Thanks David for the image. You can see when they added the CinemaScope® wings to the sides probably in 1954? What a place to live under the back of the screen! Thanks again.
Thanks ST for this nice photo. Must have looked great at night with color lights on the palms. I wonder If that was the managers apartments under the screen? Probably long gone I guess. Thanks again
Thanks David for this rare photo of the Northern California king pin of movie theatres and drive-in’s Ray Syufy. He was a smart business person buying up farm land and putting in outdoor movie screens and building 70mm Super Cinerama® dome screens around CA. The land the Syufy family still owns the sons have taken over to sell the old drive inn’s for mall space then they put in a new multiplex cinema on the property. The Syufy family kept a few of the old drive in’s around CA,Nevada and Arizona now under ‘Westwind Theatres’ and still run them today with the flea markets. Ray was way ahead of his time as a independent movie theatre owner and real estate guru. He went after the big movie studios to get first run movies for his small chain of cinemas. Thanks to the Syufy family located in Marin county that still carry his legacy.
Thanks Jim for this clip from Boxoffice Mag. The Nimitz freeway in the East Bay had many old outdoor movie theatres as the farm land was so cheap in the 50’s & 60’s. It was so fun driving by when I was a kid with their giant CinemaScope® screens. The property was worth so much they all come down in the early 1980’s. I have a ton of old Boxoffice mags and It’s great to look at the Modern Theatre section from the 1950’s & 60’s to see all the new movie theatres indoor and outdoor going up plus all the new wide screen systems coming.
So nice to see a photo of the CINERAMA® curved drapes that this theatre had. Thanks Jet for the image. I wonder If anyone has photos of the CINERAMA® screen?
M1944**thanks for this great photo of the back of the PP DI semi curved screen. You can see the wood sections on the sides that they added for CinemaScope® in the 1950’s.
Thanks Kino. I wonder is this art wall mural was ever lit from the back? Would look great with low blue halo light from behind when a movie was on. The place just sits empty year after year and a pool may be going in. I saw 70mm ‘Cleopatra’ roadshow semi flat Todd AO screen here many years ago plus many other 70mm roadshow movies. This was UA’s second tier 70mm theatre down the street from the torn down Coronet. The Coronet was the first theatre to have a curved Todd-AO screen in SF in 1955 for Oklahoma.
A great place to see a CINERAMA® movie when visiting Oahu in It’s day. Time to move out the current store and re install CINERAMA® and showcase ‘SOUTH SEAS ADVENTURE’ for all the tourists to see on the giant curved screen with pink curtains. Roadshow comes back with a program and intermission for a new generation to enjoy. Thanks David for the memories.
Thanks Steve for the memories of the UA Galaxy Theatre. Was not open long and had THX in 2 of the largest auditoriums. The land around this cinema was worth so much It is now another condo on Van Ness. So many theatres have closed around this area like the Regency 1 & 2 across the street now a music venue and the Royal Theatre on Polk St torn down for condos, they did keep part of the front but took out all the neon blade Royal marquee. The small art Luminare Theatre now gone. A brand new large cinema is going into the space a block away from the former UA Galaxy by a new movie circuit company, lets hope they survive. Lucky we did not have a big earthquake in SF when the Galaxy was open because of the lobby glass. Over the brief years It was open some of the glass did crack and UA just left It in. They had a few pieces of neon inside the glass blocks that lit up but not much. At least the Galaxy had good sound proofing as most of It was made of thick cement blocks.
Thanks Kino great cinema auditorium to watch a western cowboy movie. I wonder If they play western soundtrack music when you come into the place with the curtains closed?
Thanks Kino another great cinema space, you won’t find something like this in the lame USA movie circuits. They would never spend the money to put in curtains and fancy side lights?
Thanks again Kino for giving us a look at some class inside a Europe movie theatre. Nice to see the movie star art on the side walls. I wonder If It glows with black light in the dark? Strange to have a big #4 on the left exit door. Is this auditorium #4 or exit #4 out of 3 other exit doors in this space. Looks like It could be annoying to watch a movie and see a big white #4 out of the corner of your eye reflecting on the door. Great that they have curtains also!
Thanks David for the image. You can see when they added the CinemaScope® wings to the sides probably in 1954? What a place to live under the back of the screen! Thanks again.
Thanks ST for this nice photo. Must have looked great at night with color lights on the palms. I wonder If that was the managers apartments under the screen? Probably long gone I guess. Thanks again
Thanks I wonder if this western art had black lights on them to make a glow?
Thanks Lou for the photos of the UA Rivoli with its huge curved TODD-AO curved screen with curtains.
