Last week, the museum announced they would cease the weekend film series. Then, community members expressed shock. Now, better news that donors may save the ongoing films at the museum!
I very much enjoyed his films. They were heartwarming stories about youngsters, rather than the juvenile fare we too often see in cinemas today. His films were entertaining and art, too.
VINELAND — Louis Ferretti has a vision of the city’s downtown where
local residents come to Landis Avenue for dinner and a show.
He officially announced at a news conference Thursday his plans to work
with Hans Lampart, the developer spearheading the renovation of the
Landis Theatre as a performing arts center, to open and operate a
restaurant and banquet hall at East and Landis avenues.
“You give them an attraction, they will come. It’s like the field of
dreams,” said Ferretti, who owns Centerton Country Club in Pittsgrove.
As the executive chef, Ferretti promised a full-scale menu reflective of
the Wolfgang Puck or Bobby Flay restaurants, both of which have
locations in Atlantic City. He said his restaurant would have valet
parking, total security, full catering and an open kitchen with a
wood-fire grill.
The restaurant will be designed to match the Art Deco-style of Landis
Theatre. Ferretti’s eatery will go in the former Mori building, which is
connected to the theater.
He expects it to open March 2010.
Ferretti initially said the restaurant could be called Landis
Steakhouse, but said Thursday a name would be announced at a later date.
Lampart and him are still in the planning stages, “but when we get the
plans, we’ll hit the ground running,” Ferretti said.
Both Mayor Robert Romano and Sandy Forosisky, the city’s redevelopment
director, shared their excitement for the new partnership at the
conference and are confident in Ferretti’s plans.
“Just look at the job Lou’s done with Centerton,” Romano said
JAlex, what’s your source for that assertion? All sources that I read online state French Renaissance. Naylor’s hardback book specifies the lobby is “French palatial.”
EastCoastRocker, I’m spent many hours on this website documenting and discussing the history of theaters, and doing what I can for their preservation. I’ve put in my dues.
Chuck1231, I have observed that several theater pages were “closed” by the webmasters due to various personal attacks. It is good you are back, but nobody will be “back” if the theater page is closed or the entire forum collapses with personal acrimony- and we’ve all seen that happen with other “blogs” that are now gone from the Internet.
So, if I sound like I’m “stepping on toes” my motive is simply to make sure that people who wish to discuss historic cinemas will have a forum to do so.
Neither this theater page, nor this website, has a focus on Warren, Lost Memory, or any other member “as a member.” When there is controversy, the webmasters deal with it.
Please remember this is a public forum about movie theaters, not a soap opera.
I urge everybody to return to an appreciation of “cinema treasures” rather than the subject of a particular member.
Chuck,
Sorry. I saw only the photo caption. I didn’t see your comparision. Where are the other photos of the Boyd in Easton? Well, please post any such links on that theater’s page. For obvious reasons, I’m interested in any theaters that Alexander Boyd operated.
1969 photo of the Boyd Theatre via American Classics. View link
This photo is incorrectly labeled Allentown. Mr. Wolfe sets us straight as below (his comment elsewhere copied & pasted here)
The photo that you posted above is not the Boyd in Allentown, Pa., but rather the Boyd Theatre in EASTON, Pa.
I had posted this info once before, and notice now that it has been removed. This photo had been attached to the Easton posting, but is now gone from there and has for some reason returned here.
Not all listings on americanclassicimages are correct.
I know the theatre in that photo only too well, as I had my first theatre job there as an usher, and latter leased the theatre. I was the final operator, having closed it in May of 1972 when I lost my lease when it had been purchased by E-Park to be demolished for a parking lot.
posted by RickWolfe on Jul 31, 2009 at 5:15pm
This is from the official website, as History:
Originally built in 1924, The Hollywood building was gutted and rebuilt by Warner Bros. Theaters in the late 1940’s. Its seating capacity was about 914. The Hollywood was a deluxe second run venue, playing Warner, Universal, RKO, Disney and United Artists product. The Harris SouthHills, a mile or two away (capacity about 1300) ran the Fox, MGM, Columbia and Paramount films.
