Lets not get sidetracked with a dollar amount. Restoration costs can be highly inflated when many other items such as a parking garage is added. The Pantages in Hollywood cost 12 Million to restore and that was work done only to the theatre. When people talk about restoring the Uptown they should talk about the theatre. It is up to the City to improve parking in the area not the potential buyer. A realistic dollar amount should be discussed about stabalizing the theatre and getting the Uptown operational.The Uptown building is a theatre building and not attatched to an office building like many theatres. I would like to hear a realistic dollar amount to get the Uptown operational and a dollar amount for full restoration just for the theatre. The huge Fox in Oakland is currently under restoration but a bulk of the restoration funds is going toward building a Charter School around the theatre.Reading about the Fox you would think that all this money is being spent on the theatre when only 30 per cent is going to restore the theatre itself.We shouldn’t scare potential buyers about the cost it should be a realistic dollar amount. Full restoration doesn’t have to happen in the beginning it could be done over a period of time. The focus of the Uptown should be to get it stabilized and operational with some cosmetic work done. I think Cablevision would have been more interested if the theatre had at least been operational.brucec
The Boyd is the percect size theatre to house Broadway musicals on the road that is why Live Nation was interested in the Boyd.Most restored movie palaces now serve as Broadway road houses or Performing Art Centers. The Boyd could be a home for Broadway ,Concerts,Dance and Classic Film. The Shubert and Nedelander theatres as stated before are to small for the large scale musicals on the road. The Academy of Music and the Performing Art Center aren’t perfect venues for Broadway shows. The Hippodrome in Baltimore was restored for Broadway shows and the Boyd would serve the same need in Philidelphia.brucec
The Empire was a better theatre in the 1970’s than it is today. The Empire should rival the Odeon if the owners would have done a better job renovating this theatre. The Empire was the flagship theatre for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from the time it was built until the late 1960’s when they sold it. It was considered the showplace of the nation and was owned by Hollywood’s most powerful studio at the time.Its amazing when people dont'r realize what they have and let an asset such as the Empire delcine. I was more impressed with the Empire in the 1970’s than I was with Odeon.bruce
The Disney Company was very interested in the Mark Hellinger but the Church would have to be interested in selling the theatre which they are not. The Mark Hellinger is very desirable for large scale Musicals due to its capacity of over 1500, there is a line waiting to bring musicals into New York due to the lack of Available theatres of this size. Most of the larger theatres are tied up in multi year runs such as the Winter Garden,Majestic,Broadway,Minskoff,Gershwin,Palace,Lunt-Funtanne,Neil Simon,New Amsterdam,Hilton,Shubert,Al Hirhsfield,Marquis and few others. The very desirable St James was suppose to have “Young Frankenstein” but the producers switched to the larger Hilton when the show playing at the Hilton closed early.Many times producers are forced to bring musicals into the smaller theatres such as the Shoenfield,Barrymore,August Wilson,Eugene o'Neil, Ambassador and a few others. Large scale musicals require seating capacity of at least 1400 to make economic sense. Disney was forced to open “Tarzan” at the Richard Rogers which seats less than 1400 due to the lack of available theatres. This has been a problem for the last few years. The Minskoff which was considered the ugliest theatre on Broadway had to due an extensive renovation before Disney would move “The Lion King” over, but had a seating capacity of over 1600. There is a huge demand for the “Mark Hellinger” but at what price and the church would have to be willing to sell.brucec
The Hollywod(Mark Hellinger) is the most beautiful theatre still standing in Times Square. Im glad the church has taken such good care of this theatre. Despite being a legit theatre for so many decades it still looks like a movie palace.brucec
The City of Pittsburg has restored three of there Downtown movie palaces the Stanley,Penn and Fulton all under other names now. Live Nation meant well but they decided to get out of owning theatres and concentrate on them music business which was bad timing for the Boyd. The city of Philidelphia should realize the potential of the Boyd since Live Nation wanted to present Broadway shows like they did with the Opera House in Boston. The Boyd is the perfect size theatre for Broadway road productions, not to small and not to big. The City should take it from Live Nation if they can’t find a suitable buyer at this time and hold it in trust until a suitable buyer can be found. The Nederlanders and the Shuberts both own theatres that are a little to small for touring shows that are presented for a few weeks. Theatres on the road need to seat at least 2000 to mazimize the gross on the large touring musicals such as “The Lion King”,“Wicked”, “Phantom Of the Opera” snd many others. The Nederlanders just bought out Live Nation’s intersts in Broadway in Chicago and maybe could be interested in the Boyd as there primary house for touring Brodway shows. In San Francisco the Curran for decades was the primary house for Broadway shows until economics forced them to make the larger Orpheum and the ugly Golden Gate the primary Broadway Theatres. The smaller Curran is now used for plays and long run of musicals such as “Jersey Boys”. Philadelphia is not a market for long runs like Chicago,Los Angeles,Boston and San Francisco. Maybe the Shuberts and the Nederlaners should get together and form a Broadway in Philadelphia and use both there theatres along with the larger Boyd.brucec
