Showcase Cinemas Orange
100 Marsh Hill Road,
Orange,
CT
06477
100 Marsh Hill Road,
Orange,
CT
06477
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This venue’s 70mm presentations history is included in the recently-published article “70mm Presentations in New Haven: A Chronology of 70mm Large Format Exhibition, 1960-Present”.
Here’s a new 4-page 50th anniversary FIDDLER ON THE ROOF retrospective featuring a roadshow playdate chronology and historian Q&A. The Showcase Cinemas’ run is mentioned in the piece.
All the photos listed here are from the Showcase Orange 1-2-3 that was located across the highway from the 8-plex. Shouldn’t these be separate from each other?
United Illuminated is building their new headquarters on this property.
Me too .Its like saying goodby to an old freind
I did go to East Hartford on the last day of it’s operations though
They started to demolish this theater: View link to read the article. So sad, was the only NA theater in CT that I did not visit, and wanted to but never got around to it.
It wasn’t the theater operation that led them into debt, it was financing Redstone’s takeover of Viacom, the theater operation was used as collateral and Redstone doesn’t want to sell control of the Viacom, therefore he sold off Midway and other holdings, the theater chain is the last thing to go. Regal stuck its core – they operate cinemas, they never got involved in the content production as far as I know. They got into trouble because they kept buying chains and some had terrible locations in development during the boom that opened as Regals (see Bergen Plaza in North Bergen, NJ). AMC is owned privately by a holding company that is comprised of investment banks, although they have some publicly held debt. Cinemark, Carmike and Regal are publicly traded.
If Redstone can sell the theatre complexes at a good price he might be able to retire the debt. I hear they plan on keeping 17 sites in the Northeast, no word on what theaters they’ll be. NA has a lot of real estate including property that their abandoned drive ins still stand on, some of which they have flee markets at on weekends. I think it might be nearly impossible for us, the public, to get a read on all of N/A’s assets as they are privately held, but I wonder if a sale/lease back type of agreement might allow them to continue to operate certain sites.
I don’t get Channel #8, because I’m not in that area.
I saw the story this afternoon on channel 8.
Thanks, movie534.
CinemarkFan: If this kind of awful debt has gotten to National Amusements, and AMC, and then to Regal, what will happen to the independent movie palaces that’re left here in the United States, as a whole?
If debt this bad can get to National Amuesments, then it most certainly will get to Regal in a few years.
Anyway, I saw a rendering of this place. I wish we Chicagoians had a theater this big right now.
Most likely.
Hmmmm……..Interesting. Thanks for the info, Roger Katz. So, if Showcase Cinemas decides to sell other branches of their Cinemas in other states, do you think that will that mean somewhat fewer multiplex cinemas? Again, I’m just curious.
UI is the electric company in southern CT.
No other theater chain will buy any former Showcase Cinemas because Showcase will not sell the properties to anyone who would operate them as a cinema.
So, what might all this mean for multiplex cinemas generally? Just curious.
Not a chance. They are under too much of their own debt burden to take on anymore.
United Illuminating? Never heard of them. Who/what are they? Just curious. I, too, have heard about the sale of some of the Showcase Cinemas. I wonder, however, if another big franchise, such as AMC or Regal’s will buy them.
heard on the news today this was sold to united illuminating and 3 other showcases are being sold in the spring not sure who to but it appears redstones empire is falling
Did the modern Showcase Orange start as an 8-plex? What was the evolution of the modern build?
At the old Showcase in 1980 I saw a sneak preview of “Flash Gorden”. My friends and I joked about how “maybe Queen (soundtrack) and Dino DeLaurentis (producer) might be there” (in Orange CT). We all laughed. I went to get popcorn and there was Dino DeLaurentis and the rock group Queen (without Freddie).
These were the best theaters outside of NY. Shortly after, the 3 theaters were split in half with a wall to make 6 – unfortunately the angled seats in each made this strange. A 7th small theater was added later on. When it was just the 3 my mom had taken me there to see 2001 – amazing as I recall.
This cinema opened on August 6th, 1969 with Cinema 1 having the Cinerama movies. 4 cinemas in 1974
the old building was on Frontage Road and replaced by the 7-plex on Marsh Hill Road in 1983.
I’m irritated by this. I was going to be in New Haven visting friends in April and I had some hope of getting inside for some photos. The Showace Orange was interesting to me, mind you’ve I’ve only seen one movie there, but by the layout it seemed as though every auditorium was fairly large. As though it was an original 8-plex that they always meant to expand/cut to 16 but then Hoyt’s built in Branford and took the business.
And of course that and it was wonderfully 80’s/90’s intact.
I’m going to go look at my photos of the Commack Multiplex… humbug.
East Windsor is closing on the same day too. Wonder if they’re gonna get rid of Berlin or Southington with the rate they’re goin.
National Amusements is closing the theater effective March 3rd, 2008. According to a spokesperson, it is no long “financially viable” for the theater to remain open.
Sad to see the theater go, many great memories.
Anyone remember the ticket taker, Cliff? He was there as long as I’ve been going to the theater (since around 1992) and I always felt he was the heart and soul of the place. Hadn’t seen him in years, so assumed he’d passed or retired.