I no longer go to this theatre. You need to be a mountain climber to get to the seats it is raked so steeply, which also makes the screens seem like they are right on top of you. But worse of all is that if you are handicapped you are really in trouble. I’ve taken my Dad there a few times and wheelchair seating is at the bottom of the screens. He had to crank his head almost 80 degress to see the film. (After a screening of “The Queen” there happened to be a manager in the auditorium and asked him to sit in the front seat to see if he could see a film that way. He refused.) Even better, a few years back my Mom tried to climb a few rows up and did so with a lot of help. But after the film she fell down the stairs trying to leave. There was no usher to be found. I finally gor her going and went to the customer service to complain to the manager. His reply? “The theatres are built up to code”!!! And gave me a Coke coupon. Unbelievable! And now they’ve raised the price to $12 ($9 matinees!) Just not worth the trouble! Avoid it!
I worked at the Fordham for two years while I was in college. Best job ever! It was single screen then. But it was the early 1970’s and we had some pretty crappy films. While the gorgeous Paradise had “The Godfather” and the Valentine had “The French Connection” we showed (honest to God) “A Town Called Bastard” with Lee Van Cleef. I did get to roam around the catwalks and the old dressing rooms. WOW! So much memorabilia just collecting dust. There was a large three sided marquee, the center part jutted out onto busy Fordham Road. It took a good two hours to change. RKO would send a graph paper telling us exactly what it should read. One time we were showing “Child’s Play” (not the Chucky movie). Two hours of ladders, wooden planks and, as I recall, it was raining. The manager checked all three sides after all the work was done, gave the ok and all the equipment was put away. That’s when I pointed out that the film starred Robert Preston and not Preston Foster. Someone got two hours of OT to do the marquee over again. Good times!
I no longer go to this theatre. You need to be a mountain climber to get to the seats it is raked so steeply, which also makes the screens seem like they are right on top of you. But worse of all is that if you are handicapped you are really in trouble. I’ve taken my Dad there a few times and wheelchair seating is at the bottom of the screens. He had to crank his head almost 80 degress to see the film. (After a screening of “The Queen” there happened to be a manager in the auditorium and asked him to sit in the front seat to see if he could see a film that way. He refused.) Even better, a few years back my Mom tried to climb a few rows up and did so with a lot of help. But after the film she fell down the stairs trying to leave. There was no usher to be found. I finally gor her going and went to the customer service to complain to the manager. His reply? “The theatres are built up to code”!!! And gave me a Coke coupon. Unbelievable! And now they’ve raised the price to $12 ($9 matinees!) Just not worth the trouble! Avoid it!
I worked at the Fordham for two years while I was in college. Best job ever! It was single screen then. But it was the early 1970’s and we had some pretty crappy films. While the gorgeous Paradise had “The Godfather” and the Valentine had “The French Connection” we showed (honest to God) “A Town Called Bastard” with Lee Van Cleef. I did get to roam around the catwalks and the old dressing rooms. WOW! So much memorabilia just collecting dust. There was a large three sided marquee, the center part jutted out onto busy Fordham Road. It took a good two hours to change. RKO would send a graph paper telling us exactly what it should read. One time we were showing “Child’s Play” (not the Chucky movie). Two hours of ladders, wooden planks and, as I recall, it was raining. The manager checked all three sides after all the work was done, gave the ok and all the equipment was put away. That’s when I pointed out that the film starred Robert Preston and not Preston Foster. Someone got two hours of OT to do the marquee over again. Good times!