The city of Chicago needs to put a little money into the Uptown to interest a potential buyer such as Cablevision. The Uptown is the perfect size of theatre for concerts looking for a midsize venue.The city should offer a major tax credit for a potential buyer. The city needs to stabilize the building and spend a little money to get it in operating shape and then a potential buyer might be interested as Cablevision was. I think the biggest problem Cablevision had was the distance from the Loop because the theatre would have been a cheap buy then antoher 40 million in restoration. Cablevison spent 70 Million restoring Radio City and is currently restoring the Beacon in New York. The midsize concert venue is exploding across the US that why the 7100 seat Nokia was built in LA. The Uptown is located in an improving neigherhood and it one of the largest theatres standing in the US. The Loew’s 175th St in NYC with 3300 seats has become a very hot midsize Venue in NYC with many sold out concerts. Just think the Uptown seats 1000 more seats than the 175th Street located in the 3rd largest City in the US. I would conctact the concert booker of the 175Th Street who will be in direct competition with the smaller Beacon in NYC as someone who could compete with Cablevison in Chicago. The potential is there but money must be spent to restore the Uptown and Im sure it would get plenty of concert bookings, since its larger than the Chicago Theatre. The city of Chicago must take the lead and spend some money to open this theatre.brucec
It would be nice if they lit the blade with Palace which would work since it is the United Palace. Im glad this facility is being discovered again. It was fortunate that reverend Ike bought this theatre and preserved it as a church and is letting other use the theatre for other purposes. I was in the theatre in 2002 and thought it was in great shape. I was able to see all the Loew’s wonder theatre except the Paradise in the Bronx. There is only one wonder theatre left to be revived the Loew’s Kings in Brooklyn.brucec
Economics have caused the studios to go Digital as film will no longer be used. With the saturation release of movies in thousands of theatres at once the cost to strike so many prints have become to expensive. The directors such as Spielberg and Lucas are now on the digital bandwagon as the technology has improved. I remember back in the late 1970’s when they were trying to figure out not to use film prints but a signal beam to theatres across the nation,but this never happened. I am amazed how long film has lasted but the studios and exhibitors are now going to share the cost of going digital. It always come down to economics. I loved the era of carbon arc film projection but time marches on and the era of film will be a fond memory.The movie industry is not the same as when I was growing up nor are the theatres they are shown in. Film will always be part of classic Hollywood which was far superior than the Hollywood of today. The studios could use the Music Hall with film premieres but there is very little showmanship left in todays Hollywood. Thank god for Turner Classics they help keep classic Hollywood alive. Who woould of thought that the movie industry’s arch enemy would be the one to keep classic H0llywood alive.brucec
I remember years ago Landmark wanted to triplex the Rialto and restore the main auditorium and twin the balcony which could have been reversed later like they did with the Mayan in Denver.Landmark wasn’t allowed to do this so they just let the theatre slowly decline. With a few exceptions single movie screens are not a viable operation due to the explosion of the megaplex which has between 14 to 30 screens.I think the city of South Pasadena should restore this theatre and use it as a multipurpose facility which should inlcude film.I feel the citizens of South Pasadena would love to see this landmark theatre in there city restored.brucec
Come on Brooklyn get your act together. Of the five Loew’s Wonder Theatres the Loew’s Kings the greatest of them all has yet to make any progress. Loew’s Valencia which is in good shape is a Church in Queens, Loew’s Paradise in the Bronx has been restored and is being used for concerts, Loew’s Jersey is slowly being restored as a home of classic film and concerts,Loew’s 175th Street in Manhattan is a church and is fast becoming one of the cities hottest concert halls and then Loew’s Kings in the Brooklyn just sits there.Brooklyn has a very large population and is making a comeback commercially and has very few active theatres. I think Brooklyn should spend some seed money and stabilize this theatre so it doesn’t decline any further. Maybe Brooklyn should restore a section of the theatre to show people what it could look like restored. I have said this before the Kings is one of the most beautiful theatres I have ever seen and I have seen many.brucec
