William, the Egyptian looked much better in the 1980’s which was after the D-150 and UA’s lazy maintenance care, than it does today. They completely left out the wow factor created a blah screening room and a theatre half the size. If I had imput at the time I would have restored the main house and used the two small screens that UA used for programming art type films. Could you imagine if the Egyptian had been restored properly combined with there great film programming what a draw it would have been. Look at the Castro in San Francisco which has the wow factor and is a much bigger theatre and then look at the current state of the Egyptian. With all the money that they spent and what they did to the Egyptian why did they even bother they could have used the Vogue across the street.When they retore or renovate a great theatre such as Grauman’s Egyptian people should walk in and go wow what a beatiful theatre and not what did they do to this theatre.I haven’t been with anyone who likes what they did to this theatre. What makes this even worse is the fact that the restored/renovated Chinese,El Capitan and Pantages are on the same street to compare it. I thank god for the Disney company they not only helped Hollywood but helped Broadway. They seem to be the only movie studio left that has any clue about showmanship. Time Warner if they had any class should have taken the lead on the Pacific Warner a long time ago since its in there own backyard and Warner Bros built it.brucec
It still would be cheaper than building a new theatre. The Pacific is in a lot better shape than a lot of theatres before restoration even starts. There is a need for another Broadway house in LA with the demolition of the Shubert and the sale of the Wilshire. The Pacific is the most logical choice. A new stagehouse had to be built for the Oriental in Chicago before it was restored for Broadway shows as well as the Opera House (BF Keith) in Boston.The Golden Gate in San Francisco which is in a worse neighberhood was undivided and brought back for Broadway shows. The Pacific has the perfect capacity,a wonderful lobby and elevator. Every theatre that has been restored for Broadway shows has to do many of the things that is mentioned in the above comments. When the theatre is dark they could use it for special film events and premieres becuase the theatre is lucky to be located in Hollywood.brucec
Enlarging the stage has become common practice across the country. How does the stage of the Pacific compare to the stage at the Wilshire? The Orpheum in San Francisco actually increased the stage by coming forward rather than backward because there was no
room where the Pacific has room to expand backward.I would think that this would be a win for the Redelopment Agency and the City but they would have to work out the small details. The central part of Hollywood Blvd needs a push in the right direction and the Pacific could be a key in its revival and meets the criteria for preserving Hollywood heritage at the same time.brucec
The bookings for the Fox in the 1960’s were not very good and the film studio was having financial difficulties so little wonder that National General wanted to drop this large house. Attendance and film production declined in the late 1950’s which hurt many theatres across the nation. The major studios now were only producing two event films a year presented at the long run roadshow reserved seat theatres with desired seating between 1200-1500. This left the Fox without the big fims they were playing such as the “Robe” a few years earlier. Its to bad that the Fox wasn’t divided into two theatres playing the roadshow fims which may have saved it from the wrecking ball and then could have been restored back at a later date. The balcony could have been turned into a second theatre without damaging the decor because it was such a large space. I wonder if anyone had thought about doing that at the time because the Golden Gate was divided two years later.brucec
Why don’t Pacific and the Nederlanders get together and restore this theare for Broadway shows to compliment the Pantagees down the street. Its larger than the Wilshire that the Nederlanders sold recently. When the Pantagees has long runs such as “Wicked” than can present the rest of the season in the Pacific Warner. Broadway is booming which will filter down to the road in key cities such as Los Angeles. The City needs three locations for Broadway shows. There is enough product for the Music Center,Pantagees and Pacific Warner. I always thought the Wilshire was the wrong location and size for the large scale musicals and the Pacific Warner the better choice and its within a theatre district on Hollwood Blvd.I am sure the City would kick in some funds for the restoration of an Historic structure and would help with the current revival of Hollywood Blvd.brucec
How can a black box theatre destroying the interior of the theatre be exciting. I hate black box theatres. People will look and say what did they do to this theatre. The beauty will be on the outside and the ugly will be in the inside what a contrast. Find a more creative way of preserving the interior and create an intimate space. The more versatile the theatre the more successful it will be.brucec
