As I remember it when growing up, there were no permanent seats in the boxes; you had to take your own cane-back chair with you! Just visible on the upper left is where the rear-most box joined the mezzanine. Above that was the balcony, which in those days was for “colored” patrons. The projection booth was at the rear of the mezzanine, and situated so low that frequently patrons would cross in front of the projection beam.
I don’t know if the National was ever air-conditioned, but if so, it wasn’t working when I attended during the summer. They had huge fans blowing on the audience, and after a movie you felt like you had “wind burn”.
The organ was a Robert Morton 2/6, upgraded to Robert Morton 2/8 just before the Carolina Theatre opened in 1927 (probably to retain bragging rights to a larger organ).
The first movie I remember seeing here (Victory) was Disney’s “Fantasia” in 1947 (a reissue). I don’t think it was in stereo, as only about 9 theatres nationwide were equipped with that equipment.
When the Terrace opened, it spelled the doom of the downtown National theatre in 1966. Wilby-Kincey was not allowed to have a monopoly and so the National had to go.
Cinerama movies I saw there: Mediterranean Holiday Hallelujah Trail Battle of the Bulge Russian Adventure Grand Prix Ice Station Zebra Krakatoa – East of Java
I wrote to Children’s Healthcare in mid-2019 asking what their plans were for the building, which at the time was being used for construction offices. I got no answer until this picture. Thanks, Stan.
I saw “Altered States” there in 1981, projected in 70mm. The projection booth door was right beside the left entrance, and the projectionist left his door open for people to see the equipment. I struck up a conversation and was allowed to be inside for picture start-up. A Disney cartoon “Chips Ahoy” preceded the feature. It had been blown-up to 70mm so that no projector change-over was needed. This experience was truly an example of someone who was proud of his work.
What did the interior look like after Cinerama conversion? Looking at the Erlanger picture, imagine a dropped ceiling under the second balcony. Now cover all the walls with curtains. This drastic change sealed the building’s doom when resue attempts were made prior to demolition.
I don’t know why this multiplex would get a below-par rating, except that they never play a 3D version for longer than a week. All of the theatres are good and have various sizes for the movies to show on longer runs, and the concessions are cheaper than most (on Tuesdays they are $2). They recently added an “Xtreme” screen, which dwarfs Imax. This comment added May 2018.
As of early 2018, this multiplex should be renamed “Barrett Commons 14”, as the entire south wing has been closed due to poor business. They are keeping their multiplex version of Imax going. Still nice auditoriums, though.
FWIW: When “The Sound of Music” was shown, the screen had to be masked off to a smaller size due to Cinerama contract requirements that no movie except official Cinerama movies could be shown full-screen. I wondered why they did that at the time. TSOM was the last movie I saw with my father, as he died later that year.
The church is now gone, and the building is owned by Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. I have been unable to find out what their plans are for it as of this date.
I saw Ben-Hur at Cameron Village when I was a student at NCSU. A fellow student (really from the sticks)went with me, and he had never before seen a theatrical movie, so I didn’t know what to expect from him. Oddly, he thought the goriest scenes were hilarious. Go figure.
Regarding whether D-150 theatres could show other widescreen movies on the full screen by 1973, the answer is YES. The Cinema 150 in Santa Clara (now demolished) showed both “This Is Cinerama” (70mm version advertised as Cinerama) and “The Sound of Music” (advertised as Todd-AO) in September of 1973. I saw them both, and they were projected full screen.
I can state the the Ambassador was not a Cinerama theatre, because I was there at the time that “Grimm” and “West” would have been shown in that process. I had to go to Charlotte, which was the only venue in the state to have Cinerama capability.
The Wurlitzer slave console is still there (located on the side between some of the columns), and is in use. To see a video of it being played, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7Qjv_9zM9c
. The lobby Moller is also played frequently, also by John Lauter. The Detroit Fox is the only theatre in the US with its original slave and lobby organ installations intact and playable.
The opening of the Terrace spelled doom for the downtown National Theatre on Elm Street. At the time, Wilby-Kincey operated ALL of the indoor theatres in Greensboro, and was apparently under a court order to divest itself of at least one of them when the Terrace opened. So they chose to close the National, the oldest of the group. No other operators came forward to take over its operation, so it was demolished within two years of the opening of the Terrace.
