Comments from Luis Vazquez

Showing 1,001 - 1,025 of 1,153 comments

Luis Vazquez
Luis Vazquez commented about Kings Theatre on Jun 28, 2007 at 6:47 pm

I hear through the rumor mill that an announcement is expected to be made by Borough President Marty Markowitz in July regarding the future of The Kings. I’m assuming that means that the city will announce that a developer has been selected based of the RFP that the city requested back in the Fall of 2006. Let’s keep our fingers crossed! Markowitz was present the day that I toured the theater and he seemed genuinely determined that this theater be saved. Actions, however, speak louder than words.

Luis Vazquez
Luis Vazquez commented about Lefferts Theatre on Jun 28, 2007 at 6:41 pm

Lost Memory posted above that a wurlizer was indeed installed in 1925! Unless it is the same source as Warren that is some corroboration. I still can’t imagine that theater with an organ or for that matter having 1,500 seats. I believe the Ziegfeld has just over 1,100 and my memory of The Lefferts is a significantly smaller theater.

Luis Vazquez
Luis Vazquez commented about Lefferts Theatre on Jun 28, 2007 at 6:34 pm

Thanks Tonino for the back up! I always considered the three local theaters (The Lefferts, The Casino and The Crossbay) functional and basically utilitarian theaters. However, having attended movies in my youth at theaters like The Valencia, Radio City and The RKO Keith’s and The Elmwood it is little wonder that I felt the local theaters were lacking. Unfortunatley I have never seen anyone post interior shots of any of the three to jar my memory. Do you have any detail memories of your own?

Luis Vazquez
Luis Vazquez commented about Hollywood Theatre on Jun 28, 2007 at 4:18 pm

I totally agree on everything you just said. Nederlander made a HUGE mistake in selling. The Nederlander theater is a real dog on the least desireable street in the theater district. However, if the church was offered enough money they could still have a large enough space for their congragation and focus on spreading “the word”. In the meantime, they could renovate the Nederlander, which sorely needs it. By the time that’s done they’ll be sitting on another incredible asset as Times Square continues its incredible resuregence. The new New York Times headquarters down the block is almost complete. The new office building at 11 Times Square has just started construction at 41st and 8th. In addition, the Port Authority has just authorized construction of a major office tower over the Bus Terminal so the area will just continue to get more valuable. It would be a win win for everyone, but I don’t think it will happen. I would just rather see a show at the renovated Hollywood instead of a renovated Nederlander. The Hollywood is a much much better theater!

Luis Vazquez
Luis Vazquez commented about Hollywood Theatre on Jun 28, 2007 at 3:55 pm

They would do it because their mission should be to help the poor and to reach out to people. Money makes this happen. They would still have another theater to use as their new church which they could then renovate to the same loving standards that they used for The Hollywood! It would be “The Christian” thing to do.

Luis Vazquez
Luis Vazquez commented about Lefferts Theatre on Jun 28, 2007 at 3:51 pm

A symphony orchestra? A concert organ? The most beautiful theater on Long Island? ………….. The Lefferts? This was my neighborhood theater and I obviously didn’t have the appreciation for theater architecture then that I have now, but I don’t remember seeing anything in that that theater that could accomodate an orchestra and an organ. Granted, many, many years passed between the opening of this theater and my family moving into the neighborhood in 1970 and so major alterations could have been made but I just can’t imagine that the Lefferts would ever have been classified as “the most beautiful on Long Island”. :–)

Luis Vazquez
Luis Vazquez commented about Kings Theatre on Jun 28, 2007 at 3:40 pm

As I posted above in October, I was very surprised to see how nice the immediate area around the Kings actually was. As a lifelong New Yorker, I too had heard about how terrible the area was back in the 70’s and 80’s. On my walk from the subway station to the theater I did not spot a single empty storefront and the streets were clean and orderly. The only time I did see a gaping empty storefront was the reatil space attached to the King’s theater itself.

Brooklyn, and pretty much all of New York, has made incredible strides in the last 15 years. Anyone who hasn’t been to the “old neighborhoods” would be shocked to see what has happened in Park Slope, Williamsburg, Dumbo, Long Island City, Hell’s Kitchen, Harlem, The South Bronx, I could go on and on. A booming economy and the lowest crime rates since the early 60’s bode well for projects like the resurrection of The King’s. Surely, there is room in a borough of 2.6MM people for a second major performing arts center (after The Brooklyn Academy of Music).

