Historic Movie Palaces

[pennyseranade]

Here's a link with some good reading.
Curtis

http://www.roxytheaternorthampton.com/roxyhistory.htm

GREAT theater. My husband and I frequent it quite often. The last time we were there was for their Christmas show. They were showing "Holiday Inn" as a free show sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. There's nothing like seeing a classic movie in a classic theater. We had the rare opportunity to take a tour backstage and see the dressing rooms as well as the large room that houses the organ's pipes.

Here's a picture from a few years ago..my husband and his truck in front to the theater.

 

[pennyseranade]

In fact: My husband posted these pics a while ago...

Well, there are four great theaters all within a small drive from my home in PA.

The Roxy Theater in Northapton, PA. (The theatre was first opened on Feb. 1st, 1921 as the LYRIC Theatre) Restored to the early 1930s condition! AMAZING PLACE!!!!
www.roxytheaternorthampton.com

Roxy Theater circa 1933

Roxy Theater now....

Interior shots.....

The Emmaus Theater, Emmaus, PA. (Originally the Palace theater in the early 1900s)
http://www.emmaustheatre.com/

The Grand Theater, East Greenville, PA Restored to its 1924 glory (simple but nice!)
http://www.thegrandtheater.org/

The Boyd Theater, Bethlehem, PA (Boyd opened on September 1, 1921 as the Kurtz Theatre)
http://www.theboyd.com/

Local news story on the Boyd theater...
http://www.theboyd.com/index.html

Boyd interior shot...

Last but not least the Colonial Theater, Phonexville, PA.
http://www.thecolonialtheatre.com/
Shows lots of old movies at reasonable prices!! HIGHLY recommended if you're in the area during the holidays!!

Of course there's always the Ambler Theater, but they're an artsy foreign film theater now,....no old movies, just lots of yuppies going to enjoy the theater!! Whatever!!

 

[skyvue]

I posted some of this elsewhere, but I mistakenly started a new thread for it, so I'm sure it's not long for this world:

I'll be catching three classic Orson Welles pictures -- CITIZEN KANE, THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS, and TOUCH OF EVIL -- at the semi-restored Loew's Jersey in Jersey City this weekend.

NYC doesn't have much to offer in the way of classic movie theatres, aside from the Zeigfeld and the Paris (though it has loads of classic legit theatres, of course), but, in addition to the aforementioned Loew's Jersey, the Lafayette in Suffern, a relatively short NJ Transit train ride away, is a beautifully restored 1920s theatre that I love to visit. In the spring and fall, they show old movies there every Saturday morning, and it's well worth the 2-hour round-trip travel time.

I've visited the Roxy in Northampton, Penn. -- the owner gave me a mid-day tour, though I've to manage to patronize the place.

On the Vanity Fair web site, there is a new feature story about the history of the faux-Egyptian trend in movie-theater design in the 1920s. It's by Bruce Handy, and it's pretty interesting. There's a good accompanying slide show, too.

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/fe...ptomania200801

 

[sixsexsix]

The Revue cinema, where I see all my movies!
http://revuecinema.ca/node/70

Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre, if you're ever in Toronto do a tour, it is gorgeous.
http://www.heritagefdn.on.ca/userfiles/HTML/nts_1_2374_1.html

 

[Mr. K.L.Bowers]

The Maryland Theater 1915

Here are some photos of the Maryland Theater in Hagerstown MD. It was built as a vaudeville theater in 1915, but began showing motion at the same time. It closed in 1973. A fire destroyed the huge lobby and apartments that were over the theater in 1974 and the remaining portion of the building sat empty until the 1978 when some concerned citizens began a push to restore it to its former beauty. It is now home to the Maryland Symphony. They show movies frequently and host live performances regularly. At Christmas this past they had a free showing of “It’s a Wonderful Life”. The sanctioned Glenn Miller Orchestra will perform there on May 27th of this year . I have heard the Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller orchestras here in the past. A great old theater.

