During several trips to Seattle starting in 2008, I visited the Grand Illusion three or four times and it became my favorite Seattle cinema for its cozy environment and interesting offerings.
When I returned to Seattle in September/October 2015 to consider moving there, I found that many of the decades-old local businesses whose presence imbued the area with a vibe of creativity I had enjoyed being in were suddenly gone and continuing to disappear, apparently due to an influx of tech industry workers and the rising rents they can afford, changing the feel of the city and my mind about living there… but at least the Grand Illusion was still there.
Reading here that the Grand Illusion will be forced to relocate, and assuming its original location will be replaced by new construction of less character, I am reminded of my disappointment. (I felt haunted into early 2017, like I had visited an old acquaintance named Seattle, and found them changing in a direction that suddenly ended what might have become a friendship.) I hope the coziness I remember will relocate with it.
This context of accelerated change inspired a song for a Seattle area band which became my “theme song” for this situation, “Gold Rush” by Death Cab For Cutie.
If I had moved to Seattle, by now I would have had enough stamps on the Grand Illusion “Cinephile Card” I still keep as a souvenir to earn a free admission.
I visited the Grand Illusion several times on my trips to Seattle and each time I’d arrive, I always enjoyed approaching the scene in this photo from across the street, then ascending the stairs between the two poster boxes with the inviting house-like building on the left, (a separate business from the cinema).
On the day that I see that this cinema’s status has been changed to “demolished”, it will bother me knowing these structures are sure to be replaced by something of lesser character.
In early July 2019, while visiting Seattle for the first time since creating this listing for the University Theater in December 2017, I had the interesting experience of suddenly happening upon the former cinema while driving on NE 55th Street and pulling up to the intersection at University Way in my rental car. There it was to my left, the cute yellow building I had not seen in a year and a half since viewing images of it on my laptop in Miami on the opposite corner of the country. I turned and slowly drove past it, as the physical mentally encountered the virtual.
In recent years, the elements that gave Seattle a vibe I used to enjoy visiting continue to go away…
Compare these to a photo of mine I have uploaded of the storefront as it was during my trip to New Mexico in July 2019 – the marquee is still there!
The description I never posted was to end with:
“In 2019 Iron Cafe, an Asian restaurant, became the latest business to occupy the theatre’s former space – but the rectangular sign that was the Don Pancho’s marquee still projects over the sidewalk.”
In April 2022 it is still viewable on Google Maps.
In addition, I appreciate Ranjit’s paragraphs on “The Demise of Cinema” about the sense of community small art cinemas could invoke in the 1960’s and 70’s that in today’s age of smartphones is mostly gone.
Compare this image to those of the Don Pancho’s when it was open at the top of this page or the black and white image in the upper left-hand corner of this page, both on Ranjit Sandhu’s rjbuffalo website.
If I remember correctly, for some reason when I posted my October 1st, 2018 comment the heading for this listing was spelled “Towne”, so I went with that despite the ads shown in the photos section. The heading was apparently corrected sometime since.
Thanks for verifying that it became the supermarket. I will think of that if I attend the Street Painting Festival (updated link) that takes place this weekend on the streets around the Lake Worth Playhouse, then visit the shopping center the supermarket is in to eat at the Panda Garden restaurant I mentioned. Maybe the Guatemalan-Mayan immigrants whose presence I enjoyed will be there again.
I wish there were a photo posted from the point of view of someone gazing down upon Lincoln Road from the patios/balconies, as I mention in my comment from February 18th, 2023, to better illustrate what I am describing.
The Miami Beach branch of Books & Books that I mention in my January 12th, 2016 comment is gone and the whole space including the hallway that lead to the Alliance (later bookstore) seems to now be occupied by a hookah bar.
I wonder if they still use the Alliance’s restrooms (which had been used by Books & Books).
Before or after seeing a film, I would stand here for several minutes contemplating the view and gazing down upon the Lincoln Road pedestrian mall stretching east into the distance, like people-watching from above.
This was my favorite thing about the Regal South Beach.
