Thanks for the view, neeb. I remember it well, especially the similar view from the nearby Vance Hotel. Trader Vic’s was in the Ben Franklin bldg (frontage on 5th Ave.). The hotel blended nicely with the theatre, from the monorail side.
I remember seeing the sign on the fire escape side, ‘John Hamrick’s Orpheum Theatre’ and thinking how lucky this guy was to OWN the Orpheum!
In the 1980s I knew Red Roberts, a vaudevillian hoofer, who’d played at the Orpheum with Bob Hope in the 20s. Great stories.
I also knew a woman who’d had an all-girl band in the 30s. She fell into the Orpheum’s orchestra pit and broke her leg, but she didn’t miss the performance that night, leading the band on crutches.
Under its original Newsreel name, the house is profiled in ‘The Exhibitor Catalogue 1940’, and features pictures of a doorman standing in front of the stainless steel doors, an ad showing ‘before and after’ pix of the marquee comparing its makeover, and in the auditorium, the most memorable feature was the carpeting, which had ‘unwinding reels’ in a Radio City Art Deco-type pattern. The lounges featured original bentwood furniture by the renowned Finnish architect/designer Alvar Aalto. All in all, a pretty restrained but elegant house, completely uniform with Rock Center.
In 1968 I saw WHERE WERE YOU WHEN THE LIGHTS WENT OUT, plus full stage show, Mighty Wurlitzer and the Rockettes. Trailer was for HOT MILLIONS, and I was impressed that trailer was specially produced for RCMH. None of the little program lamps on the back of each seat were in working order, and everything seemed to be spray-painted in pinkish-red. Not a good time for the Hall, but I was staggered by it nevertheless – naturally.
However, I revisited Radio City a few weeks ago, and to put it simply, I almost got down on my knees. Wonderful beyond words. On the tour you get to meet a Rockette, too. Not a bad gimmick, and the tour was Grade-A – very intelligent and in-depth. The under-stage mechanism is jaw-dropping. (And I used to help showgirls into the organ lift at Seattle’s Music Hall too – a broom closet in comparison!)
Radio City’s the summit, and those who run it know what they have. We can rest easy.
When I first visited NYC in 1968, the frontage of the Astor was plastered with gigantic graphics of Julie Andrews in Robert Wise’s STAR (20th-Fox). It was the largest billboard I’d ever seen! I was of course blown away, thinking the picture was probably the greatest story ever filmed, but it flopped and I didn’t actually see it until two years ago (actually not that bad!)
At any rate, aside from the RC Music Hall, the Astor seemed the biggest of NYC’s big time picture houses – if only because of that memorable facade!
Just was in NYC a couple weeks ago, and now it’s virtually impossible to distinguish what’s really behind all the digital advertising in Times Square. I did manage to locate the Palace though, the onetime Mount Olympus of vaudeville (vertical sign).
By chance, I did a walk-through of the Orpheum just as it was being parted out before demolition. Jaw-dropping.
There were couch-like seats on the main floor. The elevator was marble-lined. The doors into the auditorium at the top balcony level were folding, like telephone kiosk doors.
I mourned the loss of the Orpheum for years.
Across the street (5th Ave), the Orpheum Garage for parking survived into the 1990s, I think. It had a brick facade that echoed the theatre’s facade.
I worked at the Music Hall in its last sad incarnation under Jack McGovern in 1983. It was the absolute end of an era, and I’m glad I could hop on for a time. I helped get dancers into the old organ elevator that raised them onstage.
The house was famous for two ghosts: a construction worker with a hardhat way up on the balcony, and a woman who screamed in the lobby after hours.
The Calvary Baptist Church has now opened for business.
I recently did a walk-through and was impressed at the new layout. Since so much had previously been trashed, what remained was mostly the proscenium columns and the stage itself. The balcony remains as a closed off unit, but a partial restoration is better than none at all.
The Vogue Theatre in nearby Cle Elum is currently undergoing rebirth from the wall studs on up. The Liberty and the Vogue shared entrance door designs for years.
As of August, 2009, the Liberty went dark. Hallett Theatres sold it to the local Calvary Baptist Church. The church’s management has made it known that they are aware of the building’s architectural value. They intend to remove the triplex walls and return to a single auditorium layout. They claim that the ‘Liberty’ sign will remain on the exterior.
Local newspaper reports stated the Liberty was built in 1937, as mentioned above.
This ending of an era is certainly a blow, but at least the building will not go derelict or face demolition.
Lookin' GOOD!
