Madison Theatre
1036 Madison Avenue,
Albany,
NY
12208
1036 Madison Avenue,
Albany,
NY
12208
4 people
favorited this theater
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It reopened as the Norma Jean’s Madison 5 on May 6th, 1995. Ad posted.
For sale as of today
Cosmic Cinemas never ended up reopening this theatre. It will be reopened by an independent operator in December.
It appears that the Madison will also host live entertainment when the renovations are complete.
“The space at the back of the building, part of the third phase, will be converted into an entertainment area. The entertainment area will be used for comedy shows, concerts, lectures, and movies as well, according to Fishgold. However, there are some limitations as to what kinds of performances he will allow.”
Full article at: http://blog.timesunion.com/pinehills/makeover-at-the-madison/7714/
The Madison is closing after tomorrow’s afternoon shows. The theater has been sold and will be remodeled. The number of screens is being reduced from 7 to 2 and additional retail space will be reclaimed.
Article at:http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/morning_call/2013/09/tierra-coffee-roasters-buys-albanys.html
I loved going to the “Madison” while attending Albany College of Pharmacy in the 60’s. It’s design was plain ,but it was clean and spacious. It looked Quite elegant in it’s neighborhood setting. When attending “ Von Ryan’s Express” starring Frank Sinatra ,a power outage resulted in issuance of free pass to everyone attending. I remember this since such has never happened to me before or since. Just lucky I guess. The film turned out great! Ray , Charlotte NC
Not the Madsion theatre I was looking for.
jay pregent came into my theater today and gave me his card so i looked up the madison. very cool
The name of this theater should be changed back to Madison Theater. The Norma Jean operation has been disassociated with this theater for some time.
Just felt I had to make a comment here.
I have been going to the Madison since I was a little kid. Saw many movies there and remember the original interior.
Since 1998 I have been the technician for the projection and sound equipment. First for Paul Feidler, who chopped it up and gave it the name Norma Jean. I rehabbed the equipment for BCG when they took it over.
When they left all the equipment was pulled.
In the spring of 2005 I was working on a booth install in California and got back with less than two weeks to get the new equipment running in one theater for Star Wars.
We then went on, one screen at a time getting them open. All 7 screens have been open for over a year.
I must confess that I am also one of the partnership that owns the theater and as of the summer of 07, the manager too.
The building has suffered from quite a bit of neglect over the years. With it open I hope to continue the improvements as the business will permit.
We have digital sound on 3 screens with the possibility of more as my time permits. Another dream is to get the 70mm sound working. Iâ€\m really just short a lens and the time.
We may not have all the state of the art wiz bang that the malls have to offer but I promise that you will enjoy yourself with a personal touch as everyone is appreciated.
Oh yea and I noticed that my head projectionist has already posted a while back too.
The new web site is www.madison-theater.com
My email is if you canâ€\t reach me through the web site.
Jay
Does anyone here know anything about the former theater on Clinton Ave? For a brief time during its recent rebuilding a bit of the modest spanish/moorish facade reappeared. Now it’s housing a black community organization and a SEFCU branch. I think it might have been a Paramount theater.
Eric- estott at localnet.com
There was only one theater by that name in Albany (thank God) and the fires did superficial cosmetic damage so the owner could close the building. Currently it’s up and running.
There was a fire in 1996, if the reference is to this Norma Jean. Am I correct in that there was only one Norma Jean in the city of Albany?
http://tinyurl.com/2wdsbq
It’s currently open. There’s nothing left of the original interior, but very little was left before the multiplex was done- in the 1980’s it had a large open auditorium that was very plain- draped walls and a little deco on the ceiling. The facade still has nice deco terra cotta though.
While recently in Albany I was not told about this other Lamb theatre so unfortunately did not locate it so I would love to see a photo.
Does anyone have a way to contact Joe Tesorio or the Madison’s office? Their box office number just gives show times and doesn’t give out an administrative number.
It seems that currently they are only running shows on four of the seven screens.
The words “Norma Jean” should be removed from the name of this theatre.
Things are moving ahead, slowly but very well. The theater opened for Star Wars III, and we’ve gradually been adding more features as we complete work on the theaters. As of today, we have four theaters up and running, the two largest houses (both DTS equipped, one with a brand new screen that looks FANTASTIC) and two of the midsized theaters (currently in analog, soon in SDDS) and a 5th will be done by next week.
I will be glad to post some links to pictures when I get a chance. If you are in the area, feel free to drop in!
Any word on any progress?
The Madison Theater has been purchased by a developer who plans to reopen as a first run theater. Details here.
What a great theater the Madison was! I spent a lot of time there as a child, my Great Grandfather managed it for a long time! Not only the Madison but (throughout his career) the Strand (long gone), the Delaware (now the Spectrum) and the Palace (now owned by the city). My siblings, cousins and I just had the best times there, serving ourselves from the candy counter and visiting the projection booth! What memories!
Does anyone have any ideas on whether it would or would not be a good idea to buy the Madison Theater and renovate and reopen it?
While in a closed movie palace in Pennsylvania, I ran across several clippings about movie theatres. One clipping was from the local newspaper with an A.P. article about the Madison. The last film it showed before the closing and “plexing” was “Exit to Eden”. The theatre sat 700 patrons and boasted a hugh 54ft by 26ft screen covered with retractable curtains. Barry Rosenblatt was the owner and the theatre has been in his family since 1976. Sorry, no date was visible on the article
This should be listed as a 7-screen multiplex. It seats 715.