Outdoor patios with this view were available on both the second and third floors.
In the 1990’s, before the Regal South Beach opened, I would make the trip over to Lincoln Road to visit the Alliance Cinema before the Regal probably contributed to its closure.
Back in the 2000’s, before or after seeing a film at the Regal South Beach, I used to get coffee and sometimes a sandwich at what may have been called Cafe Del Moro at the far end of the lobby that felt separate from any of the concessions. Across from this a door opened onto an outdoor patio, where I would head out to what felt like a balcony overlooking the Lincoln Road pedestrian mall stretching east into the distance, where I’d stand for a while contemplating the view, and people-watching from above. (There was also a similar patio on the third floor from which I would do the same thing.)
Most often I would make the trip over to the Regal South Beach for film festivals, though a couple times I went for releases that within the county were only playing there. The one I remember is “Shadow Magic”, a drama set in 1902 about the introduction of motion pictures to China.
The cafe space closed years ago, and its empty structure was still dormant, when I stopped going to the Regal South Beach mostly because it seemed the Miami Film Festival was no longer using it as a venue once the Silverspot Cinemas Metsquare in downtown Miami opened in 2018.
The last times I visited the doors to the patios were locked on both floors, making my favorite thing about this cinema inaccessible, (though online photos show they later reopened).
I hadn’t a reason to go back since, but felt nostalgic for these nuances when I saw a headline in the Miami Herald stating it will be closing.
This is where Cafe Del Moro used to be before it closed and remained unused for several years, as I reference in my comment posted on February 18th, 2023 in the comments section.
This remodel is a lot fancier, including seating, while at the cafe you’d buy then sit at tables near the door to the patio to the left of this photo or out on the patio.
“The Palm Cinema 3 was divided into three theaters: The Arts, which showed specialty films; The Variety, which showed discount-priced, second-run films; and Mugs and Movies, where beer and pub food were available.”
While preparing to visit the Guild Cinema during a trip to New Mexico in July 2019, I saw the Don Pancho’s Art Theatre mentioned on the Guild’s Cinema Treasures page.
In January 2020 I attempted to write a description myself using what I could find on the internet but felt dissatisfied with how it was turning out, so I put it aside and life went on.
Yours is much better, detailed and based on firsthand experience.
I hope you create listings for other Albuquerque cinemas that are still missing from Cinema Treasures.
During several trips to Seattle starting in 2008, I visited the Grand Illusion three or four times and it became my favorite Seattle cinema for its cozy environment and interesting offerings.
When I returned to Seattle in September/October 2015 to consider moving there, I found that many of the decades-old local businesses whose presence imbued the area with a vibe of creativity I had enjoyed being in were suddenly gone and continuing to disappear, apparently due to an influx of tech industry workers and the rising rents they can afford, changing the feel of the city and my mind about living there… but at least the Grand Illusion was still there.
Reading here that the Grand Illusion will be forced to relocate, and assuming its original location will be replaced by new construction of less character, I am reminded of my disappointment. (I felt haunted into early 2017, like I had visited an old acquaintance named Seattle, and found them changing in a direction that suddenly ended what might have become a friendship.) I hope the coziness I remember will relocate with it.
This context of accelerated change inspired a song for a Seattle area band which became my “theme song” for this situation, “Gold Rush” by Death Cab For Cutie.
If I had moved to Seattle, by now I would have had enough stamps on the Grand Illusion “Cinephile Card” I still keep as a souvenir to earn a free admission.
Please update to demolished, as per my previous comment above this one.
Palm Beach Post article from October 20, 2023:
“Demolition at The Square: AMC Movie Theater, Retail Space Torn Down for New Office Towers”
I visited the Grand Illusion several times on my trips to Seattle and each time I’d arrive, I always enjoyed approaching the scene in this photo from across the street, then ascending the stairs between the two poster boxes with the inviting house-like building on the left, (a separate business from the cinema).
On the day that I see that this cinema’s status has been changed to “demolished”, it will bother me knowing these structures are sure to be replaced by something of lesser character.
