Warren, Bway, Greenpoint & metz…. This Eagle theatre page is a duplicate of the Midway Theatre and is about to get removed. I have already posted relevent information from here to the Midway Theatre page and it will eventually be updated.
Vincent…Sorry, I don’t have any photographs of the Astoria in the 1960’s ‘Roadshow’ era. I did go and see several 70mm presentations there: “West Side Story”, “Fall of the Roman Empire”, Paint Your Wagon".
The exterior has not altered over the years, apart from in the days of 70mm presentations there was a large billboard which covered most of the exterior of the building. Inside, the Italian Renaissance style decoration was retained in the foyer areas (helping set an atmosphere when Fall of the Roman Empire had its World Premier at the Astoria, for which it had a redecoration), but in the auditorium, most of the decoration was covered in drapes (typical of what they did to theatres in the 1960’s). It was always a prestigious first run cinema during this period, but when the 70mm product dried up, it became an also run cinema in the West End, even playing dubbed foreign movies, sub-standard horror movies and even the occasional soft core sex film. The owners (The Rank Organisation) wanted rid of the place and booked in this type of product so that it would be yet another closure.
Don’t talk to me about the Thatcher revolution, that woman? practically destroyed the UK (in more ways than one), together with successive governments! I agree with you totally, but I still live here in the city(almost 40 years now)!
The current auditorium (as seen in the photo’s by Woody which I posted on March 26 2006) was originally the former balcony of the Empire (The orchestra stalls area was converted into a damce hall in 1962).
Regarding the size of the 70mm screen, I am not sure on actual size, but the cinema has just been re-furbished (June 2006) and a new larger screen has been installed. This extends 1 metre wider on each side, to what the previous screen was. It is THX certified, as is the sound system.
Unfortunately the new wider screen has mean’t the removal of some of the sets of drapes(screen curtains). The Empire used to have a house curtain and a screen curtain (both travellers), and main curtain which rose in sections.
Listed in Film Daily Yearbook;1941 edition as the Hippodrome Theatre with a seating capacity of 1,000. By the 1943 edition of F.D.Y. it was known as the Marlow Theater with a seating capacity given as 1,400. Same in 1950, althoough the address given in F.D.Y. is 14th Street.
In the new (2006) book by Konrad Scheicke ‘Historic Movie Theatres in Illinois-1883-1960 it states:
Hippodrome Theatre opened on 1st January 1919 and closed in 1967. Seating capacity was 1,200. It was re-named Marlow Theater in 1941 after the then owner James Marlow. It carried the name 'Hippodrome’ on the marquee until it was demolished in 1967. The address in this new book is given as above at 14 S. 13th Street.
As you can see, the marquee has been damaged by a passing truck (or something?) at some time. The building is still in use as a church as can be seen on the sign on the right-hand side over the alley entrance on the second photo
The American Film Directory 1914-1915 has this listed as the Manhattan Theatre, a name it retained thru the 1930’s. By 1941 it had been re-named the Midway Theatre.
It is listed as the Midway Theatre in the Film Daily Yearbook;1957 edition but without a seating capacity being given, which usually indicates a theatre has closed (as mentioned by Lost Memory in his Oct 8 2005 posting above). Later the building was used as a factory. Looking at the site in June 2006, it is an empty plot of land awaiting developement
Listed in the Film Daily Yearbook;1941 edition as the Lantex Theatre with 406 seats. In the 1943 edition of F.D.Y. the seating capacity had been reduced to 367. By the 1950 edition is is the Laantex Theatre (must be a typo) with the same 367 seats.
The opening text giving a 1905 opening date is incorrect. See cjdv’s posting on December 31st 2004 which gives the actual opening date and newspaper reports of the 1908 opening.
The 1948 comedy/musical movie “Killer Diller” (made for Black audiences) staring Dusty Fletcher, Butterfly McQueen, Nat ‘King’ Cole and the King Cole Trio, The Clark Brothers and Moms Mabley was filmed inside and on stage of the Lincoln Theatre.
