I remember seeing “Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope” for just the second time at this cinema on Sunday, October 22, 1977 with my younger sister (my folks went to see “Oh, God!,” playing in another cinema in the complex); I had seen it for the very first time on Wednesday, August 10, 1977 in Pennsylvania with my cousin at the Laurel 30 Cinema in Latrobe. By the time I saw “Star Wars” again, I had already bought the soundtrack album, and immediately proceeded to hear it again when I got home (I had the poster that was included with the album hanging on my bedroom wall. I was 15 then and we were living in Lansing).
Went through Royal Oak to visit some friends this afternoon. I couldn’t believe the Main Art has been totally demolished. What looks like an apartment complex is now being built on that site.
If the Eaton Theater in Charlotte was saved, something could - and should - have been done with the Rapids. On the occasions I drive through Eaton Rapids, I would drive by where the theater was and can only imagine if it were still open today; most likely as two screens, like the Eaton, but the Rapids could have possibly shown what the Eaton couldn’t get, if it was still here!
I made a return visit to Royal Oak a few weeks ago (I now live in Charlotte) and figured this theater closed, since I saw a homeless man sleeping by the door outside. Now what I just read here confirms it. Shame.
Among the films I saw at the Main Art were:
“JFK” (1991)
“Driving Miss Daisy” (1990; rereleased as part of Warner Bros.‘ 75th anniversary celebration in 1998)
“The Big Chill” (1983; rereleased in 1998 for the film’s 15th anniversary)
“A Hard Day’s Night” (1964; 1999 Miramax rerelease with restored mono soundtrack)
“Topsy Turvy”(2000)
I remember seeing “Hoosiers” at the Pix in the summer of 1987. if I remember correctly, they had a curved screen, most likely a holdover from the days of Cinemascope.
I finally got a subscription to Newspapers.com and discovered something contrary to what I first stated in the overview:
According to the Latrobe Bulletin, the Gem closed (i.e. stopped showing movies regularly) circa March 1970. From what I could gather, the final film shown was the 1970 rerelease of Disney’s “101 Dalmatians.”
After that, the Gem sat idle until approximately one year later, when a local theater group staged some productions there until 1972. Then the Gem became totally inactive.
One other “advent” the Gem experienced was widescreen movies from the late 50’s through the late 60’s; the theater had the ability to screen both Cinemascope and Vista Vision films. It is unknown whether or not there was the ability to play the stereo soundtracks for said films(most likely it was just mono).
(Still once again: Any pictures of the Gem’s interior? Thanks again, though, elmorovivo,for finding the picture of what the Gem looks like now. That supports my findings very well.)
I remember first seeing these films at the Bremen:
“Rocky II” (1979)
“Ordinary People” (1980)
(The original) “Clash of the Titans”(1981)
“The Toy” (1983)
“The Verdict” (1983)
I remember seeing “Raiders of the Lost Ark” with my dad (may he rest in peace) for the very first time ever at this theater in July 1981. We were visiting my grandparents in Vista (may they also rest in peace) for a week; during the middle of that week we went on the Universal Studios Hollywood Tour, and I believe they showed a snippet of “Raiders,” which talked about special effects in the movies. The next day my dad and I went to see “Raiders” at this theater. Every time I see “Raiders” now, I always think of when my dad and I first saw it in California.
Pity it wasn’t shown in 70mm and Dolby Stereo at the Oceanside 8; that was remedied, however, when I got back home to Illinois (my family and I were then living in the Chicago suburb of Glenwood) and I saw “Raiders” three more times at the River Oaks Theaters in Calumet City (which I understand has since been closed and more
recently demolished – shame).
The Gem’s seating capacity is actually 300 seats, not 400 as originally thought. When I first submitted that info,that was only an estimate; I just checked the 1930 Film Daily Yearbook online,which shows the Gem as having 300 seats. So, the above should be changed to read “300 seats.”
One more time: Does anybody have any photos of the Gem’s interior? I’m still curious to see what it looked like! Thanks again!
The green sign that reads “Eaton” vertically above the marquee was taken down about two years ago. I asked one of the managers if it would possibly be replaced and she said no.
After my family and I moved to Saddle River in June 1983 (I now live in Charlotte, Michigan), I remember seeing “Jedi” in the upstairs auditorium on Wednesday, August 10, 1983 (the sixth anniversary of when I first saw the original).
I thought that was really cool how the film was projected from below the bottom row in 70mm (that soon got split up into two different auditoriums – shame!).
When I lived in Glenwood, the first movie I saw at the Homewood was “Norma Rae” in March 1980, three months before I graduated from Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights.
