Al, you beat me to the punch. I’ve been going Times-Crazy lately through their archives and I found that article as well. Lot’s of Lamb-related articles in their files – and I don’t mean in the culinary sections!
Found an article on the NY Times' online archive, dated June 12, 1941, about the planned conversion of the Little Carnegie Playhouse into “an intimage-type newsreel and television house.” The article mentions that the theater had just ended its “thirteenth season as an art cinema specializing in foreign films when it closed on June 1” and that it had been leased by Carnegie Hall, Inc. for a period of ten years to Jack Davis. Davis is described as “the managing director of the British newsreel theatre chain known as the Monseigners, operators of twelve houses in London and Scotland.” The renovation plans were being drawn up by the esteemed Thomas Lamb and plans were to have it open around Labor Day.
Davis revealed plans to not only provide American newsreels but hoped to negotiate an arrangement with the British Minister of Information to import English newsreels. With WWII raging across Europe by this time (and with the U.S. not yet an active participant), Davis was quick to add that a “conscientious effort would be made to avoid propaganda films.” Tickets would sell for 25 cents.
I wonder if those plans ever came to fruition, if even for just a short period of time. I see Warren had posted a 1942 ad back on March 29th, but the image is no longer available.
This 1990 NY Times article provides a look back to a time when there was still some promise in the air, although much frustration and exasperation had already been experienced by preservationists and movie theater enthusiasts. The article is free, so the link should work indefinitely, however, you may have to register to the website (it is free) in order to view it.
The article’s excellent description of the theater’s interior includes this passage which confirms the design of that ticket lobby, davebazooka:
<< The interior, capped by an expanse of imitation blue sky, is a procession of spaces in the Spanish Baroque style, beginning with a two-story-high ticket lobby with a gilded plaster gallery. >>
The writer goes on to describe the auditorium as being partly demolished and discusses a personal inspection of the RKO’s exterior that revealed windows at the building’s rear that were “wide open with no evident attempt to secure them.”
Another illuminating passage:
<<In 1984, the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the interior, calling it ‘'one of the few surviving examples … of the movie palace.’'
But the Board of Estimate eliminated the triplex auditorium from the designation and only the ticket lobby and Grand Foyer were protected.
In February 1987, a new owner, the Farrington & Northern Development Corporation, began converting the theater to a shopping atrium, but the landmarks agency issued a stop-work order because several spiral columns in the Grand Foyer had been smashed. >>
Conflicting stores as to how the damage was caused (by work crews or vandals) resulted in the landmarks panel issuing not a single violation nor assessing any fines.
Life… would you happen to recall if the Ridgewood Theater in Queens was listed in that feature on Lamb? Over on that page, we’ve been trying to verify if that theater is indeed a Lamb creation. Thanks.
Here’s a 1993 article I found on the NY Times' online archives. The link should work indefinitely as the article is free – at worst you may have to register on the website which is free. Anyway, it’s an interesting piece about how the Empire’s facade was dressed up (and then distressed) for filming of the Schwarzenegger movie “The Last Action Hero.” The article was written at a time when re-development plans for the Duece had stalled for a couple of years and most of the old Duece grind houses sat empty in a state of advancing decay awaiting their fate.
Referring back to Movie Palace NYC’s posting of August 4th, 2005, I found a 1999 article in the Times' online archive regarding the Post Office’s plan to move from it’s cramped quarters half a block down 146th Street into a new complex on the site of the RKO Hamilton. Here’s a passage from the article, qouting architectural historian and preservationist Michael Henry Adams, who lived in Harlem at the time:
“What’s left is the theater, which is the most important aspect of this interior… It’s a typical Thomas Lamb theater with a big saucer dome and decorative plaster work, and little loges, or balconies, flanking the proscenium arch. The loges have these cherubs all over them and there are masks of comedy and tragedy. It is one of those Harlem time capsules.”
