Ritchie was also just about the only place on Earth to play the locally-produced “Blood Circus,” a wrestling movie. After the first week the title was changed to “Wrestling Circus,” no no avail.
Marley and GBTC also affected Jumpers Hole 7 down the road a ways.
The Parkway is about to be renovated and expanded as the new home of the Maryland Film Festival: Baltimore Sun article
The area surrounding the Parkway has seen a renaissance in recent years as the Station North Arts District. Numerous live-theatre groups, restaurants and clubs have opened in the area, and the Maryland Institute School for the Arts has expanded to a nearby site.
More info: The Uptown was a bargain house as early as 1970, offering “3 Big Pictures!” for 75 cents. It was open only on Sat. and Sun. The theatre had a small outer foyer, leading to a HUGE outer lobby that featured a water fountain (which had stopped functioning long before I started going there in October 1972). The outer lobby had a sweeping staircase leading upstairs.
Sometime in 1973, “Winky” (the manager) started using the pink flourescent lights that flanked the screen. The Uptown always used its screen curtains, giving its decidedly downscale audience a taste of its former grandeur.
Also by 1973, the fare was cut back to a double feature, and Sunday admission was a dollar (later extended to Saturdays).
Update: The auditorium has been completely gutted. Iron beamwork has been built inside the auditorium, extending to the land outside of it.
The businesses in the former lobby are still open.
BD, you most definitely did NOT see “Empire” at the Rotunda, and it was DEFINITELY a twin. I saw “Apocalypse Now” there in December 1979, and “Mary Poppins” in summer 1980.
You might be thinking of the Hillendale on Taylor Ave., where “Empire” played in imperfectly-framed 70MM.
AS for the Rotunda, during “Poppins” there was a loud buzz in the speaker every time an idle projector was started for a reel change! (Yes, there were still twin reel-to-reel machines there.)
The current operator of the Rotunda (whose name I can’t remember) was a booker for J-F Theatres in the 1970s. He plans to add a third screen.
Hillendale had the distinction of being the first Baltimore-area house to show a “Star Wars” film in 70mm (“Empire”). However, the presentation was imperfect: the ends of the picture were cut off, and if I recall, the surround speakers were placed in the CEILING.
The big theatre here was the most PERFECT location for “Rocky Horror”!! The famous NYC cast made great use of the old boxes flanking the proscenium. I have numerous pics of the Halloween 1996 show, and someday I’ll scan them and post them on the web.
Unfortunately, “Rocky” was usually relegated to one of the teensy houses…
I managed to see one program at the Regency, on 2/17/1980. It was part of the “Dancing Ladies” series, and the films were “Plisetskaya Dances” (docu about a Russian ballerina), a Martha Graham short, and one of my all-time favorites, Vanessa Redgrave in “(The Loves of) Isadora.
I traveled all the way from Baltimore to see it, and sat through everything three times. (The Redgrave flick was very rarely shown here – or anywhere.)
An interesting quirk with the Regency: you could hear the rumble of IRT express trains roaring past underneath Broadway. Added to the experience.
Holly Theatre was open circa 1992-93. At that time there was a sizable stage under the screen, which was perfect for the “Rocky Horror” cast that performed there. (The shows usually sold out, despite the theatre’s rather remote location and the movie’s availability on video.)
The Dallas WAS open for a while circa 1999-2000. Saw “Rocky Horror” there three times in mid-2000. This is indeed a lovely theatre; sad to see it couldn’t be kept running.
Circa 1987, TLA switched from movies to yet another theatrical company. The first production was “Little Shop of Horrors,” for which Audrey II, the killer plant, was painted all over the facade! The stage version of “Rocky Horror” also ran there a few times, and in the late 1980s there were a few rock-themed film festivals.
Andrew Dice Clay’s first HBO special was recorded at TLA.
Finally, TLA was where I first say Godfrey Reggio’s amazing film, “Koyaanisqatsi” – on their Eprad Starscope sound system!
Another corner – this one in the rear left – was opened this past week, as the several buildings to the west of the New were leveled. The original Lexington St. lobby is gone. Only things standing on that end of the block is the corner building and what’s left of the New’s auditorium.
From Clay St. you can see that the projection room holes were recessed into the ceiling. Was that ceiling lowered during one of the New’s several remodels?
“Rocky Horror” played there twice: 1981-87, and 1988-90. During the second run it was in the smallest of the “Academy 6” screens. The cast spent most of its time at the show in Glen Burnie, despite the fact that AMC had a brand-new print with the then-rare “Superheroes” sequence. (“Superheroes” became standard on 35mm prints in the mid-1990s.)