Luis Vazquez
Luis Vazquez commented about Hollywood Theatre on Jun 28, 2007 at 3:31 pm

This theater is truly spectacular and is the single most promising theater to be returned to either legitimate or movie use. It is a travesty that this theater was sold to a church in the first place. However, the church that lovingly restored this jewel is not going to give it up without major money. I say the Nederlanders should trade their Nederlander theater on W. 41st Street with this theater with cash thrown in. The Church can then restore that theater. In the meantime, Broadway would get a superior house that could also host movie premieres on Monday nights when the house is dark.

Luis Vazquez
Luis Vazquez commented about RKO Reade's Trent Theatre on Jun 28, 2007 at 3:22 pm

Thanks Hondo, I’m fascinated by tales of the bustling streets of the mighty cities of the 30’s and 40’s. It’s such a shame what has befallen cities like Bridgeport, Rochester, St Louis and most of all Camden and Detroit. I do believe that cities are the future and some are poised for significant comebacks, like Newark, Pittsburg and Buffalo. Trenton is kind of lucky that at least it has the business of government, but that’s pretty dull. Such a shame that there doesn’t appear to be anything left in downtown Trenton to build on. Are any of the old theaters still around or at least salvagable?

Luis Vazquez
Luis Vazquez commented about Loew's Theatre on Jun 28, 2007 at 3:08 pm

Wow! How did a theater this large, in a city as large as Indianapolis run by a chain as large as Loew’s manage to not be listed in Cinema Treasures until now? Next we’ll find out it was designed by Lamb or Rapp & Rapp! :–)

Luis Vazquez
Luis Vazquez commented about Casino Theatre on Jun 12, 2007 at 1:20 pm

Regarding the posting of 8/17/04 above….the Casino was NEVER a pornographic theater. I grew up in the neighborhood and know this for a fact. The closest porno theater was the Austin on Lefferts Blvd in the leafy neighborhood of Kew Gardens. It has since been mulitiplexed (I am told in a loving way) into The Kew Gardens Cinemas specializing in art house films.

Luis Vazquez
Luis Vazquez commented about Regal Times Square on Apr 28, 2007 at 3:50 pm

How could they not? That would be incredible advertising for Reagal. It even has the same number of letters as Loews! It would also be the quickest way for people to identify this theater with Regal and not Loews. It would be incredibly stupid not to restore the vertical marquee, especially when we’re talking about a Times Sqaure theater on 42nd St!

Luis Vazquez
Luis Vazquez commented about United Palace of Cultural Arts on Apr 19, 2007 at 12:51 pm

If you’re not sure about the neighborhood the solution is very simple. Just park your car on the Upper West Side below 120th? or so and just hop on the nearby subway to get up and back from the theater. Enjoy the show!

Luis Vazquez
Luis Vazquez commented about AMC Empire 25 on Apr 19, 2007 at 9:47 am

I don’t know where all of the negative comments above are coming from. I used to be a frequent patron of the theater before Chelsea Cinemas upgraded their theater on 23rd St. I still come to this theater periodically and have never had an unpleasant experience here and I will continue to patronize this theater when the movies I want to see are not playing in Chelsea. The only theater that I refuse to go to in Manhattan is the god awful Regal Union Square where I have never had a pleasant experience, but that’s for anothere theater site! :–)

Luis Vazquez
Luis Vazquez commented about Olympic Theater Concert Hall on Apr 11, 2007 at 6:39 am

I went to the Bronx Zoo on Saturday and I took the #2 train. While looking out the window I noticed the “Olympic Concert Hall” aka “Prospect Theater” looking very dilapidated and with a “for sale” sign on the marquee. It was disconcerting since the rest of the neighborhood looks like it’s in the middle of a building boom and, per above postings, had been recently renovated.

I was born in the Bronx and I asked my mom if she had gone to the Prospect way back when. She said it was one of her favorite theaters, but that she usually went to The Freeman on Southern Blvd. As a matter of fact, she went into labor (with me) while she was attending some Spanish language movie on November 23, 1959!

I love the fact that I decided to come into the world while I was actually IN a theater!