I used to have to change that marquee via one of the most death-inviting ladders imaginable. You had to stand on the top rung, and passers-by were completely oblivious. I should wear a t-shirt saying: ‘I SURVIVED THE SEATTLE PARAMOUNT MARQUEE-CHANGING LADDER’.
I happened to work at the Paramount in ‘76-'78, and we had everyone from Joan Baez to the Communist Party of America convention, with Muddy Waters, the Spinners, the Bay City Rollers, and Steve Martin in between. Great times, but the house was falling apart. I personally stopped several acts of vandalism (idiots trying to bust off wall sconces, etc.) but everybody was always in awe of the place. At some concerts, you could get high just by normal breathing, and it wasn’t just when the Grateful Dead were there. One New Years Eve concert, I dropped a bunch of balloons from the great dome. All the projection hardware was intact, but neglected. I remember seeing a CinemaScope lens over in the corner as if it were
garbage. They rescued the place just in time.
Too bad, too bad. I saw ‘2001’ at the old ‘red curtains’ Cinerama when it came out in ‘68, and a couple other times there in reissue. No reason to trek in if the latest go round is flawed, though. Hopefully, the malfunctions won’t happen again. Audiences may put up with a lot, but the management better kick some butt, so to speak.
Brian, you and your team did a GREAT job of handling ‘HTWWW’ when I saw it on Superbowl Sunday a few years back. Also, I really appreciated listening to you guys up in the booths, explaining about the process. A truly memorable occasion.
As of late 2007, the antiques mall that occupied the Audion for almost 20 years has gone out of business, and it stands empty, like the former Pix, next door. It could easily be restored as a picture house.
Letha, what a spine-tingling experience! Were the stars at the UA? ‘Quo Vadis’ holds up extremely well today. Director Merv LeRoy, after a special screening in San Francisco (his home town), went out of the theatre alone and shed tears, as he had sold papers on that very street as an impoverished victim of the ‘06 earthquake. A very 'Hollywood’ moment. The ambiance of the UA would have been perfect for that masterpiece of an epic. Ustinov always steals the show, i.e. ‘Help me, Acte!’
Interesting. To me, everything about the UA seems very ‘Grauman-ish’ in its' class and style. I have to rate it on the same quality level as Sid’s late and lamented Metropolitan (aka: Paramount) – which I never saw, but can only dream about.
Well, that’s the internet for you. You can’t believe everything you read. However, verification leads to more research.
Just some thoughts:
I think that the name association throws people, so they make assumptions. Theatre ownership in the US is about as complicated as business gets, with more name changes than Zsa Zsa Gabor marriages. Though many of the big chains had/have studio names mixed in, any direct connection was fleeting in most cases. I remember that the Paramount in Seattle (which I naturally thought was owned by Paramount Pictures) was operated by Fox Westcoast at the time, and many a big 20th-Fox picture played there. I quickly learned about the early 50s studio/theatre chain bust-up, and how, since that time, nothing in that sense can be taken at face value. But of course, as Warren points out, the studio/theatre relationships have always been messy. I was always impressed by the Walter Reade chain,(mostly in NYC, but saw one in Vancouver BC), though films released by Reade’s distribution division, Continental, did not necessarily play there, although I think the Russian ‘War and Peace’, distrib by Continental, played at the DeMille or Ziegfeld in NYC. I know I could look that up for sure, but I’m not quite that ambitious right now!
Another example of mix and match: on the post card linked above, the ‘Texaco’ sign up on the UA’s water tower grille. Chief tenant of the office section of the building gets that privilege, I guess? It would have been cool to see ‘United Artists’ glowing up there.
Indeed, Barrymore’s Ruritanian (well, Russian, actually) costume in the group portrait links with a photo from ‘Tempest’ (1928), seen at IMDb. The picture obviously played at the UA, but did it open the house, I wonder? Surely a ‘Pickfair’ picture had that honor.
Warren, thanks for the Joe Schenck/UATC info. Schenck was one of the most colorful personalities in Hollywood. The guy did it all.
As of 6/11, the Audion building is FOR SALE.
Thanks for the view, neeb. I remember it well, especially the similar view from the nearby Vance Hotel. Trader Vic’s was in the Ben Franklin bldg (frontage on 5th Ave.). The hotel blended nicely with the theatre, from the monorail side.
I remember seeing the sign on the fire escape side, ‘John Hamrick’s Orpheum Theatre’ and thinking how lucky this guy was to OWN the Orpheum!
In the 1980s I knew Red Roberts, a vaudevillian hoofer, who’d played at the Orpheum with Bob Hope in the 20s. Great stories.
