Old Movie Theaters...

[spamn]

My sister lives in Phoenixville, Pa., which has the distinction of being where they shot the 1956 version of the Blob w/ Steve McQueen. We used to go to the diner where they shot the climax of the film for post-bar munchies all the time, but they closed it and replaced it with a Chain drug store a in the last 3 years.

But the movie theater - the one where the projectionist in the movie bought it and everyone stampeded out - is still there and still plays movies. I saw Monty Python and the Holy Grail there a few Thanksgivings ago.

[kryptosmaster]

The movie theater I grew up with is still open (as of last year anyway). This is a pic I took of it last year when I was up visiting.
I just noticed the wheelchair ramp. It wasn't there in the 70's. The steps were the full width of the doorways then. I remember sitting on them quite often as a kid.
I wonder if it's really run down inside now? There was a curtain that drew back from the screen when the movie started and a balcony (that cost extra to sit in).
That big window just to the left of the theater where it says "chamber of commerce" used to be a small barber shop in the 70's.
Rich

[IMG][/IMG]

[Timothy2251]

I had three in my neck of the woods: Jackson Cinema was less than a 5 minute walk from my house, Director's Chair on the Jackson - Lakewood border, and Town & Country on Rt. 9 in Howell. All three could be easily accessed, and were the sites of the occasional movie crawl (my record was 24+ hours of movies - start at one theater, move on to the next, move onto the third, back to the first, and so on).

All three are gone, now. Town and Country is now a Christian outreach center. Director's Chair was located in a mini-mall, and it's spot has played host to a karate studio, then a realtor's office.

Then there's Jackson Cinema. That one was abandoned for awhile, then became a Republican HQ around election time, then was used as a makeshift studio to film adult movies. A couple of girls I graduated high school with made their foray into show business that way at that locale. It's since been bulldozed and is now an empty lot, with a small, unmaintained parking lot.

[The Toyroom]

This was one of ours....The Capitol Theatre:



The 70s:



At one point during the 70s, we had the Capitol Theatre (one screen) [where I saw Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory for example] and the newer Rome Cinemas (3 screens) [Star Wars, Herbie the Love Bug Rides Again]

Eventually, as the Rome Cinema became more popular, the Capitol stopped showing new movies. But by the 80s, the Rome Cinema closed and we had no movie theatre at all.

So to see something like Batman for example (in '89) I had to drive about 20 minutes to see it at a mall. We had Riverside Mall with 3 screens and Sangertown Square with 6 and later 9 screens.

We FINALLY got a movie theatre once again (8 screens) I think in the very late 90s...maybe around '99.

The Capitol, meanwhile has been under a restoration process for many years now and it's more of an arthouse kind of thing were they show vintage films on occasion (1939's Wizard of Oz was just this last weekend) and quite often they charge the original admission price for that particualr film that's being shown. They still have the old organ that is sometimes played when they show something like a silent feature.

The modern Capitol:

[kryptosmaster]

^^^^Too bad that classic marquee is gone!

Rich

[The Toyroom]

^^^^Too bad that classic marquee is gone!

I think there is talk of restoring the old marquee but they have to secure the funding....

[kryptosmaster]

I think there is talk of restoring the old marquee but they have to secure the funding....

Did someone save it somewhere or are they going to recreate it?
I've seen fenced in lots where they've had old business signs and neon signs and stuff like that from old places that closed down. Not sure if someone bought them or if they were stored there by the building owners.
Rich

[The Toyroom]

^ I think they may have the original, or what's left....In most cases, they try and restore what is there instead of recreating. Which is what they did with the organ.

They are trying to restore the original 1928 blade and marquee as it was here:




This is the restored 1928 Moller organ:

[Hector]

Oakland has three old school art deco theaters...all fully restored...

The Grand Lake theater...






The Fox Theater





The Fox Theater, Oakland California | Another Planet Entertainment | APE Concerts

The Paramount theater...




http://www.paramounttheatre.com/


The Fox theater is used mostly for orchestra, concerts, plays, and other live events...the Paramount the same, but it also show movies...mostly classic films like Casablanca, Citizen Kane, MGM musicals, stuff like that.

The Grand Lake theater is exclusively just for movies.

[Sideshow Spock]

^
Those are outstanding. I wonder how they secured the funding to restore them.. that's a tough nut to crack in this day and age.

[kryptosmaster]

Buffalo has a grand old 1920's theater. I know they restored it back in the 80's. It almost got demolished. Now it's a national historic site.
I've never actually been inside it but I know it's gorgeous. I did catch the bus in front of it many times back in the 80's, LOL.
Rich





This is where I saw Star Wars in 1977.
The Geitner Theater in Silver Creek, NY
It closed in the 1980's. The name shows Center in the nighttime photo and the daytime photo shows the building more recently. The marquee is gone. The article states the balcony was removed.
[IMG][/IMG]

[Bizarro Amy]

Those are some pretty fantastic theaters. We still have the Strand-Capitol in York, where I grew up. The one side is for live theater/concerts and the other has a big movie screen, with the small stage in front. I haven't gone for a while, and I know they've done some remodeling/restoration.
The first thing I thought of when I saw this thread was the old drive-in outside of York called Stonybrook. I remember my parents taking me there to see Jungle Book when I was a kid. Mr. Mom was the other feature and I fell asleep. I know it closed ages ago, and the last time I was out that way, the screen was still there, with ivy grown over it. I might take a drive down there some weekend to see what it looks like now.

[Hector]

^
Those are outstanding. I wonder how they secured the funding to restore them.. that's a tough nut to crack in this day and age.

Both the Grand Lake theater and the Paramount were restored many years ago.

The Fox theater was recently restored.

The Paramount theater was featured in the movie Tucker with Jeff Bridges.

[Duncan]

A lot of the theaters I went to in Philly were already chains & multiplexes, so I don't miss them too much. Central Ohio has a few old ones still running. My fav is Studio 35. Also, during the summer, CAPA (Central Ohio Performing Arts) shows old movies in a beautifully restored theater downtown. If I weren't going to the Meet, I'd be headed here:

[starsky]

it's all corporate theaters around here.