I just took a hard hat tour Of the Alameda Theatre and talked with several people incuding Ken Koch who is working on the poject. The Lobby looks fabulous as well as the Auditorium. They have a new slope for Stadium seating that looks tastefully down. They have expanded the lobby into the back of the house for concessions which will service the entire multiplex.The Vertical Marquee has been restored and they are currently working on the canopy.I took a tour of the BaLcony which has been undivided but is not being restored at this time. I was told that more money was needed to restore the Balcony which isn’t in that bad of shape a little paint,restoration and seats.I wish the City of Alamdeda would step in and furnish the funds for the Balcony which then could be used for many civic events. I would at least restore the lodge part of the Balcony which are the best seats in the house. The painting has been done by Evergreen who is also working on the Fox Oakland. The Main Auditorium still needs its seats and light fixtures.I must say Im impressed by what I have seen thus far. The multiplex which is being built next store still has ways to go before competion.The historic Alameda lobby will connect to the new multiplex. This is the first time I have been in the Alameda since I saw “Thats Entertainment” in 1975. Ken Koch who I talked to at length grew up In Alameda and saw many movies during his youth at the theatre. He heads up the decorative electrical elements of the theatre and has been on site during the past four weeks and this is the first time he has been in the theatre in decades.I think the citizens of Alameda will be pleased and should insist that the Balcony be restored.brucec
Dear HowardBHaas why don’t we have a poll of the current top 20 theatre marquee’s in the nation as well as the top 20 current theatre lobbies.I think it would be intersting what the favorites are as well as helping future theatre restorations with such a poll. I think many times the maruqee is left out when a restoration occurs and some have done fine job like Radio City,Fox Oakland while others such as the Wang in Boston and Fifth Ave in Seattle have done a poor job. I know restoring a marquee can be costly as well as the theatre itself but many times people involved with the project dont realize how important these marquee’s from the 1920’s,1930’s,1940’s and the 1950’s were to these historic movie palaces. Remember the fun starts on the sidewalk.brucec
The lobby of the Paramount is one of the most impressive I have ever seen and I have seen many. The Pantages in Hollywood also has an impressive lobby as well as the late great Fox Theatre in San Francisco. I wish the Paramount would bring back a film series of quality films from all decades and if they don’t maybe the restored Fox Oakland would. I love the marquees of both the Paramount and the Fox Oakland they are quite impressive and among the best in the nation.We should have a contest and ask members what are the top 20 curren theatre marquees left in the nation.brucec
Ken would love to see more adds of the Fox,Paramount,T&D,Roxie and Grand Lake. I remember all the adds advertising the great Fox West Coast Theatre Chain in Oakland Tribune.Thanks for the Ad. brucec
Its to bad the Egytian wasn’t given a beautiful restoration like many of the restored films that are screened at the theatre. There was a nice tribute to Julis Roberts and American Cinematheque in the Friday October 12 issue in Variety which also talked about the historic Egyptian. I miss the giant curve screen which I saw many films through the years. The current screen is a bit small though the picture quality is superb. The Egyptian is a major let down in its current condition and doesn’t look anything like a movie palace. Im surprised that they charge money for tours of this theatre. Can you imagine tourists who come from Cities like St. Louis which has the Fox theatre and then take the tour of the Hollywood Egyptian in its present condition. I have stated this before that cities large and small have restored theatres that look a lot more majestic than the current Egyptian such a shame. I love there programming and they have helped Hollywood Blvd slowly come back from its seedy state from a few years ago.brucec
This question is for Warren and William. How long did the Downtown theatres such as the United Artists,Orpheum,State,Los Angeles,Warner,etc play exlusive runs.I know they often played with Hollywood Blvd and some of the Wilshire Blvd theatres. When did this come to an end and people from the burbs stopped going Downtown.LA was different than most large Cities having a few entertainment zones such as Hollywood Blvd,Downtown,Wilshire Blvd and later Westwood.It would be interesting to see when each of the large Downtown theatres played there last exclusive run and became a theatre for the large Hispanic population which carried these theatres into the 1980’s.brucec
