I worked there before the 1988 renovation, during the renovation through to the re-opening. Before the renovation Cinema I had 700 seats, Cinema II had 291. During the renovation, once the new seats were installed I counted them to compare with the purchase order and invoice and to have the DoB occupancy signs made up. C1 was 532; C2 was 290; C3 was 165; an additional 49 seats (5%) in spare parts, for a total of 1036 seats. Those were the accurate counts at that time. In the 25 years since then, the place could have been re-seated once or twice with different size seats. If they are the same seats, and I hope they are not, they are probably canibalizing seats up front or against the walls for parts to repair broken seats in prime areas. I haven’t been in there in almost 20 years so anything is possible.
The third cinema was created by removing the front six rows of seats in Cinema I and moving the screen forward, then squeezing some seats, projector and screen into the resulting space. Prior to the reconfiguration Cinema I had 700 seats; afterwards there were 532, and 165 in the added cinema, a loss of only three seats from the original capacity. The addition of that third cinema and combining the street level lobbies destroyed whatever prestige (real or perceived) that the place had. All it really needed was sprucing up with new seats, carpet and wall covering.
Once Pathe exited the theatre at 4 W58 it went to Loews and was re-named Fine Arts, but the Loews name was never on the sign, unlike every other Loews theatre in the history of the world.
Al, that zoning restriction did indeed apply, but I don’t think Pathe was aware of it at the time. They knew of its past as a theatre, which is why they inquired about it.
Once Pathé Cinema lost the lease on the Paris Theatre in 1990 they were interested in re-opening elsewhere and looked into this former Reade house. It had been converted into the chapel but appeared to be unused, windows filthy, trash accumulating in front of the entrance. Inquiries were made but the Archdiocese of New York was not interested in giving the place up. Early in 1991 Pathé Cinema went through bankruptcy reorganization and lost interest in pursuing a New York location. If the stars and planets had lined differently it’s possible that the former Fine Arts Theatre at 128 E58 would have been renamed Paris after the former Paris Theatre at 4 W58 had been renamed Fine Arts.
Does anybody remember the little Walter Reade art house that was on 58th St. btwn Lexington and Park, mid-block on the south side of the street? I can’t remember the name of it, and I want to look it up here on CT. At the time that Pathé Cinema lost the lease on the Paris Theatre in the early 90s they looked at this former Reade house as a place to possibly relocate to. It was then being used as a chapel by the Archdiocese of New York, and they weren’t interested in giving it up. Today I think there is a Subway sandwich shop in there.
As I recall, the original projection/sound package we bought for the new 7-plex included Simplex 35/70mm machines in the main house and the largest house in the cellar, along with the 6-channel mag stereo Dolby processors, I don’t think digital had made its debut yet. The other 5 screens had Simplex 35mm machines and 4-channel Dolby processors. Plus, we got one professional grade 16mm machine with xenon lamp, I don’t recall the brand, that was set up to interface with the automation and audio systems in at least 2, if not all the screens in the cellar. Ralph Donnelly was booking the place at the time, and he made the rounds at Cannes and other prominent film festivals, and several times came back with a low-budget independent film that he thought was promising but had only 16mm prints.
In the description on the title page for this theatre, I’m not sure that the statement “…the empty building was destroyed by fire…” is entirely accurate. I have heard news reports stating that the fire damage was largely confined to the lobby, with smoke damage throughout the rest of the building, including the two adjoining stores. Other reports that the damage estimate is $750K. In any case, the building is still standing and the roof appears to be intact. As I recall, the lobby had been “redecorated” with wood paneling on the walls, the type you would have put in your finished basement in the 1970s, those thin 4'x8' sheets.
The Cinema I Cinema II has made it to the 50 year mark. Considering who has been running the place for the last 18 years I’d say that is quite an accomplishment. It’s too bad such a milestone has gone unnoticed.
Goodbye to an icon in Parma: Sun News editorial Published: Thursday, August 30, 2012, 11:29 AM Sun News staff By Sun News staff
Another sad reminder of the passage of time and the softness of the economy hits home this week as we learn the Parma Theater will shut down for good shortly after Labor Day.
For lots of Parma residents, watching animated classics and favorite childhood films on the enormous screen while seated in plush seats with a treat from the concession stand is a treasured memory. But the reality is we did not continue those weekly pilgrimages to that movie palace, nor did we take our children there on a regular basis in enough numbers to keep the theater afloat.
