I also saw Help at the Crest in ‘65. That same year the Crest had It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World a couple years after it premiered at the Cinerama Dome up in Los Angeles.
I remember running several single lens polarized 3D films during the early 80’s. One was Spacehunter. The picture ratio was similar to cinemascope at 2.35 to 1. After all these years I still have those polarized 3D glasses.
Another north L.B. theatre may bite the dust. Anyone remember the Crest and Towne just a few block down from the Atlantic. I saw several films there including A Man Called Horse, Napoleon and Samantha and Those Calloways.
The market is better in Los Angeles. A new 54 story Ritz-Carlton hotel and condos is opening next month in the downtown financial district and as reported by the Los Angeles Downtown News the condos are 80 percent sold so there may be a need for more condos in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles. Also reported by the LADN a new 35 story condo project on downtown’s West 9th Street recently auctioned off nearly all of it’s units.
This drive-in was near the 405 freeway. Back in the 60’s we used to get off the Bellflower exit to get to the drive-in to see those beach party films. The last time I went there was to see a double bill, Bronco Billy and Under the Rainbow back in 1981.
Scope films were shown at the Tower many times over but instead of the side masking moving outward to accomodate a scope size image the top masking moved down instead. Yes, it was a pretty good size 1.85:1 image for flat pictures but lousy for scope. As a movie-goer in my late teens I saw a reissue of Dr. Zhivago (in scope) at the Tower in November of 1970.
For 49 cents the movies I saw at the Rivoli in the early 70’s included Poseidon Adventure, Evil Knievel, Oliver, Billy Jack, and Let It Be. The auditorium floor as usually sticky or slippery and a friend who was with me pointed out a huge but dead cockroach on the floor. I remember sitting in a seat where the springs were poking through the fabric and into my behind but hey what do you expect for a 49 cent ticket. Wasn’t the Rivoli a Pacific Theatre for a time?
When I was 8 years old mom took us kids to the State to see 101 Dalmations in 1961. To get to the State from the other side of the street we crossed under Ocean Boulevard using a tunnel.
I remember going to the UA in Downtown Long Beach as a kid in the 60’s. I also remember some of the films I saw there, Hallelujah Trail, Advance to the Rear, and the Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm. The UA was one of a few good size theatres in downtown L.B. that I went to see movies (the others were the Imperial and the FOX West Coast). Downtown L.B. was becoming seedy during the 70’s and all the theatres were eventually town down. The last time I saw a movie there was in 1972, the third Planet of the Apes at the Imperial which was next door to the West Coast. In 1993, after not having been to Downtown L.B. in more than 20 years I rode the Blue Line train from Metro Center station in downtown Los Angeles to the end of the line at the L.B. Transit Mall and I didn’t recognize the place. All the old classic art deco Downtown buildings were gone except for the F&M building and one or two other buildings I remember seeing as a kid. What we used to call ‘Bum Park’ just west of the Blue Line stop was still there populated with the homeless. Downtown L.B. which was once full of life and had it’s own identity with those old buildings, movie theatres, sailor bars and the Pike has become just another sterile modern Downtown.
As a young projectionist (22) I was sent to the El Rey in late 1975 to run a double bill, the Hindenburg along with Airport 75. The small booth was entered through the upstairs lobby.
The Whittwood was my first real regular projectionist job when I won the bid back in May 1976 at the age of 23. Up to then the union had sent me to theatres all over Los Angeles. The Whittwood still had carbon arc lamps (Ashcraft Corelight) and were still on two thousand foot reels when I got there and when I left in March ‘83. The projector heads were old Century C’s and the sound heads were Simplex. Amplification came from an Ampex sound rack. The booth was small and designed by the BF Shearer Company which had designed many similar booths. The Whittwood was a Disney house and I must have ran the entire Disney film library when I was there. The auditorium was stadium style similar to the old Stadium theatre in Torrance which later became a Pussycat theatre. The Whittwood had a lodge level about two-thirds back, similar to the Cinerama Dome’s (but smaller) which I later worked for nearly 11 years. I took some pictures of the Whittwood’s booth, auditorium, lobby, entrance and outside marquee back in '76 and '77 and if I ever find them I will post a good one here.
One more historical note. Ralph Kemp sent a projectionist on a night that I took off from the Whittwood back in 1979. We were running a movie called Saturday Night Fever. When I came to work the next day I was confronted by the manager who had a complaint about the projectionist. It seems that as the Saturday Night Fever credits were rolling on the screen the projectionist was switching the stage lights on and off to the beat of the Bee Gees “Staying Alive”. Needless to say there were plenty of noise and sparks flying from the breaker switch panel that was next to the managers office. There were also plenty of sparks flying from the manager when he told me that the projectionist who was playing with the stage lights was none other than Jim Childs.
