In the early 70s, Shaker Square was an upscale shopping area, with a Halle Bros. store and a Stouffer’s restaurant. The nearby English Tudor style Moreland Court apartments on Shaker Boulevard were filled with “old money” people.
The Colony and the Vogue were both Stanley-Warner houses. I saw the original “Exorcist” here back in the early seventies. For that film, all the ushers were equipped with smelling salts, and in case someone tossed their cookies, there was a mop and wringer-bucket near the back of the auditorium. Today, “The Exorcist” seems fairly tame, but back then it was considered over the top.
When it closed, it was a Cinema 5 theatre – C5 had taken over all the Manns when they left town (National, Art, Paramount/Columbus circle, Plaza Twin in Staten Island, and a few others on Long Island as I recall).
Since Clearview is going to move the Beekman name here from across the street, they should remove the Beekman signatures from the marquee and have them installed here. Those signs are part of what makes the Beekman so beloved, and they are probably the easiest part of the theatre to salvage.
Since Clearview is going to move the Beekman name across the street to the New York Twin, they should remove the Beekman signatures from the marquee and have them installed across the street. Those signs are part of what makes the Beekman so beloved, and they are probably the easiest part of the theatre to salvage.
There is a section on the Earl Carroll Theater, including a number of photos, in the book “Lost Broadway Theatres”. The theater was an art-deco extravaganza.
We had the original SDDS units (trash @ $15G ea.) in all the auditoriums at our place and last year replaced half of them with Dolby, though I don’t recall the model number. We are putting additional Dolby’s for replacement of the remaining Sony’s on our cap ex wish list for the new year.
I’m not an expert on projection/sound. Where I’m at we have Sony and Dolby digital processors, and I’m not aware that they have that capability, but i’ll ask around. The studios claim all the trailers and features have the same equalization, but I don’t buy it. In a multiplex the single operator can’t stand by the fader in each auditorium adjusting for each trailer, so the level is usually set for the main feature.
When I worked there, Cinema I had Cinemeccanica V8 35/70 machines, Cinema II had Simplex XL 35’s, and the Murray Hill (prior to the ceiling collapse) had Cinemeccanica V8 35/70, that were later installed in the 57th St. Playhouse.
The original 2 auditoriums here were actually General Cinema-style auditoriums, i.e. the white box around the screen lit with red and blue cove lighting, and the gray Alpro panelling (corrugated, perforated aluminum panels with fiberglass insulation behind it for sound control) on the walls, all plain and no draperies or other decoration.
When I worked for General Cinema, I recall a published interview with Mel Wintman, then the GCCs Exec.VP – where he was asked, among other things, about the design of the auditorium. He said that it was all very plain, with the front-end “splayed” into the screen to focus the movie-goers attention on the picture and eliminate as many distractions as possible.
The only slight difference in design here was those silly masking strips we used on the edge of the flat picture, probably to satisfy the New York film-philes. At General Cinema we didn’t use masking – but we had very precise aperture plates cut (something that nobody in New York seems to be able to do), and nobody ever complained about an un-masked picture.
Thanks, Gary, for the photos – it is sad to see the old place go, it used to be a very busy theatre, playing all the top films. I haven’t been there in years, but was surprised to see that although the lobby had received the Cambridge Seven circa-1980s remodeling treatment, but the auditorium still has the original Griggs seats. Those seats were only moderately comfortable when new, and after all these years had to be pretty horrible in the final days of operation.
The original Southgate auditorium was basically the same as Parmatown, but larger, and because it was a little older it was more substantially built. The white box around the screen was concrete, and at Parmatown it was just sheetrock. As with all General Cinemas of the time, it had the gray Alpro paneling (corrugated, perforated aluminum panels over fiberglass insulation which reduced echo problems), and the Griggs pushback seats with white metal and red cushions.
The lobby was just 1 story high, with light brown wood paneling and 3 or 4 crystal chandeliers. There was the standard white formica concession stand and red carpet.
cinereuben: you wouldn’t have a digital camera, would you? I’d like to see it before it’s gone. I will be on vacation from Loews and was planning an escape from New York at the end of June, but I think that will be too late…
At the time Randall Mall was built, it was the largest indoor shopping center in the country, and was commanding a very high price per square foot. General Cinema Corporation in those days was known for being, well, er.., let’s say “frugal”, and was looking for the most bang for their buck, which resulted in this theatre being very “compact”. Their main intention in going into this property however was to protect the Southgate Cinema I & II, (in my opinion a much nicer theatre) a few blocks south on Northfield Road, from a competing theatre of Loews or National Theatre Corp. going in there. At a managers meeting while the Randall Park Cinema was under construction, we were told that any theatre there will hurt the Southgate Cinema, and as long as it was us and not Loews, the money was ‘going into a different pocket on the same coat’. The Randall 3 and Southgate 2 Cinemas were originally booked together as a five-plex.