As evidenced by Lost Memory’s post of October 4th, 2004, preservationists were able to hold off the Post Office’s plans and ultimiately won the fight to have the building declared a landmark. While members of Community Board 9 favored the P.O. plan, one member, Carolyn Kent, had lobbied the LPC to designate the theater and favored refurbishing the place into a “contemporary playhouse.” So far, I have heard nothing about any efforts to renovate or restore architectural elements now that the place has been designated. I wonder if only the building’s exterior was granted protected status.
I believe this link to the full article will work only if you are a subscriber to the Times and have registered online for the “Times Select” benefit (which is free as long as you are a subscriber to home delivery).
I came across an interesting article in the Times' archives regarding a 1999 proposal to raze the Bayside Theater and replace it with an 8-screen multiplex and chain store mini-mall. I’m not sure if this link will work at all, or for very long if it does, but give it a try.
To summarize, the plan was hatched by a developer by the name of Heskel Elias who thought that the area would be well served by a quality theater and deserved “better than a theater where you have a poor sound system, no elevators and your legs stick to the floor.” Fair point, but a tasteful re-modeling might have been more agreeable. Even though Elias' plan would have resulted in roughly the same number of seats, many residents did not want the additional traffic a sparkling new multiplex and shopping center might have attracted and small business owners feared that the project might lead to higher rents forcing the mom-and-pop stores on Bell off the boulevard. I presume that the owners of the nearby Bay Terrace Shopping Center and the Loew’s Sixplex threw their weight behind the plan’s opponents.
Residents also took a stab at trying to have the Bayside declared a landmark, but those efforts went for naught. According to the president of the Bayside Historical Society, Geraldine Spinella, many of the theater’s historic elements remained including the original stage and theater flooring “under that awful carpeting”.
Warren… you wrote yourself that Lamb designed the Ridgewood in the very first post on the page! I realize you were wrong about the 1913 construction date you originally posted, but have you also retracted your statement on the identity of the Ridgewood’s architect?
Thanks, ‘Tonino… Yup. I’m aware of Lamb’s contributions to theater architecture. The Midway, by the way, was first twinned and then furhter cut into 4 in the late '70’s. The current gut-job that resulted in 9 screens didn’t occur until the late '80’s or very early '90’s. Only the lobby space and mezzanine stair case (with its large landing halfway up) retains any semblance of Lamb’s original design – although even that space has been completely redecorated and altered.
Thanks mikemovies. I was going on the info provided up top, but I do recall that this information was updated in the course of all these comments. Still, I think the idea still applies. Ninety years is nothing to scoff at and probably ranks quite high on the list of continuously operating theaters in the City, if not State or Country.
What better reason to convince the LPC that the Ridgewood is worthy of landmark consideration than those outlined in the very first post on this page (I paraphrase): Opened in 1913, the Ridgewood might be the oldest continuously operating movie theater in NYC if not in the whole the US of A! Has anyone verified the veracity of that statement? If so, I think that’s a good concept on which to build a case. Even if not, it surely must rank way up there on the list, having lasted as it has for at least 93 years!
Thanks Wally. You don’t seem to be entirely sure if RKO built the theater themselves, but you indicate that it seemed to fit in with the usual RKO Twin setup that one found in the suburbs (i.e., seperate lobbies, lighting scheme). What year did you first manage the theater? Perhaps it was conicidental that Pacific built this theater in that RKO-like style. Did you only manage the one side of the theater that was booked the standard Hollywood stuff while others ran the porn side? The split operation at this theater really has me intrigued.
And let us not forget that some of the film is actually set (and was filmed on location) at the West Side Tennis Club’s historic Stadium on Burns Street, just a short walk from the Midway. I wonder what is behind this booking? A one-off revival? An ongoing Thursday classics series?