Sleeping Beauty was reissued in 70mm sometime in the 1980s, because that’s the way I saw it at the Northpoint Theatre in San Francisco. At least, that’s the way it was advertised. I didn’t crash the projection booth to verify that. I went early enough to catch two showings consecutively, as I knew that would probably be the last chance of ever seeing it that way.
“Custer of the West” never played in Cinerama in Atlanta. When I attended that Atlanta premiere of “Krakatoa” (not a formal event) at the Georgia Cinerama, someone apparently forgot to open the dowser, and the film started with sound only (a big explosion). For a while we thought that it might have been a prelude, until we heard voices on the soundtrack. After about 2 minutes, the picture came up. The Georgia Cinerama (originally Martin’s Georgia Cinerama) was the only Cinerama house I know of which didn’t hide the Cinerama screen behind a curtain between shows, apparently aniticipating today’s multiplex practice of bare screens. This usurped the surprise of seeing such a big image when the movie started. It also allowed one to see the louvered screen (not solid), and someone must have touched some of them, causing some misalignment, which another viewer told me he thought resembled paint peeling. The Georgia opened on April 14, 1965.
Martin’s Cinerama had many names, in order: Erlanger, Tower, Martin’s Cinerama, Columbia, and finally Atlanta. It had two balconies, the upper one being sealed off by a false ceiling when Cinerama was installed.
I’m not sure from StanMalone’s lengthy May 15, 2007 article which movie played where, but here’s what I remember:
GEORGIA Cinerama: Mediterranean Holiday, Hallelujah Trail, Battle of the Bulge, Russian Adventure, Grand Prix, Krakatoa.
MARTIN’S Cinerama: 2001, Patton, This Is Cinerama (reissue). After it became the Atlanta, they presented a two-week sequence of 2001 & 2010, both projected on the Cinerama screen. Although 2010 was a 35mm print, it looked OK on the big screen.
As I remember it when growing up, there were no permanent seats in the boxes; you had to take your own cane-back chair with you! Just visible on the upper left is where the rear-most box joined the mezzanine. Above that was the balcony, which in those days was for “colored” patrons. The projection booth was at the rear of the mezzanine, and situated so low that frequently patrons would cross in front of the projection beam.
I don’t know if the National was ever air-conditioned, but if so, it wasn’t working when I attended during the summer. They had huge fans blowing on the audience, and after a movie you felt like you had “wind burn”.
The organ was a Robert Morton 2/6, upgraded to Robert Morton 2/8 just before the Carolina Theatre opened in 1927 (probably to retain bragging rights to a larger organ).
The first movie I remember seeing here (Victory) was Disney’s “Fantasia” in 1947 (a reissue). I don’t think it was in stereo, as only about 9 theatres nationwide were equipped with that equipment.
When the Terrace opened, it spelled the doom of the downtown National theatre in 1966. Wilby-Kincey was not allowed to have a monopoly and so the National had to go.
Cinerama movies I saw there:
Mediterranean Holiday
Hallelujah Trail
Battle of the Bulge
Russian Adventure
Grand Prix
Ice Station Zebra
Krakatoa – East of Java
That’s also not a Cinerama screen in the picture.
I wrote to Children’s Healthcare in mid-2019 asking what their plans were for the building, which at the time was being used for construction offices. I got no answer until this picture. Thanks, Stan.
I saw “Altered States” there in 1981, projected in 70mm. The projection booth door was right beside the left entrance, and the projectionist left his door open for people to see the equipment. I struck up a conversation and was allowed to be inside for picture start-up. A Disney cartoon “Chips Ahoy” preceded the feature. It had been blown-up to 70mm so that no projector change-over was needed. This experience was truly an example of someone who was proud of his work.
The Martin Cinerama in St. Louis was an identical twin to the Martin Cinerama in New Orleans. Both are gone now.
What did the interior look like after Cinerama conversion? Looking at the Erlanger picture, imagine a dropped ceiling under the second balcony. Now cover all the walls with curtains. This drastic change sealed the building’s doom when resue attempts were made prior to demolition.
Does anyone know a Tacoma resident who can look up old newspaper records to see what the ads said?
I don’t know why this multiplex would get a below-par rating, except that they never play a 3D version for longer than a week. All of the theatres are good and have various sizes for the movies to show on longer runs, and the concessions are cheaper than most (on Tuesdays they are $2). They recently added an “Xtreme” screen, which dwarfs Imax. This comment added May 2018.