AMC dropped “Rocky” for good in September 1990 – a month before the movie’s 15th anniversary and video release promotions – after an alleged shooting during the show.
DEMOLITION IS UNDERWAY at the New!! One corner of the building – to the left of where the screen was – has been removed; from the rear (Clay St.) you can see part of the balcony, the upper surround speakers, and the booth apertures. Sad sight to see, folks…
The Town is being converted into the new home for Everyman Theatre, with opening scheduled for 2011. This is great news!
Several weeks ago I got a very brief look at the lobby and auditorium. As you’d expect, the place is a mess. The ground-floor projection booth was open – two lamphouses still stood there, 19 years after the last picture was shown.
Construction in progress at the Crest: about a month ago I rode by there, and there was a huge hole in the southeast wall (to the right of where the screen was). Obviously the tabernacle is closed; the pawn shop and carry-out in the former lobby are still open.
dr. brown, it was also SOP (standard operational procedure) for fans to smoke “whatever” during “Rocky Horror,” and on at least one occasion I got a contact high from “whatever”! Smoking was allowed in the last ten rows and the rear aisle; the seats in those rows had ashtrays.
The first time I saw “Rocky” there (06/29/1984) it was in a double feature with “Repo Man.” The latter would play there in first run for at least six months.
Theatre #5 was usually Marley’s best room…manager Debbie Pearson must have been off her game that night, or there was some sort of problem beyond her control.
6 also wasn’t bad, despite (a) being a shoebox, and (b) being occasionally abused by the “Rocky Horror” cast which resided there.
When “Pet Sematary” opened at Marley in 1988, Pearson decorated the lobby AND house #5 in a graveyard motif, complete with cobwebs, skeletons and foam headstones!
UA Marley Station opened on June 5, 1987. GBTC definitely opened after that.
Ritchie was also just about the only place on Earth to play the locally-produced “Blood Circus,” a wrestling movie. After the first week the title was changed to “Wrestling Circus,” no no avail. Marley and GBTC also affected Jumpers Hole 7 down the road a ways.
The Parkway is about to be renovated and expanded as the new home of the Maryland Film Festival: Baltimore Sun article
The area surrounding the Parkway has seen a renaissance in recent years as the Station North Arts District. Numerous live-theatre groups, restaurants and clubs have opened in the area, and the Maryland Institute School for the Arts has expanded to a nearby site.
More info: The Uptown was a bargain house as early as 1970, offering “3 Big Pictures!” for 75 cents. It was open only on Sat. and Sun. The theatre had a small outer foyer, leading to a HUGE outer lobby that featured a water fountain (which had stopped functioning long before I started going there in October 1972). The outer lobby had a sweeping staircase leading upstairs.
Sometime in 1973, “Winky” (the manager) started using the pink flourescent lights that flanked the screen. The Uptown always used its screen curtains, giving its decidedly downscale audience a taste of its former grandeur.
Also by 1973, the fare was cut back to a double feature, and Sunday admission was a dollar (later extended to Saturdays).
Update: The auditorium has been completely gutted. Iron beamwork has been built inside the auditorium, extending to the land outside of it.
The businesses in the former lobby are still open.
BD, you most definitely did NOT see “Empire” at the Rotunda, and it was DEFINITELY a twin. I saw “Apocalypse Now” there in December 1979, and “Mary Poppins” in summer 1980.
You might be thinking of the Hillendale on Taylor Ave., where “Empire” played in imperfectly-framed 70MM.
AS for the Rotunda, during “Poppins” there was a loud buzz in the speaker every time an idle projector was started for a reel change! (Yes, there were still twin reel-to-reel machines there.)
The current operator of the Rotunda (whose name I can’t remember) was a booker for J-F Theatres in the 1970s. He plans to add a third screen.
Hillendale had the distinction of being the first Baltimore-area house to show a “Star Wars” film in 70mm (“Empire”). However, the presentation was imperfect: the ends of the picture were cut off, and if I recall, the surround speakers were placed in the CEILING.
It’s gone.
The New, 1910-2010. May its memory live on.
The big theatre here was the most PERFECT location for “Rocky Horror”!! The famous NYC cast made great use of the old boxes flanking the proscenium. I have numerous pics of the Halloween 1996 show, and someday I’ll scan them and post them on the web.