Interesting article, RobertR. What is that 130-seat New Mini Cinema on Seventh and 47th, discussed just under the photo caption about halfway through the article? The old Mayfair/Demille occupied the northeast corner and I don’t recall there having been one on the southeast corner adjacent to the RKO Palace. I suppose it could have been across the street near the northwest corner of that intersection, but I only ever remember the Castro Convertible showroom and Playland arcade there… Do you think it refers to the Doll Theater which was on the same block as the Demille but closer to 48th? A C of O for that theater cites 160 seats, but the article’s 130 count might have been in error.
Thanks Al. I think 135-35 is still the most accurate for the actual theater mailing address, but the address you suggest is in the range for the building (probably the right—most storefront in the structure) and definitely an improvement over what is now listed. As indicated before, the current address given dumps one in the muck and mire of Flushing creek under the morass of elevated overpasses and hi-way ramps where Northern Blvd interchanges with the Whitestone Expwy and Grand Central Parkway.
Yes. The so-called “Chop-Socky” genre would make for a great festival. I’m in NYC, so it isn’t likely I’d attend, but I’m sure a classic ‘70’s & '80’s grind-house festival might go over well. Tracking some of THOSE prints down could be awfully tricky, I bet!
I really do wish that studios (or whoever owns the rights to old studio back-catalogues) would strike fresh prints more often when restoring films for DVD release. I see so many extraordinarily pristine showings of classic films on Turner Movie Classics and the INHD cable services! Why not run off a couple of prints and throw them back into circulation to remind folks of how great our cinematic heritage is, particularly when experienced the way they were originally intended – with an audience of enthusiastic patrons in a darkened theater and on a big old silver screen! Is the cost so great for such PR? Where is showmanship in this industry???
I was thinking the same thing, MovieMatty! No “Octagon” with the immortal Lee Van Cleef riding shot gun! And what about Chuck’s breaktout hit “Good Guys Wear Black”?
In all seriousness, RobertR makes a great and discouraging point!
Just to close out a “burning” question from the posts of July 18th regarding BrooklynJim’s excellent transit shots of the Alden’s marquee… The co-feature that played with the 3-D martial arts epic “Dynasty” was indeed Andy Warhol’s 3-D “Flesh for Frankenstien” on an eye-popping double bill that played at nabes and grinders all over town in the fall of ‘77, based on some research I did on the NY Times website.
If anyone is interested, you can do a search for “Weekend Movie Clock” on the Times' website and it will return pages and pages of pdf files covering many (not all) of the weekends from as early as 1976. My search was limited to pre-1981. I’m sure many more years of movie clocks may be found if one selectes 1981-Present in search criteria.
LuisV… “Creepshow” was released in 1981, by which time the Alden was already split (was it a twin for a while before a quad?). Anyway, for most if not all of the ‘70’s, the Alden remained a single screen theater.
I tend to agree with LuisV’s warning of a slippery slope. While the FOL should take into consideration the feelings of its constituency, whether or not the theater opens for business on one holiday or another might not have that big an impact on its success or good will within the community. Often, folks just plain don’t care that the world outside their door goes on while they observe their religion. I wouldn’t call my self a Catholic, but that’s the religion of my family and I’ve attended concerts on Easter Sunday and gone to the movies on Christmas Day. On the other side of that token, when I was married to a Jewish woman, I often had to do without a particular concert or show because of the holidays, but I didn’t hold it against, say, The Grateful Dead that their Spring tour seemed to hit the New York area every year without fail during Passover!
Anyway, isn’t it true that strict observance of one’s religion often involves a certain amount of personal sacrifice? What would be the point if the world were to shut down for one’s observances?
Warren… I’ve held my tongue in a civil manner for months and months over some of the more obnoxious and condescending comments you’ve made on this site, but you continue to push me to a boiling point. I would have hoped that with the recent cease fire ordered by Patrick and Ross over the Ridgewood and Willard hostilities in which you played an integral part, you might exercise some restraint and keep your snide remarks to yourself.