But when the theater went to an all-“repertory” format in June of that year, I got to enjoy some “oldies” on the big screen, some of which I only saw on TV before, as well as some encores of some recent favorites.
These included:
1980
“The Wizard of Oz” (1939)
“Gone With the Wind” (1939)
1981
“Time After Time” (1979)
“Love and Death” (1976)
“Yellow Submarine” (1968)
1982
“Kramer vs. Kramer” (1979)
Shortly thereafter, however, the Homewood became entangled in problems with the film distributors, and thus discontinued their “repertory” format. They didn’t show anything I cared for after seeing “Kramer vs. Kramer” again, and I didn’t go back since (especially because within the next few months in 1982 my family was in the process of moving to New Jersey; my father had just taken a managerial position at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City. We moved into our new Jersey home in May of 1983).
I’m sorry to hear the Homewood has been demolished (I now live in the small town of Charlotte, Michigan, outside Lansing; I haven’t been back to Illinois since I left in 1983, and don’t have any foreseeable plans to revisit the area, now or in the future). It was a great place to see the “oldies,” and the inside of the auditorium was very unique (there were multicolored shields on the walls, and there were two Greek statues at each of exits at the screen). Too bad the theater wasn’t somehow preserved – shame.
During the brief closure mentioned above, the theater placed an ad in the Lansing State Journal that went like this:
“You’ve watched this ad for something blue, Now watch this ad for something new. We know not yet what we can show, When we find out we’ll let you know.
This theater is indeed still open!
In fact, it’s only 1 of 2 Regal cineplexes in Michigan. The other surviving one is in Walled Lake.
I remember seeing “Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope” for just the second time at this cinema on Sunday, October 22, 1977 with my younger sister (my folks went to see “Oh, God!,” playing in another cinema in the complex); I had seen it for the very first time on Wednesday, August 10, 1977 in Pennsylvania with my cousin at the Laurel 30 Cinema in Latrobe. By the time I saw “Star Wars” again, I had already bought the soundtrack album, and immediately proceeded to hear it again when I got home (I had the poster that was included with the album hanging on my bedroom wall. I was 15 then and we were living in Lansing).
Went through Royal Oak to visit some friends this afternoon. I couldn’t believe the Main Art has been totally demolished. What looks like an apartment complex is now being built on that site.
I remember seeing “Gone With the Wind” at this theater in March 1984 (it originally opened in the 80’s).
I remember seeing that Entertainment Tonight story. Very interesting.
Thanks for clearing that up, RyanToDaF2044.
If the Eaton Theater in Charlotte was saved, something could - and should - have been done with the Rapids. On the occasions I drive through Eaton Rapids, I would drive by where the theater was and can only imagine if it were still open today; most likely as two screens, like the Eaton, but the Rapids could have possibly shown what the Eaton couldn’t get, if it was still here!
Shame! I feel sorry for the people who have to travel to Bryan or Wauseon now to see a movie.
The two movies I remember seeing at Northtowne were the original “Batman” and “The Abyss,” both in 1989.
I made a return visit to Royal Oak a few weeks ago (I now live in Charlotte) and figured this theater closed, since I saw a homeless man sleeping by the door outside. Now what I just read here confirms it. Shame.
Among the films I saw at the Main Art were: “JFK” (1991) “Driving Miss Daisy” (1990; rereleased as part of Warner Bros.‘ 75th anniversary celebration in 1998) “The Big Chill” (1983; rereleased in 1998 for the film’s 15th anniversary) “A Hard Day’s Night” (1964; 1999 Miramax rerelease with restored mono soundtrack) “Topsy Turvy”(2000)
RIP, Main Art. You will be missed
Thank you to whoever made the corrections on my above overview.
I remember seeing “Hoosiers” at the Pix in the summer of 1987. if I remember correctly, they had a curved screen, most likely a holdover from the days of Cinemascope.
TechDirector: Did the original “Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope” play at the Manos for its August 1979 rerelease?
I finally got a subscription to Newspapers.com and discovered something contrary to what I first stated in the overview: According to the Latrobe Bulletin, the Gem closed (i.e. stopped showing movies regularly) circa March 1970. From what I could gather, the final film shown was the 1970 rerelease of Disney’s “101 Dalmatians.”
After that, the Gem sat idle until approximately one year later, when a local theater group staged some productions there until 1972. Then the Gem became totally inactive.
