Coral Theatre
2331 Ponce de Leon Boulevard,
Coral Gables,
FL
33134
2331 Ponce de Leon Boulevard,
Coral Gables,
FL
33134
2 people
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Architectural plans were drawn in 1963 by famed theater architect Robert E. Collins for the Florida State Theatres circuit. A 1963 picture of Florida State Theatre executive Harry Botwick shows him holding the Collins' drawings.
The Coral (Paramount) opened on December 29th, 1940 with “Strike up the Band”. Grand opening ad posted.
Clockwork Orange pulled:
Clockwork orange pulled from Miami release. Thu, Jan 20, 1972 – 18 · The Miami News (Miami, Florida) · Newspapers.com
Definitely saw “Jungle Book” here. Also, remember watching them tear it down in the 80s.
On May 7th, 2016 I stopped by the Colonnade Hotel mentioned in my previous post above this one. The grouping of four photos of the exterior of the building during different usages in its history was still on the wall on the second floor above the Aragon Avenue entrance. One photo shows “Colonnade Pictures” on the top of the building above Miracle Mile. The caption says from 1940 to 1942 it was a movie production studio before becoming a parachute factory for World War II.
I Googled and found a list of three films for “Colonnade Pictures Corp“ on the AFI website, including “The Marines Come Thru“ (1942, “produced at Colonnade Studios, Coral Gables, FL”), “Murder on Lenox Avenue”(1941), and “Sunday Sinners”(1941).
Across Aragon Avenue from what had been the location of the Coral is the Colonnade Hotel. At one point in its history many decades ago the hotel had been a movie studio. A few years ago I noticed a picture of the exterior of the building during its studio years included in some historic photos on the walls of the hotel’s second floor lobby.
Across Ponce de Leon Blvd from what would later become the location of the Coral was the Dream Theater, the city’s first cinema that opened and closed in the 1920’s.
Rivest, they accepted them without art work and only one column by two inches for non-mainstream titles by 1970.
The refused ads for the premiere of “I Am Curious (Yellow)” at the Flamingo but later accepted them when the film moved over to the North Miami.
Al, did the Herald accept ads for adult cinemas in the 1970? Many newspapers refused then outright.
By the way, the manager of the Coral got the last laugh on the idiotic Miami Herald policy. On opening day of “Clockwork” he got Warner Bros. and a local record store to co-op a full page ad for the soundtrack album in the entertainment section.
I posted a couple of images from old Miami News editions, concerning the engagement here of “A Clockwork Orange.” Seems that the movie had been scheduled to open at the Coral on February 18th, 1972, in an exclusive South Florida run. That engagement, however, was cancelled by none other than Stanley Kubrick himself. While the article states that no official reason was given, it is intimated that the film’s reputation as a “dangerous” work that might possibly incite outbursts of violence might have been the rationale for the cancellation. The article also hints that the root cause may have been over the film’s advertising. As commented earlier in this thread, the Miami newspapers held all “X” rated films (as “Clockwork” was rated on its initial release) to two inch block ads, with no display advertisement allowed – placing a serious film like “Clockwork” in the same category as a porno flick.
The article also notes that the owners of the Coral, Florida State Theaters, planned on campaigning for a Miami showing of the movie despite the cancellation. Eventually, Kubrick must have relented, because the film finally opened at the Coral in the middle of April, 1972. Online editions of the Miami News are not complete for the period, but the block ad appears as early as the April 17th edition, which would lead me to believe the film must have opened the previous Friday, April 14th.
A sample of the April 17th block ad has been uploaded here, where one can see only the film’s title is displayed, indistinguishable in presentation from the other porn titles listed in similar blocks in the clipping.
Hey Ripshin. I’m 46, so just a few years behind you. We only lived in Miami for a year and moved back to our native New York City in the summer of ‘72, but I have fond memories of all the moviegoing the family did while in Miami. In addition to the Disney fare at the Coral and Twin Gables, we frequented many a drive-in double and triple feature. That early exposure to such lurid titles as “Blood on Satan’s Claw,” “Cat o Nine Tails,” “Return of Count Yorga” and “The Beast in the Cellar” struck a chord in me that would resonate for years. Some years later, as a teenager back in NYC, these early B-movie experiences would lead me towards the grindhouses of 42nd Street and Times Square, seeking out similar fare to that which had so entertained and thrilled me at such a young age at the Drive-Ins of Florida.
WOW, Ed, we’ve had some of the same experiences. Saw “Bedknobs” there, as well. 49 here.
Yeah, I thought so. Looked way too different.
It was definitely demolished, Ed.
Link to ads: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=p5IlAAAAIBAJ&sjid=N_MFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3963%2C2263975
I saw “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” here, when my family and I lived in Miami in November or December of 1971. Looks like the theater has been replaced by a Morton’s Steakhouse, which has an address of 2333 Ponce de Leon Blvd. Can’t tell if it’s the same building or not. If the theater wasn’t demolished, the building appears to have undergone significant alterations.
I knew the Coral well, having grown up in Coral Gables in the late 1940s to the early 1970s. The exterior went through some changes during its latter years, but the interior remained the same. Inside were wall murals on each wall near the screen, mainly fish and coral pieces. Nearer the screen on each side were three? vertical louvered pieces with cove lighting. The theatre had a screen curtain that glimmered and always was used to open the show. After CinemaScope was introduced in the early ‘50s, a new screen was brought forward and the curtains were taken out. The theatre also had rows where the end seats were “love seat” style, i.e., room for two. The Coral had no balcony but was fairly spacious.
I saw many movies here, including “The Night Heaven Fell” the second Bardot film where I had to lie about my age to get in.
1981 picture of the Coral here.
That’s about right. There was only one GABLES but also one MIRACLE.
I guess I can get confused – a Coral Gables, a Coral, and possibly two Gables Theaters? (Not two mention the newer Twin Gables – or whatever it was called – on Coral Way.)
The Coral opened in 1941 and closed in 1982. A previous Coral Gables Theatre may have operated on the same site from 1927 to 1936.
That former one was a Famous Players/Lasky 1500 seat house.
Yes, saw many Disney films there in the late 60s/early 70s. I actually watched them tear it down in the early 80s – made lots of people really angry. Didn’t they put up some furniture store? (I can’t believe what has been torn down in the Gables…the Presbyterian Church was a Mid-Century masterpiece! And the Coliseum……sad.)
In 1971, when The Miami Herald would not accept more than a two inch by one column ad for the X-rated “A Clockwork Orange”, ABC Forida State Theatres and Warner Brothers resorted to full page ads for the soundtrack album and the publication of THE ORANGE TIMES magazine.
A cover of THE ORANGE TIMES is linked below.
View link
Another link to the photo above:
View link
The Coral in 1964.
View link
I remember watching the Pirate Movie starring Kristy McNichol there on either Memorial or Labor Day after returning from a long weekend hotel stay in North Miami Beach. How late 70s/early 80s Miami is that, LOL!