What exactly is it with you? You rudely mock others for straying off topic in these pages, and now you rudely interrupt a discussion whose sole goal it is to ensure that the information provided at the top of this page is as accurate as possible – as befits a theater of the Keith’s stature. I’d have thought you, above all others on this site, would appreciate the effort. And on top of that, you pooh-pooh our thoughts and hopes of a restoration for the Keith’s. And don’t pretend that you’re merely trying to point out that efforts should be concentrated in situations where we might have a shot at restoration – on the Kings and Paradise pages, you’ve expressed nothing but negativity about the prospects for renovation or successful revival of those palaces.
To paraphrase one of your own favorite phrases, you boggle MY mind!
Not a single newspaper ad ever ran for the last series, David… nor have I seen an ad for this round. I’m surprised by that as well. Time Out sponsored the last one, so it’s possible there was a mention in that publication. But certainly not in the daily papers. The only mention in the Spring was via an article by Lou Lumenick that ran in the NY Post the day the series opened.
Anyway, I am really upset that I have a business obligation tomorrow from which I am unable to wriggle free, so I’ll have to pass on “Kane” and “Casablanca”. That’s a big disappointment for me. Had I realized that, I might have made a greater effort to try and see the films earlier in the week. Today’s calendar is empty due to the premiere for the movie “Beer League” tonight. I assume that the entire day is needed to spruce up the theater, test-screen the print, set up whatever sundry needs for the press and industry folks and lay down the red carpet. Howard Stern fans will be out in force tonight as the movie stars and was written by Stern radio show regular Artie Lange, so I presume the police will be setting up barricades for crowd control. If I didn’t have plans tonight, I might have joined the throng tonight myself!
FYI… there was also a filing from 12/31/05 with the Building Department to erect temporary walls and such to “protect the Landmark lobby” during construction.
Al, you beat me to the punch. I’ve been going Times-Crazy lately through their archives and I found that article as well. Lot’s of Lamb-related articles in their files – and I don’t mean in the culinary sections!
I absolutely agree, mikemovies.
Found an article on the NY Times' online archive, dated June 12, 1941, about the planned conversion of the Little Carnegie Playhouse into “an intimage-type newsreel and television house.” The article mentions that the theater had just ended its “thirteenth season as an art cinema specializing in foreign films when it closed on June 1” and that it had been leased by Carnegie Hall, Inc. for a period of ten years to Jack Davis. Davis is described as “the managing director of the British newsreel theatre chain known as the Monseigners, operators of twelve houses in London and Scotland.” The renovation plans were being drawn up by the esteemed Thomas Lamb and plans were to have it open around Labor Day.
Davis revealed plans to not only provide American newsreels but hoped to negotiate an arrangement with the British Minister of Information to import English newsreels. With WWII raging across Europe by this time (and with the U.S. not yet an active participant), Davis was quick to add that a “conscientious effort would be made to avoid propaganda films.” Tickets would sell for 25 cents.
I wonder if those plans ever came to fruition, if even for just a short period of time. I see Warren had posted a 1942 ad back on March 29th, but the image is no longer available.
This 1990 NY Times article provides a look back to a time when there was still some promise in the air, although much frustration and exasperation had already been experienced by preservationists and movie theater enthusiasts. The article is free, so the link should work indefinitely, however, you may have to register to the website (it is free) in order to view it.
The article’s excellent description of the theater’s interior includes this passage which confirms the design of that ticket lobby, davebazooka:
<< The interior, capped by an expanse of imitation blue sky, is a procession of spaces in the Spanish Baroque style, beginning with a two-story-high ticket lobby with a gilded plaster gallery. >>
The writer goes on to describe the auditorium as being partly demolished and discusses a personal inspection of the RKO’s exterior that revealed windows at the building’s rear that were “wide open with no evident attempt to secure them.”
Another illuminating passage:
<<In 1984, the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the interior, calling it ‘'one of the few surviving examples … of the movie palace.’'
