The history of Tent City is more than a little interesting. It was a sort of a resort colony that grew up just south of the famed Coronado Hotel and lasted from about 1900 to 1939 when it was completely dismantled, which explains why the theater disappears from the records after 1940. There is more information about Tent City here: View link. The theater may have been in the pavilion built near the shore; it is mentioned in some of the Tent City newspapers that were printed during the resort seasons as showing “Bioscope” features.
Does Landmark have a Bethesda location? I don’t see one listed on their website. I know they have one in Baltimore proper and that one certainly does have digital projection. Landmark announced in 2005 that it was installing Sony 4K digital projectors in all of its theaters, and their promotional page for theater rental certainly implies that all of their theaters do.
At any rate, considering that Landmark is tentaively offering itself up for sale, I would speculate that if the chain is picked up by Regal, AMC, or Cinemark that eventually 35mm capabilities might well be phased out. If the purchaser would be an outfit such as Robert Redford’s Sundance Cinemas, the situation might be different for awhile, but frankly, I am not optimistic about long-term 35mm capability remaining in the cinemas operated by the big chains much after 2020.
I really share the concern about places such as AFI, the Castro in San Francisco, and other repertory houses; the few that are left may find the so-called digital revolution difficult or even fatal, depending on how studios and film libraries handle availability of classic titles. If digital elements (I do not mean blu-ray or other DVDs) are not made in place of 35mm, it is certainly possible that the ability to show classic films in theaters in an orginal theatrical format may eventually disappear, which would be to me and I am sure many others very sad. It may well be the case, that just as real Cinerama can now only be seen in only three theaters around the world, or as the number of places where an actual 70mm print can be exhibited also has dwindled drastically, the number of 35mmm venues may one day also be very, very limited, though that probably is not going to happen tomorrow, but in ten years, it may well be a reality.
As far as film festivals are concerned, my guess is that the word is out that if you as filmmaker are seriously expecting to reach a broad, international audience, especially in commercial venues, you are just going to have to be able to submit your work in as a digital element rather than in 35mm, if not now than certainly in the near future. I do not know what festival organizers are saying these days in their entry materials, but I am sure that sooner more later most major festivals will have to limit how many 35mm entries are allowable, simply because more and more venues are going all digital, and it may be cost prohibitive to arrange 35mm showings (even if you can find skilled projectionists, who are themselves disappearing from the scene unfortunately). I would think the situation will not be too critical for the big city festivals for awile anyway, but smaller festivals might have a problem if their preferred venue(s) go 100% digital.
I suppose “grand” is – like beauty – very much in the eyes of the beholder; much as I like the Muvico Rosemont (and most of the other Muvico theaters),it is still a false, Disneyesque sort of grand. There is no or little real marble, crystal, brass or ornate plaster, but simulations using far cheaper materials – plastics, fiberglass, sheetrock, not even real scagliola, but I will take it over those bland boxes of movie theaters that were the rage for so many decades.
According to theaterorgans.com, a Wurlitzer organ was shipped to this theater in 1926 which was later repossessed and installed in a church in Windsor, Ontario.
This British Pathe webpage has original newsreel footage of the opening of the Regal, which includes exterior and interior shots of the theatre: http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=30226.
And if they use unimaginative names, they lately have come up with some depressing or starnge names such the Block E in Minneapolis (sounds to me like it is part of a prison) or the Sundance 608 in Madison, WI (named, believe it or not for the area code part of the theater’s telephone number) or the O in Miami. Obviously, I am getting old, but why not occasionally give us a some new Palaces, Orpheums, States, Strands, Tivolis, Rialtos, Orientals, and theaters named after states or cities? These names had romanticism, style, and grace, and even, (dare I say it?) some magic to them.
Apparently, if I am reading the article about “ruin porn” correctly, those that object to photographs of this type feel that the photos are in some sense exploitative, either focusing on the grotestque, ugly, or macabre or used to create an overwhelmingly negative impression of a situation that amounts to a gross distortion. This is no doubt a over-generalization on my part, and I am certainly no expert on photographic genres, but apparently those who take offense at photos of this type liken them to other photos that are used to degrade.
There are pictures and photos of memorabilia releated to this theater here: View link I remember seeing a horror film called “Squirm” here sometime in the early 1980’s.
Indeed very sad. I think this could have been run something like the Ziegfeld in New York, by being kept available for big event films and 70mm revivals.
Janus is still active, though not to the degree it was once. It is currently the major U.S. distributor of the films of Charlie Chaplin.
Its classic releases are handled by Criterion on DVD.
Interior: View link.
If one scrolls down to near the bottom of this page, there are links to three pictures of this theater as the Silver Strand: View link.
This page has both an exterior and interior picture of the Grosvenor/Odeon Bloxwich (scroll down a bit): View link.
The history of Tent City is more than a little interesting. It was a sort of a resort colony that grew up just south of the famed Coronado Hotel and lasted from about 1900 to 1939 when it was completely dismantled, which explains why the theater disappears from the records after 1940. There is more information about Tent City here: View link. The theater may have been in the pavilion built near the shore; it is mentioned in some of the Tent City newspapers that were printed during the resort seasons as showing “Bioscope” features.
