And so the once great Loews name, one of the the greatest circuits in exhibition history will now be just a thing of the past joining other once mighty chains like RKO, Paramount, Fox, Warner Brothers & Famous Players up in Canada.
The description should be changed to closing in the mid-1990’s not mid-1980’s. I distinctly remember seeing an article on the closing in our local paper (The Bay News) circa 94/95 about it’s shut down. Also there was a NYC law passed in 1995 that prohibited adult businesses operating within 500 feet of a school and since PS 200 was located about a block away the writing was on the wall for the De-Luxe Theatre.
Comfortably Cool, yes I checked the finding aid for the Loew’s Collection and found nothing on the Alpine unfortunately, no Loew’s Bay Ridge as well & only one photo of the Loew’s Oriental, I wonder if that was the same one I saw in one of the Marquee’s I have on Loew’s Theatres Inc. I also wanted to thank you for posting all those great vintage ads and photo’s I appreciate it.
Comfortably Cool, Are there any photo’s that exist out there that shows the original Alpine’s auditorium & lobby before it was twinned by Loew’s & then subsequently gutted by Golden?
The photo’s on that site are from 1973, the Exorcist was the film on the Fortway marquee photo, there is also a shot of the lobby in the pre-multiplex days & a shot of the drinking fountain that was once in the lobby. There are no auditorium shots unfortunately.
The Theatre Historical Society of America (THSA) has interior photo’s of the Fortway as a single, have you seen those? I have not seen Alpine interiors as a single on their site, but there are descriptions in the comments that give a pretty good description of it when it was a single.
As a Five-plex I remember the main auditorium level had two smaller screens carved out on the extreme left & right side, what is the center section in the photo was the big main auditorium which sort of had the shape of a Y, there were also two theatres in the original balcony section as well. Flanking the original proscenium were these two female figures that I had taken pictures of, I will have to post it here, I nicknamed them the “Nymphs of Celluloid” I wonder whatever happened to them? There is also a photo of them in Ben Hall’s Book: The Best Remaining Seats.
I know when AMC walked away at the end of May 2006, the Alpine was closed for about a weeks time until the current operator assumed operation. Not sure of what happened between Golden & Cineplex Odeon. You are absolutely right the Fortway was a much nicer theatre, probably because it was not gutted like the Alpine was to make it into a seven-plex.
I think having something like Napoleon Bonaparte’s death mask on display in the bar does make it kind of creepy & ghoulish, Orlando. Also in this day and age, I doubt highly that there will be any type of marquee, possibly a Alamo Drafthouse sign but no traditional marquee, just look at the one in Yonkers.
walterk, Thanks for the clarification, 1540 was the Loew’s Theatres Headquarters Building, so it seems like the Pickers has nothing to do with the Loew’s Oriental. On a side note, according to the new book that just came out on the Loew’s Kings Theatre, Dorothy Solomon Panzica one of the best Managers Loew’s Theatres ever had was the manager of the Loew’s Oriental right before she became manager of the Kings, anyone remember her here at the Oriental with any stories to share?
Yes, I thought it seemed a little strange as well, that’s why I posted it. The only company I can find on the NYC Dept Of Buildings certificates of occupancy is “Hawthorne Amusement Corp.” perhaps other members can shed more light on this.
According to the NYC AGO website, this theatre was built by the Picker family and later taken over by Loew’s along with the Boulevard, Spooner & Burland in the Bronx. Here is the Link: http://www.nycago.org/Organs/Brx/html/LoewsBoulevardTheatre.html
Sad that there is absolutely no acknowledgment of what movie palace had formerly stood on this site before, the RKO Albee. While an artifact from the original RKO movie palace may be hard to come by nowadays, how about a nicely framed color or black & white photo on display somewhere in the lobby?
That being said, presentation here is top-notch and auditorium #1 is capable of showing 35mm film, all of the rest are standard DCP. The food and drinks they serve here are also quite delicious if that is your sort of thing. I also wonder if the repertory programing they do has affected the BAM Cinematek in any way?
The auditoriums are located on the following levels: Sub Level(Basement)-auditoriums #1-3, Third Floor-auditoriums #4-5, Fifth Floor- auditoriums #6-8, Seventh Floor- auditoriums #9-10, Ninth Floor- auditorium #11, Eleventh Floor- auditorium #12.
Concessions are on the main level and fifth floor, UA also put one on the third level when they took over in the Summer of 2001 although I don’t think they used it very much. UA also added all of the arcade games on the third level as well, Regal never had them there originally.
I hope they do not remodel the David Rockwell designed lobby to the current AMC look, with it’s red circle lights, circle carpeting etc. Loews always had a very nice lobby design from the mid nineties on, but I always felt like they skimped out on the actual auditoriums themselves, that definitely could use some new seating, carpeting, wall curtains, side light fixtures. Also maybe they could also put a AMC MacGuffins bar where the Loews Club was originally supposed to be on the Upper Mezzanine Level.
Not much is left of any Movie Palace in Montreal unfortunately.
From the Montreal Gazette- http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/little-trace-remains-of-montreals-glamorous-theatre-era
Loews Theatres was well known for it’s lack maintenance and refurbishment program during that era. It was Cineplex Odeon that really did give these old theatres a new lease of life.
The Legacy Loews exterior signage will be removed and replaced by the AMC Brand –
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170301005839/en/
The Legacy Loews exterior signage will be removed and replaced by the AMC Brand –
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170301005839/en/
The Legacy Loews exterior signage will be removed and replaced by the AMC Brand –
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170301005839/en/
BenPaz, It was announced last week by AMC Theatres, here is the link to the Press Release:
http://investor.amctheatres.com/file/Index?KeyFile=38301073
And so the once great Loews name, one of the the greatest circuits in exhibition history will now be just a thing of the past joining other once mighty chains like RKO, Paramount, Fox, Warner Brothers & Famous Players up in Canada.
