I have managed both union and non-union houses and seen a ton of change, and innovation as well. The first house I ran was twinned (I worked it as a doorman during the Cinerama years) and had the privledge of restoring the 70mm, magnetic stereo, carbon arc, tubed amplifier side to its former glory.
Long out of the business, I marvel at the digital technology and envy the fact that such a great picture can appear with little work. We worked hard to keep things right on the screen for many, many years.
Having moved recently to southern Michigan, you have to travel for a choice. Local MJR, even though it’s stadium and all digital, it looks like a non-descript 70’s cinder block house with low lobby ceilings; in other words, no character.
I travel 40 minutes to an hour to a National Amusements house for a better choice, especially when a film demands a large screen.
Having grown up in the movie business and working houses that were very special, most modern theatres don’t feel the same. No amount of digital presence can make a chain feel distinguishable anymore in my opinion.
Box Office magazine from a Star Wars promotion I ran at this theatre. At the time, we were sub-run, with occasional art runs. Eventually, we converted to an all art format.
Does anyone have a picture of this theatre? It was on the west side of Route 9 not far from the Glen DI. Six Flags Great Escape is just north by a mile or two.
If it were that simple. I worked in the business for 20 years and there are problems with that model. Older theatres were likely in cities where parking, and adventuring downtown at night were both dubious. The megaplexes tend to play out todays films so that there is not enough run after they are complete.
Plus, the old buildings are expensive to keep up, with 80 year old roofs, outdated HVAC systems and a lot of space to heat and cool for a minimal return on tickets sold.
Unless there is a grass roots organization to place the house under non-profit status, raise funds and apply for tax breaks, a private owner doesn’t stand much of a chance.
It’s like opening a harware store between a Lowes and Home Depot; nice thought, but not practical in todays climate of business efficiency.
If this is the theatre I am thinking of, I saw A Hard Days Night here multiple times. My brother dated a girl whose parents owned the theatre and I would get parked there while he was on a date.
If I remember correctly, the family name was Deroy or Deny.
The Palace hosted many a concert in the late 70’s and into the 80’s. Devo, the Tubes, Elvis Costello as well as comedy acts. The back stage area is also enlarged to accomodate larger road show engagements. Of course, Proctors in Schenectady added to it’s back stage to promote larger Broadways tours.
My wife and I went to the theatre last night for new years eve with Bare Naked Ladies. We went in over an hour early to take in all of the sights, and even that wasn’t enough time! The more you look at the detail, the more that you can see of this beautiful house.
Even though BNL can rock the house, I can’t imagine what a full fledged rock concert could bring. We sat in the mezzanine and could see the rail rise and fall with the sway from the crowd. Architecturally amazing that this cantilever still performs 80 years later.
I worked here in the 60’s and 70’s when it was an SBC single screen. It was nothing special, and parking was definately an issue. They used to lease an empty lot diagonal to the theatre and towards the city. I drove by on Thanksgiving when I was back in town and couldn’t spot that lot.
I can’t imagine this ever getting off the ground again.
I took over the Cinerama Providence in 1976, which was then a twin showing 99 cent sub-run films to a tough crowd. I convinced the powers at SBC to take a chance on art programing for the house and used the Welles and others as a proving ground for features.
I would make regular pilgrimages to the theatre to catch the films, see audience reaction and talk to regulars. I even convinced some film critics to make the trip with me to gauge their reaction and anticipate a review. This also made sure that a review would appear as the film broke or before, rather than waiting for days to lapse.
All in all, a great place to see a film and even better memories on when a theatre manager had input on how his house was run.
This theatre was within walking distance of my Providence home when I was a child. I saw Help! there more times than I care to admit, with hundreds of other screaming teens and pre-teens.
The four added theatres were approximately 200 seats each. The addition allowed for a unified lobby with a long L shaped concession stand. The entrance was from the rear of the mall, with an interior mall entrance that joined to the exterior one.
Mike Aidala was the one constant at this property, working for all owners and retiting as district manager. Other local properties that belonged to the chain included the Plaza Theatre on Troy-Schenectady Road and the Rotterdam Square Mall Theatre.
When this was a Cinerama house it was run by Lockwood and Gordon (sometimes referred to as Gordon and Lockwood or L&G). L&G ran several Cinerama ventures around the country, eventually selling many of its assetts to SBC (an arm of Sonderling Broadcasting Corp) and Pacific Theatres.
Doug Amos, eventually president of SBC, ran this house in the late 50’s early 60’s to the best of my recollection.
SBC eventually built the Cinema City in Hartford, which was uniquely constructed unlike the other SBC modern (early 70’s) multiplexes.
Cinema Centers ran this theatre in the 70’s to early 80’s until they opened the new theatre in the mall. They also ran the theatre near the air force base and the old mall theatre.
Could that be Ralph responding? Long time no see!
Theatres thrive when the economy sours…
I have managed both union and non-union houses and seen a ton of change, and innovation as well. The first house I ran was twinned (I worked it as a doorman during the Cinerama years) and had the privledge of restoring the 70mm, magnetic stereo, carbon arc, tubed amplifier side to its former glory.
Long out of the business, I marvel at the digital technology and envy the fact that such a great picture can appear with little work. We worked hard to keep things right on the screen for many, many years.