As of early 2018, this multiplex should be renamed “Barrett Commons 14”, as the entire south wing has been closed due to poor business. They are keeping their multiplex version of Imax going. Still nice auditoriums, though.
According to http://incinerama.com/tacoma.htm Tacoma Mall was planned and built as a Cinerama theatre but no known Cinerama films were shown.
FWIW: When “The Sound of Music” was shown, the screen had to be masked off to a smaller size due to Cinerama contract requirements that no movie except official Cinerama movies could be shown full-screen. I wondered why they did that at the time. TSOM was the last movie I saw with my father, as he died later that year.
The church is now gone, and the building is owned by Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. I have been unable to find out what their plans are for it as of this date.
I saw Ben-Hur at Cameron Village when I was a student at NCSU. A fellow student (really from the sticks)went with me, and he had never before seen a theatrical movie, so I didn’t know what to expect from him. Oddly, he thought the goriest scenes were hilarious. Go figure.
a full view of the original theatre interior is now at http://incinerama.com/tacoma.htm
Regarding whether D-150 theatres could show other widescreen movies on the full screen by 1973, the answer is YES. The Cinema 150 in Santa Clara (now demolished) showed both “This Is Cinerama” (70mm version advertised as Cinerama) and “The Sound of Music” (advertised as Todd-AO) in September of 1973. I saw them both, and they were projected full screen.
For a full view of the original theatre interior, see
http://www.cineramahistory.com/tacoma.htm
I can state the the Ambassador was not a Cinerama theatre, because I was there at the time that “Grimm” and “West” would have been shown in that process. I had to go to Charlotte, which was the only venue in the state to have Cinerama capability.
The Wurlitzer slave console is still there (located on the side between some of the columns), and is in use. To see a video of it being played, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7Qjv_9zM9c
. The lobby Moller is also played frequently, also by John Lauter. The Detroit Fox is the only theatre in the US with its original slave and lobby organ installations intact and playable.
The opening of the Terrace spelled doom for the downtown National Theatre on Elm Street. At the time, Wilby-Kincey operated ALL of the indoor theatres in Greensboro, and was apparently under a court order to divest itself of at least one of them when the Terrace opened. So they chose to close the National, the oldest of the group. No other operators came forward to take over its operation, so it was demolished within two years of the opening of the Terrace.
Sleeping Beauty was reissued in 70mm sometime in the 1980s, because that’s the way I saw it at the Northpoint Theatre in San Francisco. At least, that’s the way it was advertised. I didn’t crash the projection booth to verify that. I went early enough to catch two showings consecutively, as I knew that would probably be the last chance of ever seeing it that way.
“Custer of the West” never played in Cinerama in Atlanta. When I attended that Atlanta premiere of “Krakatoa” (not a formal event) at the Georgia Cinerama, someone apparently forgot to open the dowser, and the film started with sound only (a big explosion). For a while we thought that it might have been a prelude, until we heard voices on the soundtrack. After about 2 minutes, the picture came up. The Georgia Cinerama (originally Martin’s Georgia Cinerama) was the only Cinerama house I know of which didn’t hide the Cinerama screen behind a curtain between shows, apparently aniticipating today’s multiplex practice of bare screens. This usurped the surprise of seeing such a big image when the movie started. It also allowed one to see the louvered screen (not solid), and someone must have touched some of them, causing some misalignment, which another viewer told me he thought resembled paint peeling. The Georgia opened on April 14, 1965.
Martin’s Cinerama had many names, in order: Erlanger, Tower, Martin’s Cinerama, Columbia, and finally Atlanta. It had two balconies, the upper one being sealed off by a false ceiling when Cinerama was installed.
I’m not sure from StanMalone’s lengthy May 15, 2007 article which movie played where, but here’s what I remember:
GEORGIA Cinerama: Mediterranean Holiday, Hallelujah Trail, Battle of the Bulge, Russian Adventure, Grand Prix, Krakatoa.
MARTIN’S Cinerama: 2001, Patton, This Is Cinerama (reissue). After it became the Atlanta, they presented a two-week sequence of 2001 & 2010, both projected on the Cinerama screen. Although 2010 was a 35mm print, it looked OK on the big screen.