The decor of the Hollywood was art deco and featured a small balcony (seating about 100). A lower level lounge beneath the lobby included overstuffed couches and easy chairs â€" and as the popularity of television increased back in the ’50’s â€" a large screen black and white tv. The rear wall of the lobby (actually the back wall of the main auditorium) was mostly glass (usually covered with a drape that could be opened to accommodate standing room crowds who could watch the film and hear the soundtrack from speakers in the lobby ceiling).
The marquee, containing literally thousands of bulbs and two glass attraction panels, was removed when the city widened the street and the glass tile facade was replaced with stucco.
After the consent decree, the Hollywood was transferred to the Stanley-Warner circuit and was eventually sold (along with the remaining SW properties) to Cinemette Theaters. Ownership was later transferred to the Neighborhood Theaters circuit that closed the building after several years on a dollar policy. Property owner Richard Stern and his CineMagic reopened the theatre prior to its final closing.
For many years in the 1950’s and 1960’s the Hollywood Theatre, with its seating capacity of 980, was one of Stanley Warner’s main second-run neighborhood houses in Pittsburgh, and even enjoyed a spell as a first-run house in the late 1960’s. Later on, Associated Theatres bought S-W’s holdings in the area, which were then sold to Cinema World.
There were several failed attempts to bring this grand old theatre back to life.
In 2009 Motion Picture Heritage committed to re-opening The Hollywood and restoring it to her former glory.
MPH is Mid West group that rehabilitates and operates classic cinemas nationwide in conjunction with community activists. It will be subleasing the space for two years, with the option for an additional six, from the Bradley Center, which leases the building from Hollywood Partners LLP.
The Hollywood was last operated as a second-run theater by the Bradley Center between 2007 and 2008.
“We don’t want the Hollywood to be just a movie theater; we want it to be a complete experience,†says Dever. “Potomac Avenue has a huge potential for restaurants and shops, so we want to help create foot traffic for our neighbors. People get a meal before or movie, or grab a beer afterward. We’ve seen situations like this where revitalized theaters have really improved local economies.â€
Redevelopment officials also agreed to provide CIM with a $4.35-million loan to refurbish the Reseda Theater into a dinner theater. Although work was supposed to begin last year, the construction has been pushed back to spring 2010, officials said. Once the project is completed, the city would turn ownership of the theater over to CIM Group, city officials said.
Redevelopment officials also agreed to provide CIM with a $4.35-million loan to refurbish the Reseda Theater into a dinner theater. Although work was supposed to begin last year, the construction has been pushed back to spring 2010, officials said. Once the project is completed, the city would turn ownership of the theater over to CIM Group, city officials said.
What minority? It would be great for the Montauk to be saved. I would disagree if someone said it would be viable to run classic movies daily in its huge auditorium! but as a mixed use venue, it would be great. The government officials intent on demolition probably aren’t fans of historic cinemas.
Whew! 1st I read that terrazzo was departing, then I read 2 comments asserting it will return. That’s better.
Maybe kids can visit dentists at movie theaters, too, to further inspire them to be fond of cinemas.
Last week, the museum announced they would cease the weekend film series. Then, community members expressed shock. Now, better news that donors may save the ongoing films at the museum!
View link
I very much enjoyed his films. They were heartwarming stories about youngsters, rather than the juvenile fare we too often see in cinemas today. His films were entertaining and art, too.
At July 2009 tour of Theatre Historical Society of America of this very interesting exotic theater, we were told there are now 1752 seats.
The Daily Journal (Vineland, New Jersey)
July 24, 2009 Friday
Restaurant owner officially announces theater deal
By KRISTI FUNDERBURK Staff Writer
<mailto:>
VINELAND — Louis Ferretti has a vision of the city’s downtown where
local residents come to Landis Avenue for dinner and a show.