Does LA have any plan to help restore Broadway as a Theatre District in the historic core. The building of the Nokia Theatre with 7000 seats and a smaller theatre with 2400 seats doesn’t help Broadway and it delays the rebirth of this area. LA is one of the only Large Cities not investing in the historic downtown they build everthing around it where they should be spending money restoring the historic core. Its nuts that a 2400 seat theatre is being built in the Nokia complex when you have the Los Angeles,Orpheum,State,United Artists,Million Dollar,Palace and Warner all located Downtown. Its this lack of planning that delays the rebirth of Broadway. LA really needs a new 2400 seat capacity theatre when you have so many historic theatres waiting to be reborn.The Nokia theatre will never be another Radio City City Music Hall as it likes to compare itself to. The Nokia will really hurt the 6200 seat Shrine Auditorium which has made a comback hosting Award shows during the past two decades.This will be the second time LA has turned its back on Broadway, the first was when the Music Center was built in the 1960’s and now the Nokia Entertainment complex. If New York City can revive 42nd Street I think LA can revive Broadway with better planning.brucec
If they hadn’t built the Kennedy Center which didn’t help downtown,the Fox(Capitol) would have made a great theatre for the Performing Arts and wouldn’t have been demolished.brucec
I am happy that Madison Square Garden Entertainment is in the process of purchasing the great Chicago Theatre. It was one of the most sucessful movie palaces in the nation and has been used very poorly and under booked as a stage house. MSG may have the muscle to compete a little better with Brodaway in Chicago. I know that some of the larger productions have a problem with the stage area of the Chicago but some would fit perfectly. Im sure concert bookings would improve greatly since MSG owns both Radio City Music Hall and the Beacon in NYC.Hopefully they can figure out a way of fitting the Radio City Christmas Spectacular in the Chicago. brucec
I wish the Alameda success with there theatre. Is the Mezzanine portion of the theatre going to be used when the historic theatre reopens. Even when the theatre was tripexed the Mezzanine was kept with the main Auditorium. I hope the stadium seating in the historic house does justice to the theatre and not look horrible the way it does with the Egyptian in Hollywood. Most historic movie theatres always had a portion of the theatre as stadium seating either in the back Lodge area or in the balcony of the theatre. The El Capitan in Hollywood was restored many years ago now and the most popular seats are in the Mezzanine portion of the theatre. I have seen many movies here since the restoration and people race to the Mezzanine when they would let the line of people into the theatre.brucec
In response to Don, from what I understand the City would give permission to expand the stage into the street which would provide a larger stage and dressing rooms for the Symphony. The Symphony must come up with the money for this project which they don’t currently have. It would be nice if the City would give the Symphony a low interest loan for this project making it easier to pay back. The Warner is a beautiful Art Deco Theatre and I hope it is restored and saved.brucec
The Empire was a top movie palace longer than it was a vaudeville theatre. Most vaudeville theatres were converted to movie palaces. I noticed that I can’t get a straight answer about the renovation of the Empire Auditorium. I will assume the worst and hopefully I will be surprised. Remember there are not that many movie palaces left to be restored so we should treasure what we have left. The Greatest Geneartion spent many hours in these beautiful theatres to escsape the Depression and help get them through WW11. We will never see there likes ever again. These theatres also represent the heyday of Hollywood and when the movie stars were American Royalty. The preservation of these movie palaces are just as important as the preservation of film. Three of the most successful theatres in the United States are former movie palaces the Fox in Detroit,Fox in St. Louis and the Fox in Atlanta. These theatres are a point of pride in there respective cities. The Midland should have been a huge success story for Kansas City but has not been booked properly under the ownership of AMC so now its going to be a major nightclub/performance space relegated to second place behind the new Performing Arts Center. The Midland was not just any movie palace it was considerered by many inlcuding Maruus Loew himself to be one of the finest ever built. I hope I am proved wrong and both the Empire and the Midland will surprise me.brucec
I was not impressed with what I saw done to this theatre. I remember I couldn’t leave fast enough after I saw what they did to the Auditoruim. Someone should post before and after pictures to show what a horrific butcher job was done to this theatre. A little more imagination should have been used by Trinity and not destroy an historic structure as the Majestic. Thank god the State was given a magnificent restoration what a stark contrast between the two.brucec
