Larry Grossman, the wonderful artist who we profiled a few months ago, sent us this beautiful Christmas card.
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December 22, 2004
Friends of the Raymond Theatre Receives 2004 President’s Award From California Preservation Foundation
PASADENA, CA — The California Preservation Foundation has awarded Pasadena-based preservation organization Friends of the Raymond Theatre the 2004 “President’s Award” for their 17-year effort to preserve Pasadena’s Historic Raymond Theatre (aka Perkins Palace). The award is the highest award in the State of California presented in the field of historic preservation.
Founded in 1987 by the Raymond Theatre’s former manager and concert promoter Gina Zamparelli, Friends of the Raymond Theatre’s mission is to ensure protection, preservation and revitalization of Pasadena’s Historic Raymond Theatre. With more than 7,000 members worldwide, Friends of the Raymond Theatre is one of largest preservation organizations working to preserve a single historic structure in the state of California.
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December 21, 2004
Madison Orpheum Damaged In Fire
MADISON, WI — An early Sunday morning fire at the Orpheum Theatre has caused an estimated $100,000 in damage.
The fire, discovered by a quick thinking employee who tried to put out the fire while instructing others to call 911, was extinguished within minutes of the Madison Fire Department’s arrival.
Sadly, however, this is not the first blaze to strike the Orpheum. This past April, another fire caused $20,000 in damage. Orpheum owner Henry Doane believes both fires were deliberately set.
The theater is temporarily closed, awaiting cleanup and restoration.
Coverage from the Wisconsin State Journal & Capitol Times:
Second Fire In Year Hits Orpheum
Fire Hits Orpheum 2nd Time -
December 20, 2004
NPR Airs Report On Castro Theatre Firing
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — National Public Radio’s All Things Considered aired a report on Friday about the firing of Anita Monga, the former programmer at the Castro Theatre.
Since the firing, many fans of the Castro — who believe that Monga’s work was instrumental to crafting the Castro’s legendary film schedule — are planning to protest with boycotts and pickets.
Listen to the report here. (There’s also some discussion of this issue on the Castro’s page here on Cinema Treasures.)
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December 10, 2004
Wheaton Grand Signs Management Contract
WHEATON, IL — The Grand Theatre Corp. (a not for profit) has signed a one year management deal with Grande Venues, Inc. (a for profit corporation) to operate the Wheaton Grand Theatre. The theatre is currently divided in three: two movie theatres and a large concert venue featuring the well preserved proscenium arch and the lighted dome.
Plans are now under consideration to keep the present configuration allowing greater access to the public for smaller performances, conferences, and movie festivals while keeping the architectural elements unique to the building.
Paul Warshauer and Mike Novelli, the principals of Grande Venues, have already commenced an aggressive programming schedule including rock concerts, murder mysteries, a lecture series, benefits for victims in Iraq, film and television production classes, and special events including a “Somewhere in Time” weekend in February and a Peter Pan Festival slated for April.
See the website for more details www.wheatongrand.net.
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December 7, 2004
Friends of the Boyd Receives $30,000 Grant
PHILADELPHIA, PA — The following email was sent in by Howard Haas of Friends of the Boyd:
“The Friends of the Boyd have received news of a generous grant from Arcadia Foundation for $30,000 towards recreation of the missing original Art Deco chandeliers from the Grand Lobby of Philadelphia’s Boyd Theatre.
The Boyd Theatre was built in 1928 in the French Art Deco style. The original main chandelier and two adjoining pendants were removed during 1953 remodeling. In 1971, a central chandelier not compatible with the Art Deco style was hung. The grant will be sufficient for recreation in its original Art Deco style of the main chandelier, so it will look as it did in historic photos.
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December 6, 2004
Southington Drive-In Auctions Off Possessions
SOUTHINGTON, CT — An auction was held at the Southington Drive-In recently to sell all its possessions. Basically anything that wasn’t nailed down (and even many of things that were) were available for a price. Screen one has already been removed and the speaker poles have fallen.
Vandals have graffitied the building and broken windows. Water leaks through the ceiling of the former concession stand. The drive-in, even though it was closed for only two years, is already in a state of decay. The town of Southington purchased the property for $1.6 million earlier this year and will use it to expand a neighboring park.
Screen two and two of the projectors will remain to show movies in the park for free a few times each summer. The drive-in closed not because of lack of business, but because the younger generation of the family that owned it wanted to sell the business.
For more information, read the Record-Journal article.