He officially announced at a news conference Thursday his plans to work
with Hans Lampart, the developer spearheading the renovation of the
Landis Theatre as a performing arts center, to open and operate a
restaurant and banquet hall at East and Landis avenues.
“You give them an attraction, they will come. It’s like the field of
dreams,” said Ferretti, who owns Centerton Country Club in Pittsgrove.
As the executive chef, Ferretti promised a full-scale menu reflective of
the Wolfgang Puck or Bobby Flay restaurants, both of which have
locations in Atlantic City. He said his restaurant would have valet
parking, total security, full catering and an open kitchen with a
wood-fire grill.
The restaurant will be designed to match the Art Deco-style of Landis
Theatre. Ferretti’s eatery will go in the former Mori building, which is
connected to the theater.
He expects it to open March 2010.
Ferretti initially said the restaurant could be called Landis
Steakhouse, but said Thursday a name would be announced at a later date.
Lampart and him are still in the planning stages, “but when we get the
plans, we’ll hit the ground running,” Ferretti said.
Both Mayor Robert Romano and Sandy Forosisky, the city’s redevelopment
director, shared their excitement for the new partnership at the
conference and are confident in Ferretti’s plans.
“Just look at the job Lou’s done with Centerton,” Romano said
The Houston Chronicle Thursday August 6, 2009
3 STAR EDITION/THISWEEK; Pg. 3 RIVER OAKS Bookstop to close, reopen at West Gray Historic preservationists concerned about Alabama Theater By ROBIN FOSTER, CHRONICLE CORRESPONDENT Barnes & Noble Booksellers will close its Bookstop location in the revered Alabama Theater, 2922 SouthShepherd, on Sept. 15 and reopen Sept. 16 in a new store tailor-made for a larger audience just up the street in the River Oaks Shopping Center at West Gray Avenue. The new store brings more books, music and DVD sections, an expanded children’s area and a full-service Barnes & Noble
Café to the well-heeled neighborhoods that surround it. Manager
Jacques Oppinger, a native of the Inner Loop community, envisions a
shared customer base and media tie-ins with the neighboring and equally
revered River Oaks Theater. Plans for the Alabama But the announcement
inevitably leaves Houston’s preservationists, who rallied to save the
River Oaks Theater from demolition as part of that shopping center's
redevelopment, wondering what sort of transformation might befall the
Alabama Theater. A new tenant has not been found, said Brooke Harvey,
leasing director for Weingarten Realty Investors, which owns the River
Oaks and Alabama Shepherd shopping centers where both of the old marquee
theaters are located. Until then, he can’t speculate about how the
cavernous, Art Deco interior, which retains its balcony and terraced
first floor, might be used going forward. “We love the building. We're
just leasing it as is,” Harvey said. “We have no plans to make any
changes. You just won’t be buying books in there.” No more
redevelopment There are no plans for further redevelopment at River
Oaks, either, beyond marketing the new space anchored by the new Barnes
& Noble and a couple other vacancies, he said. “We’re very healthy
there and very excited about what’s going on there,” Harvey said. “If
you disregard the new development section, almost every space in the
shopping center is taken.” With more than 13,700 square feet, the old
Alabama Theater is considered retail anchor space in its strip center,
which is also home to a PetsMart, Whole Earth Provision Co. and Zake
Japanese Cuisine. Based on his 20 years in the business, Harvey said
it’s doubtful the space will reopen before 2010 because of the time
involved for a tenant to redo a new store’s interior, bring in needed
fixtures and inventory. No one would want to open right at Christmas,
he said. It was those types of what-if’s that concerned
preservationists three years ago, when redevelopment of the River Oaks
Shopping Center was proposed, said filmmaker Jeffrey Mills. Mills, who
owns IO Communications in Bellaire, is making a documentary film about
the Interstate Theater chain, which from 1906 to 1976 operated movie
houses throughout the Southwest, including at least a dozen in Houston.