Luis Vazquez
Luis Vazquez commented about Freeman Theatre on Apr 11, 2007 at 6:29 am

I went to the Bronx Zoo on Saturday and I took the #2 train. While looking out the window I noticed the “Olympic Concert Hall” aka “Prospect Theater” looking very dilapidated and with a “for sale” sign on the marquee. It was disconcerting since the rest of the neighborhood looks like it’s in the middle of a building boom and supposedly the theater had been renovated recently. Anyway, the reason I mention all of that is because I was born in the Bronx and I asked my mom if she had gone to the Prospect. She said it was one of her favorite theaters, but that she usually went to The Freeman. As a matter of fact, she went into labor (with me) while she was attending some Spanish language movie on November 23, 1959!

I love the fact i I decided to come into the world while I was actually IN a theater!

Also, thank you Warren for that picture of the auditorium. It meant a lot to me to be able to see it. I wonder how much, if any, of the interior remains.

Luis Vazquez
Luis Vazquez commented about Winter Garden Theatre on Mar 26, 2007 at 5:35 am

While they’re changing the title, they should also change the description to relfcet that the renovation is not only complete but it is, and will be for many more years, home to Mama Mia! Contrary to some of the above posts, this is a far better musical than the one that previously occupied this spot; CATS! I truly pity the ushers who had to endure that for 18 years! I found Mama Mia very enjoyable as I am a big fan of ABBA and the audience was truly dancing in the aisles for the encores. It was great fun and it is a great theater!

Luis Vazquez
Luis Vazquez commented about Ziegfeld Theatre on Mar 20, 2007 at 10:37 am

Hi Bill, thanks for supporting The Ziegfeld! I truly love this theater and, as I’ve stated before, I’ve had some of my most memorable movie watching experiences at this theater; movies like Fantasia, Grease, Dreamgirls and Casino Royale. There is nothing better than watching a great film with a sold out appreciative New York audience and The Ziegfeld is the best theater to deliver that experience. We can’t resurrect the Roxy, The Capitol, The Rivoli, The Paramount, etc., but we can work towards preserving what’s left. Hooray for The Paradise in The Bronx! Let’s focus on The King’s and The Brooklyn Paramount and The Demille which is still sitting quietly hidden in plain site in Times Square. There are others as well. The Ziegfeld is the last of the Palaces to be built and 40 years is quite an achievement.

Luis Vazquez
Luis Vazquez commented about Ziegfeld Theatre on Mar 20, 2007 at 8:30 am

Hey Vincent…..Where did that tirade come from? We’re chatting about what’s playing next at The Ziegfeld and then, BAM! Death To Developers and woe to the middle class!

So, back to the Ziegfeld…..I agree that a classic schedule would absolutely draw more than films like Zodiac, but the theater should also have the opportunity to pack them in with one of the blockbuster films.

Luis Vazquez
Luis Vazquez commented about Ziegfeld Theatre on Mar 20, 2007 at 3:23 am

I would hope that “Meet the Robinsons” will be a much better programming choice than “Zodiac”. I didn’t realize that was playing at the Ziegfeld so I wound up seeing it on 42nd St. I can see why there were only 12 people at The Ziegfeld. Zodiac was a dull, tedious film. While it got overall great reviews, word of mouth is not. A film like this should never be booked into a theater the size of The Ziegfeld. Hopefully, The Ziegfeld will snare one of the summer blockbusters of Shrek 3/Spiderman 3/Pirates 3 or Harry Potter 5!

Luis Vazquez
Luis Vazquez commented about United Palace of Cultural Arts on Mar 18, 2007 at 5:13 am

Bway, thanks the the support and I totally agree that this site is called “Cinema” treasures and not the general “Theater” treasures. Nonetheless, it truly is unfortuante that there is no equivalent site for Legit. I chuckled when you stated that theaters were “downgraded” to present film, but that in fact was the case. It was their only option to survive. The New Amsterdam Theater on 42nd St. is probably the best example of this. An incredibly beautiful, ornate and technically advanced theater built for stage presentations, but forced to show films to adapt to economic realities. As a result, we have the New Amsterdam on this site, but others in the Broadway theater district are not here. Hopefully, we will someday be able to honor these theaters in the same way.