Lets not get sidetracked with a dollar amount. Restoration costs can be highly inflated when many other items such as a parking garage is added. The Pantages in Hollywood cost 12 Million to restore and that was work done only to the theatre. When people talk about restoring the Uptown they should talk about the theatre. It is up to the City to improve parking in the area not the potential buyer. A realistic dollar amount should be discussed about stabalizing the theatre and getting the Uptown operational.The Uptown building is a theatre building and not attatched to an office building like many theatres. I would like to hear a realistic dollar amount to get the Uptown operational and a dollar amount for full restoration just for the theatre. The huge Fox in Oakland is currently under restoration but a bulk of the restoration funds is going toward building a Charter School around the theatre.Reading about the Fox you would think that all this money is being spent on the theatre when only 30 per cent is going to restore the theatre itself.We shouldn’t scare potential buyers about the cost it should be a realistic dollar amount. Full restoration doesn’t have to happen in the beginning it could be done over a period of time. The focus of the Uptown should be to get it stabilized and operational with some cosmetic work done. I think Cablevision would have been more interested if the theatre had at least been operational.brucec
The Boyd is the percect size theatre to house Broadway musicals on the road that is why Live Nation was interested in the Boyd.Most restored movie palaces now serve as Broadway road houses or Performing Art Centers. The Boyd could be a home for Broadway ,Concerts,Dance and Classic Film. The Shubert and Nedelander theatres as stated before are to small for the large scale musicals on the road. The Academy of Music and the Performing Art Center aren’t perfect venues for Broadway shows. The Hippodrome in Baltimore was restored for Broadway shows and the Boyd would serve the same need in Philidelphia.brucec
The Empire was a better theatre in the 1970’s than it is today. The Empire should rival the Odeon if the owners would have done a better job renovating this theatre. The Empire was the flagship theatre for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from the time it was built until the late 1960’s when they sold it. It was considered the showplace of the nation and was owned by Hollywood’s most powerful studio at the time.Its amazing when people dont'r realize what they have and let an asset such as the Empire delcine. I was more impressed with the Empire in the 1970’s than I was with Odeon.bruce
The Disney Company was very interested in the Mark Hellinger but the Church would have to be interested in selling the theatre which they are not. The Mark Hellinger is very desirable for large scale Musicals due to its capacity of over 1500, there is a line waiting to bring musicals into New York due to the lack of Available theatres of this size. Most of the larger theatres are tied up in multi year runs such as the Winter Garden,Majestic,Broadway,Minskoff,Gershwin,Palace,Lunt-Funtanne,Neil Simon,New Amsterdam,Hilton,Shubert,Al Hirhsfield,Marquis and few others. The very desirable St James was suppose to have “Young Frankenstein” but the producers switched to the larger Hilton when the show playing at the Hilton closed early.Many times producers are forced to bring musicals into the smaller theatres such as the Shoenfield,Barrymore,August Wilson,Eugene o'Neil, Ambassador and a few others. Large scale musicals require seating capacity of at least 1400 to make economic sense. Disney was forced to open “Tarzan” at the Richard Rogers which seats less than 1400 due to the lack of available theatres. This has been a problem for the last few years. The Minskoff which was considered the ugliest theatre on Broadway had to due an extensive renovation before Disney would move “The Lion King” over, but had a seating capacity of over 1600. There is a huge demand for the “Mark Hellinger” but at what price and the church would have to be willing to sell.brucec
The Hollywod(Mark Hellinger) is the most beautiful theatre still standing in Times Square. Im glad the church has taken such good care of this theatre. Despite being a legit theatre for so many decades it still looks like a movie palace.brucec
The City of Pittsburg has restored three of there Downtown movie palaces the Stanley,Penn and Fulton all under other names now. Live Nation meant well but they decided to get out of owning theatres and concentrate on them music business which was bad timing for the Boyd. The city of Philidelphia should realize the potential of the Boyd since Live Nation wanted to present Broadway shows like they did with the Opera House in Boston. The Boyd is the perfect size theatre for Broadway road productions, not to small and not to big. The City should take it from Live Nation if they can’t find a suitable buyer at this time and hold it in trust until a suitable buyer can be found. The Nederlanders and the Shuberts both own theatres that are a little to small for touring shows that are presented for a few weeks. Theatres on the road need to seat at least 2000 to mazimize the gross on the large touring musicals such as “The Lion King”,“Wicked”, “Phantom Of the Opera” snd many others. The Nederlanders just bought out Live Nation’s intersts in Broadway in Chicago and maybe could be interested in the Boyd as there primary house for touring Brodway shows. In San Francisco the Curran for decades was the primary house for Broadway shows until economics forced them to make the larger Orpheum and the ugly Golden Gate the primary Broadway Theatres. The smaller Curran is now used for plays and long run of musicals such as “Jersey Boys”. Philadelphia is not a market for long runs like Chicago,Los Angeles,Boston and San Francisco. Maybe the Shuberts and the Nederlaners should get together and form a Broadway in Philadelphia and use both there theatres along with the larger Boyd.brucec