Viewing habits changed. Multiplexes with about as much charm as tiny warehouses sprang up to push the beautiful movie theaters out of the picture. In-home movie services and gigantic TV screens now are encroaching on that experience, and it seems families are abandoning the movie theater experience altogether and hunkering down in their own family rooms and living rooms to watch films.
The scenario has played out in other cities, where old, art deco movie houses limp along until the owner simply has to throw in the towel. There are sudden spurts of activity from nostalgic residents who suddenly look for ways to save the structures as community assets; architecturally important and significant in the fabric of the community. But after a flurry of concern and calls for saving the theater, what tends to play out is what was recently seen in Lakewood: The theater is razed and a fast-food restaurant is building on the site.
Without patrons, these theaters cannot make it.
Owner Norman Barr told the Sun Post he held out as long as he could. He has been looking for a buyer for five years. Here’s hoping a potential buyer with some creative, workable ideas for such a property steps forward. The city administration and city council should get proactive in helping market the high-traffic site at 5826 Ridge Road. But there is no question the challenge is great.
Meanwhile, we find ourselves saying goodbye to an icon of the community. We might not have supported it enough in recent years, but we wanted to know it was there; an anchor in our town that connected us to our past and to each other. But the passage of time has no respect for that sort of thing, and in the end, it is time that wins.
Parma Theater will close in September, owner says
Published: Tuesday, August 28, 2012, 11:14 AM Updated: Tuesday, August 28, 2012, 11:21 AM
Bob Sandrick, Sun News By Bob Sandrick, Sun News
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PARMA Parma Theater, which has struggled financially in recent years, will probably close for good in September.
The news came earlier this week from Norman Barr, owner of the theater, which is at 5826 Ridge Road.
“We held out as long as we could,” Barr told the Sun Post.
Barr said the theater will probably close Monday, which is Labor Day. However, he said he may keep the theater open another week.
Barr said he is closing Parma Theater partly because he has been trying to sell it for more than five years.
Kelly & Visconsi Associates LLC, a commercial real estate firm in Beachwood, has been marketing the property for Barr.
Barr said he has not reached a deal with a buyer. He said there has only been “general talk” among those interested in purchasing the theater.
Barr said he is closing the theater also due to slipping attendance. Late last year, the theater cut back on show times and started showing movies only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Parma Theater is one of the region’s oldest movie houses.
According to “Parma,” a pictorial history of the city by Diana Eid, Parma Theater opened in 1936 as a one-screen theater with about 1,500 seats.
Barr had also owned Detroit Twin Theater, another old movie theater in Lakewood. He sold that theater and it closed in January 2011. McDonald’s is now building a restaurant on the site.
Barr said there are no firm plans for the Parma Theater site but he believes it might be redeveloped.
“That is probably what will happen,” Barr said.
Councilwoman Debbie Lime, whose Ward 2 encompasses the theater, said she was sad to hear about the closing.
“It’s a big piece of the community,” Lime said. “I’d like to see what we can do to save it.”
For those associated with the Cinema from way back in the early years: Mr. Ray Stibich, evening manager for many years, has passed away in Florida. Services in Ohio. Obit in the PD 2/23&24/2012 for further info.
So, what’s the scoop? Did they ever open that Anthropological store in here? Is there anyone with a camera nearby to possibly snap a few pics of it with the new tenant and inevitable changes to the exterior and post them on this site? If so, thanks in advance.
To expand upon what Brade48 has stated, by the time the theatre was built Avco had become a conglomerate of many units, the most visable of which were Avco Financial and Avco-Embassy Pictures. The theatre and the office building to the west of the theatre were part of the same development. The Avco Corp. was the primary tenant in the office building and had naming rights so the development became Avco Center. Avco Corp. was taken over in 1984 by Textron and relocated, so the office building now has either the name of the current primary tenant or just uses the street address as its name, e.g. The 108XX Wilshire Building.
The heading needs to be corrected: the address was 6901 Pearl Road; and as a twin it had 1400 seats, 700 each auditorium.
I remember when the Merc re-opened after twinning that the Cinema II side had seats installed only in the back third because they ran out of time. In fact they were still mopping the dust off the floor when the picture started, a Geo. C. Scott picture I forget the title. They finished the seat install during the night.
$101,365/mo. – that’s pretty high rent for a 4 screen theatre, not doable.