The Paramount is secure just needs to be a little more aggressive and be happy that the Fox is being restored, it took over 30 years. It will give Oakland a theatre district and two of the largest theatres in California. I think the City should start a Capitol fund for future improvements and renovations as needed. These two theatres have enormous potential if presented properly.The stage of the Paramount should have been expanded years ago to give the theatre more flexibility when booking live acts.The City should promote these two theatres as no other in the state compare and that includes LA. When completed the Fox should be part of the Paramount tours that are presented on Saturdays and charge a small fee like they do in other cities. A little competition between the two may be a good thing. I also feel the classic film series should be brought back ASAP. It should draw on quality films from all decades.The Paramount and the Fox don’t belong to just the City of Oakland, but the entire Bay Area and should draw beyond Oakland’s borders.The restoration of the Fox and the Uptown project should improve the image of downtown as a viable safe place to go in the evening.I would even place in add in Variety to show off both facilities when the Fox opens. There are a lot of people under the age of 50 that don’t even know these theatres exist. If Detroit and Cleveland can turn around there downtowns Im sure Oakland can. The restorations of movie palace’s in those two cities helped bring back downtown.Sometimes you need to spend money to make money.Im sure glad the Fox is getting a full restoration instead of the small cabaret that had been suggested. I think one should always go after the awe factor instead of what did they do to the theatre. A big thanks to Jerry Brown for getting things moving or the theatre would have sat for another 30 years.brucec
When are they going to btring back a classic movie series from each decade?. If it was programmed correctly it would do very well as in the past. The Paramount has enough free time to include this series. Lets get a little creative and use this theatre to its full potential. The Fox will be coming online in 2009 so it would be wonderful to use film to fill in the gaps.brucec
This is the second artilce I have read about the changing face of moviegoing in LA. When I lived in LA during the 1980’s I went to the movies in both Hollywood and Westwood where they had deluxe ist run movie theatres. The new Landmark should have been built in Westwood Village with parking. Instead it has been built in anoher
shopping mall complex.I hope they stick with the art films and let the Village,Bruin,Crest,National,Avco and Festival show the blockbusters. I have a friend who built a megaplex with stadium seating,beautiful decor in each screen and curtains in front of each screen putting most of the large Circuit megaplex theatres to shame and he is an independent who makes money. Since LA is an industry town I expect a certain standard which sometimes in not met. Im 55 and have been going to the movies since I was five and the industry still doesn’t get it. The megaplex in an improvement over the awful multi screen theatres built in the 70’s,80’s but is not comparable to movie palaces built in the 20’s and 30’s and the deluxe roadshow theatres of the 50’s and 60’s. The megaplex still has a few theatres with postage stamp screens. These small screen theatres should not be built, it gives the industry a bad name. There is to much competition now and theatres have to compete and be better than the competition. Harkins Theatres of Arizona has started putting a deluxe screen with 600 seating with a huge screen, curtains duplicating the Cine Capri a deluxe roadshow house from the past in some of there new megaplex theatres, now this is how theatres should be built in the future. I saw both Die Hard and Transformers in the Cine Capri Auditorium and was impressed. It reminded me of the large screen presentations of the past. This is the direction the industry should be taking. The Landmark in Westwood will never be like the Arc Light becuase they don’t have the Cinerama Dome. I can’t give Pacific credit for this becuase the preservationists pressured Pacific in keeping the Cinerama Dome the way it is today. Give the public what they want and its not small screen boring theatres. I think if you bring in elements of the movie palace,deluxe roadshow presentation of the past with large screens this is the way to go.My friend has done this with his megaplex and grosses double what his large circuit competition does. I always hated the Beverly Connection and Beverly Center theatres, you might as well watch it at home on your own big screen TV. brucec