Luis Vazquez
Luis Vazquez commented about United Palace of Cultural Arts on Mar 17, 2007 at 12:41 pm

My main interest is in the Theaters themselves, whether or not they showed films and so it is more than a little frustrating that many “legit” theaters are omitted from this web site because they did not show films. Don’t get me wrong, I think it is wonderful that we have this site to showcase movie theaters, but I think all theaters (including Legit) should be included, maybe as a separate subset. I think most would agree that it is the architecture that qualifies a theater most as a “Cinema Treasure”. Well, that plus the Cinema part! It would be wonderful if we could honor those Legit Theater Treasures in the same way. These are just as valuable.

Luis Vazquez
Luis Vazquez commented about Kings Theatre on Mar 13, 2007 at 3:00 am

Regarding the comment in the NY Times article about “substantial damage….the roofs over the retail spaces have collapsed”. I find this a misleading statement as well. Yes, the roofs have collapsed, I was present on the developer’s tour, but the retail space is a very, very small part of the overall structure. It would take very little money to replace/restore that space. The buidlding as a whole, is not anyway near in bad shape as The New Amsterdam theater was in Manhattan before that magnificent restoration. This structure is totally salvagable and I hope one of the two? plans to restore it is accepted and put in motion.

Luis Vazquez
Luis Vazquez commented about Ziegfeld Theatre on Feb 20, 2007 at 3:21 am

Hey Irv, Believe it or not, I agree with a large part of what you said above. New York (especially Manhattan) has become an enclave of the rich and the poor (if they live in subsidized housing). There is less and less room for the middle class. This has resulted in the blossoming of northern Manhattan, Park Slope, Dumbo, Williamsburg, Long Island City, etc. I spent my teen years in the 70’s. Those were very rough times and the city was dying then. Few people wanted to live here. They did so becasue they had to. That meant there was a lot of cheap real estate to use as rock clubs and discos, etc. As the city cleaned up and became safer it resulted in rising property values and more people wanting to live here. It’s always a trade off. While I miss much of what you miss I don’t want to go back to those times. I feel fortunate that I am able to afford to live in Manhattan, but I also have found ways to have a cheap night out. One of those ways is a disocunt theater website called audienceextras.com. This is a live theater club that charges an annual fee of $85. That gets you access to a website that contains lists of performances available for that night’s performances for mostly off and off off broadway shows. On ocassion, actual Broadway shows are listed in addition to concerts, sporting events and movie previews. The cost per ticket? $3 each! (You can order two tickets) Not quite priceless, but pretty damn close. I’ve been a member for over 10 years and have seen great stuff.

Again, thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Back to The Ziegfeld, I have a lot of memories in this theater and I pray that this youngest of the palaces can be preserved for future generations. In the past few months alone I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Casino Royale and Dreamgirls in sold out performances and they are among my best movie going experiences of my life. We need to preserve what little is left and not forget that there are others that can be brought back to life (Kings, Brooklyn Paramount). Who truly thought that The Paradise in the Bronx would ever be restored! Well, it has and that’s why I’m an optomist!

Luis Vazquez
Luis Vazquez commented about Ziegfeld Theatre on Feb 19, 2007 at 10:41 am

Wow! Such negative comments! While I would love to see the old palaces up and running as movie theaters we have to live in reality. Theaters are a business and they either have to pay their way or have government subsidies. Real Estate prices in New York are sky high and going higher which doesn’t bode well for old theater buildings. Why the price climb? Because unlike some of the posters above, a vast majority of us think New York is simply the best place to live. Period! Crime is at historic lows and those of you who pine for the tawdry, dangerous and seedy Times Square of yesteryear can have it. Just go to the tenderloin district of San Francisco. For all of its faults, I just love this city! There are things about the past that I miss, but the reality of a dynamic city is that it changes and the changes (overall) for New York in the last 20 years have been nothing short of spectacular. It’s no accident that the city expects another million people living here by 2025.

I hope the city continues to offer incentives to keep some of our theaters alive for future generations. The New Amsterdam was abandoned and had holes in its roof before the City and Disney saved it! Virtually all of the other theaters on 42nd St. were in deep decay as well, but the city and private enterprise were able to save most (though not all) of the structures and not necessarily as theaters.

My hope is that The Kings will be saved. Perhaps the Paramount in downtown Brooklyn can be salvaged; The Victoria in Harlem; Maybe The Hollywood theater can be bought back from The Times Square Church and brought back to movies as a premiere house.

Times have changed. Fewer people go to the theater, we have DVD’s and home theaters now, Hollywood is making less product. We have to face reality. I really hope we can save The Ziegfeld. I really love this theater.