Thank you so much for that half hour of very entertaining viewing. I was fortunate enough to have been in Radio City Music Hall in the mid 40's to hear the Wurlitzer organ and see the Rockettes at the age of 6. I also had the pleasure of enjoying the Wiltern Theater in Los Angles in the 70's.
when I go to our local palace cinemas this is what I’m after a very beautiful picture house palace with beautiful balconies and great leather chairs and seats and every time I watch old episodes of siskel and Ebert I think of how beautiful old cinemas are then today with cinemas chains and no character or charm
I am fortunate enough to have been inside a few of these palaces. We still have a small scale version called The Paramount Theatre in Anderson, Indiana which is a beautiful facility complete with the facades and skyline. When we toured southern California during ATOS 2012 Convention, I got to see some great locations but not all I wished I could've seen. I loved the chamber setup at the Balboa Theatre in San Diego. I desire to return to L.A. soon to visit those locations we missed in 2012 like the El Capitan and then pop up to San Francisco area for The Castro.
Although I live in London I have been fortunate to see Radio City in NYC back in the early 1960's and watch a movie there when they still had a full stage show with orchestra, organ and the Rockettes, fantastic, and I think it was only a few dollars to get in. I have also visited the Tampa theatre in FL. In the UK many great movie palaces have been torn down, but a few have now been saved and restored and put to new use similar to in the US. Only this weekend the largest Wurlitzer organ in Europe has been restored and is now playing again in an old large restored movie house the Troxy Theatre Stepney London.
It's great so many of the picture palaces exist and others should be restored instead of being torn down. Gene Kelly was an usher in a movie palace, the Sheridan Square in the East Liberty section of Pittsburgh. Sadly, it was torn down in the 1950s. We don't need to lose any more of them.
Bring back the glorious movie palaces and I will start going to the pictures again. We are missing the sense of theatre with the curtains and atmosphere.
The {Alabama Theater} in downtown Birmingham is alive and saved, and is one of the most beautiful examples of theater architecture today. Restored to it's grand original beauty, it's worth a trip from any distance to see and enjoy.My favorite, check it out!
I live in New Zealand and I'm fortunate to have gone to our only movie palace in Auckland - Auckland Civic Theatre. Even though the revamping costed a few million, I'm glad the City Council saved it from ruin. The old movie palaces were beautiful in their day. So sad that some have withered away. It's heartbreaking :'(
I traveled all over Europe and have seen many old building that were not torn down. It is shameful what has happened in the United States with wonderful old buildings and theaters giving way to parking lots or replaced by plain boring buildings.
I very rarely go to a movie today. Today movie houses are just sterile factories. Wake up Hollywood. Give us decent, quality films again and venues like this to show them in and perhaps increase your audience. My opinion.
A few months ago I was fortunate to view the interior of The Los Angeles Theater, one of the "Granddaddy's" of Movie Palaces. Those in New York can soon return to The Loew's Kings in Brooklyn reopening in 2014-15 after a $94 million restoration!
It's too bad that all the "real" Movie Palaces have already been demolished in New York City, where they have NO RESPECT for real landmarks. If NYC hadn't ALLOWED Loew's Kings to get destroyed, they wouldn't now be involve in that $94 million dollar swindle. The theatre that should be saved, the RKO Keith's Flushing, like the Kings, continues to deteriorate while the idiot Landmarks Commission does NOTHING.
Bruce Sanders Bruce, regarding politics and swindle the RKO Keith's goes straight to the top of the list! Greed, and corruption prevailed in the destruction of that building. When I toured the Kings back in the late 80's it had already been closed for close to ten years and vandals ran amok stealing everything possible including the copper electric wiring. The City owned the theater having taken over after tax defaults. Unfortunately, the roof was leaking, and pigeons were flying through the auditorium. With two others, we met with the Brooklyn Borough Pres office and it was agreed that the roof would be replaced ( a "mere" one million back then). Regardless of the roof repair, at that time the theater needed about ten million to be restored. The theater remained silent all of these years and continued to deteriorate. There are a number of hurdles re opening a 3,600 seat movie theater considering the fact that we now live in an age of movies on demand streaming into our homes on large screen TV. Another issue faced was The Kings neighborhood was no longer the neighborhood that earlier generations remembered. Empty store fronts dotted the street. There was also a lack of parking. The City struck a deal whereas they funded part of the costs, and private enterprise is paying the rest. ( I do not know specifics ). Here's what you should know though: The surrounding empty storefronts are being leveled and The Kings will now be surrounded by parking! The theater is being restored to its original grandeur, but equally important is that the stage depth is being made deeper so as to ensure that Broadway type entertainment will be able to use the space which is I believe only second in size to Radio City re capacity. The restoration and money spent in the neighborhood is also bringing forth a HOTEL across the street! When the lights of the new marque shine once again the street will once again come alive after a thirty some odd year sleep. Unlike The RKO Keiths, developer greed and deception never was part of the equation, just the fact of economics and direction was needed. I for one am thrilled that "the ol' gal" is getting her makeup on and that the Brooklyn Borough President's office came through. Cheers
Is t is not possible to beam you back, but we can preserved and restore the few are still standing in many cities and preserve this heritage to future generations.
So for 10 cents back in the day you got to spend the day in a theater that was the equivalent of a five star hotel, a floor show, a double bill, a cartoon, and a serial chapter? Am I missing something or are things now a tad backwards, I'd gladly pay eight bucks for all of that
I am so glad that many of these beautiful theatres are being restored and repurposed into performing arts centers!!!
Thank you so much for that half hour of very entertaining viewing. I was fortunate enough to have been in Radio City Music Hall in the mid 40's to hear the Wurlitzer organ and see the Rockettes at the age of 6. I also had the pleasure of enjoying the Wiltern Theater in Los Angles in the 70's.