When General Cinema transitioned from drive-ins to indoor theatres in the 1950s, they made a strategic decision to lease when possible rather than own property because it limited their liability for major repairs to the building. Usually the leases were written in a manner that made the landlord responsible for repairing the roof, making any structural repairs, replacement of heating and air conditioning equipment and maintenance of the parking lots and landscaping. The landlord also carried insurance on the building and in a catastrophic situation like a fire or severe storm damage the landlord repaired the building shell and GCC, being self-insured, repaired the interior build-out as an out-of-pocket capital expense.
The policy of leasing rather than owning proved to be a major element in the downfall of General Cinema. Leases prevented them from shedding the obsolete units with high rents and declining attendance numbers while at the same time they were trying to reconfigure the company with modern expensive stadium seating megaplexes.
Originally, the screen surrounds in both Cinema I and Cinema II were white, similar to General Cinema theatres of the era. Cinema I was lit red, Cinema II was lit blue. Prior to the opening of Clockwork Orange, Stanley Kubrick came in to look the place over and DEMANDED the screen surrounds be painted black, or he would open his film elsewhere. Rugoff ordered them painted. In Cinema II it is still black.
So, now that the theatre and flea-bag hotel are gone, I’m sure the neighborhood is a much safer and pleasant place to be for the junkies, dealers, gang-bangers and school children of Passaic. What these pathetic small-minded city officials should have done was restore the theatre as a performing arts center and bulldoze the rest of the town.
In these type of venues the source of the unique ‘aroma’ is the carpeting – a combination of spilled beer, barf and far too frequent applications of carpet shampoo that isn’t allowed to dry before spilling more beer and barf on it.
I worked there before the 1988 renovation, during the renovation through to the re-opening. Before the renovation Cinema I had 700 seats, Cinema II had 291. During the renovation, once the new seats were installed I counted them to compare with the purchase order and invoice and to have the DoB occupancy signs made up. C1 was 532; C2 was 290; C3 was 165; an additional 49 seats (5%) in spare parts, for a total of 1036 seats. Those were the accurate counts at that time. In the 25 years since then, the place could have been re-seated once or twice with different size seats. If they are the same seats, and I hope they are not, they are probably canibalizing seats up front or against the walls for parts to repair broken seats in prime areas. I haven’t been in there in almost 20 years so anything is possible.
The third cinema was created by removing the front six rows of seats in Cinema I and moving the screen forward, then squeezing some seats, projector and screen into the resulting space. Prior to the reconfiguration Cinema I had 700 seats; afterwards there were 532, and 165 in the added cinema, a loss of only three seats from the original capacity. The addition of that third cinema and combining the street level lobbies destroyed whatever prestige (real or perceived) that the place had. All it really needed was sprucing up with new seats, carpet and wall covering.
Once Pathe exited the theatre at 4 W58 it went to Loews and was re-named Fine Arts, but the Loews name was never on the sign, unlike every other Loews theatre in the history of the world.
Al, that zoning restriction did indeed apply, but I don’t think Pathe was aware of it at the time. They knew of its past as a theatre, which is why they inquired about it.
Thanks!
Once Pathé Cinema lost the lease on the Paris Theatre in 1990 they were interested in re-opening elsewhere and looked into this former Reade house. It had been converted into the chapel but appeared to be unused, windows filthy, trash accumulating in front of the entrance. Inquiries were made but the Archdiocese of New York was not interested in giving the place up. Early in 1991 Pathé Cinema went through bankruptcy reorganization and lost interest in pursuing a New York location. If the stars and planets had lined differently it’s possible that the former Fine Arts Theatre at 128 E58 would have been renamed Paris after the former Paris Theatre at 4 W58 had been renamed Fine Arts.
It’s an empty lot now. Change status to demolished.
Does anybody remember the little Walter Reade art house that was on 58th St. btwn Lexington and Park, mid-block on the south side of the street? I can’t remember the name of it, and I want to look it up here on CT. At the time that Pathé Cinema lost the lease on the Paris Theatre in the early 90s they looked at this former Reade house as a place to possibly relocate to. It was then being used as a chapel by the Archdiocese of New York, and they weren’t interested in giving it up. Today I think there is a Subway sandwich shop in there.