All the General Cinema theatres that they built had the popcorn machine hidden away upstairs or in a back room or somewhere out of view. I don’t know why they had this policy, we sell more popcorn when the people smell it and see it cooking. When we would bring the popcorn down to the stand in the bags to fill the warmer, we were always accused of buying pre-popped corn and warming it up. Several times, when a customer was getting very vocal about it, I would take them upstairs, through the projection room to the popcorn room, where an usher was in there popping away on our double-kettle Cretors machine.
By the way, popcorn cooked in peanut oil is the BEST, with cocoanut oil a close second. Nowadays, thanks to the “food police” aka ‘The Center for Science in the Public Interest’, an organization that specializes in minding everybody elses business, we have to use this garbage canola oil, which makes lousy popcorn, and only tastes good the moment it comes out of the kettle. As soon as it cools a little it tastes stale. While it is true that eating popcorn cooked in peanut oil 3 meals a day, seven days a week probably isn’t a good idea, they got the public to believe that eating a bag of popcorn at the movies now and then would instantly clog their veins and arteries.
So they are now all gone – Southgate, Parmatown, Shoregate, the original Westgate quad, Mercury, Randall Park, the Mayland (though the Mayland, last I heard, was still standing, vacant, but had earlier been renovated for retail use), Chapel Hill, Rolling Acres, Mellett Mall and the East & West Side Drive-Ins – General Cinemas original group of theatres in northeast Ohio.
Yup, that’s the Chestnut Hill’s lobby – as I recall from when I was there, the carpet was solid red, not the red-patterned carpet that they had in all the other theatres, the back wall of the lobby was white brick, the front and sides were dark tinted glass. The wall design behind the concession stand was black, red and silver, I think. I don’t recall what color the ottomans were. The stand was at the mid-point of the lobby, and the auditorium entrances (2) were at the far ends of the lobby and the two boxoffice counters were also at the far ends of the bobby near the windows. The restrooms were inside the auditorium doors on each theatre, built under the stadium.
The Chestnut Hill Cinema would be a perfect arthouse – when I went there it seemed to be an upscale neighborhood with the Chestnut Hill Mall nearby. Unless AMC ran it into the ground (I hope not), it was an upscale theatre compared to other General Cinemas.
Somebody ought to resurrect the General Cinema Corporation name and the old original logo. It’s kind of historic, in modern history, anyway. It’s almost like when Loews became Sony Theatres for a few years, what were they thinking?
In the early 70s, Shaker Square was an upscale shopping area, with a Halle Bros. store and a Stouffer’s restaurant. The nearby English Tudor style Moreland Court apartments on Shaker Boulevard were filled with “old money” people.
The Colony and the Vogue were both Stanley-Warner houses. I saw the original “Exorcist” here back in the early seventies. For that film, all the ushers were equipped with smelling salts, and in case someone tossed their cookies, there was a mop and wringer-bucket near the back of the auditorium. Today, “The Exorcist” seems fairly tame, but back then it was considered over the top.
…National General sold out to Mann, RobertR is right…
After it closed it was converted into a Consumers retail store.
When it closed, it was a Cinema 5 theatre – C5 had taken over all the Manns when they left town (National, Art, Paramount/Columbus circle, Plaza Twin in Staten Island, and a few others on Long Island as I recall).
Since Clearview is going to move the Beekman name here from across the street, they should remove the Beekman signatures from the marquee and have them installed here. Those signs are part of what makes the Beekman so beloved, and they are probably the easiest part of the theatre to salvage.
ADAM S. – are you reading this??
Since Clearview is going to move the Beekman name across the street to the New York Twin, they should remove the Beekman signatures from the marquee and have them installed across the street. Those signs are part of what makes the Beekman so beloved, and they are probably the easiest part of the theatre to salvage.
ADAM S. – are you reading this??
I guess you could that this was Loew’s first twin theatre….
What did the initials “Y&W” stand for?
In the 1970’s wasn’t this advertised in the movie directory in the Plain Dealer as “Loew’s Falls”, on old Route 8?
There is a section on the Earl Carroll Theater, including a number of photos, in the book “Lost Broadway Theatres”. The theater was an art-deco extravaganza.
We had the original SDDS units (trash @ $15G ea.) in all the auditoriums at our place and last year replaced half of them with Dolby, though I don’t recall the model number. We are putting additional Dolby’s for replacement of the remaining Sony’s on our cap ex wish list for the new year.
I’m not an expert on projection/sound. Where I’m at we have Sony and Dolby digital processors, and I’m not aware that they have that capability, but i’ll ask around. The studios claim all the trailers and features have the same equalization, but I don’t buy it. In a multiplex the single operator can’t stand by the fader in each auditorium adjusting for each trailer, so the level is usually set for the main feature.
When I worked there, Cinema I had Cinemeccanica V8 35/70 machines, Cinema II had Simplex XL 35’s, and the Murray Hill (prior to the ceiling collapse) had Cinemeccanica V8 35/70, that were later installed in the 57th St. Playhouse.
The original 2 auditoriums here were actually General Cinema-style auditoriums, i.e. the white box around the screen lit with red and blue cove lighting, and the gray Alpro panelling (corrugated, perforated aluminum panels with fiberglass insulation behind it for sound control) on the walls, all plain and no draperies or other decoration.