The IMAX screen has opened: View link.
Here is an article about the theater’s reopening: View link.
Does Landmark have a Bethesda location? I don’t see one listed on their website. I know they have one in Baltimore proper and that one certainly does have digital projection. Landmark announced in 2005 that it was installing Sony 4K digital projectors in all of its theaters, and their promotional page for theater rental certainly implies that all of their theaters do.
At any rate, considering that Landmark is tentaively offering itself up for sale, I would speculate that if the chain is picked up by Regal, AMC, or Cinemark that eventually 35mm capabilities might well be phased out. If the purchaser would be an outfit such as Robert Redford’s Sundance Cinemas, the situation might be different for awhile, but frankly, I am not optimistic about long-term 35mm capability remaining in the cinemas operated by the big chains much after 2020.
I really share the concern about places such as AFI, the Castro in San Francisco, and other repertory houses; the few that are left may find the so-called digital revolution difficult or even fatal, depending on how studios and film libraries handle availability of classic titles. If digital elements (I do not mean blu-ray or other DVDs) are not made in place of 35mm, it is certainly possible that the ability to show classic films in theaters in an orginal theatrical format may eventually disappear, which would be to me and I am sure many others very sad. It may well be the case, that just as real Cinerama can now only be seen in only three theaters around the world, or as the number of places where an actual 70mm print can be exhibited also has dwindled drastically, the number of 35mmm venues may one day also be very, very limited, though that probably is not going to happen tomorrow, but in ten years, it may well be a reality.
As far as film festivals are concerned, my guess is that the word is out that if you as filmmaker are seriously expecting to reach a broad, international audience, especially in commercial venues, you are just going to have to be able to submit your work in as a digital element rather than in 35mm, if not now than certainly in the near future. I do not know what festival organizers are saying these days in their entry materials, but I am sure that sooner more later most major festivals will have to limit how many 35mm entries are allowable, simply because more and more venues are going all digital, and it may be cost prohibitive to arrange 35mm showings (even if you can find skilled projectionists, who are themselves disappearing from the scene unfortunately). I would think the situation will not be too critical for the big city festivals for awile anyway, but smaller festivals might have a problem if their preferred venue(s) go 100% digital.
I suppose “grand” is – like beauty – very much in the eyes of the beholder; much as I like the Muvico Rosemont (and most of the other Muvico theaters),it is still a false, Disneyesque sort of grand. There is no or little real marble, crystal, brass or ornate plaster, but simulations using far cheaper materials – plastics, fiberglass, sheetrock, not even real scagliola, but I will take it over those bland boxes of movie theaters that were the rage for so many decades.
There is one here, date uncertain: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ed_kindle/4710829612/.
According to theaterorgans.com, a Wurlitzer organ was shipped to this theater in 1926 which was later repossessed and installed in a church in Windsor, Ontario.
According the Wikipedia entry for Westville, the former Westville Theatre is now an antiques store: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westville_(New_Haven)).
This British Pathe webpage has original newsreel footage of the opening of the Regal, which includes exterior and interior shots of the theatre: http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=30226.
This webpage shows a picture of the site today and a copy of an newspaper article about a deadly accident involving the theater’s signage: View link.
And if they use unimaginative names, they lately have come up with some depressing or starnge names such the Block E in Minneapolis (sounds to me like it is part of a prison) or the Sundance 608 in Madison, WI (named, believe it or not for the area code part of the theater’s telephone number) or the O in Miami. Obviously, I am getting old, but why not occasionally give us a some new Palaces, Orpheums, States, Strands, Tivolis, Rialtos, Orientals, and theaters named after states or cities? These names had romanticism, style, and grace, and even, (dare I say it?) some magic to them.
The Moore Warren theater is getting a six-story IMAX screen: View link.
Apparently, if I am reading the article about “ruin porn” correctly, those that object to photographs of this type feel that the photos are in some sense exploitative, either focusing on the grotestque, ugly, or macabre or used to create an overwhelmingly negative impression of a situation that amounts to a gross distortion. This is no doubt a over-generalization on my part, and I am certainly no expert on photographic genres, but apparently those who take offense at photos of this type liken them to other photos that are used to degrade.
A picture of the former Dawn Theater in Sterling: View link.
There are pictures and photos of memorabilia releated to this theater here: View link I remember seeing a horror film called “Squirm” here sometime in the early 1980’s.
There are pictures of the theater on this web page; its official name is apparently the Petoskey Cinema: View link.
A related story from the Dayton Daily News: http://tinyurl.com/3pygqap
A related article: View link
Indeed very sad. I think this could have been run something like the Ziegfeld in New York, by being kept available for big event films and 70mm revivals.
The webpage has pictures of and other memorabilia from the Strand Theatre in Cumberland: http://www.kilduffs.com/SIA.html.
Janus is still active, though not to the degree it was once. It is currently the major U.S. distributor of the films of Charlie Chaplin.
Its classic releases are handled by Criterion on DVD.