I stopped by the Lankershim yesterday. It still looks pretty much like the photo above. From up close you can see that all the neon under the marquee has been broken, and everything is run down. It looks like they prepare food or something in the entranceway. There was a sink installed there.
We went inside. There’s a stall set up in the lobby to sell religious videos and whatnot. The small auditorium is pretty much intact, painted white. I would guess that it holds a few hundred seats — maybe around 500. They had built a platform in the middle of the seats to hold a video camera, and there was a small screen masked off by black scrims within the proscenium.
We spoke briefly to someone who worked there, but he said there was a “prayer session” going on (there was no one visible in the auditorium or lobby) and asked us to return in an hour. But we had other theaters to visit, and didn’t go back.
Thank you, LM. My friends and I guessed nightclub because of the sheer size of the place. There are some subtle details that seem to point at this building’s theatrical origins, like a shape out front that looks remarkably like a marquee. Also, the building looks like it heads underground at the far end (to slope the floor for seating?), and there are escape exits at the ends with ramps that come back up to ground level.
Otherwise, you’d never guess that this had been a theater.
The sign was probably neon originally, with neon inside those metal “channel” type letters and lines of neon around the marquee. At some point it seems that the neon was removed to save money, and the letters were covered over with plastic. So what’s left is the basic shape of the marquee and the letters — much cheaper to maintain, but not nearly as cool.
Yes, it appears to be the case. That website you linked to is very vague, but I checked a couple of others and they have maps to and pictures of this Regent.
RDtoo, I think you mean 1969 Playmate of the Year. Connie Kreski was born in Wyandotte, appeared in the Jan 68 magazine, and was voted Playmate of the Year for 1969. Of course, IMDB lists her birth city as Detroit. Wyandotte? Where’s that?!
When I arrived in Ann Arbor in 1985, this theater was showing porn at night (I can’t remember what they were showing during the day). By the time I left, they had dropped the porn and were just showing regular movies. Even so, I never saw a movie there. Between the Michigan and the film groups holding screenings on campus, there was no shortage of movies to choose from. I do remember seeing the poster for Manhunter (1986) on display and being interested in that, but I didn’t see it until much later on VHS. What a shame!
I saw Blue Velvet here. Not an exceptional cinema, but it certainly contributed to the burgeoning cinema culture of Ann Arbor in the late 1980s. At that time, there was a number of groups hosting screenings on campus; so many that one generally had the choice of several films on every night. Sadly, shortly after I graduated the school decided to raise the auditorium use fees and wiped out the cinema groups.
I remember seeing John Carpenter’s The Thing here when it was still a twin. They had the AC cranked up, which added to the whole paranoia-at-the-South-Pole thing.
A friend just told me he was part of an effort to turn the Stanley into a legit theater. He said it was before Field of Dreams shot there, so it was probably the early to mid 80s. They poured their savings into restoring the place, which they called The Gallery Playhouse. As it turns out, an amusement park opened that summer just a few miles away, and all the tourists they were expecting went there instead. All the local businesses suffered. And The Gallery Playhouse quietly went out of business.
Hey, Ken — are you going to attend or volunteer for the LAHTF’s Spooktacular show Halloween weekend? If you do, ask around for Don — it would be nice to meet another theater photographer!
The Galway appears in the Gary Graver video twice (the second appearance is probably the better of the two), and both are fairly wide shots that show the theater in the center of the ground floor of the Leonide Hotel, not the single story buildings to the south. What is now Rose Rosa at 518 was also showing movies in the 70s, but might have just been an adult store with peep booths. It’s hard to tell from the print of Parts: the Clonus Horror they used on MST3K.
By the way, Ken, the hotel is still there. Chrysalis bought and refurbished it. It has 54 rooms.
Ken, I don’t think there’s any neon on that sign. The letters are faced with red plastic. I haven’t been around there at night, so I don’t know if they light up or not.
I know the building is being reused, but is there any sign of the old theater left in there?
This building appears in the movie “The Hidden” (1987) as the Harem Room where Claudia Christian works as a stripper. There are a number of shots up and down the street showing Miceli’s Italian restaurant next door. I’ve wondered if the Harem Room was a real business, or if they mocked up the exterior. But from what I’ve read here, and from the adult book stores visible across the street, I’d guess it might have been real.
The Ted Mikels movie “Girl in Gold Boots” features a night club called The Haunted House that apparently was on Hollywood Blvd and had a bandstand located in the mouth of an enormous snake head. Someone on IMDB claimed that club is now The Vine. It seems unlikely, since the info here claims the Admiral was operating in 66, and underwent renovation in 68 (the year Gold Boots was released). Anybody know anything about The Haunted House?
Also, Gold Boots has a “driving around Hollywood” montage that includes a nice shot of the Cinerama Dome playing Camelot.
Large gallery at their website:
http://www.thegreatcaesarbanquethall.com/
But I don’t know if any of that opulence is from the theater. Official word — it’s a banquet hall!
I stopped by the Lankershim yesterday. It still looks pretty much like the photo above. From up close you can see that all the neon under the marquee has been broken, and everything is run down. It looks like they prepare food or something in the entranceway. There was a sink installed there.