The description should be changed to closing in the mid-1990’s not mid-1980’s. I distinctly remember seeing an article on the closing in our local paper (The Bay News) circa 94/95 about it’s shut down. Also there was a NYC law passed in 1995 that prohibited adult businesses operating within 500 feet of a school and since PS 200 was located about a block away the writing was on the wall for the De-Luxe Theatre.
Comfortably Cool, yes I checked the finding aid for the Loew’s Collection and found nothing on the Alpine unfortunately, no Loew’s Bay Ridge as well & only one photo of the Loew’s Oriental, I wonder if that was the same one I saw in one of the Marquee’s I have on Loew’s Theatres Inc. I also wanted to thank you for posting all those great vintage ads and photo’s I appreciate it.
Comfortably Cool, Are there any photo’s that exist out there that shows the original Alpine’s auditorium & lobby before it was twinned by Loew’s & then subsequently gutted by Golden?
The photo’s on that site are from 1973, the Exorcist was the film on the Fortway marquee photo, there is also a shot of the lobby in the pre-multiplex days & a shot of the drinking fountain that was once in the lobby. There are no auditorium shots unfortunately.
The Theatre Historical Society of America (THSA) has interior photo’s of the Fortway as a single, have you seen those? I have not seen Alpine interiors as a single on their site, but there are descriptions in the comments that give a pretty good description of it when it was a single.
Slated to become a Target Store – http://bklyner.com/movies-mandee-bensonhurst-target/
As a Five-plex I remember the main auditorium level had two smaller screens carved out on the extreme left & right side, what is the center section in the photo was the big main auditorium which sort of had the shape of a Y, there were also two theatres in the original balcony section as well. Flanking the original proscenium were these two female figures that I had taken pictures of, I will have to post it here, I nicknamed them the “Nymphs of Celluloid” I wonder whatever happened to them? There is also a photo of them in Ben Hall’s Book: The Best Remaining Seats.
It really is a shame it’s gone, it was a very nice theatre to catch a film. I wonder if there is anything left after it became the supermarket?
I know when AMC walked away at the end of May 2006, the Alpine was closed for about a weeks time until the current operator assumed operation. Not sure of what happened between Golden & Cineplex Odeon. You are absolutely right the Fortway was a much nicer theatre, probably because it was not gutted like the Alpine was to make it into a seven-plex.
I think having something like Napoleon Bonaparte’s death mask on display in the bar does make it kind of creepy & ghoulish, Orlando. Also in this day and age, I doubt highly that there will be any type of marquee, possibly a Alamo Drafthouse sign but no traditional marquee, just look at the one in Yonkers.
walterk, Thanks for the clarification, 1540 was the Loew’s Theatres Headquarters Building, so it seems like the Pickers has nothing to do with the Loew’s Oriental. On a side note, according to the new book that just came out on the Loew’s Kings Theatre, Dorothy Solomon Panzica one of the best Managers Loew’s Theatres ever had was the manager of the Loew’s Oriental right before she became manager of the Kings, anyone remember her here at the Oriental with any stories to share?
Yes, I thought it seemed a little strange as well, that’s why I posted it. The only company I can find on the NYC Dept Of Buildings certificates of occupancy is “Hawthorne Amusement Corp.” perhaps other members can shed more light on this.
According to the NYC AGO website, this theatre was built by the Picker family and later taken over by Loew’s along with the Boulevard, Spooner & Burland in the Bronx. Here is the Link: http://www.nycago.org/Organs/Brx/html/LoewsBoulevardTheatre.html
Comfortably Cool, What other local theatres did Loew’s have to divest in the NYC Metro area based on the 1948 consent decree?
Here is the link to the story: http://qns.com/story/2017/01/04/douglaston-macys-movie-theater-move-lowes-home-improvement-looking-move/
Sad that there is absolutely no acknowledgment of what movie palace had formerly stood on this site before, the RKO Albee. While an artifact from the original RKO movie palace may be hard to come by nowadays, how about a nicely framed color or black & white photo on display somewhere in the lobby?
That being said, presentation here is top-notch and auditorium #1 is capable of showing 35mm film, all of the rest are standard DCP. The food and drinks they serve here are also quite delicious if that is your sort of thing. I also wonder if the repertory programing they do has affected the BAM Cinematek in any way?
The auditoriums are located on the following levels: Sub Level(Basement)-auditoriums #1-3, Third Floor-auditoriums #4-5, Fifth Floor- auditoriums #6-8, Seventh Floor- auditoriums #9-10, Ninth Floor- auditorium #11, Eleventh Floor- auditorium #12.
Concessions are on the main level and fifth floor, UA also put one on the third level when they took over in the Summer of 2001 although I don’t think they used it very much. UA also added all of the arcade games on the third level as well, Regal never had them there originally.
I hope they do not remodel the David Rockwell designed lobby to the current AMC look, with it’s red circle lights, circle carpeting etc. Loews always had a very nice lobby design from the mid nineties on, but I always felt like they skimped out on the actual auditoriums themselves, that definitely could use some new seating, carpeting, wall curtains, side light fixtures. Also maybe they could also put a AMC MacGuffins bar where the Loews Club was originally supposed to be on the Upper Mezzanine Level.
Not much is left of any Movie Palace in Montreal unfortunately. From the Montreal Gazette- http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/little-trace-remains-of-montreals-glamorous-theatre-era
Loews Theatres was well known for it’s lack maintenance and refurbishment program during that era. It was Cineplex Odeon that really did give these old theatres a new lease of life.
Is this the Orson Wells they are refer to, expanding to Downtown Boston?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Welles_Cinema