But the Board of Estimate eliminated the triplex auditorium from the designation and only the ticket lobby and Grand Foyer were protected.
In February 1987, a new owner, the Farrington & Northern Development Corporation, began converting the theater to a shopping atrium, but the landmarks agency issued a stop-work order because several spiral columns in the Grand Foyer had been smashed. >>
Conflicting stores as to how the damage was caused (by work crews or vandals) resulted in the landmarks panel issuing not a single violation nor assessing any fines.
Incredible.
Life… would you happen to recall if the Ridgewood Theater in Queens was listed in that feature on Lamb? Over on that page, we’ve been trying to verify if that theater is indeed a Lamb creation. Thanks.
Here’s a 1993 article I found on the NY Times' online archives. The link should work indefinitely as the article is free – at worst you may have to register on the website which is free. Anyway, it’s an interesting piece about how the Empire’s facade was dressed up (and then distressed) for filming of the Schwarzenegger movie “The Last Action Hero.” The article was written at a time when re-development plans for the Duece had stalled for a couple of years and most of the old Duece grind houses sat empty in a state of advancing decay awaiting their fate.
Referring back to Movie Palace NYC’s posting of August 4th, 2005, I found a 1999 article in the Times' online archive regarding the Post Office’s plan to move from it’s cramped quarters half a block down 146th Street into a new complex on the site of the RKO Hamilton. Here’s a passage from the article, qouting architectural historian and preservationist Michael Henry Adams, who lived in Harlem at the time:
“What’s left is the theater, which is the most important aspect of this interior… It’s a typical Thomas Lamb theater with a big saucer dome and decorative plaster work, and little loges, or balconies, flanking the proscenium arch. The loges have these cherubs all over them and there are masks of comedy and tragedy. It is one of those Harlem time capsules.”
As evidenced by Lost Memory’s post of October 4th, 2004, preservationists were able to hold off the Post Office’s plans and ultimiately won the fight to have the building declared a landmark. While members of Community Board 9 favored the P.O. plan, one member, Carolyn Kent, had lobbied the LPC to designate the theater and favored refurbishing the place into a “contemporary playhouse.” So far, I have heard nothing about any efforts to renovate or restore architectural elements now that the place has been designated. I wonder if only the building’s exterior was granted protected status.
I believe this link to the full article will work only if you are a subscriber to the Times and have registered online for the “Times Select” benefit (which is free as long as you are a subscriber to home delivery).
I came across an interesting article in the Times' archives regarding a 1999 proposal to raze the Bayside Theater and replace it with an 8-screen multiplex and chain store mini-mall. I’m not sure if this link will work at all, or for very long if it does, but give it a try.
To summarize, the plan was hatched by a developer by the name of Heskel Elias who thought that the area would be well served by a quality theater and deserved “better than a theater where you have a poor sound system, no elevators and your legs stick to the floor.” Fair point, but a tasteful re-modeling might have been more agreeable. Even though Elias' plan would have resulted in roughly the same number of seats, many residents did not want the additional traffic a sparkling new multiplex and shopping center might have attracted and small business owners feared that the project might lead to higher rents forcing the mom-and-pop stores on Bell off the boulevard. I presume that the owners of the nearby Bay Terrace Shopping Center and the Loew’s Sixplex threw their weight behind the plan’s opponents.
Residents also took a stab at trying to have the Bayside declared a landmark, but those efforts went for naught. According to the president of the Bayside Historical Society, Geraldine Spinella, many of the theater’s historic elements remained including the original stage and theater flooring “under that awful carpeting”.
Mike, you’re killing me! LOL. Maybe we should re-research whether the word “The” was ever part of the Ridgewood’s name.
Warren… you wrote yourself that Lamb designed the Ridgewood in the very first post on the page! I realize you were wrong about the 1913 construction date you originally posted, but have you also retracted your statement on the identity of the Ridgewood’s architect?