If the Boyd isn’t saved it will be the largest city in the United States not to have saved a Downtown Movie Palace since the Boyd is the last one. The size of the theatre is perfect for touring Broadway shows which prefers theatres seatting at least 2000. The Boyd could be used for many types of live performances as well as classic films. The City should make every effort to save this last movie palace as they have let all the others to be torn down. Pittsburg has restored three downtown movie palaces the Stanley,Penn and Fulton. Baltimore recently restored the Hippodrome and is bringing the Town theatre back to life. Even NYC with its real estate values has saved Radio City,New Amsterdam,Broadway,Globe,Hollywood as well the Loew’s Wonder Theatres out of the theatre district. Live Nation is no longer involved due to its desire to only focus on live presentation and not own theatres.Live Nation saw the value in the Boyd as they did with the Opera House (B F Keith) in Boston or they wouldn’t have bothered. Chicago and Boston have both realized the value of their historic theatres and have made huge efforts in restoring there theatre districts. These historic movie palaces are part of the fabric that made our downtown and theatre districts great in this country. The decline of downtown preceeded the decline of the movie palace after WW11. The restoration of these historic movie palaces helped bring many downtown’s back to life after decades of decline. The Greatest Generation has many fond memories of these historic movie palaces, it helped them get through the depression and WW11.Most of the newer theatres that have been built have no personality and thus have no effection as the great movie palaces from the 1920’s when most of them were built. I hope Philidelphia realizes what it has as does not destroy its last historic movie palace in its Center City.brucec
Mann theatres has lost its importance as a movie chain with the exception of a few select industry theatres. Like the old M-G-M its been reduced to a shadow of its former self. Ted Mann purchased the National General(Fox West Coast)chain back in the 1970’s which was a dominant player in LA until he sold the chain to Warner Bros/Paramount and its been downhill ever since. With the exception of the Chinese in Hollywood and Village in Westwood very little has been done to improve the circuit. Im surprised it hasn’t been sold to another theatre chain. Westwood has suffered the same decline as Mann theatres which was the dominant force in Westwood for years. Landmark is opening a state of the art multiplex at the Westside Pavillion which will not have a positive effect on Westwood Village.I just hope the Fox Village is saved at all costs.brucec
I always enjoyed going to the National. I saw Catch 22 in 1970 in its first year of operation. It was one of the last major exclusive single screen first run theatres to be built along with the now gone National in New York City, and the Astor Plaza. This theatre made money during most of its life but its long term lease was up. This was an industry house and I guess there wasn’t enough financial motivation for the industry to keep one of its last Deluxe houses. This now leaves the industry with the Village, Bruin,Chinese,El Capitan and Cinerama Dome for its major film events.I guess our generation is slipping away and the young people will only be familiar with the megaplex when they go to the movies. I am sure glad I was born in my time where I experienced all the glorious single screen theatres from the Downtown movie palace to the great neigberhood movie theatres.brucec
The store front is the same as it has always been in the many different bussiness’s that were there trough the years. The back part of the theatre was turned into bathrooms for the handicapped as well as seats for the handicapped which removed some rows of seating in the back of the auditorium. I saw many movies here through the years of being the Paramount,Loew’s,Cinema and El Capitan. Disney has done a great job of making the El Capitan there flagship theatre for Disney product through the years. Its to bad the other major studios didn’t due the same with the other theatres on the Boulevard. The El Capitan is run like the deluxe houses of yesteryear.brucec
The front of the Loew’s KIngs needs to be cleaned up by the City to get the ball rolling. The City needs to spend a little money cleaning the front and make the marquee presentable where it could be used to post messages until the theatre is operational. The lobby could be worked on first to show people what could be done with the rest of the theatre. The Auditorium could be worked on in stages.The necessary repairs need to be made so no more damage occurs to the theatre. When I saw the Kings in 2002 many seats were in good shape and they should be covered and protected. The City should provide some heat so no more damage occurs. I only hope city government is really serious about saving the Kings becuase I see very little action being done to stabalize this theatre.brucec
The problem New York City had in saving there Times Square movie palaces is that the city had so many legit theatres.The demand for larger musical theatres didn’t take place until the 1990’s after all the large movie palaces had been demolished. Its a shame that a skyscraper couldn’t have been built over the Loews Capitol becuase this theatre had a large stage and would have made a great Broadway House instead of the Ugly Gershwin (Uris) Theatre. Thank god the Hollwood (Mark Hellinger) is still standing. The San Francisco Fox one of the greatest movie palaces ever built had a chance to be saved and the voters turned it down. There is a lot of blame to go around for the demise of our beloved movie palaces but I wouldn’t be to harsh with the Mayor of New York there were forces beyond his control. The fight to save the Music Hall made national news and thank god it was saved. The Shuberts pushed very hard to have the City clean up Times Square which has been a major plus for Broadway and tourism. I give credit to Disney for restoring the New Amsterdam when 42nd St looked like shit and nobody else wanted to invest in the area. I think the speed of development in Times Square even surprised the City of New York.brucec