 

[KittyT]

Here in Boston (uh, Brookline, technically), there is the Coolidge Theater (1933), which is a great discount/second run movie house.

Opened in 1852, the Orpheum Theater has hosted everything from vaudeville to symphony to movies and is now a rock concert venue.

Opened in 1932, the Paramount was the last of the great movie palaces erected on downtown Boston's Washington Street, and the only one built exclusively for talking pictures. It has been closed since 1976, and much of its interior detail was lost during asbestos removal in the 1980s. It is currently undergoing renovation by Emerson College who are going to tear it up to put in live music space. They are supposedly restoring the lobby to its original splendor.

This is what it looked like before the facade was restored in 2002 by the owners as part of a real estate deal with the City of Boston involving a neighboring piece of property.

I can't find any photos of the interior.

Boston also has a Roxy Theater which is amazing, but it is now a nightclub and I can't find any decent photos of it.

 

[KittyT]

More Boston theaters - there really are quite a few here for a city this size, and these are just the ones that showed movies. There are a lot dramatic/operatic theaters as well.

First opened in 1925, "The Met" has gone through several name changes and is now known as the Wang Theater. Considered historically the most important Boston landmark of "the Roaring Twenties."

The Strand Theater in Dorchester (1918) was an old movie and vaudeville house that was abandoned as the neighborhood declined. It sat empty for around 3 decades and has been recently restored.

unfinished lobby restoration

 

[KittyT]

Historic Cinema directory

Also, there is a historic cinema directory with lots of links and photos at http://www.cinematour.com

 

[Dinerman]

Not exactly a "palace"- The Everett in Everett, PA.

Ex. Theater, and an auditorium. Cambridge, NY

 

[Story]

Attention Long Beach!

http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_8444147

On Thursday, the Art Theatre will close until July as the 84-year-old facility undergoes more than $1 million in renovations, courtesy of the theater's new owners.

 

[LizzieMaine]

First opened in 1925, "The Met" has gone through several name changes and is now known as the Wang Theater. Considered historically the most important Boston landmark of "the Roaring Twenties."

*Love* the Wang -- been to a couple of shows there, up in the nosebleeds, and it's always a great experience. Even when the show wears thin, you can entertain yourself for hours just looking at the plaster encrustations on the walls.

Me on the Wang stairs a couple years back -- on my way up to see the bust of vaudeville impresario B. F. Keith in the alcove at the top. "Why is there a statue of Lenin here," my theatre companion wondered.

Also been to the Coolidge -- a homey sort of house that reminds me a lot of where I work.

 

[Lulu-in-Ny]

The Palace Theatre; Albany, New York:

They run old movies there every Monday night. I got to see GWTW there, and next up is Lawrence of Arabia. The foyer is stunning, but I can't locate any pictures of it...

 

[HoneyBee]

The Castro, in San Francisco:

During the annual Noir City Film Festival (note the organ on the right, which is still raised up and played before certain shows):

An old shot from the balcony:

http://www.castrotheatre.com/index.html

A really gorgeous place, something I really miss about living in San Francisco.

(Sorry this entry is so brief - I'm trying to write it on the sly at work.... )

 

[Flivver]

This Friday, March 14, is the grand opening of the fully restored Hannover Theatre For The Performing Arts in Worcester, MA. This was formerly known as the Poli Palace and was originally built in 1904.

It started out as a burlesque house called the Franklin Square Theatre. It was bought by Sylvester Poli in 1912 and turned into a movie theatre. In 1926 the theatre became the Poli Palace when it received a complete re-furbishing by architect Thomas W Lamb (who designed the Boston Opera House). At this point, it was the finest theatre in Worcester with 3,000 seats and an elaborate grand staircase with mirrored walls.

When I was a kid in the 1950s, I remember that the Poli still retained much of its 1920s splendor, albeit a little worn and tarnished. I used to love to go there. The Poli was sold in 1967 and turned into the Showcase Cinema, a modern 4 screen theatre. The Showcase Cinema closed in 1998.

