My love of films and cinemas began here, as a regular patron from the Saturday morning/afternoon kids shows in the mid-1950’s through 10 glorious teenage years into the mid-1960s when I would attend sometimes 3 times a week seeing 9 different movies! (I also went to other Derby cinemas when I wasn’t at the Rex)
Here is an exterior photograph of the Rex Cinema, Alvaston that I took in 1961: View link
The American Motion Picture Directory 1914 – 1915 gives an address of National Avenue, Corona.
No address is given in Film Daily Yearbook;editions 1926, 1927 or 1930, but the seating capacity is consistant as 600 in all these. The 1930 edition of F.D.Y. also lists status of the Hyperion Theatre as (Closed).
It is a Listed Grade B building. Unusual internal features were:– the orchestra sat on a garden bridge (now missing), the exterior of the projection booth was shaped like a Chinaman, with the projection beams coming out the two slanted eyes!
The auditorium walls were decorated in the manner of a ‘Chinese Garden’ with red, black and gold murals painted on the walls. Within the barrel vaulted ceiling were outlines of painted dragons and scrolls (now painted over).
Seating at the Rialto Cinema, Lochee (a western suburb of Dundee) was arranged in a stadium configuration, with a raised section at the rear and no overhanging circle. It had a barrel-vailted ceiling in the auditorium and the proscenium opening was 32 feet wide.
The Theatre Historical Society of America have details of ‘Child’s Grand Opera House closing on 5th April 1936 and it was soon demolished for a parking lot’.
Rollingrck;
Thanks for the extra info. I note that the Mecca Theatre has it’s own listing on Cinema Treasures. It was a much larger theatre than the East Side Beauty Theatre, for which we can now change the status to Closed/Demolished.
I have a book on Zurich cinemas. Here are specific details that I can translate from the German text:–
Architect: Peter Giumini of Zurich
Opened: 18th September 1928
Seats: 1,700
Organ: Welte, opened by Herman Kuppers
I believe Eugen Scotoni was the building firm.
Contemporary reviews of the theatre in 1928 heralded it as the ‘Largest, most modern Cinema & Variety Theatre in Switzerland’.
The North Park Theatre is set to re-open on 30th September 2005. The first production to be staged by the Lyric Opera San Diego will be “The Mikado” on 14th October 2005. The San Diego Cinema Society wants to screen the theatre’s first film sometime in October.
It could be that such a large theatre had several entrance doorways that spread along the block. The Film Daily Yearbook editions 1926 and 1927 give a street number of 1716, by 1930 and beyond they give 1714.
My love of films and cinemas began here, as a regular patron from the Saturday morning/afternoon kids shows in the mid-1950’s through 10 glorious teenage years into the mid-1960s when I would attend sometimes 3 times a week seeing 9 different movies! (I also went to other Derby cinemas when I wasn’t at the Rex)
Here is an exterior photograph of the Rex Cinema, Alvaston that I took in 1961:
View link
The American Motion Picture Directory 1914 – 1915 gives an address of National Avenue, Corona.
No address is given in Film Daily Yearbook;editions 1926, 1927 or 1930, but the seating capacity is consistant as 600 in all these. The 1930 edition of F.D.Y. also lists status of the Hyperion Theatre as (Closed).
Two c.1926 photographs of the Granada Theatre, Hollywood here:
Exterior
View link
Auditorium
View link
A recent exterior photograph here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/grange85/21668410/
Thanks to woody, a recent exterior photograph of the Duke of York’s Picture House here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/48112013/
Thanks to woody, some photographs of the newly re-opened Greenwich Picturehouse taken in September 2005 here:
Exterior view
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/48104932/
Lobby view
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/48104931/
Basement screening room stairs view
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/48106434/
Thanks to woody, a couple of photographs of the Regal Cinema/ABC Derby here:
Auditorium in 1938
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/47990139/
Demolition in 1984
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/47990140/
Thanks Rollingrck, they are great photos considering the low light. Looks like it was quite an ornate interior for a neighborhood theatre.
A recent exterior photograph here:
View link
It is a Listed Grade B building. Unusual internal features were:– the orchestra sat on a garden bridge (now missing), the exterior of the projection booth was shaped like a Chinaman, with the projection beams coming out the two slanted eyes!
The auditorium walls were decorated in the manner of a ‘Chinese Garden’ with red, black and gold murals painted on the walls. Within the barrel vaulted ceiling were outlines of painted dragons and scrolls (now painted over).
Seating at the Rialto Cinema, Lochee (a western suburb of Dundee) was arranged in a stadium configuration, with a raised section at the rear and no overhanging circle. It had a barrel-vailted ceiling in the auditorium and the proscenium opening was 32 feet wide.
Listed in the Film Daily Yearbook;1930 edition as the Little Lenox Theatre with a seating capacity of 251.
The Theatre Historical Society of America have details of ‘Child’s Grand Opera House closing on 5th April 1936 and it was soon demolished for a parking lot’.
The Film Daily Yearbook; 1950 edition, gives a seating capacity of 983.
Rollingrck;
Thanks for the extra info. I note that the Mecca Theatre has it’s own listing on Cinema Treasures. It was a much larger theatre than the East Side Beauty Theatre, for which we can now change the status to Closed/Demolished.
The Kinematograph Yearbook; 1937 edition gives a seating capacity of 692.
I have a book on Zurich cinemas. Here are specific details that I can translate from the German text:–
Architect: Peter Giumini of Zurich
Opened: 18th September 1928
Seats: 1,700
Organ: Welte, opened by Herman Kuppers
I believe Eugen Scotoni was the building firm.
Contemporary reviews of the theatre in 1928 heralded it as the ‘Largest, most modern Cinema & Variety Theatre in Switzerland’.
A nightshot photograph here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10179k79/45301925/
A photograph of the upper section of the facade here:
View link
A photograph of the entrance here:
View link
The North Park Theatre is set to re-open on 30th September 2005. The first production to be staged by the Lyric Opera San Diego will be “The Mikado” on 14th October 2005. The San Diego Cinema Society wants to screen the theatre’s first film sometime in October.
Maybe the post box was moved from one side of the set of entrance doors to the other?
It could be that such a large theatre had several entrance doorways that spread along the block. The Film Daily Yearbook editions 1926 and 1927 give a street number of 1716, by 1930 and beyond they give 1714.
The entrance to the Gaiety Burlesk is just off camera to the right, the auditorium side wall is above Howard Johnson’s on this photograph:
View link
An exterior photograph here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mdunn/46697471/