Ed…Many thanks for your kind words of appreciation. I think I am coming up to the halfway mark on the photos to download. Of course, these are the relatively easy ones to do for theatres which are already listed here on CT. Next will be ‘add a theatre’ then submit some photos of them!
Thanks for the info which gives further details of the closing years of the Beverly Theatre, I would say it seems to have closed in possibly 1981 or early 1982? or went into its short lived XXX period.
Listed in Film Daily Yearbook;1926 and 1927 editions with a seating capacity of 1,600. The 1930 edition of F.D.Y. gives a seating capacity of 1,310. In 1941 and 1943 editions it has a seating capacity given as 1,394, which by 1957 had reduced to 1,359.
After closing, the auditorium was converted into a school, but some time later, there was a collapse of part of the building. The auditorium section was then demolished and a new building erected on the land (now used as a Public School). The frontage and foyer area were retained and are in retail use, with a few traces of decoration remaining within this section.
Warren, Bway, Greenpoint & metz…. This Eagle theatre page is a duplicate of the Midway Theatre and is about to get removed. I have already posted relevent information from here to the Midway Theatre page and it will eventually be updated.
Vincent…Sorry, I don’t have any photographs of the Astoria in the 1960’s ‘Roadshow’ era. I did go and see several 70mm presentations there: “West Side Story”, “Fall of the Roman Empire”, Paint Your Wagon".
The exterior has not altered over the years, apart from in the days of 70mm presentations there was a large billboard which covered most of the exterior of the building. Inside, the Italian Renaissance style decoration was retained in the foyer areas (helping set an atmosphere when Fall of the Roman Empire had its World Premier at the Astoria, for which it had a redecoration), but in the auditorium, most of the decoration was covered in drapes (typical of what they did to theatres in the 1960’s). It was always a prestigious first run cinema during this period, but when the 70mm product dried up, it became an also run cinema in the West End, even playing dubbed foreign movies, sub-standard horror movies and even the occasional soft core sex film. The owners (The Rank Organisation) wanted rid of the place and booked in this type of product so that it would be yet another closure.
Don’t talk to me about the Thatcher revolution, that woman? practically destroyed the UK (in more ways than one), together with successive governments! I agree with you totally, but I still live here in the city(almost 40 years now)!
The current auditorium (as seen in the photo’s by Woody which I posted on March 26 2006) was originally the former balcony of the Empire (The orchestra stalls area was converted into a damce hall in 1962).
Regarding the size of the 70mm screen, I am not sure on actual size, but the cinema has just been re-furbished (June 2006) and a new larger screen has been installed. This extends 1 metre wider on each side, to what the previous screen was. It is THX certified, as is the sound system.
Unfortunately the new wider screen has mean’t the removal of some of the sets of drapes(screen curtains). The Empire used to have a house curtain and a screen curtain (both travellers), and main curtain which rose in sections.
Listed in Film Daily Yearbook;1941 edition as the Hippodrome Theatre with a seating capacity of 1,000. By the 1943 edition of F.D.Y. it was known as the Marlow Theater with a seating capacity given as 1,400. Same in 1950, althoough the address given in F.D.Y. is 14th Street.
In the new (2006) book by Konrad Scheicke ‘Historic Movie Theatres in Illinois-1883-1960 it states:
Hippodrome Theatre opened on 1st January 1919 and closed in 1967. Seating capacity was 1,200. It was re-named Marlow Theater in 1941 after the then owner James Marlow. It carried the name 'Hippodrome’ on the marquee until it was demolished in 1967. The address in this new book is given as above at 14 S. 13th Street.
The name of the church is the ‘Eglise De Dieu’.