Several years ago some local businessmen proposed the idea of restoring the Poli Palace into a Center For The Performing Arts that would bring Broadway shows to Worcester. The restoration cost $30 Million.

The opening night show features Bernadette Peters. It remains to be seen if motion pictures will be shown there. In any case, everyone here in Worcester is hoping that this restored theatre will be the centerpiece of the revitalization of the Downtown area. Time will tell.

 

[Story]

Your photos may help rebuild Landis as developer seeks original theater's look
By TIM ZATZARINY Jr.
Staff Writer
tzatzariny@thedailyjournal.com

VINELAND -- The architect preparing plans for the renovation of the Landis Theatre seeks color photos of the former movie house in its prime.
The goal is to replicate as closely as possible the original colors of the theater's marquee and interior, said Louis Profera, project manager for J.W. Pedersen Architect of Vineland.

Profera wants photos taken prior to 1966, when the theater underwent a major renovation.

"Old descriptions of the interior of the theater talk about different colors," Profera said Thursday.

Restoration of the theater, built in 1937 in the Art Moderne style, is the first step in a major downtown revitalization project that city officials consider crucial to the future of Vineland's downtown.

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080307/NEWS01/803070315/1002

 

[Story]

PHILADELPHIA -

A city commission has granted historic status to an Art Deco movie palace that closed in 2002 and has been threatened with demolition.

The Philadelphia Historical Commission voted unanimously Friday to place the Boyd Theatre on a city register that protects the structure from being demolished or altered.

Among those testifying in favor of the historic designation were local and national preservation groups including the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which this year listed the 2,000-seat Boyd as one of America's 11 most endangered historic places.

The downtown movie theater, on Chestnut Street near Rittenhouse Square, was built in 1928 and has been closed since May 2002, when it was known as the Sam Eric.

It was facing demolition when its current owner, Live Nation (nyse: LYV - news - people ), purchased the Boyd with plans to make it into a music venue. The company later abandoned those plans and announced it was looking to sell it.

Without the historic designation the theater could have again faced demolition, depending on the new buyer, said Howard B. Haas, chairman of nonprofit preservation group Friends of the Boyd.

 

[miss_elise]

the Rivoli Cinema in Camberwell, Melbourne, Australia... built in 1940 - recently refurbished

http://www.caths.org.au/rivoli.htm

and the Astor, built in the 30's
http://www.astor-theatre.com/images/web-gallery/astor-past-d/slides/astor-past-01.html

still shows pictures... some modern some old...

 

[Story]

Plaza Theater, El Paso Texas

By the late 1920s, El Paso was a growing metropolis. With a population of 100,000, El Paso already had two airports, numerous theaters, a fully-developed trolley system and all of the amenities of any other modern city.

At the center of it all was the Plaza Theatre, which opened September 12, 1930 to a capacity crowd of 2,410. It was advertised as the largest theater of its kind between Dallas and Los Angeles. Designed as a modern film house with the flexibility of presenting stage shows, the Plaza eventually hosted popular traveling shows and movies, becoming a fixture in the lives of theatergoers for generations to come.

http://theplazatheater.org/about_history.sstg

They've been running older movies this week - check out the selection:

http://plaza-movies.com/schedule.php

 

[Flyer36]

Heres one I used to live not far from.

http://cinematreasures.org/theater/371/

 

[Story]

Phila. Historical Commission Approves Sale of Boyd Theatre to Developer
by KYW's Steve Tawa
http://www.kyw1060.com/Phila--Historical-Commission-OKs-Sale-of-Boyd-Thea/3322013

The grand, old -- but now shuttered -- Boyd Theatre in center city Philadelphia has moved another step closer to coming to life again. The Philadelphia Historical Commission has approved plans for the proposed sale of the building.

Architect Gary Martinez says they are finding "amazing" discoveries in the former movie palace along the 1900 block of Chestnut Street -- features they thought were lost -- that are hidden behind walls, including several pieces of artwork: