Metro Cinema
Avenida Ponce de Leon 1255,
San Juan
00907
Avenida Ponce de Leon 1255,
San Juan
00907
9 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 37 of 37 comments
Yes, Ron, there was the Metro and the Metropolitan. They both were on Ponce de Leon Avenue but not near each other. It’s very hard to tell because San juan is not a “grid” city like NY. True old time Sanjuaneros measure distances according to the old trolley stops. The Metro is on Stop 18 and the Metropolitan on Stop 24. I have not been in San Juan for a while, but I understand the Tren Urbano has not oficially opened though it is giving free rides on weekends. My understanding is that it ends at Stop 26, after crossing the Martin Pena canal into Santurce. Andres.
San Juan had both a Metro and a Metropolitan? Sounds confusing. Were they near each other?
Also, doesn’t San Juan now have a new subway, the Tren Urbano? Does it stop close enough to this theatre that you won’t need a parking lot anymore?
I was Advertising Manager for Commonwealth Theaters in San Juan in the 60’s and then District Manager for Wometco when they took over Commonwealth. In between I was Theater/Publicity Manager for the Metro and MGM-Puerto Rico which supervised the Virgin Islands and the Dominican Republic MGM operations. Sorry, but Canuco is wrong. Those pictures played at the Metropolitan, not the Metro. The Metropolitan was the showcase for 70mm and roadshow presentations and the first theater in San Juan and Puerto Rico to install 70mm (for “South Pacific”). Even MGM spectaculars such as “Ben-Hur, "Mutiny on the Bounty” (with Brando) and “Dr. Zhivago,” played at the Metropolitan, since MGM used the Metro for their regular fare until until 70mm “Cinerama” was installed for “Space Odyssey.” But I agree with Canuco on the fond memories of those theaters in San Juan that, like the old movie palaces here in NYC, are gone forever. Andres Roura, New York City.
I remember The Metro very well. I saw the screenings of, The Bible, Cleopatra and The Sand Pebbles in this theatre. I believe that at the time this theatre was the only one in Santurce that could accomodate the film format of these epic films. So along with the Rex, Rialto, Matienzo and all those other film houses that gave me such beautiful memories in my childhood, the Metro also shall be fondly thought of as well.
Lets hope ARPE, the goverment agency who gives building permits had enough sense to think about parking space in the new building.
josem, any chance the new apartment building will contain underground public parking for theatergoers?
Some truly bad news. The Metro is losing its huge parking space. A huge apartment building will be built there. This means the theater will be left essentially without parking. This could mean trouble for the theater. Let’s hope this doesn’t mean the end for San Juan’s only historic movie theater still operating.
no THX certified theaters in puerto rico…maybe some day
The Metro is still the best place to watch a movie. And it’s the last of the great Santurce theaters still showing movies.
I remember going there as a kid to see all the great Tom and Jerry festivals with my grandparents and its a truly wonderful thing to be able to go there still.
Are there any THX Certified theaters in Puerto Rico?
Since the Cinema 150 closed, this is my favorite theater to truly feel the movie experience. It had great sound and projection. The main screen had dts and dd sound but caribbean cinemas dont work anymore with dts equipment (they uninstall all dts equipment from all of their theater in PR and the caribbean). The best place to see a good movie.
I was involved in the triple conversion of the cinema. We created three auditoriums of ample width by referring to the original plans of the building. A structural engineering firm hydraulically raised the roof over the stage area to create the space fro cinema #1 ( if your tour the projection booth, you will see the steel support beam holding the roof. the auditorium plan was rotated 90 degrees in the building to create three auditoriums of diminishing size, with the largest, #1 toward the rear. A new 2nd floor deck houses the projection room, which connects into the old projection area at the front of the building. In 1993 we renovated the old projection room, which was a huge area set up for 3 projectors, and stage spotlights, into a 35 seat screening cinema which is used by Caribbean Cinemas + all local film distributors.
The cinema was the first with DTS and Dolby Digital sound, The projection screens in #1 and #2 are studio grade Stewart non-perforated screens with custom sound. All three cinemas handle Dolby Digital sound while #1 and #2 can handle DTS sound…..a grand old lady of a building, the original METRO sign is on the roof for storage since it is past repairable state……I have done 105 cinemas in Puerto Rico but this was one of my favorites.