I also knew a woman who’d had an all-girl band in the 30s. She fell into the Orpheum’s orchestra pit and broke her leg, but she didn’t miss the performance that night, leading the band on crutches.
Under its original Newsreel name, the house is profiled in ‘The Exhibitor Catalogue 1940’, and features pictures of a doorman standing in front of the stainless steel doors, an ad showing ‘before and after’ pix of the marquee comparing its makeover, and in the auditorium, the most memorable feature was the carpeting, which had ‘unwinding reels’ in a Radio City Art Deco-type pattern. The lounges featured original bentwood furniture by the renowned Finnish architect/designer Alvar Aalto. All in all, a pretty restrained but elegant house, completely uniform with Rock Center.
In 1968 I saw WHERE WERE YOU WHEN THE LIGHTS WENT OUT, plus full stage show, Mighty Wurlitzer and the Rockettes. Trailer was for HOT MILLIONS, and I was impressed that trailer was specially produced for RCMH. None of the little program lamps on the back of each seat were in working order, and everything seemed to be spray-painted in pinkish-red. Not a good time for the Hall, but I was staggered by it nevertheless – naturally.
However, I revisited Radio City a few weeks ago, and to put it simply, I almost got down on my knees. Wonderful beyond words. On the tour you get to meet a Rockette, too. Not a bad gimmick, and the tour was Grade-A – very intelligent and in-depth. The under-stage mechanism is jaw-dropping. (And I used to help showgirls into the organ lift at Seattle’s Music Hall too – a broom closet in comparison!)
Radio City’s the summit, and those who run it know what they have. We can rest easy.
When I first visited NYC in 1968, the frontage of the Astor was plastered with gigantic graphics of Julie Andrews in Robert Wise’s STAR (20th-Fox). It was the largest billboard I’d ever seen! I was of course blown away, thinking the picture was probably the greatest story ever filmed, but it flopped and I didn’t actually see it until two years ago (actually not that bad!)
At any rate, aside from the RC Music Hall, the Astor seemed the biggest of NYC’s big time picture houses – if only because of that memorable facade!
Just was in NYC a couple weeks ago, and now it’s virtually impossible to distinguish what’s really behind all the digital advertising in Times Square. I did manage to locate the Palace though, the onetime Mount Olympus of vaudeville (vertical sign).
The house was sub=divided in the 1990s, with little success.
It is now a coffee house/church. ‘Free movies’ are occasionally shown.
By chance, I did a walk-through of the Orpheum just as it was being parted out before demolition. Jaw-dropping.
There were couch-like seats on the main floor. The elevator was marble-lined. The doors into the auditorium at the top balcony level were folding, like telephone kiosk doors.
I mourned the loss of the Orpheum for years.
Across the street (5th Ave), the Orpheum Garage for parking survived into the 1990s, I think. It had a brick facade that echoed the theatre’s facade.
I worked at the Music Hall in its last sad incarnation under Jack McGovern in 1983. It was the absolute end of an era, and I’m glad I could hop on for a time. I helped get dancers into the old organ elevator that raised them onstage.
The house was famous for two ghosts: a construction worker with a hardhat way up on the balcony, and a woman who screamed in the lobby after hours.
RIP
I recently did a walk-through and the interior has been gutted and ready for restoration.
The last film shown there was ‘Jaws’ in 1975.
The Calvary Baptist Church has now opened for business.
I recently did a walk-through and was impressed at the new layout. Since so much had previously been trashed, what remained was mostly the proscenium columns and the stage itself. The balcony remains as a closed off unit, but a partial restoration is better than none at all.
The Vogue Theatre in nearby Cle Elum is currently undergoing rebirth from the wall studs on up. The Liberty and the Vogue shared entrance door designs for years.
As of 2009, the Audion is again occupied by small specialty shops.
As of August, 2009, the Liberty went dark. Hallett Theatres sold it to the local Calvary Baptist Church. The church’s management has made it known that they are aware of the building’s architectural value. They intend to remove the triplex walls and return to a single auditorium layout. They claim that the ‘Liberty’ sign will remain on the exterior.
Local newspaper reports stated the Liberty was built in 1937, as mentioned above.
This ending of an era is certainly a blow, but at least the building will not go derelict or face demolition.
Lookin' GOOD!
If I were Paul Allen (or equivalent), I’d cut out a check right now to purchase the place outright, so that restoration could start tomorrow!
Cost? No man can say. But it would be WORTH IT.
Lookin' GOOD!