“The last one operating is the River Oaks, and the last large theater
still standing is the Alabama,” Mills said. Interstate, which was once
part of Paramount and later ABC, opened the two movie houses a month
apart in 1939. The Alabama Theater operated until 1983. Mills recalls
the “Save Our Shrines” rally held in 2006 to curtail redevelopment and
save the River Oaks Theater, now part of the Landmark chain. “The
preservationists felt that the more threatened one was the Alabama,"
Mills said. "Its conversion to a bookstore didn’t really alter the
interior of the building, but any other tenant would probably gut it."
Oppinger, who grew up in the area and saw movies at both historic movie
houses, understands the sentiment. But Barnes & Noble has outgrown the
Bookstop store, which it acquired in the early 1990s, he said.
"Operationally, it doesn’t bear much resemblance to what we usually
have,” he said. “The decision is less about sales than about offering
more at the new store. "We’re able to add a full range of services
that we couldn’t retrofit into an old building like this.” For now,
the marquee out front advertises a clearance sale, which will be ongoing
until the store closes, Oppinger said. Surprisingly, most of the
store’s unsold volumes won’t be moved, but will be returned to the
publisher.
Stephen, I’m enjoying your comments as they wonderfully provide much of the history of this important DC moviehouse.
JAlex, what’s your source for that assertion? All sources that I read online state French Renaissance. Naylor’s hardback book specifies the lobby is “French palatial.”
here’s a followup NY Times article on the passing of Reverand Ike and the effect on the church:
View link
hah? he died last week. It took a few days before the webmasters put this on the homepage. It seemed important enough for homepage.
EastCoastRocker, I’m spent many hours on this website documenting and discussing the history of theaters, and doing what I can for their preservation. I’ve put in my dues.
Chuck1231, I have observed that several theater pages were “closed” by the webmasters due to various personal attacks. It is good you are back, but nobody will be “back” if the theater page is closed or the entire forum collapses with personal acrimony- and we’ve all seen that happen with other “blogs” that are now gone from the Internet.
So, if I sound like I’m “stepping on toes” my motive is simply to make sure that people who wish to discuss historic cinemas will have a forum to do so.
Dear fellow members of Cinema Treasures,
Neither this theater page, nor this website, has a focus on Warren, Lost Memory, or any other member “as a member.” When there is controversy, the webmasters deal with it.
Please remember this is a public forum about movie theaters, not a soap opera.
I urge everybody to return to an appreciation of “cinema treasures” rather than the subject of a particular member.
Chuck,
Sorry. I saw only the photo caption. I didn’t see your comparision. Where are the other photos of the Boyd in Easton? Well, please post any such links on that theater’s page. For obvious reasons, I’m interested in any theaters that Alexander Boyd operated.
oops! I noticed it said Allentown. Have now posted it at Easton. Thanks, Richard.
So gorgeous on its exterior.
1969 photo of the Boyd Theatre via American Classics.
View link
This photo is incorrectly labeled Allentown. Mr. Wolfe sets us straight as below (his comment elsewhere copied & pasted here)
The photo that you posted above is not the Boyd in Allentown, Pa., but rather the Boyd Theatre in EASTON, Pa.
I had posted this info once before, and notice now that it has been removed. This photo had been attached to the Easton posting, but is now gone from there and has for some reason returned here.
Not all listings on americanclassicimages are correct.
I know the theatre in that photo only too well, as I had my first theatre job there as an usher, and latter leased the theatre. I was the final operator, having closed it in May of 1972 when I lost my lease when it had been purchased by E-Park to be demolished for a parking lot.
posted by RickWolfe on Jul 31, 2009 at 5:15pm
Thanks to your comment, Ace, adjusted above to reflect Open, with website link, too.