As I recall, the original projection/sound package we bought for the new 7-plex included Simplex 35/70mm machines in the main house and the largest house in the cellar, along with the 6-channel mag stereo Dolby processors, I don’t think digital had made its debut yet. The other 5 screens had Simplex 35mm machines and 4-channel Dolby processors. Plus, we got one professional grade 16mm machine with xenon lamp, I don’t recall the brand, that was set up to interface with the automation and audio systems in at least 2, if not all the screens in the cellar. Ralph Donnelly was booking the place at the time, and he made the rounds at Cannes and other prominent film festivals, and several times came back with a low-budget independent film that he thought was promising but had only 16mm prints.
In the description on the title page for this theatre, I’m not sure that the statement “…the empty building was destroyed by fire…” is entirely accurate. I have heard news reports stating that the fire damage was largely confined to the lobby, with smoke damage throughout the rest of the building, including the two adjoining stores. Other reports that the damage estimate is $750K. In any case, the building is still standing and the roof appears to be intact. As I recall, the lobby had been “redecorated” with wood paneling on the walls, the type you would have put in your finished basement in the 1970s, those thin 4'x8' sheets.
The Parma Theatre is on fire at this moment! (article from WOIO Channel 19 news below)
Parma Theater Fire: Historic landmark goes up in flames Posted: Nov 16, 2012 5:10 PM EST Updated: Nov 16, 2012 5:29 PM EST
PARMA, OH (WOIO) –
The Parma Fire Department is on the scene at 5826 Ridge Road at the Parma Theater fighting a huge fire.
The Parma Theater was closed about 2 months.
Parma Theater opened in 1936 and is one of the oldest theaters in the neighborhood. It closed on Labor Day of this year.
There is no information about the cause of the fire at this time or if anyone was injured.
Copyright 2012 WOIO. All rights reserved.
The Cinema I Cinema II has made it to the 50 year mark. Considering who has been running the place for the last 18 years I’d say that is quite an accomplishment. It’s too bad such a milestone has gone unnoticed.
Goodbye to an icon in Parma: Sun News editorial
Published: Thursday, August 30, 2012, 11:29 AM
Sun News staff By Sun News staff
Another sad reminder of the passage of time and the softness of the economy hits home this week as we learn the Parma Theater will shut down for good shortly after Labor Day.
For lots of Parma residents, watching animated classics and favorite childhood films on the enormous screen while seated in plush seats with a treat from the concession stand is a treasured memory. But the reality is we did not continue those weekly pilgrimages to that movie palace, nor did we take our children there on a regular basis in enough numbers to keep the theater afloat.
Viewing habits changed. Multiplexes with about as much charm as tiny warehouses sprang up to push the beautiful movie theaters out of the picture. In-home movie services and gigantic TV screens now are encroaching on that experience, and it seems families are abandoning the movie theater experience altogether and hunkering down in their own family rooms and living rooms to watch films.
The scenario has played out in other cities, where old, art deco movie houses limp along until the owner simply has to throw in the towel. There are sudden spurts of activity from nostalgic residents who suddenly look for ways to save the structures as community assets; architecturally important and significant in the fabric of the community. But after a flurry of concern and calls for saving the theater, what tends to play out is what was recently seen in Lakewood: The theater is razed and a fast-food restaurant is building on the site.
Without patrons, these theaters cannot make it.
Owner Norman Barr told the Sun Post he held out as long as he could. He has been looking for a buyer for five years. Here’s hoping a potential buyer with some creative, workable ideas for such a property steps forward. The city administration and city council should get proactive in helping market the high-traffic site at 5826 Ridge Road. But there is no question the challenge is great.
Meanwhile, we find ourselves saying goodbye to an icon of the community. We might not have supported it enough in recent years, but we wanted to know it was there; an anchor in our town that connected us to our past and to each other. But the passage of time has no respect for that sort of thing, and in the end, it is time that wins.
Parma Theater will close in September, owner says Published: Tuesday, August 28, 2012, 11:14 AM Updated: Tuesday, August 28, 2012, 11:21 AM Bob Sandrick, Sun News By Bob Sandrick, Sun News Follow
PARMA Parma Theater, which has struggled financially in recent years, will probably close for good in September.
The news came earlier this week from Norman Barr, owner of the theater, which is at 5826 Ridge Road.
“We held out as long as we could,” Barr told the Sun Post.
Barr said the theater will probably close Monday, which is Labor Day. However, he said he may keep the theater open another week.
