Cinema Treasures

  • August 20, 2018

    We’re switching to Apple Maps

    Image

    Hey, folks!

    We’re changing how theater maps on Cinema Treasures look.

    In the past, we have been using Google Maps for all the maps you see on Cinema Treasures. We used Google Maps on each theater page to show where the theater is located. We also used Google Maps when we displayed a list of theaters so that we can show the location of each theater in a given area.

    Unfortunately, though, Google has decided to dramatically increase prices for their mapping service. This price hike has impacted our website and thousands of other sites like it. In our case, if we continue to use Google Maps, our monthly bill will definitely increase. And, not just a little bit — we would need to pay 500 times what we used to pay!

    We’re not kidding. Our bill would literally be 500 times greater. And, as you can imagine, that’s not really something we can afford, so we can no longer use Google Maps on Cinema Treasures.

    Luckily, however, Apple has recently started allowing websites to use Apple Maps in the same way Google does. (Up until now, Apple Maps was only available for use on the iPhone.) While these new maps from Apple do look a little bit different, they mostly work the same as Google Maps.

    In addition, due to this pricing change, we have been forced to disable embedding street views on our theater pages for now. In the future, we may be able to bring these back and there’s a real possibility they will return — but only if we can figure out a way to do so affordably.

    For now, if you need to access the street view for a theater, just click on the ‘View larger map’ link on the theater page. This will display a larger theater map. And below the map there will be a direct link to the Google Maps page for that theater. And, once you’re looking at theater in Google Maps, you can load the street view for that location.

    Lastly, while we have done a lot of extensive testing, if you do see a bug with these new maps, please let us know.

    Thanks for your understanding and support!

    Cheers,
    Patrick

  • May 5, 2015

    On The Screen: Cinerama

    Image

    Is there a Cinerama theatre near you? Cinerama was a novel film process developed to create a unique experience at a time when movie theatres were beginning to feel the effects of television’s popularity.

    The brainchild of engineer Fred Waller, Cinerama was devised as a viewing experience that would capture the full vision spectrum, immersing viewers in the film experience.

    This diagram, published by Cinerama Films, Inc., gives the clearest idea of the complexities involved in the Cinerama experience. At the bottom you see a camera man recording on three film reels, capturing a broad view. At the same time, multiple microphones are placed to capture a wide range of sounds. At the top, a trio of projectors work to cover the curved three part screen.

  • May 4, 2015

    Theatre Historical Society of America is blogging with Cinema Treasures!

    Image

    Theatre Historical Society of America is blogging with Cinema Treasures. During the last few months we have welcomed a new Programs Director and a new Development and Marketing Director. We are also excited to share that our Archives Director and his wife have welcomed their first child. While the first quarter of 2015 has been a little quiet on the blog, it has been an exciting time of growth and opportunity at THS that we are thrilled to begin sharing today.

    The THS archives and Cinema Treasures website are a wonderful combination of resources for historic theatre enthusiasts. Along with the beautiful photographs and overviews of so many theatres here at Cinema Treasures, you can find complimentary materials that celebrate and document historic theatres at the THS online archives.

  • April 19, 2015

    Cinemacon / Cinema Treasures on Twitter

    Cinema Treasures will be in Las Vegas this week for Cinemacon. For updates this week and throughout the year, please make sure to follow our Twitter feed.

  • December 24, 2014

    Happy Holidays from Cinema Treasures

    As another year comes to a close, we just want to thank you all for your continued support. Whether you’re off to see The Interview or another film — or spending time with family — we want to wish you a very Happy New Year! See you in 2015 and at the movies …

    Ross, Patrick, and Ken

  • December 9, 2014

    Cinema Treasures and THS Announce New Strategic Partnership

    Image

    It is with great excitement that Cinema Treasures (CT) and the Theatre Historical Society of America (THS) announce a new strategic partnership effective today. Janine Pixley, Development & Marketing Director for THS, will begin contributing daily to the Cinema Treasures blog in our collective effort to introduce CT users to THS and THS members to CT.

    All of us at Cinema Treasures are thrilled to be working with Janine, Executive Director Richard Fosbrink, and other members of the THS staff. “It’s going to be a great opportunity to connect movie theatre news and notes from around the globe to a group of people who are hungry for it,” Pixley notes. “We’re very excited about this new partnership with Cinema Treasures and can’t wait to introduce the Theatre Historical Society of America to this community as a whole.”

    Cinema Treasures was founded in 1999 and inspired by two books: Great American Movie Theaters by David Naylor (1987) and Best Remaining Seats by Ben Hall (1962). Hall was not only the author of a foundational work on film exhibition history but he was also the co-founder of the incomparable Theatre Historical Society of America. Since its founding in 1969, THS has documented and celebrated the architectural, cultural and social history of America’s theaters. Through its preservation of the collections in the American Theatre Architecture Archive, its signature publication Marquee™ and it many events including Conclave Theatre Tour, THS increases awareness, appreciation and scholarly study of America’s theatres.

    As an inspiration for our own site, it’s an honor to be working with THS today.

    The blog, of course, is in excellent hands. Like all of us, Janine isn’t just an important player at THS, she’s also a movie theater fan: “My earliest memory seeing a movie (which will probably date me) is sneaking into the balcony during Terminator 2 at Edmund Town Hall in Connecticut. You had to have a parent with you if you were under 17, but there’s nothing like watching a movie in a balcony — except when you "accidentally” drop popcorn to the main floor."

    Today’s announcement provides us with one more opportunity to thank our longtime blog editor Michael Zoldessy for his years of heroic service. Our delay in rebooting the blog was to make sure that its next iteration lived up to Michael’s standards and pushed us further in a new direction. With today’s announcement, we have accomplished both and we’re thrilled to be working with Janine and THS.

    (Below: Janine Pixley, left)

  • November 5, 2014

    A Tribute to Our Former Blog Editor Michael Zoldessy

    Image

    If you’re like me, you visit the Cinema Treasures site for new cinemas, theater updates, and the latest news on classic cinemas and the contemporary moviegoing scene. If you’ve done the latter over the past decade, you have Michael Zoldessy to thank for making the CT blog a must-read.

    This site owes an enormous and incomparable debt to Michael for his tireless work and dedication to bringing the latest news to the site every week for nearly a decade. It’s hard to think of Cinema Treasures without him but I’m grateful that he’ll still be around as a visitor and I’m even more grateful to have his friendship.

    On behalf of Patrick, Ken, and myself, please help me thank Michael for everything he’s done for classic cinemas in Los Angeles and for his work on this site. Thank you Michael — we will miss you!

    P.S. The blog is on hiatus for the moment but we are happily seeking volunteers to work on the future of the blog.

  • October 27, 2014

    Blog Hiatus

    After this Friday, October 31, the blog at Cinema Treasures will be on hiatus. The space may evolve into something different as its future is currently being discussed.

    Thanks so much for your continued patronage and we will keep you posted on the next chapter of Cinema Treasures!

  • December 25, 2013

    Merry Christmas from Cinema Treasures

    Image

    We here at Cinema Treasures wish everyone has a great holiday and a Happy New Year. Thanks for visiting the site and see you at the movies!

    (Thanks to tinseltoes for providing the photo.)

  • July 4, 2013

    Happy 4th of July!

    Cinema Treasures is closed today for the holiday. See you at the movies … and, remember, no texting! If you need a helpful reminder, check out this PSA from Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke and the Alamo Drafthouse.