A Major blow to the huge movie palaces around the country was the drop in attendace in the late 1950’s,with a drastic reduction in movie production resulting in fewer releases and the birth of the roadshow reserved seat event film which would run from 6 months to a year in the major markets. Each of the major studios would release up to two event films a year and would prefer to book them in theatres seating between 1200-1500 seats. The event films would be exclusive runs but other films released started opening more and more on showcase runs in the 1960’s. Downtown’s across the country were on a slow decline by the mid 1960’s, some more rapidly than others. Real Estate was also a factor in the decline and fall of many movie palaces around the country. The Times Square Capitol a successful roadshow house at the end of its life was demolished to make way for a skyscraper and Loews repaced the Capitol by twinning the Times Square State into two roadshow houses. The 1970’s ended the era of the movie palace as more films were relaesed wide and more business was being done in the suburbs rather than downtown. The decline of the single screen theatre started slowly in the 1960’s and was dead by the 1980’s with a few exceptions.The twin,triplex,sixplex which replaced the single screen theatre were replaced by the megaplex 14-30 screen theatres in the 1990’s. Most restored movie palaces are used for live stage and not movies. I always hope that movies are part of a restored movie palace future life such as the Fox in Atlanta with there classic summer movie program. I have to give credit to the Friends of the Loews Jersey for bringing movies back to a big movie palace. The Kings has suffered and lasted this long so she can be restored back to the people of Brooklyn.brucec
I recently took a walk on Market Street from the Orpheum down to the closed St Francis theatre. I found it seedy,dangerous and disgusting. Boston,Cleveland and Chicago have cleaned up there theatre districts in recent years with a lot of success. I was ashamed of San Francisco’s old theatre district. I will never attend another event at the Golden Gate until the city gets its act together.The city has allowed a very seedy element to take over this area and I was nervous walking between the homeless,drug dealers and dangerous appearing individuals. I blame City Hall and its a black eye for the City. The Golden Gate has to have a lot of security when they have a show in this area. The city has allowed this part of Market Street to look this way for decades. I don’t know of another major American City that has allowed there main street to stay this way for so long without trying to clean it up and make it safer. It looks worse than the last time I was down there a couple of years ago.bruce
What is the latest news on the Midland? You would think with all the development in the area this theatre would be secure not the other way around. I cannot understand the City government not providing funds to help secure this theatre as a performing arts center when they are spending so much redevelopment money on the Power and Light District.brucec
I think Brooklyn should stabalize the theatre so no more damage occurs. I think Brooklyn should look at what the City of Oakland in California is doing with the Fox Oakland. The City is going to spend 47 Million on a Charter School which will surround the Fox and money will be spent on the theatre to get it operational. It is called the ruins project and full restoration will come later. The Fox Oakland seats around 3500 and has been closed since the early 1970’s. The Fox has a new roof,a restored marquee and no seats. I think Brooklyn should look at doing some repairs to the Kings to get it operational and slowly restore the theatre in stages as funds become available. I think a small section of the theatre should be restored next to an area that has been damaged to show people what the theate could be and to show that some progress is being made. I would clean and restore the front of the theatre so it doesn’t look like an eyesore to the surrounding neighberhood. The City of Oakland spent $600,000 restoring the marquee in the front of the Fox a few years ago and this gave the theatre a big boost in the eyes of the public.brucec
All the major Hollywood film palaces are open and being used. The smaller theatres are the ones that are either closed or have been demolished. Every major theatre has been restored or renovated with the exception of the Pacific(Warner).brucec
Most American cities have restored at least one to two of there downtown movie palaces. Its a shame that the Paramount was torn down after surviving so many years. Both Memphis and Knoxville have restored downtown movie palaces. Nashville joins a very short list of cities not to have any historic downtown movie palaces left.brucec