One other “advent” the Gem experienced was widescreen movies from the late 50’s through the late 60’s; the theater had the ability to screen both Cinemascope and Vista Vision films. It is unknown whether or not there was the ability to play the stereo soundtracks for said films(most likely it was just mono).
(Still once again: Any pictures of the Gem’s interior? Thanks again, though, elmorovivo,for finding the picture of what the Gem looks like now. That supports my findings very well.)
I remember first seeing these films at the Bremen: “Rocky II” (1979) “Ordinary People” (1980) (The original) “Clash of the Titans”(1981) “The Toy” (1983) “The Verdict” (1983)
I remember seeing “Raiders of the Lost Ark” with my dad (may he rest in peace) for the very first time ever at this theater in July 1981. We were visiting my grandparents in Vista (may they also rest in peace) for a week; during the middle of that week we went on the Universal Studios Hollywood Tour, and I believe they showed a snippet of “Raiders,” which talked about special effects in the movies. The next day my dad and I went to see “Raiders” at this theater. Every time I see “Raiders” now, I always think of when my dad and I first saw it in California.
Pity it wasn’t shown in 70mm and Dolby Stereo at the Oceanside 8; that was remedied, however, when I got back home to Illinois (my family and I were then living in the Chicago suburb of Glenwood) and I saw “Raiders” three more times at the River Oaks Theaters in Calumet City (which I understand has since been closed and more recently demolished – shame).
Also verified it with the Motion Picture Herald’s 1943 Yearbook on line:
The Gem does indeed have 300 seats, not 400!
So, moderator, if you could make that correction above, that wouldd be appreciated. Thanks again.
Correction!
The Gem’s seating capacity is actually 300 seats, not 400 as originally thought. When I first submitted that info,that was only an estimate; I just checked the 1930 Film Daily Yearbook online,which shows the Gem as having 300 seats. So, the above should be changed to read “300 seats.”
One more time: Does anybody have any photos of the Gem’s interior? I’m still curious to see what it looked like! Thanks again!
What was that painting on the ceiling of the auditorium? It looked like Tom and Jerry (and maybe Little Lulu?).
And also:
The green sign that reads “Eaton” vertically above the marquee was taken down about two years ago. I asked one of the managers if it would possibly be replaced and she said no.
Shame.
After my family and I moved to Saddle River in June 1983 (I now live in Charlotte, Michigan), I remember seeing “Jedi” in the upstairs auditorium on Wednesday, August 10, 1983 (the sixth anniversary of when I first saw the original).
I thought that was really cool how the film was projected from below the bottom row in 70mm (that soon got split up into two different auditoriums – shame!).
Maybe that was the original Cinerama auditorium?
The Henry Winkler and Sally Field movie was called “Heroes” (1977). Sometimes I come across the soundtrack album at record meets.
So I presume “Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope” first played there? (I live in Michigan, by the way. Just curious.)
When I lived in Glenwood, the first movie I saw at the Homewood was “Norma Rae” in March 1980, three months before I graduated from Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights.
But when the theater went to an all-“repertory” format in June of that year, I got to enjoy some “oldies” on the big screen, some of which I only saw on TV before, as well as some encores of some recent favorites.
These included: 1980 “The Wizard of Oz” (1939) “Gone With the Wind” (1939)
1981 “Time After Time” (1979) “Love and Death” (1976) “Yellow Submarine” (1968)
1982 “Kramer vs. Kramer” (1979)
Shortly thereafter, however, the Homewood became entangled in problems with the film distributors, and thus discontinued their “repertory” format. They didn’t show anything I cared for after seeing “Kramer vs. Kramer” again, and I didn’t go back since (especially because within the next few months in 1982 my family was in the process of moving to New Jersey; my father had just taken a managerial position at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City. We moved into our new Jersey home in May of 1983).
I’m sorry to hear the Homewood has been demolished (I now live in the small town of Charlotte, Michigan, outside Lansing; I haven’t been back to Illinois since I left in 1983, and don’t have any foreseeable plans to revisit the area, now or in the future). It was a great place to see the “oldies,” and the inside of the auditorium was very unique (there were multicolored shields on the walls, and there were two Greek statues at each of exits at the screen). Too bad the theater wasn’t somehow preserved – shame.
This former theater site is now used for a bank and a furniture store.
One last thing I remember:
During the brief closure mentioned above, the theater placed an ad in the Lansing State Journal that went like this:
“You’ve watched this ad for something blue,
Now watch this ad for something new.
We know not yet what we can show,
When we find out we’ll let you know.
Sorry, closed until further notice"
This is not the same theater as the Mason Twin Cinemas.
The above repro should be moved to the same page as the Farr.