In early July 2019, while visiting Seattle for the first time since creating this listing for the University Theater in December 2017, I had the interesting experience of suddenly happening upon the former cinema while driving on NE 55th Street and pulling up to the intersection at University Way in my rental car. There it was to my left, the cute yellow building I had not seen in a year and a half since viewing images of it on my laptop in Miami on the opposite corner of the country. I turned and slowly drove past it, as the physical mentally encountered the virtual.
In recent years, the elements that gave Seattle a vibe I used to enjoy visiting continue to go away…
Seattle Times article from March 22nd, 2023, “Boarded-up Coliseum Theater to become downtown Seattle art space” with temporary installations by XO Seattle.
A wide shot of the antiquities gallery is included in the slide show at the top of this page on the CGAC’s website about renting the theater.
While researching the description I decided not to post as I mentioned in my February 16th, 2023 comment, I encountered Ranjit Sandhu’s/rjbuffalo’s voluminous informative website about Albuquerque cinemas. His first chapter on the Don Pancho’s includes a color photo at the top, while a black and white photo is in the upper right-hand corner of a collage of Albuquerque theaters in his second chapter.
Compare these to a photo of mine I have uploaded of the storefront as it was during my trip to New Mexico in July 2019 – the marquee is still there!
The description I never posted was to end with:
“In 2019 Iron Cafe, an Asian restaurant, became the latest business to occupy the theatre’s former space – but the rectangular sign that was the Don Pancho’s marquee still projects over the sidewalk.”
In April 2022 it is still viewable on Google Maps.
In addition, I appreciate Ranjit’s paragraphs on “The Demise of Cinema” about the sense of community small art cinemas could invoke in the 1960’s and 70’s that in today’s age of smartphones is mostly gone.
On Ranjit’s webpage there is also a list of and some descriptions for Albuquerque cinemas that are yet to have entries on Cinema Treasures.
Compare this image to those of the Don Pancho’s when it was open at the top of this page or the black and white image in the upper left-hand corner of this page, both on Ranjit Sandhu’s rjbuffalo website.
aeterna,
If I remember correctly, for some reason when I posted my October 1st, 2018 comment the heading for this listing was spelled “Towne”, so I went with that despite the ads shown in the photos section. The heading was apparently corrected sometime since.
Thanks for verifying that it became the supermarket. I will think of that if I attend the Street Painting Festival (updated link) that takes place this weekend on the streets around the Lake Worth Playhouse, then visit the shopping center the supermarket is in to eat at the Panda Garden restaurant I mentioned. Maybe the Guatemalan-Mayan immigrants whose presence I enjoyed will be there again.
I wish there were a photo posted from the point of view of someone gazing down upon Lincoln Road from the patios/balconies, as I mention in my comment from February 18th, 2023, to better illustrate what I am describing.
I wish there were a photo posted from the point of view of someone gazing down upon Lincoln Road from this spot to illustrate what I am describing.
Oh, of course, thank you Mike Rivest266.
I haven’t dealt with newspapers.com (yet?) for fear of happily going down a rabbit hole of newspaper archaeology. : )
I believe one of the films I made the trip over to the Alliance Cinema to see may have been “Visions of Light: the Art of Cinematography”
The Miami Beach branch of Books & Books that I mention in my January 12th, 2016 comment is gone and the whole space including the hallway that lead to the Alliance (later bookstore) seems to now be occupied by a hookah bar.
I wonder if they still use the Alliance’s restrooms (which had been used by Books & Books).
Before or after seeing a film, I would stand here for several minutes contemplating the view and gazing down upon the Lincoln Road pedestrian mall stretching east into the distance, like people-watching from above.
This was my favorite thing about the Regal South Beach.
Outdoor patios with this view were available on both the second and third floors.
Here is another angle from Google Maps.
The closest building below this spot was the Colony Theatre, with its white neon marquee lit up at night.
When gazing down upon Lincoln Road from the patios, the closest building below was the Colony Theatre, with its white neon marquee lit up at night.