When I worked for General Cinema, I recall a published interview with Mel Wintman, then the GCCs Exec.VP – where he was asked, among other things, about the design of the auditorium. He said that it was all very plain, with the front-end “splayed” into the screen to focus the movie-goers attention on the picture and eliminate as many distractions as possible.
The only slight difference in design here was those silly masking strips we used on the edge of the flat picture, probably to satisfy the New York film-philes. At General Cinema we didn’t use masking – but we had very precise aperture plates cut (something that nobody in New York seems to be able to do), and nobody ever complained about an un-masked picture.
Thanks, Gary, for the photos – it is sad to see the old place go, it used to be a very busy theatre, playing all the top films. I haven’t been there in years, but was surprised to see that although the lobby had received the Cambridge Seven circa-1980s remodeling treatment, but the auditorium still has the original Griggs seats. Those seats were only moderately comfortable when new, and after all these years had to be pretty horrible in the final days of operation.
Lost money?? It was hemorrhaging green….
x
The original Southgate auditorium was basically the same as Parmatown, but larger, and because it was a little older it was more substantially built. The white box around the screen was concrete, and at Parmatown it was just sheetrock. As with all General Cinemas of the time, it had the gray Alpro paneling (corrugated, perforated aluminum panels over fiberglass insulation which reduced echo problems), and the Griggs pushback seats with white metal and red cushions.
The lobby was just 1 story high, with light brown wood paneling and 3 or 4 crystal chandeliers. There was the standard white formica concession stand and red carpet.
cinereuben: you wouldn’t have a digital camera, would you? I’d like to see it before it’s gone. I will be on vacation from Loews and was planning an escape from New York at the end of June, but I think that will be too late…
At the time Randall Mall was built, it was the largest indoor shopping center in the country, and was commanding a very high price per square foot. General Cinema Corporation in those days was known for being, well, er.., let’s say “frugal”, and was looking for the most bang for their buck, which resulted in this theatre being very “compact”. Their main intention in going into this property however was to protect the Southgate Cinema I & II, (in my opinion a much nicer theatre) a few blocks south on Northfield Road, from a competing theatre of Loews or National Theatre Corp. going in there. At a managers meeting while the Randall Park Cinema was under construction, we were told that any theatre there will hurt the Southgate Cinema, and as long as it was us and not Loews, the money was ‘going into a different pocket on the same coat’. The Randall 3 and Southgate 2 Cinemas were originally booked together as a five-plex.
All the General Cinema theatres that they built had the popcorn machine hidden away upstairs or in a back room or somewhere out of view. I don’t know why they had this policy, we sell more popcorn when the people smell it and see it cooking. When we would bring the popcorn down to the stand in the bags to fill the warmer, we were always accused of buying pre-popped corn and warming it up. Several times, when a customer was getting very vocal about it, I would take them upstairs, through the projection room to the popcorn room, where an usher was in there popping away on our double-kettle Cretors machine.
By the way, popcorn cooked in peanut oil is the BEST, with cocoanut oil a close second. Nowadays, thanks to the “food police” aka ‘The Center for Science in the Public Interest’, an organization that specializes in minding everybody elses business, we have to use this garbage canola oil, which makes lousy popcorn, and only tastes good the moment it comes out of the kettle. As soon as it cools a little it tastes stale. While it is true that eating popcorn cooked in peanut oil 3 meals a day, seven days a week probably isn’t a good idea, they got the public to believe that eating a bag of popcorn at the movies now and then would instantly clog their veins and arteries.
So they are now all gone – Southgate, Parmatown, Shoregate, the original Westgate quad, Mercury, Randall Park, the Mayland (though the Mayland, last I heard, was still standing, vacant, but had earlier been renovated for retail use), Chapel Hill, Rolling Acres, Mellett Mall and the East & West Side Drive-Ins – General Cinemas original group of theatres in northeast Ohio.
You can see pictures of the Dort Mall Cinema, then and now, at the following page:
View link
Yup, that’s the Chestnut Hill’s lobby – as I recall from when I was there, the carpet was solid red, not the red-patterned carpet that they had in all the other theatres, the back wall of the lobby was white brick, the front and sides were dark tinted glass. The wall design behind the concession stand was black, red and silver, I think. I don’t recall what color the ottomans were. The stand was at the mid-point of the lobby, and the auditorium entrances (2) were at the far ends of the lobby and the two boxoffice counters were also at the far ends of the bobby near the windows. The restrooms were inside the auditorium doors on each theatre, built under the stadium.
The Chestnut Hill Cinema would be a perfect arthouse – when I went there it seemed to be an upscale neighborhood with the Chestnut Hill Mall nearby. Unless AMC ran it into the ground (I hope not), it was an upscale theatre compared to other General Cinemas.
Somebody ought to resurrect the General Cinema Corporation name and the old original logo. It’s kind of historic, in modern history, anyway. It’s almost like when Loews became Sony Theatres for a few years, what were they thinking?