Thanks, ‘Tonino… Yup. I’m aware of Lamb’s contributions to theater architecture. The Midway, by the way, was first twinned and then furhter cut into 4 in the late '70’s. The current gut-job that resulted in 9 screens didn’t occur until the late '80’s or very early '90’s. Only the lobby space and mezzanine stair case (with its large landing halfway up) retains any semblance of Lamb’s original design – although even that space has been completely redecorated and altered.
Thanks mikemovies. I was going on the info provided up top, but I do recall that this information was updated in the course of all these comments. Still, I think the idea still applies. Ninety years is nothing to scoff at and probably ranks quite high on the list of continuously operating theaters in the City, if not State or Country.
What better reason to convince the LPC that the Ridgewood is worthy of landmark consideration than those outlined in the very first post on this page (I paraphrase): Opened in 1913, the Ridgewood might be the oldest continuously operating movie theater in NYC if not in the whole the US of A! Has anyone verified the veracity of that statement? If so, I think that’s a good concept on which to build a case. Even if not, it surely must rank way up there on the list, having lasted as it has for at least 93 years!
Thanks Wally. You don’t seem to be entirely sure if RKO built the theater themselves, but you indicate that it seemed to fit in with the usual RKO Twin setup that one found in the suburbs (i.e., seperate lobbies, lighting scheme). What year did you first manage the theater? Perhaps it was conicidental that Pacific built this theater in that RKO-like style. Did you only manage the one side of the theater that was booked the standard Hollywood stuff while others ran the porn side? The split operation at this theater really has me intrigued.
And let us not forget that some of the film is actually set (and was filmed on location) at the West Side Tennis Club’s historic Stadium on Burns Street, just a short walk from the Midway. I wonder what is behind this booking? A one-off revival? An ongoing Thursday classics series?
Interesting article, RobertR. What is that 130-seat New Mini Cinema on Seventh and 47th, discussed just under the photo caption about halfway through the article? The old Mayfair/Demille occupied the northeast corner and I don’t recall there having been one on the southeast corner adjacent to the RKO Palace. I suppose it could have been across the street near the northwest corner of that intersection, but I only ever remember the Castro Convertible showroom and Playland arcade there… Do you think it refers to the Doll Theater which was on the same block as the Demille but closer to 48th? A C of O for that theater cites 160 seats, but the article’s 130 count might have been in error.
Thanks Al. I think 135-35 is still the most accurate for the actual theater mailing address, but the address you suggest is in the range for the building (probably the right—most storefront in the structure) and definitely an improvement over what is now listed. As indicated before, the current address given dumps one in the muck and mire of Flushing creek under the morass of elevated overpasses and hi-way ramps where Northern Blvd interchanges with the Whitestone Expwy and Grand Central Parkway.
Yes. The so-called “Chop-Socky” genre would make for a great festival. I’m in NYC, so it isn’t likely I’d attend, but I’m sure a classic ‘70’s & '80’s grind-house festival might go over well. Tracking some of THOSE prints down could be awfully tricky, I bet!
I really do wish that studios (or whoever owns the rights to old studio back-catalogues) would strike fresh prints more often when restoring films for DVD release. I see so many extraordinarily pristine showings of classic films on Turner Movie Classics and the INHD cable services! Why not run off a couple of prints and throw them back into circulation to remind folks of how great our cinematic heritage is, particularly when experienced the way they were originally intended – with an audience of enthusiastic patrons in a darkened theater and on a big old silver screen! Is the cost so great for such PR? Where is showmanship in this industry???
I was thinking the same thing, MovieMatty! No “Octagon” with the immortal Lee Van Cleef riding shot gun! And what about Chuck’s breaktout hit “Good Guys Wear Black”?
In all seriousness, RobertR makes a great and discouraging point!
