So nice to see a photo of the CINERAMA® curved drapes that this theatre had. Thanks Jet for the image. I wonder If anyone has photos of the CINERAMA® screen?
M1944**thanks for this great photo of the back of the PP DI semi curved screen. You can see the wood sections on the sides that they added for CinemaScope® in the 1950’s.
Thanks Kino. I wonder is this art wall mural was ever lit from the back? Would look great with low blue halo light from behind when a movie was on. The place just sits empty year after year and a pool may be going in. I saw 70mm ‘Cleopatra’ roadshow semi flat Todd AO screen here many years ago plus many other 70mm roadshow movies. This was UA’s second tier 70mm theatre down the street from the torn down Coronet. The Coronet was the first theatre to have a curved Todd-AO screen in SF in 1955 for Oklahoma.
A great place to see a CINERAMA® movie when visiting Oahu in It’s day. Time to move out the current store and re install CINERAMA® and showcase ‘SOUTH SEAS ADVENTURE’ for all the tourists to see on the giant curved screen with pink curtains. Roadshow comes back with a program and intermission for a new generation to enjoy. Thanks David for the memories.
Thanks Steve for the memories of the UA Galaxy Theatre. Was not open long and had THX in 2 of the largest auditoriums. The land around this cinema was worth so much It is now another condo on Van Ness. So many theatres have closed around this area like the Regency 1 & 2 across the street now a music venue and the Royal Theatre on Polk St torn down for condos, they did keep part of the front but took out all the neon blade Royal marquee. The small art Luminare Theatre now gone. A brand new large cinema is going into the space a block away from the former UA Galaxy by a new movie circuit company, lets hope they survive. Lucky we did not have a big earthquake in SF when the Galaxy was open because of the lobby glass. Over the brief years It was open some of the glass did crack and UA just left It in. They had a few pieces of neon inside the glass blocks that lit up but not much. At least the Galaxy had good sound proofing as most of It was made of thick cement blocks.
Thanks Kino great cinema auditorium to watch a western cowboy movie. I wonder If they play western soundtrack music when you come into the place with the curtains closed?
Thanks Kino another great cinema space, you won’t find something like this in the lame USA movie circuits. They would never spend the money to put in curtains and fancy side lights?
Thanks again Kino for giving us a look at some class inside a Europe movie theatre. Nice to see the movie star art on the side walls. I wonder If It glows with black light in the dark? Strange to have a big #4 on the left exit door. Is this auditorium #4 or exit #4 out of 3 other exit doors in this space. Looks like It could be annoying to watch a movie and see a big white #4 out of the corner of your eye reflecting on the door. Great that they have curtains also!
terrywade
commented about
Staron
Feb 23, 2020 at 10:27 pm
The UA Rivoli showed STAR in 70MM I think. I wonder If they still had their Todd-AO curved screen up?
Nice neon marquee but the inside needs a complete remodel. Seats, curved screen, curtains, rugs, color side wall lights ect. Thanks Regency for taking over the lease and at least keeping it open as is. Gone are the days of Fox West Coast Theatres in charge.
We meant the Forman family at Pacific Theatres,thanks Dale for the spelling correction. Pacific started most of the first Drive In’s in the late 1940’s in California.
Thanks DF87 for all the photos. Such a shame they tore out the great neon flashing sign behind the largest screen when they tore down the place for a mall build. The Syufy family was so money hungry to get a mall built they just ripped everything out fast and did not save anything.
The Ray Syufy family owned this land and drive In. They had a great neon marquee behind the large screen. You could see from the Nimitz freeway. The land was so valuable for the Syufy’s they put a big mall in and tore out the screens and lots for a big mall and built a indoor multi Century Theatre. To bad they needed to leave one of the screens with the marquee up and under Union City DI put MALL. They could have projected store names on the screen? The Syufy’s & the Forum family at Pacific DI made a fortune when they sold the land of their old outdoor movie theatres in the 1970’s for new malls that they still own.
I think Superscope® was RKO Pictures answer to CinemaScope® Many early Disney films went RKO then with Buena Vista their own company. Fantasia was done I think in 1.33 sq flat. They probably just made the print wider or just put on a scope lens at the Fox West Coast Theatres Chinese Theatre? Must of sounded great in 4 ch mag stereo in 1963 as I don’t think the Chinese played all the surround channels that the original Fantasia had on the tracks with FANTASOUND®
Thanks Granola, nice screen with a small curve, great If you see a flat 1.85 movie. Not so good for scope, probably no masking, just a letterbox in the center.
Thanks David, like so many movie theatres at that time It looked like they had black light murals on the side walls that lit up with a low dark blue light during the movie.
David thanks for the curved screen photo.Must have looked great on a scope movie also.
You can see from this photo the curved CinemaScope® attachment on the sides.
Thanks so much 50’s for this photo. What a great curved screen almost like Cinerama® at the Drive In.
So nice to see a photo of the CINERAMA® curved drapes that this theatre had. Thanks Jet for the image. I wonder If anyone has photos of the CINERAMA® screen?
