Old Greenbelt Theatre
129 Centerway,
Greenbelt,
MD
20770
129 Centerway,
Greenbelt,
MD
20770
6 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 39 of 39 comments
Nice postcard ! Lots of space, and pretty trees. Ah, the old days.
From the 1940s a photo postcard view of the Greenbelt Theatre in Greenbelt.
Thanks to each of you for sharing pictures, and memories. I am in Arizona now about an hour from Vegas, and they actually have drive ins. I haven’t come across an old theatre, yet. There ought to be a law that buildings are built in pairs, just in case something happens to one. And there should be laws against allowing them to deteriorate.
Here is a night shot:
http://tinyurl.com/yfe867k
Thank you. Maybe the statues were in Hyattsville. I know that they were illuminated by an ultraviolet light, can’t recall if lit from above, side, or from below, but I am sure they were Greek statues, and were on either side of the screen. Could have been Langley. The little details made such a difference. Ushers were the norm back then.
If they were there, I think they are long gone by now. I don’t recall seeing statues by the screen. Maybe they were there once upon a time. But as I said in my last post, the place could use some sprucing up. Maybe they could do a fundraiser just for that purpose.
Did Greenbelt have the plaster lady statues up by the screen ? I am trying to find out who had those.There was a violet light shining on them. Langley had the pink glass mirrors around the water fountain. I believe Greenbelt may have had a clock down mear the screen by the exit signs. Old theatres had neat nooks and crannies. I get Hyattsville interiors mixed up, too. Old memories overlap.
I caught Nine here on a matinee over the holiday weekend (Sun). Very nice projection, bright screen, great movie. My friend was more excited to see it initially then I did. Not knowing about the movie except seeing Penelope Cruz on tv and hear raves about her performance, I thought I would snooze during the movie. Fortunately, I did not. Daniel Day Lewis gives a good performance as do his castmates and, yes, Penelope does sizzle and dazzle. Her performance says Oscar nomination at least. What was just as good as the movie was the $6 matinee price. :)
While I am glad this theater is still around, I hope they will someday remodel the restrooms and repair the seats that need repair. Also the auditorium could use some fresh paint or something to obscure whatever is peeling or bare.
Thank you, Lost Memory. I am glad you posted that. I will tell friends of mine to go look at it.
I used to go watch the Hammer horror movies, and attend kiddie matinees there. It was a quarter. I purchased some candies that were like large size M and M’s. The floor was often sticky, and I didn’t feel quite right unless I was hit in the back of the head at least once with a Root Beer Barrel or Dots. The popcorn was out of this world, along with such films as “The Blob” and “Mole People.”
From January 2008: 1, 2, 3
I saw “Death at a Funeral” here to a large and very enthusiastic crowd of mostly seniors. The film was great but was rather subdued in presentation by an annoying clatter from the back. Since I sat in the back, I couldn’t make it out but its either the projector, which is doubtful, or a very loud water heater or other building appliance. Its great to visit this place and look at the large photographs of local movie theater gems either close or demolished.
I recently caught “The Good Shepherd” during its short run and thoroughly enjoyed the presentation. Based on the last few visits here (to see “The Devil Wears Prada”, “Sideways”), I can see how some will say that a properly handled 35mm film can be as good as or superior to digital projection. The colors were well balanced and rich as well as the picture being relatively bright. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a comparable DP presentation of the movie in the DC area to better compare it with and I’m sure that the DP version would have brighter colors and a scratch free presentation.
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This theater is quite a place and a nice departure from the awful AMC Academy 8 and 6 theaters, which are just a few miles away. The first movies I saw here were the Star Trek movie marathon (from the Motion Picture-Final Frontier) back in 1991. This is probably the only theater I can recall that played a Dolby stereo format trailer before the feature would start at the time. It would be nice if this theater became another ‘Senator’ (Baltimore, MD) and be a premier showcase of first run films!