Just to close out a “burning” question from the posts of July 18th regarding BrooklynJim’s excellent transit shots of the Alden’s marquee… The co-feature that played with the 3-D martial arts epic “Dynasty” was indeed Andy Warhol’s 3-D “Flesh for Frankenstien” on an eye-popping double bill that played at nabes and grinders all over town in the fall of ‘77, based on some research I did on the NY Times website.
If anyone is interested, you can do a search for “Weekend Movie Clock” on the Times' website and it will return pages and pages of pdf files covering many (not all) of the weekends from as early as 1976. My search was limited to pre-1981. I’m sure many more years of movie clocks may be found if one selectes 1981-Present in search criteria.
LuisV… “Creepshow” was released in 1981, by which time the Alden was already split (was it a twin for a while before a quad?). Anyway, for most if not all of the ‘70’s, the Alden remained a single screen theater.
I tend to agree with LuisV’s warning of a slippery slope. While the FOL should take into consideration the feelings of its constituency, whether or not the theater opens for business on one holiday or another might not have that big an impact on its success or good will within the community. Often, folks just plain don’t care that the world outside their door goes on while they observe their religion. I wouldn’t call my self a Catholic, but that’s the religion of my family and I’ve attended concerts on Easter Sunday and gone to the movies on Christmas Day. On the other side of that token, when I was married to a Jewish woman, I often had to do without a particular concert or show because of the holidays, but I didn’t hold it against, say, The Grateful Dead that their Spring tour seemed to hit the New York area every year without fail during Passover!
Anyway, isn’t it true that strict observance of one’s religion often involves a certain amount of personal sacrifice? What would be the point if the world were to shut down for one’s observances?
The Landmark Manifesto! Thanks a bunch, Native. This information should be posted as a news item or granted a permanent link on this site.
Warren… I’ve held my tongue in a civil manner for months and months over some of the more obnoxious and condescending comments you’ve made on this site, but you continue to push me to a boiling point. I would have hoped that with the recent cease fire ordered by Patrick and Ross over the Ridgewood and Willard hostilities in which you played an integral part, you might exercise some restraint and keep your snide remarks to yourself.
What exactly is it with you? You rudely mock others for straying off topic in these pages, and now you rudely interrupt a discussion whose sole goal it is to ensure that the information provided at the top of this page is as accurate as possible – as befits a theater of the Keith’s stature. I’d have thought you, above all others on this site, would appreciate the effort. And on top of that, you pooh-pooh our thoughts and hopes of a restoration for the Keith’s. And don’t pretend that you’re merely trying to point out that efforts should be concentrated in situations where we might have a shot at restoration – on the Kings and Paradise pages, you’ve expressed nothing but negativity about the prospects for renovation or successful revival of those palaces.
To paraphrase one of your own favorite phrases, you boggle MY mind!
Not a single newspaper ad ever ran for the last series, David… nor have I seen an ad for this round. I’m surprised by that as well. Time Out sponsored the last one, so it’s possible there was a mention in that publication. But certainly not in the daily papers. The only mention in the Spring was via an article by Lou Lumenick that ran in the NY Post the day the series opened.
Anyway, I am really upset that I have a business obligation tomorrow from which I am unable to wriggle free, so I’ll have to pass on “Kane” and “Casablanca”. That’s a big disappointment for me. Had I realized that, I might have made a greater effort to try and see the films earlier in the week. Today’s calendar is empty due to the premiere for the movie “Beer League” tonight. I assume that the entire day is needed to spruce up the theater, test-screen the print, set up whatever sundry needs for the press and industry folks and lay down the red carpet. Howard Stern fans will be out in force tonight as the movie stars and was written by Stern radio show regular Artie Lange, so I presume the police will be setting up barricades for crowd control. If I didn’t have plans tonight, I might have joined the throng tonight myself!
FYI… there was also a filing from 12/31/05 with the Building Department to erect temporary walls and such to “protect the Landmark lobby” during construction.