CinemaNational was the last operator of this drive-in. One screen showed adult features and one did not. The drive-in was boarded up in the early-to-mid-80’s and left to rot. I believe the name of the theater was spelled “SKYLER TWIN DRIVE-IN”, as that’s what the roadside pylon said. The property was visible from the NYS Thruway. Someone spray painted “PINK FLOYD” on the attraction board after the theater closed.
Bow Tie Cinemas (formerly B.S. Moss Enterprises) opened its 18th location to the public on February 27th, 2009. The previous evening, a local charity premiere of “Sunshine Cleaning” was held, and screenwriter Megan Holley introduced the film and held a Q&A session.
The theater was retrofitted into a restored former locomotive assembly plant which was built in the 1880’s. Highlights include restored exposed brick walls, restored ceiling and light monitor in the lobby, and railroad themed decor throughout. On the exterior several artifacts unearthed during site work were preserved, including original rails that locomotives were rolled out on once completed. Also on the property is a former brass foundry building built around the same time that manufactured fittings for the trains.
There are 17 stadium-seated screens with Dolby Digital surround sound in every house, and two feature Christie DLP projection with 3-D capability.
The concession features a selection of hot foods, and there is a wine and beer cafe in the lobby.
Bow Tie also brought its trademarked “Movies & Mimosas” classic film series and “Insomnia Theater” cult classic series to the theater, and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” with live cast is featured on alternate weekends.
There are just under 3000 seats, and the architect was Jonathan Taylor of Commonwealth Architects. Decorator was Michael Mahaffey, who also designed Bow Tie’s Criterion Cinemas at Blue Back Square in West Hartford, CT.
The theater is not demolished. The Cinema & Drafhouse operation lasted only two months, from October – December 2008. The Cinema & Drafhouse operation used the original 7 screens—the four screen addition that was added later is there intact, just behind the wall on the right side of the Cinema & Drafthouse lobby.
After dealing with the permitting and plan approval process, we’re ready to go! The new seats arrive 1/5/09, along with the carpet, concessions, and painting and repair crews. So far, we’ve refurbished the rest rooms, redraped auditorium walls, and most importantly, repaired and upgraded the projection & sound! We’ve also installed the first computers the place has seen in its existence, started accepting credit cards, established a great discount parking deal, and have cleaned and repaired damaged plaster. All very exciting stuff!
Stopped by the Carpenter yesterday—lots of constuction activity going on. The marquee has been removed, and the new stagehouse has been completed (at least from the outside). The storefronts are all bricked up.
I stopped by this theater yesterday. The vertical and marquee are still there. The box office and poster cases evident in the photo above from the 1930’s have been bricked over, but otherwise the theater looks exactly the same. The doors have black fabric on the inside so you can’t see in. I’d love to see the inside of this little gem!
The building was demolished about 4 years ago and the site was turned into a surface parking lot. At the end of its theatrical life, it was an ‘adult’ theater.
If anyone has pictures of the Palace in Troy, please post them! It would be great to see what this place looked like. I’ve never had any success at finding pictures of this place, either in the local library or historical society, or online.
Does anyone know why the Franklin is ‘temporarily closed’? They have no movie listings, and when you call the theater the recording says they’re ‘closed for repairs’.
Shoeshoe,
The Main St. Cinema was the stagehouse of Proctor’s. It had a separate entrance, box office, and concession stand.
When Cineplex Odeon operated the “Proctor’s Sevenplex”, it consisted of: Proctor’s (4 auditoriums), Loew’s across the street (2 auditoriums), and the Main St. Cinema (Proctor’s stage).
The Town was always the Town.
While I am not sure of the exact address for the Auto-Vision Drive-In, I am sure that it is not the address listed above (939 Grooms Road, Rexford, NY). The theater was located on Routes 9 and 20 in East Greenbush, NY, just south of where it intersects with Route 4. All that remains is the entrance/exit road where the box office was located.
Bow Tie Cinemas will reopen The American tomorrow (Fri, 4/11/08)! The theater has been thoroughly cleaned and repaired. Improvements are coming soon—new seats, new concession stand with hot food selection, improved projection and sound, and computerized ticketing. Check out www.bowtiecinemas.com for more information!