William, the Egyptian looked much better in the 1980’s which was after the D-150 and UA’s lazy maintenance care, than it does today. They completely left out the wow factor created a blah screening room and a theatre half the size. If I had imput at the time I would have restored the main house and used the two small screens that UA used for programming art type films. Could you imagine if the Egyptian had been restored properly combined with there great film programming what a draw it would have been. Look at the Castro in San Francisco which has the wow factor and is a much bigger theatre and then look at the current state of the Egyptian. With all the money that they spent and what they did to the Egyptian why did they even bother they could have used the Vogue across the street.When they retore or renovate a great theatre such as Grauman’s Egyptian people should walk in and go wow what a beatiful theatre and not what did they do to this theatre.I haven’t been with anyone who likes what they did to this theatre. What makes this even worse is the fact that the restored/renovated Chinese,El Capitan and Pantages are on the same street to compare it. I thank god for the Disney company they not only helped Hollywood but helped Broadway. They seem to be the only movie studio left that has any clue about showmanship. Time Warner if they had any class should have taken the lead on the Pacific Warner a long time ago since its in there own backyard and Warner Bros built it.brucec
It still would be cheaper than building a new theatre. The Pacific is in a lot better shape than a lot of theatres before restoration even starts. There is a need for another Broadway house in LA with the demolition of the Shubert and the sale of the Wilshire. The Pacific is the most logical choice. A new stagehouse had to be built for the Oriental in Chicago before it was restored for Broadway shows as well as the Opera House (BF Keith) in Boston.The Golden Gate in San Francisco which is in a worse neighberhood was undivided and brought back for Broadway shows. The Pacific has the perfect capacity,a wonderful lobby and elevator. Every theatre that has been restored for Broadway shows has to do many of the things that is mentioned in the above comments. When the theatre is dark they could use it for special film events and premieres becuase the theatre is lucky to be located in Hollywood.brucec
Enlarging the stage has become common practice across the country. How does the stage of the Pacific compare to the stage at the Wilshire? The Orpheum in San Francisco actually increased the stage by coming forward rather than backward because there was no
room where the Pacific has room to expand backward.I would think that this would be a win for the Redelopment Agency and the City but they would have to work out the small details. The central part of Hollywood Blvd needs a push in the right direction and the Pacific could be a key in its revival and meets the criteria for preserving Hollywood heritage at the same time.brucec
The bookings for the Fox in the 1960’s were not very good and the film studio was having financial difficulties so little wonder that National General wanted to drop this large house. Attendance and film production declined in the late 1950’s which hurt many theatres across the nation. The major studios now were only producing two event films a year presented at the long run roadshow reserved seat theatres with desired seating between 1200-1500. This left the Fox without the big fims they were playing such as the “Robe” a few years earlier. Its to bad that the Fox wasn’t divided into two theatres playing the roadshow fims which may have saved it from the wrecking ball and then could have been restored back at a later date. The balcony could have been turned into a second theatre without damaging the decor because it was such a large space. I wonder if anyone had thought about doing that at the time because the Golden Gate was divided two years later.brucec
Why don’t Pacific and the Nederlanders get together and restore this theare for Broadway shows to compliment the Pantagees down the street. Its larger than the Wilshire that the Nederlanders sold recently. When the Pantagees has long runs such as “Wicked” than can present the rest of the season in the Pacific Warner. Broadway is booming which will filter down to the road in key cities such as Los Angeles. The City needs three locations for Broadway shows. There is enough product for the Music Center,Pantagees and Pacific Warner. I always thought the Wilshire was the wrong location and size for the large scale musicals and the Pacific Warner the better choice and its within a theatre district on Hollwood Blvd.I am sure the City would kick in some funds for the restoration of an Historic structure and would help with the current revival of Hollywood Blvd.brucec
How can a black box theatre destroying the interior of the theatre be exciting. I hate black box theatres. People will look and say what did they do to this theatre. The beauty will be on the outside and the ugly will be in the inside what a contrast. Find a more creative way of preserving the interior and create an intimate space. The more versatile the theatre the more successful it will be.brucec