Thanks David for this rare photo of the Northern California king pin of movie theatres and drive-in’s Ray Syufy. He was a smart business person buying up farm land and putting in outdoor movie screens and building 70mm Super Cinerama® dome screens around CA. The land the Syufy family still owns the sons have taken over to sell the old drive inn’s for mall space then they put in a new multiplex cinema on the property. The Syufy family kept a few of the old drive in’s around CA,Nevada and Arizona now under ‘Westwind Theatres’ and still run them today with the flea markets. Ray was way ahead of his time as a independent movie theatre owner and real estate guru. He went after the big movie studios to get first run movies for his small chain of cinemas. Thanks to the Syufy family located in Marin county that still carry his legacy.
Thanks David for this classic photo. Nice to see the CinemaScope® attachment on the sides. Much larger then the flat 1.33 screen.
Thanks Jim for this clip from Boxoffice Mag. The Nimitz freeway in the East Bay had many old outdoor movie theatres as the farm land was so cheap in the 50’s & 60’s. It was so fun driving by when I was a kid with their giant CinemaScope® screens. The property was worth so much they all come down in the early 1980’s. I have a ton of old Boxoffice mags and It’s great to look at the Modern Theatre section from the 1950’s & 60’s to see all the new movie theatres indoor and outdoor going up plus all the new wide screen systems coming.
Thanks Johnny for the ad. Bette must have had a tight drive time, hope they did not run into any traffic for her live stage appearance.
David thanks for the curved screen photo.Must have looked great on a scope movie also.
You can see from this photo the curved CinemaScope® attachment on the sides.
Thanks so much 50’s for this photo. What a great curved screen almost like Cinerama® at the Drive In.
So nice to see a photo of the CINERAMA® curved drapes that this theatre had. Thanks Jet for the image. I wonder If anyone has photos of the CINERAMA® screen?
M1944**thanks for this great photo of the back of the PP DI semi curved screen. You can see the wood sections on the sides that they added for CinemaScope® in the 1950’s.
Wow thanks David for the ad. Must have been a great night at he Chicago State Lake Theatre with Ann Margret onstage plus QUINTAPHONIC SOUND®
Thanks Kino. I wonder is this art wall mural was ever lit from the back? Would look great with low blue halo light from behind when a movie was on. The place just sits empty year after year and a pool may be going in. I saw 70mm ‘Cleopatra’ roadshow semi flat Todd AO screen here many years ago plus many other 70mm roadshow movies. This was UA’s second tier 70mm theatre down the street from the torn down Coronet. The Coronet was the first theatre to have a curved Todd-AO screen in SF in 1955 for Oklahoma.
Thanks Elmo so nice to see the Cinerama® side booth in the corner.
Thanks CC must have looked great with the black light glow going during a movie on the side walls.
Thanks Joseph for the UA Rivoli image. Must have looked great on the big Todd-AO curved screen.
A great place to see a CINERAMA® movie when visiting Oahu in It’s day. Time to move out the current store and re install CINERAMA® and showcase ‘SOUTH SEAS ADVENTURE’ for all the tourists to see on the giant curved screen with pink curtains. Roadshow comes back with a program and intermission for a new generation to enjoy. Thanks David for the memories.
Thanks for the great curved screen photo Giles. Too bad they did not put in some color lights not just old white lights.
Thanks David, nice cinema to see a 70mm film when they showed them. Someone needed to save this great neon marquee, they probably just smashed It up.
Thanks Steve for the memories of the UA Galaxy Theatre. Was not open long and had THX in 2 of the largest auditoriums. The land around this cinema was worth so much It is now another condo on Van Ness. So many theatres have closed around this area like the Regency 1 & 2 across the street now a music venue and the Royal Theatre on Polk St torn down for condos, they did keep part of the front but took out all the neon blade Royal marquee. The small art Luminare Theatre now gone. A brand new large cinema is going into the space a block away from the former UA Galaxy by a new movie circuit company, lets hope they survive. Lucky we did not have a big earthquake in SF when the Galaxy was open because of the lobby glass. Over the brief years It was open some of the glass did crack and UA just left It in. They had a few pieces of neon inside the glass blocks that lit up but not much. At least the Galaxy had good sound proofing as most of It was made of thick cement blocks.
Thanks Kino great cinema auditorium to watch a western cowboy movie. I wonder If they play western soundtrack music when you come into the place with the curtains closed?
Thanks Kino another great cinema space, you won’t find something like this in the lame USA movie circuits. They would never spend the money to put in curtains and fancy side lights?
Thanks again Kino for giving us a look at some class inside a Europe movie theatre. Nice to see the movie star art on the side walls. I wonder If It glows with black light in the dark? Strange to have a big #4 on the left exit door. Is this auditorium #4 or exit #4 out of 3 other exit doors in this space. Looks like It could be annoying to watch a movie and see a big white #4 out of the corner of your eye reflecting on the door. Great that they have curtains also!