In the last few years of its operation, this former deluxe house had a roof with the consistency of a piece of swiss cheese. Loews would not spend any money on the place since the lease expiration date was approaching. The solution to stop the ceiling tiles from dropping on the heads of movie-goers was to remove the tiles! The sound echo was terrible after the acoustic tiles were removed, and the ceiling grid with steel and tin roof exposed! Forget about watching a movie during a rainstorm!
Even as a quad, this was a great theater. All 4 auditoriums were pretty large and had great presentation. Loews was the last operator. When Hoyts bought all of the Loews operations in Syracuse, this one closed, I believe.
If you go up to the second floor lobby, you can peek through the ceiling tiles and see the original lobby ceiling another 10 feet or so higher—it looks like upside-down pyramids, about 4X4 each.
I was by this site two summers ago and I thought the whole thing was demolished. I’d been there before that and saw the screen and marquee, but it was definitely gone by the summer of 2006.
The Mohawk Mall Cinema opened as a twin (350 seats each) in 1970 by Carroll’s Development Corporation. In the mid 70’s, they leased the adjacent former health club and turned it into a third auditorium, seating 500. Cinema 3 had its own separate entrance, box office, and concession stand. In 1985 the theater, now operated by CinemaNational, expanded to a 7-plex. The new building connected the existing three theaters. The theater was purchased by USA Cinemas in 1987, then by Loews in 1988. It closed in July 1999 and was demolished along with the rest of the mall. The Mohawk Commons lifestyle center is now on the property.
The latest photo is of the front of the building. The demolished the original lobby building, and cut off the very back part of the auditorium. The photo above is the new front that was put on it. The Elmira 1-2-3 on College St. is not this theater. It is a completely separate building that opened about a block away in the 1977.
The Johnsons are truly first-class operators in every sense. There is no experience like sharing the magic of the movies in one of their theaters—visit the Tivoli if you’re ever in the area! The Lake is great as well. Kudos to Classic Cinemas!
This theater is closed, and the marquee has been removed from the building. It’s currently for sale. It would make a GREAT art house, and could easily be divided into two or three screens.
CinemaNational was the last operator of this drive-in. One screen showed adult features and one did not. The drive-in was boarded up in the early-to-mid-80’s and left to rot. I believe the name of the theater was spelled “SKYLER TWIN DRIVE-IN”, as that’s what the roadside pylon said. The property was visible from the NYS Thruway. Someone spray painted “PINK FLOYD” on the attraction board after the theater closed.
Bow Tie Cinemas (formerly B.S. Moss Enterprises) opened its 18th location to the public on February 27th, 2009. The previous evening, a local charity premiere of “Sunshine Cleaning” was held, and screenwriter Megan Holley introduced the film and held a Q&A session.
The theater was retrofitted into a restored former locomotive assembly plant which was built in the 1880’s. Highlights include restored exposed brick walls, restored ceiling and light monitor in the lobby, and railroad themed decor throughout. On the exterior several artifacts unearthed during site work were preserved, including original rails that locomotives were rolled out on once completed. Also on the property is a former brass foundry building built around the same time that manufactured fittings for the trains.
There are 17 stadium-seated screens with Dolby Digital surround sound in every house, and two feature Christie DLP projection with 3-D capability.
The concession features a selection of hot foods, and there is a wine and beer cafe in the lobby.
Bow Tie also brought its trademarked “Movies & Mimosas” classic film series and “Insomnia Theater” cult classic series to the theater, and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” with live cast is featured on alternate weekends.
There are just under 3000 seats, and the architect was Jonathan Taylor of Commonwealth Architects. Decorator was Michael Mahaffey, who also designed Bow Tie’s Criterion Cinemas at Blue Back Square in West Hartford, CT.
The theater is not demolished. The Cinema & Drafhouse operation lasted only two months, from October – December 2008. The Cinema & Drafhouse operation used the original 7 screens—the four screen addition that was added later is there intact, just behind the wall on the right side of the Cinema & Drafthouse lobby.
After dealing with the permitting and plan approval process, we’re ready to go! The new seats arrive 1/5/09, along with the carpet, concessions, and painting and repair crews. So far, we’ve refurbished the rest rooms, redraped auditorium walls, and most importantly, repaired and upgraded the projection & sound! We’ve also installed the first computers the place has seen in its existence, started accepting credit cards, established a great discount parking deal, and have cleaned and repaired damaged plaster. All very exciting stuff!
