Operated in the 1970’s and 1980’s By Jim Perkins and The Reggerio brothers with Bruce and Little John in the booth. Got my carbon
arc license there. The open air booth on the roof was setup with 16" turntables on drive shafts behind the lamphouses.
Initially a Western Electric sound system which was “harvested” in favor of a solid state system of meager performance.
Although optical sound dominated this period, 4 track magnetic setups, were available. I personally restored the 3 Altec A-7
speakers which were the very early bolt assembly style.
Tragically, vandalism was rampant and the business could not sustain the losses. The roof was filled with 4 feet of water in
one such incident so instead of new mohair velvet for the seats, new electric, roofing and boiler repairs took all the cash
from an SBA loan.
The movie “Ft. Apache, The Bronx” caused a riot resulting in rows of seats being ripped from the floor and hurled at the
screen. Several employees were hospitalized. I arrived in time to see the entire crew from “French Charlie’s” well oiled, armed to the teeth and ready for action arrive to a now empty space.
This is one of several neighborhood theaters (Bainbridge, Melba, Globe, Ascot, Dale, Fair) that I did period restoration
work to. Sadly, none have survived.
Operated in the 1970’s and 1980’s By Jim Perkins and The Reggerio brothers with Bruce and Little John in the booth. Got my carbon
arc license there. The open air booth on the roof was setup with 16" turntables on drive shafts behind the lamphouses.
Initially a Western Electric sound system which was “harvested” in favor of a solid state system of meager performance.
Although optical sound dominated this period, 4 track magnetic setups, were available. I personally restored the 3 Altec A-7
speakers which were the very early bolt assembly style.
Tragically, vandalism was rampant and the business could not sustain the losses. The roof was filled with 4 feet of water in
one such incident so instead of new mohair velvet for the seats, new electric, roofing and boiler repairs took all the cash
from an SBA loan.
The movie “Ft. Apache, The Bronx” caused a riot resulting in rows of seats being ripped from the floor and hurled at the
screen. Several employees were hospitalized. I arrived in time to see the entire crew from “French Charlie’s” well oiled, armed to the teeth and ready for action arrive to a now empty space.
This is one of several neighborhood theaters (Bainbridge, Melba, Globe, Ascot, Dale, Fair) that I did period restoration
work to. Sadly, none have survived.