Yesterday, I emailed the NY Times article to homepage for news, after seeing William’s comment.
This is from the official website, as History:
Originally built in 1924, The Hollywood building was gutted and rebuilt by Warner Bros. Theaters in the late 1940’s. Its seating capacity was about 914. The Hollywood was a deluxe second run venue, playing Warner, Universal, RKO, Disney and United Artists product. The Harris SouthHills, a mile or two away (capacity about 1300) ran the Fox, MGM, Columbia and Paramount films.
The decor of the Hollywood was art deco and featured a small balcony (seating about 100). A lower level lounge beneath the lobby included overstuffed couches and easy chairs â€" and as the popularity of television increased back in the ’50’s â€" a large screen black and white tv. The rear wall of the lobby (actually the back wall of the main auditorium) was mostly glass (usually covered with a drape that could be opened to accommodate standing room crowds who could watch the film and hear the soundtrack from speakers in the lobby ceiling).
The marquee, containing literally thousands of bulbs and two glass attraction panels, was removed when the city widened the street and the glass tile facade was replaced with stucco.
After the consent decree, the Hollywood was transferred to the Stanley-Warner circuit and was eventually sold (along with the remaining SW properties) to Cinemette Theaters. Ownership was later transferred to the Neighborhood Theaters circuit that closed the building after several years on a dollar policy. Property owner Richard Stern and his CineMagic reopened the theatre prior to its final closing.
For many years in the 1950’s and 1960’s the Hollywood Theatre, with its seating capacity of 980, was one of Stanley Warner’s main second-run neighborhood houses in Pittsburgh, and even enjoyed a spell as a first-run house in the late 1960’s. Later on, Associated Theatres bought S-W’s holdings in the area, which were then sold to Cinema World.
There were several failed attempts to bring this grand old theatre back to life.
In 2009 Motion Picture Heritage committed to re-opening The Hollywood and restoring it to her former glory.
MPH is Mid West group that rehabilitates and operates classic cinemas nationwide in conjunction with community activists. It will be subleasing the space for two years, with the option for an additional six, from the Bradley Center, which leases the building from Hollywood Partners LLP.
The Hollywood was last operated as a second-run theater by the Bradley Center between 2007 and 2008.
Plans for the 298-seat venue, which underwent more than $300,000 in renovations in 2007, include a café, an eventual liquor license and live music performances. Films will range from classics to cutting-edge indies to contemporary major studio fare, says Bill Dever with MPH.
“We don’t want the Hollywood to be just a movie theater; we want it to be a complete experience,†says Dever. “Potomac Avenue has a huge potential for restaurants and shops, so we want to help create foot traffic for our neighbors. People get a meal before or movie, or grab a beer afterward. We’ve seen situations like this where revitalized theaters have really improved local economies.â€
The last Daily Press article linked above, in March, states the exterior is legally protected. No? is there a more recent article to link here?
View link
Redevelopment officials also agreed to provide CIM with a $4.35-million loan to refurbish the Reseda Theater into a dinner theater. Although work was supposed to begin last year, the construction has been pushed back to spring 2010, officials said. Once the project is completed, the city would turn ownership of the theater over to CIM Group, city officials said.
Redevelopment officials also agreed to provide CIM with a $4.35-million loan to refurbish the Reseda Theater into a dinner theater. Although work was supposed to begin last year, the construction has been pushed back to spring 2010, officials said. Once the project is completed, the city would turn ownership of the theater over to CIM Group, city officials said.
What minority? It would be great for the Montauk to be saved. I would disagree if someone said it would be viable to run classic movies daily in its huge auditorium! but as a mixed use venue, it would be great. The government officials intent on demolition probably aren’t fans of historic cinemas.
interior photos including upstairs, main screen:
View link
/theaters/4308/
(Montauk, Passaic)
The Montauk is going to be demolished and is not mid-sized but is large.