Stopped by the Carpenter yesterday—lots of constuction activity going on. The marquee has been removed, and the new stagehouse has been completed (at least from the outside). The storefronts are all bricked up.
I stopped by this theater yesterday. The vertical and marquee are still there. The box office and poster cases evident in the photo above from the 1930’s have been bricked over, but otherwise the theater looks exactly the same. The doors have black fabric on the inside so you can’t see in. I’d love to see the inside of this little gem!
The name of this theater should be changed back to Madison Theater. The Norma Jean operation has been disassociated with this theater for some time.
The building was demolished about 4 years ago and the site was turned into a surface parking lot. At the end of its theatrical life, it was an ‘adult’ theater.
If anyone has pictures of the Palace in Troy, please post them! It would be great to see what this place looked like. I’ve never had any success at finding pictures of this place, either in the local library or historical society, or online.
The Biograph was the Eckel’s final name. I believe a fire did it in.
The theater building is in the process of being converted into an Apple store.
Does anyone know why the Franklin is ‘temporarily closed’? They have no movie listings, and when you call the theater the recording says they’re ‘closed for repairs’.
Shoeshoe,
The Main St. Cinema was the stagehouse of Proctor’s. It had a separate entrance, box office, and concession stand.
When Cineplex Odeon operated the “Proctor’s Sevenplex”, it consisted of: Proctor’s (4 auditoriums), Loew’s across the street (2 auditoriums), and the Main St. Cinema (Proctor’s stage).
The Town was always the Town.
While I am not sure of the exact address for the Auto-Vision Drive-In, I am sure that it is not the address listed above (939 Grooms Road, Rexford, NY). The theater was located on Routes 9 and 20 in East Greenbush, NY, just south of where it intersects with Route 4. All that remains is the entrance/exit road where the box office was located.
Bow Tie Cinemas will reopen The American tomorrow (Fri, 4/11/08)! The theater has been thoroughly cleaned and repaired. Improvements are coming soon—new seats, new concession stand with hot food selection, improved projection and sound, and computerized ticketing. Check out www.bowtiecinemas.com for more information!
In the last few years of its operation, this former deluxe house had a roof with the consistency of a piece of swiss cheese. Loews would not spend any money on the place since the lease expiration date was approaching. The solution to stop the ceiling tiles from dropping on the heads of movie-goers was to remove the tiles! The sound echo was terrible after the acoustic tiles were removed, and the ceiling grid with steel and tin roof exposed! Forget about watching a movie during a rainstorm!
Even as a quad, this was a great theater. All 4 auditoriums were pretty large and had great presentation. Loews was the last operator. When Hoyts bought all of the Loews operations in Syracuse, this one closed, I believe.
The furniture store is still operating out of the former lobby. The marquee is still there. The auditorium has been torn down.
If you go up to the second floor lobby, you can peek through the ceiling tiles and see the original lobby ceiling another 10 feet or so higher—it looks like upside-down pyramids, about 4X4 each.
I was by this site two summers ago and I thought the whole thing was demolished. I’d been there before that and saw the screen and marquee, but it was definitely gone by the summer of 2006.
The Mohawk Mall Cinema opened as a twin (350 seats each) in 1970 by Carroll’s Development Corporation. In the mid 70’s, they leased the adjacent former health club and turned it into a third auditorium, seating 500. Cinema 3 had its own separate entrance, box office, and concession stand. In 1985 the theater, now operated by CinemaNational, expanded to a 7-plex. The new building connected the existing three theaters. The theater was purchased by USA Cinemas in 1987, then by Loews in 1988. It closed in July 1999 and was demolished along with the rest of the mall. The Mohawk Commons lifestyle center is now on the property.
The theater pictured is the Loew’s New Rochelle, New Rochelle, NY, which last served as a nightclub and has been empty for a few years now.
The latest photo is of the front of the building. The demolished the original lobby building, and cut off the very back part of the auditorium. The photo above is the new front that was put on it. The Elmira 1-2-3 on College St. is not this theater. It is a completely separate building that opened about a block away in the 1977.
The Johnsons are truly first-class operators in every sense. There is no experience like sharing the magic of the movies in one of their theaters—visit the Tivoli if you’re ever in the area! The Lake is great as well. Kudos to Classic Cinemas!
This theater is closed, and the marquee has been removed from the building. It’s currently for sale. It would make a GREAT art house, and could easily be divided into two or three screens.