The city of Chicago needs to put a little money into the Uptown to interest a potential buyer such as Cablevision. The Uptown is the perfect size of theatre for concerts looking for a midsize venue.The city should offer a major tax credit for a potential buyer. The city needs to stabilize the building and spend a little money to get it in operating shape and then a potential buyer might be interested as Cablevision was. I think the biggest problem Cablevision had was the distance from the Loop because the theatre would have been a cheap buy then antoher 40 million in restoration. Cablevison spent 70 Million restoring Radio City and is currently restoring the Beacon in New York. The midsize concert venue is exploding across the US that why the 7100 seat Nokia was built in LA. The Uptown is located in an improving neigherhood and it one of the largest theatres standing in the US. The Loew’s 175th St in NYC with 3300 seats has become a very hot midsize Venue in NYC with many sold out concerts. Just think the Uptown seats 1000 more seats than the 175th Street located in the 3rd largest City in the US. I would conctact the concert booker of the 175Th Street who will be in direct competition with the smaller Beacon in NYC as someone who could compete with Cablevison in Chicago. The potential is there but money must be spent to restore the Uptown and Im sure it would get plenty of concert bookings, since its larger than the Chicago Theatre. The city of Chicago must take the lead and spend some money to open this theatre.brucec
It would be nice if they lit the blade with Palace which would work since it is the United Palace. Im glad this facility is being discovered again. It was fortunate that reverend Ike bought this theatre and preserved it as a church and is letting other use the theatre for other purposes. I was in the theatre in 2002 and thought it was in great shape. I was able to see all the Loew’s wonder theatre except the Paradise in the Bronx. There is only one wonder theatre left to be revived the Loew’s Kings in Brooklyn.brucec
Economics have caused the studios to go Digital as film will no longer be used. With the saturation release of movies in thousands of theatres at once the cost to strike so many prints have become to expensive. The directors such as Spielberg and Lucas are now on the digital bandwagon as the technology has improved. I remember back in the late 1970’s when they were trying to figure out not to use film prints but a signal beam to theatres across the nation,but this never happened. I am amazed how long film has lasted but the studios and exhibitors are now going to share the cost of going digital. It always come down to economics. I loved the era of carbon arc film projection but time marches on and the era of film will be a fond memory.The movie industry is not the same as when I was growing up nor are the theatres they are shown in. Film will always be part of classic Hollywood which was far superior than the Hollywood of today. The studios could use the Music Hall with film premieres but there is very little showmanship left in todays Hollywood. Thank god for Turner Classics they help keep classic Hollywood alive. Who woould of thought that the movie industry’s arch enemy would be the one to keep classic H0llywood alive.brucec
The Pix had a wonderful neon marquee and the Henry Fonda Music Box has a terrible plastic marquee.brucec
I remember years ago Landmark wanted to triplex the Rialto and restore the main auditorium and twin the balcony which could have been reversed later like they did with the Mayan in Denver.Landmark wasn’t allowed to do this so they just let the theatre slowly decline. With a few exceptions single movie screens are not a viable operation due to the explosion of the megaplex which has between 14 to 30 screens.I think the city of South Pasadena should restore this theatre and use it as a multipurpose facility which should inlcude film.I feel the citizens of South Pasadena would love to see this landmark theatre in there city restored.brucec
Come on Brooklyn get your act together. Of the five Loew’s Wonder Theatres the Loew’s Kings the greatest of them all has yet to make any progress. Loew’s Valencia which is in good shape is a Church in Queens, Loew’s Paradise in the Bronx has been restored and is being used for concerts, Loew’s Jersey is slowly being restored as a home of classic film and concerts,Loew’s 175th Street in Manhattan is a church and is fast becoming one of the cities hottest concert halls and then Loew’s Kings in the Brooklyn just sits there.Brooklyn has a very large population and is making a comeback commercially and has very few active theatres. I think Brooklyn should spend some seed money and stabilize this theatre so it doesn’t decline any further. Maybe Brooklyn should restore a section of the theatre to show people what it could look like restored. I have said this before the Kings is one of the most beautiful theatres I have ever seen and I have seen many.brucec