The Paramount is secure just needs to be a little more aggressive and be happy that the Fox is being restored, it took over 30 years. It will give Oakland a theatre district and two of the largest theatres in California. I think the City should start a Capitol fund for future improvements and renovations as needed. These two theatres have enormous potential if presented properly.The stage of the Paramount should have been expanded years ago to give the theatre more flexibility when booking live acts.The City should promote these two theatres as no other in the state compare and that includes LA. When completed the Fox should be part of the Paramount tours that are presented on Saturdays and charge a small fee like they do in other cities. A little competition between the two may be a good thing. I also feel the classic film series should be brought back ASAP. It should draw on quality films from all decades.The Paramount and the Fox don’t belong to just the City of Oakland, but the entire Bay Area and should draw beyond Oakland’s borders.The restoration of the Fox and the Uptown project should improve the image of downtown as a viable safe place to go in the evening.I would even place in add in Variety to show off both facilities when the Fox opens. There are a lot of people under the age of 50 that don’t even know these theatres exist. If Detroit and Cleveland can turn around there downtowns Im sure Oakland can. The restorations of movie palace’s in those two cities helped bring back downtown.Sometimes you need to spend money to make money.Im sure glad the Fox is getting a full restoration instead of the small cabaret that had been suggested. I think one should always go after the awe factor instead of what did they do to the theatre. A big thanks to Jerry Brown for getting things moving or the theatre would have sat for another 30 years.brucec
The Lensic needs to restore the vertical it looks to blah without it. brucec
William what are the two broadway theatre projects in the works? I think the Henry Miller is one but what is the other one?
Thanks Brucec
IN the above postcard picture you can also see the vertical of the Warfield Theatre.brucec
When are they going to btring back a classic movie series from each decade?. If it was programmed correctly it would do very well as in the past. The Paramount has enough free time to include this series. Lets get a little creative and use this theatre to its full potential. The Fox will be coming online in 2009 so it would be wonderful to use film to fill in the gaps.brucec
This is the second artilce I have read about the changing face of moviegoing in LA. When I lived in LA during the 1980’s I went to the movies in both Hollywood and Westwood where they had deluxe ist run movie theatres. The new Landmark should have been built in Westwood Village with parking. Instead it has been built in anoher
shopping mall complex.I hope they stick with the art films and let the Village,Bruin,Crest,National,Avco and Festival show the blockbusters. I have a friend who built a megaplex with stadium seating,beautiful decor in each screen and curtains in front of each screen putting most of the large Circuit megaplex theatres to shame and he is an independent who makes money. Since LA is an industry town I expect a certain standard which sometimes in not met. Im 55 and have been going to the movies since I was five and the industry still doesn’t get it. The megaplex in an improvement over the awful multi screen theatres built in the 70’s,80’s but is not comparable to movie palaces built in the 20’s and 30’s and the deluxe roadshow theatres of the 50’s and 60’s. The megaplex still has a few theatres with postage stamp screens. These small screen theatres should not be built, it gives the industry a bad name. There is to much competition now and theatres have to compete and be better than the competition. Harkins Theatres of Arizona has started putting a deluxe screen with 600 seating with a huge screen, curtains duplicating the Cine Capri a deluxe roadshow house from the past in some of there new megaplex theatres, now this is how theatres should be built in the future. I saw both Die Hard and Transformers in the Cine Capri Auditorium and was impressed. It reminded me of the large screen presentations of the past. This is the direction the industry should be taking. The Landmark in Westwood will never be like the Arc Light becuase they don’t have the Cinerama Dome. I can’t give Pacific credit for this becuase the preservationists pressured Pacific in keeping the Cinerama Dome the way it is today. Give the public what they want and its not small screen boring theatres. I think if you bring in elements of the movie palace,deluxe roadshow presentation of the past with large screens this is the way to go.My friend has done this with his megaplex and grosses double what his large circuit competition does. I always hated the Beverly Connection and Beverly Center theatres, you might as well watch it at home on your own big screen TV. brucec