On another note, the Orpheum will be the site on the evening of August 2 for the world premiere of Collateral starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx. Then a few weeks later the Orpheum will host the prequel to The Exorcist. Another premiere at the Orpheum is likely in December.
The Warner Bros theatre was just one of many art deco movie palaces on South Hill Street in Los Angeles. A block south was the RKO Hill Street theatre, another magnificient film palace with 2219 seats. Further down was (still is) the Mayan and Belasco. In the other direction along Hill at West 6th was the magnificent Paramount theatre with a 3600 seating capacity. The auditorium and exteriors of these theatres can be seen here View link
In 1988 I was one of two regular full time projectionists working at the Dome. We had a two week twenty-five year anniversary celebration at the time during November. During the two weeks we ran many of the academy award winning films that first played at the Dome including It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World. On the day of November 7th which was the anniversary day the Dome opened in 1963 the theatre was closed all day to prepare for that evenings special program, the showing of a restored newsreel that showed the Dome’s grand opening, an appearance by Stanley Kramer and Johnathan Winters, and a 35mm scope print borrowed from a private collector. The print ran 154 minutes and included an intermission just after the montage (theme music included) of all the characters in their predicaments and Spencer Tracy is listening to two phones at the same time, a crying daughter and his upset wife (Ann Southern’s voice). The people at Pacific (Theatres) scrambled to get a better print for the next two scheduled showing on two different days but all they could get was a 35mm scope print that was full of scratches and splices (embarassing to run) and a backup ‘flat’ 1.85:1 35mm print. In the years from 1986 to 1988 there was a mad rush to find an original 70mm ultra-panavision print. Seems like everyone, from Stanley Kramer to Leonard Maltin (who did an Entertainment Tonight story on the search) was involved but sadly in the end everyone realized that such a print doesn’t exist.
The Orpheum has reopened after a four million dollar restoration. The marquee and huge Orpheum roof neon sign has been restored, the roof sign relit after 40 years.
I also saw Help at the Crest in ‘65. That same year the Crest had It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World a couple years after it premiered at the Cinerama Dome up in Los Angeles.
I remember running several single lens polarized 3D films during the early 80’s. One was Spacehunter. The picture ratio was similar to cinemascope at 2.35 to 1. After all these years I still have those polarized 3D glasses.
Another north L.B. theatre may bite the dust. Anyone remember the Crest and Towne just a few block down from the Atlantic. I saw several films there including A Man Called Horse, Napoleon and Samantha and Those Calloways.
The market is better in Los Angeles. A new 54 story Ritz-Carlton hotel and condos is opening next month in the downtown financial district and as reported by the Los Angeles Downtown News the condos are 80 percent sold so there may be a need for more condos in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles. Also reported by the LADN a new 35 story condo project on downtown’s West 9th Street recently auctioned off nearly all of it’s units.
This drive-in was near the 405 freeway. Back in the 60’s we used to get off the Bellflower exit to get to the drive-in to see those beach party films. The last time I went there was to see a double bill, Bronco Billy and Under the Rainbow back in 1981.
Scope films were shown at the Tower many times over but instead of the side masking moving outward to accomodate a scope size image the top masking moved down instead. Yes, it was a pretty good size 1.85:1 image for flat pictures but lousy for scope. As a movie-goer in my late teens I saw a reissue of Dr. Zhivago (in scope) at the Tower in November of 1970.
For 49 cents the movies I saw at the Rivoli in the early 70’s included Poseidon Adventure, Evil Knievel, Oliver, Billy Jack, and Let It Be. The auditorium floor as usually sticky or slippery and a friend who was with me pointed out a huge but dead cockroach on the floor. I remember sitting in a seat where the springs were poking through the fabric and into my behind but hey what do you expect for a 49 cent ticket. Wasn’t the Rivoli a Pacific Theatre for a time?
When I was 8 years old mom took us kids to the State to see 101 Dalmations in 1961. To get to the State from the other side of the street we crossed under Ocean Boulevard using a tunnel.
One more thing, the Rivoli Theatre was a great place in the early 70’s to see a double feature for 49 cents.