I just took a hard hat tour Of the Alameda Theatre and talked with several people incuding Ken Koch who is working on the poject. The Lobby looks fabulous as well as the Auditorium. They have a new slope for Stadium seating that looks tastefully down. They have expanded the lobby into the back of the house for concessions which will service the entire multiplex.The Vertical Marquee has been restored and they are currently working on the canopy.I took a tour of the BaLcony which has been undivided but is not being restored at this time. I was told that more money was needed to restore the Balcony which isn’t in that bad of shape a little paint,restoration and seats.I wish the City of Alamdeda would step in and furnish the funds for the Balcony which then could be used for many civic events. I would at least restore the lodge part of the Balcony which are the best seats in the house. The painting has been done by Evergreen who is also working on the Fox Oakland. The Main Auditorium still needs its seats and light fixtures.I must say Im impressed by what I have seen thus far. The multiplex which is being built next store still has ways to go before competion.The historic Alameda lobby will connect to the new multiplex. This is the first time I have been in the Alameda since I saw “Thats Entertainment” in 1975. Ken Koch who I talked to at length grew up In Alameda and saw many movies during his youth at the theatre. He heads up the decorative electrical elements of the theatre and has been on site during the past four weeks and this is the first time he has been in the theatre in decades.I think the citizens of Alameda will be pleased and should insist that the Balcony be restored.brucec
Dear HowardBHaas why don’t we have a poll of the current top 20 theatre marquee’s in the nation as well as the top 20 current theatre lobbies.I think it would be intersting what the favorites are as well as helping future theatre restorations with such a poll. I think many times the maruqee is left out when a restoration occurs and some have done fine job like Radio City,Fox Oakland while others such as the Wang in Boston and Fifth Ave in Seattle have done a poor job. I know restoring a marquee can be costly as well as the theatre itself but many times people involved with the project dont realize how important these marquee’s from the 1920’s,1930’s,1940’s and the 1950’s were to these historic movie palaces. Remember the fun starts on the sidewalk.brucec
The lobby of the Paramount is one of the most impressive I have ever seen and I have seen many. The Pantages in Hollywood also has an impressive lobby as well as the late great Fox Theatre in San Francisco. I wish the Paramount would bring back a film series of quality films from all decades and if they don’t maybe the restored Fox Oakland would. I love the marquees of both the Paramount and the Fox Oakland they are quite impressive and among the best in the nation.We should have a contest and ask members what are the top 20 curren theatre marquees left in the nation.brucec
Ken would love to see more adds of the Fox,Paramount,T&D,Roxie and Grand Lake. I remember all the adds advertising the great Fox West Coast Theatre Chain in Oakland Tribune.Thanks for the Ad. brucec
Its to bad the Egytian wasn’t given a beautiful restoration like many of the restored films that are screened at the theatre. There was a nice tribute to Julis Roberts and American Cinematheque in the Friday October 12 issue in Variety which also talked about the historic Egyptian. I miss the giant curve screen which I saw many films through the years. The current screen is a bit small though the picture quality is superb. The Egyptian is a major let down in its current condition and doesn’t look anything like a movie palace. Im surprised that they charge money for tours of this theatre. Can you imagine tourists who come from Cities like St. Louis which has the Fox theatre and then take the tour of the Hollywood Egyptian in its present condition. I have stated this before that cities large and small have restored theatres that look a lot more majestic than the current Egyptian such a shame. I love there programming and they have helped Hollywood Blvd slowly come back from its seedy state from a few years ago.brucec
This question is for Warren and William. How long did the Downtown theatres such as the United Artists,Orpheum,State,Los Angeles,Warner,etc play exlusive runs.I know they often played with Hollywood Blvd and some of the Wilshire Blvd theatres. When did this come to an end and people from the burbs stopped going Downtown.LA was different than most large Cities having a few entertainment zones such as Hollywood Blvd,Downtown,Wilshire Blvd and later Westwood.It would be interesting to see when each of the large Downtown theatres played there last exclusive run and became a theatre for the large Hispanic population which carried these theatres into the 1980’s.brucec