If the Boyd isn’t saved it will be the largest city in the United States not to have saved a Downtown Movie Palace since the Boyd is the last one. The size of the theatre is perfect for touring Broadway shows which prefers theatres seatting at least 2000. The Boyd could be used for many types of live performances as well as classic films. The City should make every effort to save this last movie palace as they have let all the others to be torn down. Pittsburg has restored three downtown movie palaces the Stanley,Penn and Fulton. Baltimore recently restored the Hippodrome and is bringing the Town theatre back to life. Even NYC with its real estate values has saved Radio City,New Amsterdam,Broadway,Globe,Hollywood as well the Loew’s Wonder Theatres out of the theatre district. Live Nation is no longer involved due to its desire to only focus on live presentation and not own theatres.Live Nation saw the value in the Boyd as they did with the Opera House (B F Keith) in Boston or they wouldn’t have bothered. Chicago and Boston have both realized the value of their historic theatres and have made huge efforts in restoring there theatre districts. These historic movie palaces are part of the fabric that made our downtown and theatre districts great in this country. The decline of downtown preceeded the decline of the movie palace after WW11. The restoration of these historic movie palaces helped bring many downtown’s back to life after decades of decline. The Greatest Generation has many fond memories of these historic movie palaces, it helped them get through the depression and WW11.Most of the newer theatres that have been built have no personality and thus have no effection as the great movie palaces from the 1920’s when most of them were built. I hope Philidelphia realizes what it has as does not destroy its last historic movie palace in its Center City.brucec
Mann theatres has lost its importance as a movie chain with the exception of a few select industry theatres. Like the old M-G-M its been reduced to a shadow of its former self. Ted Mann purchased the National General(Fox West Coast)chain back in the 1970’s which was a dominant player in LA until he sold the chain to Warner Bros/Paramount and its been downhill ever since. With the exception of the Chinese in Hollywood and Village in Westwood very little has been done to improve the circuit. Im surprised it hasn’t been sold to another theatre chain. Westwood has suffered the same decline as Mann theatres which was the dominant force in Westwood for years. Landmark is opening a state of the art multiplex at the Westside Pavillion which will not have a positive effect on Westwood Village.I just hope the Fox Village is saved at all costs.brucec
I always enjoyed going to the National. I saw Catch 22 in 1970 in its first year of operation. It was one of the last major exclusive single screen first run theatres to be built along with the now gone National in New York City, and the Astor Plaza. This theatre made money during most of its life but its long term lease was up. This was an industry house and I guess there wasn’t enough financial motivation for the industry to keep one of its last Deluxe houses. This now leaves the industry with the Village, Bruin,Chinese,El Capitan and Cinerama Dome for its major film events.I guess our generation is slipping away and the young people will only be familiar with the megaplex when they go to the movies. I am sure glad I was born in my time where I experienced all the glorious single screen theatres from the Downtown movie palace to the great neigberhood movie theatres.brucec
The store front is the same as it has always been in the many different bussiness’s that were there trough the years. The back part of the theatre was turned into bathrooms for the handicapped as well as seats for the handicapped which removed some rows of seating in the back of the auditorium. I saw many movies here through the years of being the Paramount,Loew’s,Cinema and El Capitan. Disney has done a great job of making the El Capitan there flagship theatre for Disney product through the years. Its to bad the other major studios didn’t due the same with the other theatres on the Boulevard. The El Capitan is run like the deluxe houses of yesteryear.brucec
The front of the Loew’s KIngs needs to be cleaned up by the City to get the ball rolling. The City needs to spend a little money cleaning the front and make the marquee presentable where it could be used to post messages until the theatre is operational. The lobby could be worked on first to show people what could be done with the rest of the theatre. The Auditorium could be worked on in stages.The necessary repairs need to be made so no more damage occurs to the theatre. When I saw the Kings in 2002 many seats were in good shape and they should be covered and protected. The City should provide some heat so no more damage occurs. I only hope city government is really serious about saving the Kings becuase I see very little action being done to stabalize this theatre.brucec
Love to see more photos of Times Square picture palace marquee’s from the 1950’s. Thanks Robert for the great photo.brucec
The problem New York City had in saving there Times Square movie palaces is that the city had so many legit theatres.The demand for larger musical theatres didn’t take place until the 1990’s after all the large movie palaces had been demolished. Its a shame that a skyscraper couldn’t have been built over the Loews Capitol becuase this theatre had a large stage and would have made a great Broadway House instead of the Ugly Gershwin (Uris) Theatre. Thank god the Hollwood (Mark Hellinger) is still standing. The San Francisco Fox one of the greatest movie palaces ever built had a chance to be saved and the voters turned it down. There is a lot of blame to go around for the demise of our beloved movie palaces but I wouldn’t be to harsh with the Mayor of New York there were forces beyond his control. The fight to save the Music Hall made national news and thank god it was saved. The Shuberts pushed very hard to have the City clean up Times Square which has been a major plus for Broadway and tourism. I give credit to Disney for restoring the New Amsterdam when 42nd St looked like shit and nobody else wanted to invest in the area. I think the speed of development in Times Square even surprised the City of New York.brucec