In the 1990’s, before the Regal South Beach opened, I would make the trip over to Lincoln Road to visit the Alliance Cinema before the Regal probably contributed to its closure.
Back in the 2000’s, before or after seeing a film at the Regal South Beach, I used to get coffee and sometimes a sandwich at what may have been called Cafe Del Moro at the far end of the lobby that felt separate from any of the concessions. Across from this a door opened onto an outdoor patio, where I would head out to what felt like a balcony overlooking the Lincoln Road pedestrian mall stretching east into the distance, where I’d stand for a while contemplating the view, and people-watching from above. (There was also a similar patio on the third floor from which I would do the same thing.)
Most often I would make the trip over to the Regal South Beach for film festivals, though a couple times I went for releases that within the county were only playing there. The one I remember is “Shadow Magic”, a drama set in 1902 about the introduction of motion pictures to China.
The cafe space closed years ago, and its empty structure was still dormant, when I stopped going to the Regal South Beach mostly because it seemed the Miami Film Festival was no longer using it as a venue once the Silverspot Cinemas Metsquare in downtown Miami opened in 2018.
The last times I visited the doors to the patios were locked on both floors, making my favorite thing about this cinema inaccessible, (though online photos show they later reopened).
I hadn’t a reason to go back since, but felt nostalgic for these nuances when I saw a headline in the Miami Herald stating it will be closing.
The person at the far end of the lobby in this photo is sitting at something new where Cafe Del Moro used to be.
A photo from Google Maps shows the second floor patio/defunct cafe became the “Regal VIP” area since I had last been there.
Here is the edge of the patio from which I’d gaze down upon Lincoln Road.
The person at the far end of the lobby is sitting at something new where the Cafe Del Moro used to be that I referenced in my comment posted on February 18th, 2023 in the comments section.
To the left is the door leading out to the patio from which I’d enjoy gazing down upon Lincoln Road.
A photo from Google Maps shows the whole area encompassed in this photo was the “Regal VIP” section.
This is where Cafe Del Moro used to be before it closed and remained unused for several years, as I reference in my comment posted on February 18th, 2023 in the comments section.
This remodel is a lot fancier, including seating, while at the cafe you’d buy then sit at tables near the door to the patio to the left of this photo or out on the patio.
The Paper article from January 2023:
“The Cinema With No Name: No Name Cinema Promotes ‘Outsider’ Film in Santa Fe”
Interesting, this article, “Palm Cinema 3 Screens Go Dark”, from the October 7th, 2016 issue of The Ledger says:
“The Palm Cinema 3 was divided into three theaters: The Arts, which showed specialty films; The Variety, which showed discount-priced, second-run films; and Mugs and Movies, where beer and pub food were available.”
Wow Mike Rivest266, how do you find these short-lived cinemas that one might assume would have been obscured by their brevity? : )
This one might be the second shortest I’ve heard of behind your listing for the Theater 42.
I wonder how many others are or um, were out there.
rjbuffalo/Ranjit Sandhu,
Thank you for creating this listing.
While preparing to visit the Guild Cinema during a trip to New Mexico in July 2019, I saw the Don Pancho’s Art Theatre mentioned on the Guild’s Cinema Treasures page.
In January 2020 I attempted to write a description myself using what I could find on the internet but felt dissatisfied with how it was turning out, so I put it aside and life went on.
Yours is much better, detailed and based on firsthand experience.
I hope you create listings for other Albuquerque cinemas that are still missing from Cinema Treasures.
Wow!
Does anyone know if this holds the record for the cinema with the shortest life?
Having occupied a former legal office, they could have programmed a festival of courtroom dramas. : )
From October 3rd, 2022, a news segment from Miami’s NBC affiliate:
“City of Miami to Terminate Miami-Dade College’s Tower Theater Lease”
and a Miami New Times article:
“Miami Protestors Oppose City Takeover of Tower Theater”
and a Youtube video:
“Save Tower Theater Miami 2022”
An internet search will turn up more articles/information.