Does LA have any plan to help restore Broadway as a Theatre District in the historic core. The building of the Nokia Theatre with 7000 seats and a smaller theatre with 2400 seats doesn’t help Broadway and it delays the rebirth of this area. LA is one of the only Large Cities not investing in the historic downtown they build everthing around it where they should be spending money restoring the historic core. Its nuts that a 2400 seat theatre is being built in the Nokia complex when you have the Los Angeles,Orpheum,State,United Artists,Million Dollar,Palace and Warner all located Downtown. Its this lack of planning that delays the rebirth of Broadway. LA really needs a new 2400 seat capacity theatre when you have so many historic theatres waiting to be reborn.The Nokia theatre will never be another Radio City City Music Hall as it likes to compare itself to. The Nokia will really hurt the 6200 seat Shrine Auditorium which has made a comback hosting Award shows during the past two decades.This will be the second time LA has turned its back on Broadway, the first was when the Music Center was built in the 1960’s and now the Nokia Entertainment complex. If New York City can revive 42nd Street I think LA can revive Broadway with better planning.brucec
If they hadn’t built the Kennedy Center which didn’t help downtown,the Fox(Capitol) would have made a great theatre for the Performing Arts and wouldn’t have been demolished.brucec
I am happy that Madison Square Garden Entertainment is in the process of purchasing the great Chicago Theatre. It was one of the most sucessful movie palaces in the nation and has been used very poorly and under booked as a stage house. MSG may have the muscle to compete a little better with Brodaway in Chicago. I know that some of the larger productions have a problem with the stage area of the Chicago but some would fit perfectly. Im sure concert bookings would improve greatly since MSG owns both Radio City Music Hall and the Beacon in NYC.Hopefully they can figure out a way of fitting the Radio City Christmas Spectacular in the Chicago. brucec
I wish the Alameda success with there theatre. Is the Mezzanine portion of the theatre going to be used when the historic theatre reopens. Even when the theatre was tripexed the Mezzanine was kept with the main Auditorium. I hope the stadium seating in the historic house does justice to the theatre and not look horrible the way it does with the Egyptian in Hollywood. Most historic movie theatres always had a portion of the theatre as stadium seating either in the back Lodge area or in the balcony of the theatre. The El Capitan in Hollywood was restored many years ago now and the most popular seats are in the Mezzanine portion of the theatre. I have seen many movies here since the restoration and people race to the Mezzanine when they would let the line of people into the theatre.brucec
In response to Don, from what I understand the City would give permission to expand the stage into the street which would provide a larger stage and dressing rooms for the Symphony. The Symphony must come up with the money for this project which they don’t currently have. It would be nice if the City would give the Symphony a low interest loan for this project making it easier to pay back. The Warner is a beautiful Art Deco Theatre and I hope it is restored and saved.brucec
The Empire was a top movie palace longer than it was a vaudeville theatre. Most vaudeville theatres were converted to movie palaces. I noticed that I can’t get a straight answer about the renovation of the Empire Auditorium. I will assume the worst and hopefully I will be surprised. Remember there are not that many movie palaces left to be restored so we should treasure what we have left. The Greatest Geneartion spent many hours in these beautiful theatres to escsape the Depression and help get them through WW11. We will never see there likes ever again. These theatres also represent the heyday of Hollywood and when the movie stars were American Royalty. The preservation of these movie palaces are just as important as the preservation of film. Three of the most successful theatres in the United States are former movie palaces the Fox in Detroit,Fox in St. Louis and the Fox in Atlanta. These theatres are a point of pride in there respective cities. The Midland should have been a huge success story for Kansas City but has not been booked properly under the ownership of AMC so now its going to be a major nightclub/performance space relegated to second place behind the new Performing Arts Center. The Midland was not just any movie palace it was considerered by many inlcuding Maruus Loew himself to be one of the finest ever built. I hope I am proved wrong and both the Empire and the Midland will surprise me.brucec
I was not impressed with what I saw done to this theatre. I remember I couldn’t leave fast enough after I saw what they did to the Auditoruim. Someone should post before and after pictures to show what a horrific butcher job was done to this theatre. A little more imagination should have been used by Trinity and not destroy an historic structure as the Majestic. Thank god the State was given a magnificent restoration what a stark contrast between the two.brucec