A Major blow to the huge movie palaces around the country was the drop in attendace in the late 1950’s,with a drastic reduction in movie production resulting in fewer releases and the birth of the roadshow reserved seat event film which would run from 6 months to a year in the major markets. Each of the major studios would release up to two event films a year and would prefer to book them in theatres seating between 1200-1500 seats. The event films would be exclusive runs but other films released started opening more and more on showcase runs in the 1960’s. Downtown’s across the country were on a slow decline by the mid 1960’s, some more rapidly than others. Real Estate was also a factor in the decline and fall of many movie palaces around the country. The Times Square Capitol a successful roadshow house at the end of its life was demolished to make way for a skyscraper and Loews repaced the Capitol by twinning the Times Square State into two roadshow houses. The 1970’s ended the era of the movie palace as more films were relaesed wide and more business was being done in the suburbs rather than downtown. The decline of the single screen theatre started slowly in the 1960’s and was dead by the 1980’s with a few exceptions.The twin,triplex,sixplex which replaced the single screen theatre were replaced by the megaplex 14-30 screen theatres in the 1990’s. Most restored movie palaces are used for live stage and not movies. I always hope that movies are part of a restored movie palace future life such as the Fox in Atlanta with there classic summer movie program. I have to give credit to the Friends of the Loews Jersey for bringing movies back to a big movie palace. The Kings has suffered and lasted this long so she can be restored back to the people of Brooklyn.brucec
I recently took a walk on Market Street from the Orpheum down to the closed St Francis theatre. I found it seedy,dangerous and disgusting. Boston,Cleveland and Chicago have cleaned up there theatre districts in recent years with a lot of success. I was ashamed of San Francisco’s old theatre district. I will never attend another event at the Golden Gate until the city gets its act together.The city has allowed a very seedy element to take over this area and I was nervous walking between the homeless,drug dealers and dangerous appearing individuals. I blame City Hall and its a black eye for the City. The Golden Gate has to have a lot of security when they have a show in this area. The city has allowed this part of Market Street to look this way for decades. I don’t know of another major American City that has allowed there main street to stay this way for so long without trying to clean it up and make it safer. It looks worse than the last time I was down there a couple of years ago.bruce
What is the latest news on the Midland? You would think with all the development in the area this theatre would be secure not the other way around. I cannot understand the City government not providing funds to help secure this theatre as a performing arts center when they are spending so much redevelopment money on the Power and Light District.brucec
I think Brooklyn should stabalize the theatre so no more damage occurs. I think Brooklyn should look at what the City of Oakland in California is doing with the Fox Oakland. The City is going to spend 47 Million on a Charter School which will surround the Fox and money will be spent on the theatre to get it operational. It is called the ruins project and full restoration will come later. The Fox Oakland seats around 3500 and has been closed since the early 1970’s. The Fox has a new roof,a restored marquee and no seats. I think Brooklyn should look at doing some repairs to the Kings to get it operational and slowly restore the theatre in stages as funds become available. I think a small section of the theatre should be restored next to an area that has been damaged to show people what the theate could be and to show that some progress is being made. I would clean and restore the front of the theatre so it doesn’t look like an eyesore to the surrounding neighberhood. The City of Oakland spent $600,000 restoring the marquee in the front of the Fox a few years ago and this gave the theatre a big boost in the eyes of the public.brucec
All the major Hollywood film palaces are open and being used. The smaller theatres are the ones that are either closed or have been demolished. Every major theatre has been restored or renovated with the exception of the Pacific(Warner).brucec
Most American cities have restored at least one to two of there downtown movie palaces. Its a shame that the Paramount was torn down after surviving so many years. Both Memphis and Knoxville have restored downtown movie palaces. Nashville joins a very short list of cities not to have any historic downtown movie palaces left.brucec