M1944**thanks for this great photo of the back of the PP DI semi curved screen. You can see the wood sections on the sides that they added for CinemaScope® in the 1950’s.
Wow thanks David for the ad. Must have been a great night at he Chicago State Lake Theatre with Ann Margret onstage plus QUINTAPHONIC SOUND®
Thanks Kino. I wonder is this art wall mural was ever lit from the back? Would look great with low blue halo light from behind when a movie was on. The place just sits empty year after year and a pool may be going in. I saw 70mm ‘Cleopatra’ roadshow semi flat Todd AO screen here many years ago plus many other 70mm roadshow movies. This was UA’s second tier 70mm theatre down the street from the torn down Coronet. The Coronet was the first theatre to have a curved Todd-AO screen in SF in 1955 for Oklahoma.
Thanks Elmo so nice to see the Cinerama® side booth in the corner.
Thanks CC must have looked great with the black light glow going during a movie on the side walls.
Thanks Joseph for the UA Rivoli image. Must have looked great on the big Todd-AO curved screen.
A great place to see a CINERAMA® movie when visiting Oahu in It’s day. Time to move out the current store and re install CINERAMA® and showcase ‘SOUTH SEAS ADVENTURE’ for all the tourists to see on the giant curved screen with pink curtains. Roadshow comes back with a program and intermission for a new generation to enjoy. Thanks David for the memories.
Thanks for the great curved screen photo Giles. Too bad they did not put in some color lights not just old white lights.
Thanks David, nice cinema to see a 70mm film when they showed them. Someone needed to save this great neon marquee, they probably just smashed It up.
Thanks Steve for the memories of the UA Galaxy Theatre. Was not open long and had THX in 2 of the largest auditoriums. The land around this cinema was worth so much It is now another condo on Van Ness. So many theatres have closed around this area like the Regency 1 & 2 across the street now a music venue and the Royal Theatre on Polk St torn down for condos, they did keep part of the front but took out all the neon blade Royal marquee. The small art Luminare Theatre now gone. A brand new large cinema is going into the space a block away from the former UA Galaxy by a new movie circuit company, lets hope they survive. Lucky we did not have a big earthquake in SF when the Galaxy was open because of the lobby glass. Over the brief years It was open some of the glass did crack and UA just left It in. They had a few pieces of neon inside the glass blocks that lit up but not much. At least the Galaxy had good sound proofing as most of It was made of thick cement blocks.
Thanks Kino great cinema auditorium to watch a western cowboy movie. I wonder If they play western soundtrack music when you come into the place with the curtains closed?
Thanks Kino another great cinema space, you won’t find something like this in the lame USA movie circuits. They would never spend the money to put in curtains and fancy side lights?
Thanks again Kino for giving us a look at some class inside a Europe movie theatre. Nice to see the movie star art on the side walls. I wonder If It glows with black light in the dark? Strange to have a big #4 on the left exit door. Is this auditorium #4 or exit #4 out of 3 other exit doors in this space. Looks like It could be annoying to watch a movie and see a big white #4 out of the corner of your eye reflecting on the door. Great that they have curtains also!
The UA Rivoli showed STAR in 70MM I think. I wonder If they still had their Todd-AO curved screen up?
Nice neon marquee but the inside needs a complete remodel. Seats, curved screen, curtains, rugs, color side wall lights ect. Thanks Regency for taking over the lease and at least keeping it open as is. Gone are the days of Fox West Coast Theatres in charge.
We meant the Forman family at Pacific Theatres,thanks Dale for the spelling correction. Pacific started most of the first Drive In’s in the late 1940’s in California.
Thanks DF87 for all the photos. Such a shame they tore out the great neon flashing sign behind the largest screen when they tore down the place for a mall build. The Syufy family was so money hungry to get a mall built they just ripped everything out fast and did not save anything.
The Ray Syufy family owned this land and drive In. They had a great neon marquee behind the large screen. You could see from the Nimitz freeway. The land was so valuable for the Syufy’s they put a big mall in and tore out the screens and lots for a big mall and built a indoor multi Century Theatre. To bad they needed to leave one of the screens with the marquee up and under Union City DI put MALL. They could have projected store names on the screen? The Syufy’s & the Forum family at Pacific DI made a fortune when they sold the land of their old outdoor movie theatres in the 1970’s for new malls that they still own.
I think Superscope® was RKO Pictures answer to CinemaScope® Many early Disney films went RKO then with Buena Vista their own company. Fantasia was done I think in 1.33 sq flat. They probably just made the print wider or just put on a scope lens at the Fox West Coast Theatres Chinese Theatre? Must of sounded great in 4 ch mag stereo in 1963 as I don’t think the Chinese played all the surround channels that the original Fantasia had on the tracks with FANTASOUND®
Thanks Granola, nice screen with a small curve, great If you see a flat 1.85 movie. Not so good for scope, probably no masking, just a letterbox in the center.
Thanks David, like so many movie theatres at that time It looked like they had black light murals on the side walls that lit up with a low dark blue light during the movie.