I was one of the managers of the Fine Arts Theater from September 1985 until March 1986. I have many fond memories of the theater. The projectors then used carbon arc rods (I think that’s what they were called) to create the light to project the film. We served premium ice cream and coffee—rare for cinemas to serve back then. One other unique thing about the theater is (or was) that the projectionist has to scamper across the roof to get to the booth for the smaller of the theaters. There were only two then now I guess there are three. I remember he had to shovel a path through the snow on the roof to get there. One night during a snow storm we went on the roof and threw snowballs down onto the passing cars. Oh, the memories!
A wonderful theater. I was a student at UMass-Amherst from 1983-85 and the first film I saw there was 1984. Check it out when your in Noho.
I was one of the managers of the Fine Arts Theater from September 1985 until March 1986. I have many fond memories of the theater. The projectors then used carbon arc rods (I think that’s what they were called) to create the light to project the film. We served premium ice cream and coffee—rare for cinemas to serve back then. One other unique thing about the theater is (or was) that the projectionist has to scamper across the roof to get to the booth for the smaller of the theaters. There were only two then now I guess there are three. I remember he had to shovel a path through the snow on the roof to get there. One night during a snow storm we went on the roof and threw snowballs down onto the passing cars. Oh, the memories!