Awesome, I would love to (have) visit/ed all those great old movie palaces!
when I go to our local palace cinemas this is what I’m after a very beautiful picture house palace with beautiful balconies and great leather chairs and seats and every time I watch old episodes of siskel and Ebert I think of how beautiful old cinemas are then today with cinemas chains and no character or charm
I am fortunate enough to have been inside a few of these palaces. We still have a small scale version called The Paramount Theatre in Anderson, Indiana which is a beautiful facility complete with the facades and skyline. When we toured southern California during ATOS 2012 Convention, I got to see some great locations but not all I wished I could've seen. I loved the chamber setup at the Balboa Theatre in San Diego. I desire to return to L.A. soon to visit those locations we missed in 2012 like the El Capitan and then pop up to San Francisco area for The Castro.
Although I live in London I have been fortunate to see Radio City in NYC back in the early 1960's and watch a movie there when they still had a full stage show with orchestra, organ and the Rockettes, fantastic, and I think it was only a few dollars to get in.
I have also visited the Tampa theatre in FL.
In the UK many great movie palaces have been torn down, but a few have now been saved and restored and put to new use similar to in the US.
Only this weekend the largest Wurlitzer organ in Europe has been restored and is now playing again in an old large restored movie house the Troxy Theatre Stepney London.
It's great so many of the picture palaces exist and others should be restored instead of being torn down. Gene Kelly was an usher in a movie palace, the Sheridan Square in the East Liberty section of Pittsburgh. Sadly, it was torn down in the 1950s. We don't need to lose any more of them.
Bring back the glorious movie palaces and I will start going to the pictures again. We are missing the sense of theatre with the curtains and atmosphere.
The {Alabama Theater} in downtown Birmingham is alive and saved, and is one of the most beautiful examples of theater architecture today. Restored to it's grand original beauty, it's worth a trip from any distance to see and enjoy.My favorite, check it out!
Does that tune Carter plays at 8:20 have a name?
I live in New Zealand and I'm fortunate to have gone to our only movie palace in Auckland - Auckland Civic Theatre. Even though the revamping costed a few million, I'm glad the City Council saved it from ruin. The old movie palaces were beautiful in their day. So sad that some have withered away. It's heartbreaking :'(
I traveled all over Europe and have seen many old building that were not torn down. It is shameful what has happened in the United States with wonderful old buildings and theaters giving way to parking lots or replaced by plain boring buildings.
Movie Theaters as Tempels and movie stars like Gods.
I very rarely go to a movie today. Today movie houses are just sterile factories. Wake up Hollywood. Give us decent, quality films again and venues like this to show them in and perhaps increase your audience. My opinion.
+kraftpr YES ! My opinion too !!!!!!!!
I agree whole heartedly
A few months ago I was fortunate to view the interior of The Los Angeles Theater, one of the "Granddaddy's" of Movie Palaces. Those in New York can soon return to The Loew's Kings in Brooklyn reopening in 2014-15 after a $94 million restoration!
It's too bad that all the "real" Movie Palaces have already been demolished in New York City, where they have NO RESPECT for real landmarks. If NYC hadn't ALLOWED Loew's Kings to get destroyed, they wouldn't now be involve in that $94 million dollar swindle. The theatre that should be saved, the RKO Keith's Flushing, like the Kings, continues to deteriorate while the idiot Landmarks Commission does NOTHING.
Bruce Sanders Bruce, regarding politics and swindle the RKO Keith's goes straight to the top of the list! Greed, and corruption prevailed in the destruction of that building. When I toured the Kings back in the late 80's it had already been closed for close to ten years and vandals ran amok stealing everything possible including the copper electric wiring. The City owned the theater having taken over after tax defaults. Unfortunately, the roof was leaking, and pigeons were flying through the auditorium. With two others, we met with the Brooklyn Borough Pres office and it was agreed that the roof would be replaced ( a "mere" one million back then). Regardless of the roof repair, at that time the theater needed about ten million to be restored. The theater remained silent all of these years and continued to deteriorate. There are a number of hurdles re opening a 3,600 seat movie theater considering the fact that we now live in an age of movies on demand streaming into our homes on large screen TV. Another issue faced was The Kings neighborhood was no longer the neighborhood that earlier generations remembered. Empty store fronts dotted the street. There was also a lack of parking.
The City struck a deal whereas they funded part of the costs, and private enterprise is paying the rest. ( I do not know specifics ). Here's what you should know though:
The surrounding empty storefronts are being leveled and The Kings will now be surrounded by parking! The theater is being restored to its original grandeur, but equally important is that the stage depth is being made deeper so as to ensure that Broadway type entertainment will be able to use the space which is I believe only second in size to Radio City re capacity.
The restoration and money spent in the neighborhood is also bringing forth a HOTEL across the street! When the lights of the new marque shine once again the street will once again come alive after a thirty some odd year sleep.
Unlike The RKO Keiths, developer greed and deception never was part of the equation, just the fact of economics and direction was needed. I for one am thrilled that "the ol' gal" is getting her makeup on and that the Brooklyn Borough President's office came through. Cheers
Beam me back!
Is t is not possible to beam you back, but we can preserved and restore the few are still standing in many cities and preserve this heritage to future generations.
No mention of the projection outfits..shame, a brilliant film, thanks.
Anybody know the name of the background music that from 15:22 - 17:18?
So for 10 cents back in the day you got to spend the day in a theater that was the equivalent of a five star hotel, a floor show, a double bill, a cartoon, and a serial chapter? Am I missing something or are things now a tad backwards, I'd gladly pay eight bucks for all of that
Consider that if you wanted to see moving pictures you had to leave your house. There was no TV.
I was born too late