As you can see, the marquee has been damaged by a passing truck (or something?) at some time. The building is still in use as a church as can be seen on the sign on the right-hand side over the alley entrance on the second photo
Yes Warren, I can confirm you have the correct Rialto Theatre building. Here are a couple more photographs which I took in June 2006:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/203850519/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/203851727/
The American Film Directory 1914-1915 has this listed as the Manhattan Theatre, a name it retained thru the 1930’s. By 1941 it had been re-named the Midway Theatre.
It is listed as the Midway Theatre in the Film Daily Yearbook;1957 edition but without a seating capacity being given, which usually indicates a theatre has closed (as mentioned by Lost Memory in his Oct 8 2005 posting above). Later the building was used as a factory. Looking at the site in June 2006, it is an empty plot of land awaiting developement
Not listed in the Film Daily Yearbook’s 1941 or 1943, so must have closed earlier.
Listed in the Film Daily Yearbook;1941 edition as the Lantex Theatre with 406 seats. In the 1943 edition of F.D.Y. the seating capacity had been reduced to 367. By the 1950 edition is is the Laantex Theatre (must be a typo) with the same 367 seats.
Four photographs I took in June 2006 of the Eagle Theatre:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/200857669/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/200857928/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/200858117/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/200858259/
Six photographs I took in June 2006 of the soon to be demolished Subway Theatre:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/200262930/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/200263384/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/200263708/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/200263967/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/200264221/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/200264405/
Listed in the Film Daily Yearbook;1950 edition with a seating capacity of 650. The address given is; 7528 Granby Street, Norfolk, VA.
Two photographs I took in June 2006 of the remains of the derelict Luna Theater:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/199881499/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/199882239/
Here is a June 2006 photograph I took of of the Pioneer Theatre:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/199875072/
Three photographs I took in June 2006 of the decorative entrance arch of the former Gloria Theater. This is all that remains after the building was demolished and an apartment block was built on the site of the theatre:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/199850316/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/199850872/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/199851483/
The opening text giving a 1905 opening date is incorrect. See cjdv’s posting on December 31st 2004 which gives the actual opening date and newspaper reports of the 1908 opening.
The 1948 comedy/musical movie “Killer Diller” (made for Black audiences) staring Dusty Fletcher, Butterfly McQueen, Nat ‘King’ Cole and the King Cole Trio, The Clark Brothers and Moms Mabley was filmed inside and on stage of the Lincoln Theatre.
Here are three photographs I took of the Lincoln Theatre in June 2006:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/199808019/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/199808231/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/199808512/
A photograph of the Empire Theatre that I took in June 2006:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/199783684/
Three photographs I took of the Loew’s Gates Theatre in June 2006:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/199766285/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/199766678/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/199767025/
The 1941 edition of Film Daily Yearbook gives a seating capacity of 350 for the Gregg Theater
Ed…Many thanks for your kind words of appreciation. I think I am coming up to the halfway mark on the photos to download. Of course, these are the relatively easy ones to do for theatres which are already listed here on CT. Next will be ‘add a theatre’ then submit some photos of them!
Thanks for the info which gives further details of the closing years of the Beverly Theatre, I would say it seems to have closed in possibly 1981 or early 1982? or went into its short lived XXX period.
Two photographs I took of the Sumner Theatre in June 2006:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/199653903/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/199654261/
A June 2006 photograph that I took of the Tompkins Theater, now with a re-clad facade:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/199600615/
Listed in Film Daily Yearbook;1926 and 1927 editions with a seating capacity of 1,600. The 1930 edition of F.D.Y. gives a seating capacity of 1,310. In 1941 and 1943 editions it has a seating capacity given as 1,394, which by 1957 had reduced to 1,359.
After closing, the auditorium was converted into a school, but some time later, there was a collapse of part of the building. The auditorium section was then demolished and a new building erected on the land (now used as a Public School). The frontage and foyer area were retained and are in retail use, with a few traces of decoration remaining within this section.
Here are a couple of photographs of the facade I took in June 2006:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/199507117/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/199507352/