We went inside. There’s a stall set up in the lobby to sell religious videos and whatnot. The small auditorium is pretty much intact, painted white. I would guess that it holds a few hundred seats — maybe around 500. They had built a platform in the middle of the seats to hold a video camera, and there was a small screen masked off by black scrims within the proscenium.
We spoke briefly to someone who worked there, but he said there was a “prayer session” going on (there was no one visible in the auditorium or lobby) and asked us to return in an hour. But we had other theaters to visit, and didn’t go back.
Thank you, LM. My friends and I guessed nightclub because of the sheer size of the place. There are some subtle details that seem to point at this building’s theatrical origins, like a shape out front that looks remarkably like a marquee. Also, the building looks like it heads underground at the far end (to slope the floor for seating?), and there are escape exits at the ends with ramps that come back up to ground level.
Otherwise, you’d never guess that this had been a theater.
6719-6723 Foothill Blvd is now a nightclub called Caesar’s.
The sign was probably neon originally, with neon inside those metal “channel” type letters and lines of neon around the marquee. At some point it seems that the neon was removed to save money, and the letters were covered over with plastic. So what’s left is the basic shape of the marquee and the letters — much cheaper to maintain, but not nearly as cool.
I took another look at the Regent sign yesterday. I couldn’t see anything that looked like neon tubes.
Way to take one for the team!
Hey David, a friend of the Doughboy here. Good luck with your endeavor.
Yes, it’s operating as Safari Sams.
http://www.groovetickets.com/club.asp?affilID=3074
http://www.myspace.com/safarisams
Have fun!
Seab,
Yes, it appears to be the case. That website you linked to is very vague, but I checked a couple of others and they have maps to and pictures of this Regent.
RDtoo, I think you mean 1969 Playmate of the Year. Connie Kreski was born in Wyandotte, appeared in the Jan 68 magazine, and was voted Playmate of the Year for 1969. Of course, IMDB lists her birth city as Detroit. Wyandotte? Where’s that?!
When I arrived in Ann Arbor in 1985, this theater was showing porn at night (I can’t remember what they were showing during the day). By the time I left, they had dropped the porn and were just showing regular movies. Even so, I never saw a movie there. Between the Michigan and the film groups holding screenings on campus, there was no shortage of movies to choose from. I do remember seeing the poster for Manhunter (1986) on display and being interested in that, but I didn’t see it until much later on VHS. What a shame!
I saw Blue Velvet here. Not an exceptional cinema, but it certainly contributed to the burgeoning cinema culture of Ann Arbor in the late 1980s. At that time, there was a number of groups hosting screenings on campus; so many that one generally had the choice of several films on every night. Sadly, shortly after I graduated the school decided to raise the auditorium use fees and wiped out the cinema groups.
I remember seeing John Carpenter’s The Thing here when it was still a twin. They had the AC cranked up, which added to the whole paranoia-at-the-South-Pole thing.
A friend just told me he was part of an effort to turn the Stanley into a legit theater. He said it was before Field of Dreams shot there, so it was probably the early to mid 80s. They poured their savings into restoring the place, which they called The Gallery Playhouse. As it turns out, an amusement park opened that summer just a few miles away, and all the tourists they were expecting went there instead. All the local businesses suffered. And The Gallery Playhouse quietly went out of business.
Good luck, Dave!
A friend of mine who grew up in Richmond sent me an article on the Byrd. They recently celebrated their 80th anniversary. Go Byrd!
Hey, Ken — are you going to attend or volunteer for the LAHTF’s Spooktacular show Halloween weekend? If you do, ask around for Don — it would be nice to meet another theater photographer!
Beautiful.
I see what you mean. Many of the sites I’ve looked at describe it as a hotel, but it seems to be low-income housing related to rehab, etc.
The Galway appears in the Gary Graver video twice (the second appearance is probably the better of the two), and both are fairly wide shots that show the theater in the center of the ground floor of the Leonide Hotel, not the single story buildings to the south. What is now Rose Rosa at 518 was also showing movies in the 70s, but might have just been an adult store with peep booths. It’s hard to tell from the print of Parts: the Clonus Horror they used on MST3K.
By the way, Ken, the hotel is still there. Chrysalis bought and refurbished it. It has 54 rooms.
Ken, I don’t think there’s any neon on that sign. The letters are faced with red plastic. I haven’t been around there at night, so I don’t know if they light up or not.
I know the building is being reused, but is there any sign of the old theater left in there?
This building appears in the movie “The Hidden” (1987) as the Harem Room where Claudia Christian works as a stripper. There are a number of shots up and down the street showing Miceli’s Italian restaurant next door. I’ve wondered if the Harem Room was a real business, or if they mocked up the exterior. But from what I’ve read here, and from the adult book stores visible across the street, I’d guess it might have been real.
The Ted Mikels movie “Girl in Gold Boots” features a night club called The Haunted House that apparently was on Hollywood Blvd and had a bandstand located in the mouth of an enormous snake head. Someone on IMDB claimed that club is now The Vine. It seems unlikely, since the info here claims the Admiral was operating in 66, and underwent renovation in 68 (the year Gold Boots was released). Anybody know anything about The Haunted House?
Also, Gold Boots has a “driving around Hollywood” montage that includes a nice shot of the Cinerama Dome playing Camelot.