Unfortunately, “Rocky” was usually relegated to one of the teensy houses…
I managed to see one program at the Regency, on 2/17/1980. It was part of the “Dancing Ladies” series, and the films were “Plisetskaya Dances” (docu about a Russian ballerina), a Martha Graham short, and one of my all-time favorites, Vanessa Redgrave in “(The Loves of) Isadora.
I traveled all the way from Baltimore to see it, and sat through everything three times. (The Redgrave flick was very rarely shown here – or anywhere.)
An interesting quirk with the Regency: you could hear the rumble of IRT express trains roaring past underneath Broadway. Added to the experience.
I hope this works…I took some pics today of the New’s destruction, then resurrected my rarely-used MySpace page to create this album:
View link
There’s also one picture of the Howard in its current state.
Holly Theatre was open circa 1992-93. At that time there was a sizable stage under the screen, which was perfect for the “Rocky Horror” cast that performed there. (The shows usually sold out, despite the theatre’s rather remote location and the movie’s availability on video.)
The Dallas WAS open for a while circa 1999-2000. Saw “Rocky Horror” there three times in mid-2000. This is indeed a lovely theatre; sad to see it couldn’t be kept running.
Circa 1987, TLA switched from movies to yet another theatrical company. The first production was “Little Shop of Horrors,” for which Audrey II, the killer plant, was painted all over the facade! The stage version of “Rocky Horror” also ran there a few times, and in the late 1980s there were a few rock-themed film festivals.
Andrew Dice Clay’s first HBO special was recorded at TLA.
Finally, TLA was where I first say Godfrey Reggio’s amazing film, “Koyaanisqatsi” – on their Eprad Starscope sound system!
Lehigh Valley GCC was the location of one of the longest-ever runs of “Rocky Horror”: from the late 1970s to the theatre’s closing in 2002.
“She’s Gotta Have It” and “Daughter of Dracula.”
Oh, those funky J-F double-bills!!
And the flood-prone AMC Loews Valley Center 9 has closed as well.
Another corner – this one in the rear left – was opened this past week, as the several buildings to the west of the New were leveled. The original Lexington St. lobby is gone. Only things standing on that end of the block is the corner building and what’s left of the New’s auditorium.
From Clay St. you can see that the projection room holes were recessed into the ceiling. Was that ceiling lowered during one of the New’s several remodels?
“Rocky Horror” played there twice: 1981-87, and 1988-90. During the second run it was in the smallest of the “Academy 6” screens. The cast spent most of its time at the show in Glen Burnie, despite the fact that AMC had a brand-new print with the then-rare “Superheroes” sequence. (“Superheroes” became standard on 35mm prints in the mid-1990s.)
AMC dropped “Rocky” for good in September 1990 – a month before the movie’s 15th anniversary and video release promotions – after an alleged shooting during the show.
DEMOLITION IS UNDERWAY at the New!! One corner of the building – to the left of where the screen was – has been removed; from the rear (Clay St.) you can see part of the balcony, the upper surround speakers, and the booth apertures. Sad sight to see, folks…
The Town is being converted into the new home for Everyman Theatre, with opening scheduled for 2011. This is great news!
Several weeks ago I got a very brief look at the lobby and auditorium. As you’d expect, the place is a mess. The ground-floor projection booth was open – two lamphouses still stood there, 19 years after the last picture was shown.
Construction in progress at the Crest: about a month ago I rode by there, and there was a huge hole in the southeast wall (to the right of where the screen was). Obviously the tabernacle is closed; the pawn shop and carry-out in the former lobby are still open.
dr. brown, it was also SOP (standard operational procedure) for fans to smoke “whatever” during “Rocky Horror,” and on at least one occasion I got a contact high from “whatever”! Smoking was allowed in the last ten rows and the rear aisle; the seats in those rows had ashtrays.
The first time I saw “Rocky” there (06/29/1984) it was in a double feature with “Repo Man.” The latter would play there in first run for at least six months.
Wonder how cars were laid out for the eastern (second) screen, with the rows curving AWAY FROM it?
Theatre #5 was usually Marley’s best room…manager Debbie Pearson must have been off her game that night, or there was some sort of problem beyond her control.
6 also wasn’t bad, despite (a) being a shoebox, and (b) being occasionally abused by the “Rocky Horror” cast which resided there.
When “Pet Sematary” opened at Marley in 1988, Pearson decorated the lobby AND house #5 in a graveyard motif, complete with cobwebs, skeletons and foam headstones!