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Cinema Treasures Needs Your Help!
posted by
Patrick Crowley
on
September 14, 2007 at 12:25 pm
In a few weeks, Cinema Treasures will have been online for seven years.
As many of you know, a few months ago we moved this website to a much more powerful (and expensive) server. The new server has been fantastic, and has really helped us keep up with the growth of this website and our traffic.
However, the monthly cost of maintaining this project has become more than either of us can support without additional funding. After seven years, we’ve definitely reached a point where we need your support.
Starting next week, we will begin accepting donations. As well, we’ll be including some tasteful, text-based advertisements on our pages to help offset costs. (Don’t worry… they won’t be annoying.)
All of us at Cinema Treasures are very excited about these developments because they will allow Cinema Treasures to not only keep up with our existing growth, but start adding some of the features you’ve long been requesting (like photo galleries, message boards, etc.).
If you’ve enjoyed this site over the years, please consider making a donation next week.
Thank you once again to our incredible volunteers, theater editors Bryan Krefft and Ken Roe, and blog editor, Michael Zoldessy. Their hard work and your contributions have made Cinema Treasures what it is today.
Sincerely,
Patrick Crowley & Ross Melnick
Cinema Treasures
Comments (14)
Glad to hear it…….Let us know when…..
Cinema Treasures was very important when I was gathering information on old theaters and again when eventually I acquired one. Since I am a movie palace owner, I have absolutely no extra money. However, I will be sending SOMETHING, I promise.
If I might make a suggestion— how about taking your show on the road? There are certainly enough of these old theaters across America— 1) a simple Power Point slide show — considering your resources of photos and information— would be great in an old theater; 2) all the people who run old theaters know you guys; 3) Record tours of each theater on video— You could end up on HGTV! 4) Combine your show with a classic film— there are actually some good ones that are public domain, and rights to most old movies are not expensive.
A 2-week vacation could put you into maybe half a dozen theaters. Fund raisers for restorations or regular bookings could net you a few thousand dollars. I would definitely be interested in a show like that.
Warren Dewey
Golden State Theatre
Monterey CA
And also, any vacation that I take by bicycle for 2 days to 2 weeks, I always look up theaters on my route to check out, ones that sometimes aren’t on here, but I find info and report. Chasing history is always fun and it benefits everyone.
A few days ago on one of the theater pages, somebody asked for photos of the theater. Somebody else replied that this website has always been for discussion, but for photos go look at cinematour. Hah? If you don’t know what a theater looks like, including its interior, how can you know what the theater is all about? A picture really is worth a thousand words. In the intro section, there’s no need to describe every detail if there’s a photo that will do the job even better. So, I’m really looking forward to the photo gallery.
Thanks Ross and Patrict for being such dedicated hosts and leaders of this website! And, of course, thanks to the volunteers, and to all the people who post interesting comments about the theaters, and (currently) link photos.
We can provide free server space on our box if you need it. We are running Linux/Apache with all the bells and whistles.
www.film.ca
Film.Ca Inc.
Let me be first in line to contribute to this imporant and informative site. Since the demise of most of the great movie palaces we need Cinema Treasures to help hold on to our memories.
Many thanks Patrick,Ross and staff, for helping me, through your website, to hold on to those wonderful memories.
Cinematour may have pictures but the way they lay them out just plain sucks. I prefer the clean look of Cinema Treasures with the comments centered and if there is a picture, keep it at the top. But if the upgrade will allow for pictures, please maintain the current layout but have the pictures on either side to maintain the site’s current look. If a viewer wants to enlarge the picture on the side, he just has to click on it. Or maybe have a beta/preview of the new enhanced site with pictures and video to allow for comments and feedback before the whole site is overhauled.
Seven years? Congratulations! I am addicted to your website and view it everyday with my morning tea.
EVERY MEMBER SHOULD CONTRIBUTE NOW. Please post your bank and routing number for depositing… or an address where we can gladly send our TAX DEDUCTIBLE donations.
Artistic CT members need to design a “help wanted” poster (approved by CT) then send it to the movie palaces (on line) requesting them to display it in one of the movie poster cases.
How about banner ads?
Thanks to everyone for their responses. It’s really awesome to know we have your support.
@Warren — That’s a cool idea. Maybe we’ll do that down the road. :)
@Jeff — We’re covered on hosting, but thanks for offering!
@Simon — Donations will not be tax deductible for now. We haven’t decided if we’re going to seek 501©3 status yet.
@Kram — People get annoyed by banner ads, so we’ll be sticking with just text ads initially.
Patrick,
I’d be interested in buying a text ad to promote the dvd of my movie theatre preservation documentary, “Preserve Me a Seat.” Please email me at: and give me more information. Thanks! Cinema Treasures is the best!
Yours,
Jim
I can’t afford to contirbute a lot, but will be more than happy to contribute what Ican. I love this site. As it was posted above, this keeps the grand old theatres alive
Ok, guys… we just added a donation button to the homepage. :)
Hello Patrick: I posted a message before I became a member so I am not sure whether it was printed.
I was asking about the “PAT” who mentioned a photo of the marquee of a theatre featuring a movie that I starred in in the 30’s ( WB) called THE GREAT O'MALLEY. I do hope that everyone read my autobiography which to my delight was named best of 2005. It was called MY FIFTEEN MINUTES and
Leonard Maltin gave it a rave review. We received so many requests for another book from me that voila…….FIVE MINUTES MORE became available on October 1st. If you are a “youngster” I was WB first kid star under long term contract and I think the fascinaton with my books are all the stories I told of the various icons that I co starred with or just knew very well with over 100 rare pictures to go with them. The most comments I got on my various chapters were on Errol Flynn,Humphrey Bogart,Judy Garland, Lana Turner,Shirley Temple ( I was Becky in THE LITTLE PRINCESS aftet I left Warners) and even a chapter on the gentleman who was my bodyguard for a short while…the real Eliot Ness.
I am brand new to Cinema Treasures and I am sure I will be enjoying it quite thoroughly.
If you ever have an auction I would be happy to donate one of my books autographed.
Blessings to you and yours Sybil Jason