I used to have to change that marquee via one of the most death-inviting ladders imaginable. You had to stand on the top rung, and passers-by were completely oblivious. I should wear a t-shirt saying: ‘I SURVIVED THE SEATTLE PARAMOUNT MARQUEE-CHANGING LADDER’.
There’s a nice 8-page article on the Paramount in the Spring ‘08 issue of 'Columbia, The Magazine of Northwest History’.
http://www.wshs.org/wshs/columbia/
I happened to work at the Paramount in ‘76-'78, and we had everyone from Joan Baez to the Communist Party of America convention, with Muddy Waters, the Spinners, the Bay City Rollers, and Steve Martin in between. Great times, but the house was falling apart. I personally stopped several acts of vandalism (idiots trying to bust off wall sconces, etc.) but everybody was always in awe of the place. At some concerts, you could get high just by normal breathing, and it wasn’t just when the Grateful Dead were there. One New Years Eve concert, I dropped a bunch of balloons from the great dome. All the projection hardware was intact, but neglected. I remember seeing a CinemaScope lens over in the corner as if it were
garbage. They rescued the place just in time.
The Audion was part of the small Mid-State Theatres organization.
Too bad, too bad. I saw ‘2001’ at the old ‘red curtains’ Cinerama when it came out in ‘68, and a couple other times there in reissue. No reason to trek in if the latest go round is flawed, though. Hopefully, the malfunctions won’t happen again. Audiences may put up with a lot, but the management better kick some butt, so to speak.
Brian, you and your team did a GREAT job of handling ‘HTWWW’ when I saw it on Superbowl Sunday a few years back. Also, I really appreciated listening to you guys up in the booths, explaining about the process. A truly memorable occasion.
As of late 2007, the antiques mall that occupied the Audion for almost 20 years has gone out of business, and it stands empty, like the former Pix, next door. It could easily be restored as a picture house.
Letha, what a spine-tingling experience! Were the stars at the UA? ‘Quo Vadis’ holds up extremely well today. Director Merv LeRoy, after a special screening in San Francisco (his home town), went out of the theatre alone and shed tears, as he had sold papers on that very street as an impoverished victim of the ‘06 earthquake. A very 'Hollywood’ moment. The ambiance of the UA would have been perfect for that masterpiece of an epic. Ustinov always steals the show, i.e. ‘Help me, Acte!’
Interesting. To me, everything about the UA seems very ‘Grauman-ish’ in its' class and style. I have to rate it on the same quality level as Sid’s late and lamented Metropolitan (aka: Paramount) – which I never saw, but can only dream about.
I wasn’t aware that Sid Grauman was involved with the UA. Perhaps in company name only?
Another example of a tangled ownership history?
Well, that’s the internet for you. You can’t believe everything you read. However, verification leads to more research.
Just some thoughts:
I think that the name association throws people, so they make assumptions. Theatre ownership in the US is about as complicated as business gets, with more name changes than Zsa Zsa Gabor marriages. Though many of the big chains had/have studio names mixed in, any direct connection was fleeting in most cases. I remember that the Paramount in Seattle (which I naturally thought was owned by Paramount Pictures) was operated by Fox Westcoast at the time, and many a big 20th-Fox picture played there. I quickly learned about the early 50s studio/theatre chain bust-up, and how, since that time, nothing in that sense can be taken at face value. But of course, as Warren points out, the studio/theatre relationships have always been messy. I was always impressed by the Walter Reade chain,(mostly in NYC, but saw one in Vancouver BC), though films released by Reade’s distribution division, Continental, did not necessarily play there, although I think the Russian ‘War and Peace’, distrib by Continental, played at the DeMille or Ziegfeld in NYC. I know I could look that up for sure, but I’m not quite that ambitious right now!
Another example of mix and match: on the post card linked above, the ‘Texaco’ sign up on the UA’s water tower grille. Chief tenant of the office section of the building gets that privilege, I guess? It would have been cool to see ‘United Artists’ glowing up there.
Indeed, Barrymore’s Ruritanian (well, Russian, actually) costume in the group portrait links with a photo from ‘Tempest’ (1928), seen at IMDb. The picture obviously played at the UA, but did it open the house, I wonder? Surely a ‘Pickfair’ picture had that honor.
Warren, thanks for the Joe Schenck/UATC info. Schenck was one of the most colorful personalities in Hollywood. The guy did it all.
If not JB, I wonder who? Doug Jr. would have been too young…
Thanks, Ken. I knew there was a family resemblance there.
Glad to see the mighty UA still looks largely the same outside since the last time I was there in 1987, pre-Rev. Scott.