Having moved recently to southern Michigan, you have to travel for a choice. Local MJR, even though it’s stadium and all digital, it looks like a non-descript 70’s cinder block house with low lobby ceilings; in other words, no character.
I travel 40 minutes to an hour to a National Amusements house for a better choice, especially when a film demands a large screen.
Having grown up in the movie business and working houses that were very special, most modern theatres don’t feel the same. No amount of digital presence can make a chain feel distinguishable anymore in my opinion.
Add to that the calculations necessary to prevent overselling! They were workhorses though…
Jeff,
Nice to hear from you. I remember your Dad well; sorry to hear about your loss.
Do you know what year he started there? I worked for a while at the Avon before Cinerama and I’ve been trying to reconstruct the time lines.
Box Office magazine from a Star Wars promotion I ran at this theatre. At the time, we were sub-run, with occasional art runs. Eventually, we converted to an all art format.
View link
I saw Caligula here in 79. I believe it was still a single then.
Fred Powers ran this theatre beginning in 1980.
Does anyone have a picture of this theatre? It was on the west side of Route 9 not far from the Glen DI. Six Flags Great Escape is just north by a mile or two.
I beleive that this was originally built by SBC or perhaps Lockwood & Gordon. They also ran a drive-in in Waterville.
If it were that simple. I worked in the business for 20 years and there are problems with that model. Older theatres were likely in cities where parking, and adventuring downtown at night were both dubious. The megaplexes tend to play out todays films so that there is not enough run after they are complete.
Plus, the old buildings are expensive to keep up, with 80 year old roofs, outdated HVAC systems and a lot of space to heat and cool for a minimal return on tickets sold.
Unless there is a grass roots organization to place the house under non-profit status, raise funds and apply for tax breaks, a private owner doesn’t stand much of a chance.
It’s like opening a harware store between a Lowes and Home Depot; nice thought, but not practical in todays climate of business efficiency.
Some pics and history at:
http://cinerama.topcities.com/ctcolonial.htm
http://cinerama.topcities.com/ctcolonial.htm
Theatre is listed here
[]/theaters/13507/](/theaters/13507/[/url)[/url]
If this is the theatre I am thinking of, I saw A Hard Days Night here multiple times. My brother dated a girl whose parents owned the theatre and I would get parked there while he was on a date.
If I remember correctly, the family name was Deroy or Deny.
If you want me to wear 37 pieces of flair like your pretty boy over there Brain. Why don’t you just make the minimum 37 pieces of flair?
The Palace hosted many a concert in the late 70’s and into the 80’s. Devo, the Tubes, Elvis Costello as well as comedy acts. The back stage area is also enlarged to accomodate larger road show engagements. Of course, Proctors in Schenectady added to it’s back stage to promote larger Broadways tours.
My wife and I went to the theatre last night for new years eve with Bare Naked Ladies. We went in over an hour early to take in all of the sights, and even that wasn’t enough time! The more you look at the detail, the more that you can see of this beautiful house.
Even though BNL can rock the house, I can’t imagine what a full fledged rock concert could bring. We sat in the mezzanine and could see the rail rise and fall with the sway from the crowd. Architecturally amazing that this cantilever still performs 80 years later.
I worked here in the 60’s and 70’s when it was an SBC single screen. It was nothing special, and parking was definately an issue. They used to lease an empty lot diagonal to the theatre and towards the city. I drove by on Thanksgiving when I was back in town and couldn’t spot that lot.
I can’t imagine this ever getting off the ground again.
I took over the Cinerama Providence in 1976, which was then a twin showing 99 cent sub-run films to a tough crowd. I convinced the powers at SBC to take a chance on art programing for the house and used the Welles and others as a proving ground for features.
I would make regular pilgrimages to the theatre to catch the films, see audience reaction and talk to regulars. I even convinced some film critics to make the trip with me to gauge their reaction and anticipate a review. This also made sure that a review would appear as the film broke or before, rather than waiting for days to lapse.
All in all, a great place to see a film and even better memories on when a theatre manager had input on how his house was run.
This theatre was within walking distance of my Providence home when I was a child. I saw Help! there more times than I care to admit, with hundreds of other screaming teens and pre-teens.
The four added theatres were approximately 200 seats each. The addition allowed for a unified lobby with a long L shaped concession stand. The entrance was from the rear of the mall, with an interior mall entrance that joined to the exterior one.
Mike Aidala was the one constant at this property, working for all owners and retiting as district manager. Other local properties that belonged to the chain included the Plaza Theatre on Troy-Schenectady Road and the Rotterdam Square Mall Theatre.
I was division manager for this house and worked as the construction manager during the build-out.
Would love to hear from anyone that worked this house in the early years.
When this was a Cinerama house it was run by Lockwood and Gordon (sometimes referred to as Gordon and Lockwood or L&G). L&G ran several Cinerama ventures around the country, eventually selling many of its assetts to SBC (an arm of Sonderling Broadcasting Corp) and Pacific Theatres.
Doug Amos, eventually president of SBC, ran this house in the late 50’s early 60’s to the best of my recollection.
SBC eventually built the Cinema City in Hartford, which was uniquely constructed unlike the other SBC modern (early 70’s) multiplexes.
Cinema Centers ran this theatre in the 70’s to early 80’s until they opened the new theatre in the mall. They also ran the theatre near the air force base and the old mall theatre.