I remember going to the UA in Downtown Long Beach as a kid in the 60’s. I also remember some of the films I saw there, Hallelujah Trail, Advance to the Rear, and the Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm. The UA was one of a few good size theatres in downtown L.B. that I went to see movies (the others were the Imperial and the FOX West Coast). Downtown L.B. was becoming seedy during the 70’s and all the theatres were eventually town down. The last time I saw a movie there was in 1972, the third Planet of the Apes at the Imperial which was next door to the West Coast. In 1993, after not having been to Downtown L.B. in more than 20 years I rode the Blue Line train from Metro Center station in downtown Los Angeles to the end of the line at the L.B. Transit Mall and I didn’t recognize the place. All the old classic art deco Downtown buildings were gone except for the F&M building and one or two other buildings I remember seeing as a kid. What we used to call ‘Bum Park’ just west of the Blue Line stop was still there populated with the homeless. Downtown L.B. which was once full of life and had it’s own identity with those old buildings, movie theatres, sailor bars and the Pike has become just another sterile modern Downtown.
As a young projectionist (22) I was sent to the El Rey in late 1975 to run a double bill, the Hindenburg along with Airport 75. The small booth was entered through the upstairs lobby.
The Whittwood was my first real regular projectionist job when I won the bid back in May 1976 at the age of 23. Up to then the union had sent me to theatres all over Los Angeles. The Whittwood still had carbon arc lamps (Ashcraft Corelight) and were still on two thousand foot reels when I got there and when I left in March ‘83. The projector heads were old Century C’s and the sound heads were Simplex. Amplification came from an Ampex sound rack. The booth was small and designed by the BF Shearer Company which had designed many similar booths. The Whittwood was a Disney house and I must have ran the entire Disney film library when I was there. The auditorium was stadium style similar to the old Stadium theatre in Torrance which later became a Pussycat theatre. The Whittwood had a lodge level about two-thirds back, similar to the Cinerama Dome’s (but smaller) which I later worked for nearly 11 years. I took some pictures of the Whittwood’s booth, auditorium, lobby, entrance and outside marquee back in '76 and '77 and if I ever find them I will post a good one here.
One more historical note. Ralph Kemp sent a projectionist on a night that I took off from the Whittwood back in 1979. We were running a movie called Saturday Night Fever. When I came to work the next day I was confronted by the manager who had a complaint about the projectionist. It seems that as the Saturday Night Fever credits were rolling on the screen the projectionist was switching the stage lights on and off to the beat of the Bee Gees “Staying Alive”. Needless to say there were plenty of noise and sparks flying from the breaker switch panel that was next to the managers office. There were also plenty of sparks flying from the manager when he told me that the projectionist who was playing with the stage lights was none other than Jim Childs.
Such great memories.
I seriously doubt it. The Pacific has been closed down for about ten years.
On another note, the Orpheum will be the site on the evening of August 2 for the world premiere of Collateral starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx. Then a few weeks later the Orpheum will host the prequel to The Exorcist. Another premiere at the Orpheum is likely in December.
A previous message mentioned Broadway’s flashing neon lights in the 40s. Here’s a picture of Broadway (1959)
View link
It’s on this website
View link
William, that’s a good and interesting list.
The Warner Bros theatre was just one of many art deco movie palaces on South Hill Street in Los Angeles. A block south was the RKO Hill Street theatre, another magnificient film palace with 2219 seats. Further down was (still is) the Mayan and Belasco. In the other direction along Hill at West 6th was the magnificent Paramount theatre with a 3600 seating capacity. The auditorium and exteriors of these theatres can be seen here View link
Many people including Los Angeleans don’t realize that Westchester is not a city but a neighborhood within the city limits of Los Angeles.
In 1988 I was one of two regular full time projectionists working at the Dome. We had a two week twenty-five year anniversary celebration at the time during November. During the two weeks we ran many of the academy award winning films that first played at the Dome including It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World. On the day of November 7th which was the anniversary day the Dome opened in 1963 the theatre was closed all day to prepare for that evenings special program, the showing of a restored newsreel that showed the Dome’s grand opening, an appearance by Stanley Kramer and Johnathan Winters, and a 35mm scope print borrowed from a private collector. The print ran 154 minutes and included an intermission just after the montage (theme music included) of all the characters in their predicaments and Spencer Tracy is listening to two phones at the same time, a crying daughter and his upset wife (Ann Southern’s voice). The people at Pacific (Theatres) scrambled to get a better print for the next two scheduled showing on two different days but all they could get was a 35mm scope print that was full of scratches and splices (embarassing to run) and a backup ‘flat’ 1.85:1 35mm print. In the years from 1986 to 1988 there was a mad rush to find an original 70mm ultra-panavision print. Seems like everyone, from Stanley Kramer to Leonard Maltin (who did an Entertainment Tonight story on the search) was involved but sadly in the end everyone realized that such a print doesn’t exist.
Hollywood Palace was on Vine Street a block north of Hollywood & Vine and across the street from the Capitol Records building.
The Orpheum has reopened after a four million dollar restoration. The marquee and huge Orpheum roof neon sign has been restored, the roof sign relit after 40 years.