Barr said he is closing Parma Theater partly because he has been trying to sell it for more than five years.
Kelly & Visconsi Associates LLC, a commercial real estate firm in Beachwood, has been marketing the property for Barr.
Barr said he has not reached a deal with a buyer. He said there has only been “general talk” among those interested in purchasing the theater.
Barr said he is closing the theater also due to slipping attendance. Late last year, the theater cut back on show times and started showing movies only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Parma Theater is one of the region’s oldest movie houses.
According to “Parma,” a pictorial history of the city by Diana Eid, Parma Theater opened in 1936 as a one-screen theater with about 1,500 seats.
Barr had also owned Detroit Twin Theater, another old movie theater in Lakewood. He sold that theater and it closed in January 2011. McDonald’s is now building a restaurant on the site.
Barr said there are no firm plans for the Parma Theater site but he believes it might be redeveloped.
“That is probably what will happen,” Barr said.
Councilwoman Debbie Lime, whose Ward 2 encompasses the theater, said she was sad to hear about the closing.
“It’s a big piece of the community,” Lime said. “I’d like to see what we can do to save it.”
For those associated with the Cinema from way back in the early years: Mr. Ray Stibich, evening manager for many years, has passed away in Florida. Services in Ohio. Obit in the PD 2/23&24/2012 for further info.
So, what’s the scoop? Did they ever open that Anthropological store in here? Is there anyone with a camera nearby to possibly snap a few pics of it with the new tenant and inevitable changes to the exterior and post them on this site? If so, thanks in advance.
To expand upon what Brade48 has stated, by the time the theatre was built Avco had become a conglomerate of many units, the most visable of which were Avco Financial and Avco-Embassy Pictures. The theatre and the office building to the west of the theatre were part of the same development. The Avco Corp. was the primary tenant in the office building and had naming rights so the development became Avco Center. Avco Corp. was taken over in 1984 by Textron and relocated, so the office building now has either the name of the current primary tenant or just uses the street address as its name, e.g. The 108XX Wilshire Building.
I have always been told that a place with a stage and fly loft was a ‘theater’ A cinema without staging capabilities was a ‘theatre’.
It’s primarily a concert venue.
The heading needs to be corrected: the address was 6901 Pearl Road; and as a twin it had 1400 seats, 700 each auditorium.
I remember when the Merc re-opened after twinning that the Cinema II side had seats installed only in the back third because they ran out of time. In fact they were still mopping the dust off the floor when the picture started, a Geo. C. Scott picture I forget the title. They finished the seat install during the night.
$101,365/mo. – that’s pretty high rent for a 4 screen theatre, not doable.
When General Cinema transitioned from drive-ins to indoor theatres in the 1950s, they made a strategic decision to lease when possible rather than own property because it limited their liability for major repairs to the building. Usually the leases were written in a manner that made the landlord responsible for repairing the roof, making any structural repairs, replacement of heating and air conditioning equipment and maintenance of the parking lots and landscaping. The landlord also carried insurance on the building and in a catastrophic situation like a fire or severe storm damage the landlord repaired the building shell and GCC, being self-insured, repaired the interior build-out as an out-of-pocket capital expense.
The policy of leasing rather than owning proved to be a major element in the downfall of General Cinema. Leases prevented them from shedding the obsolete units with high rents and declining attendance numbers while at the same time they were trying to reconfigure the company with modern expensive stadium seating megaplexes.
Originally, the screen surrounds in both Cinema I and Cinema II were white, similar to General Cinema theatres of the era. Cinema I was lit red, Cinema II was lit blue. Prior to the opening of Clockwork Orange, Stanley Kubrick came in to look the place over and DEMANDED the screen surrounds be painted black, or he would open his film elsewhere. Rugoff ordered them painted. In Cinema II it is still black.
So, now that the theatre and flea-bag hotel are gone, I’m sure the neighborhood is a much safer and pleasant place to be for the junkies, dealers, gang-bangers and school children of Passaic. What these pathetic small-minded city officials should have done was restore the theatre as a performing arts center and bulldoze the rest of the town.
In these type of venues the source of the unique ‘aroma’ is the carpeting – a combination of spilled beer, barf and far too frequent applications of carpet shampoo that isn’t allowed to dry before spilling more beer and barf on it.
Thanks for these ads MR – the CT page for the Westgate 6-plex is located here: /theaters/7738/