If Emerson wanted to restore the theatre they could have but they wanted a smaller venue. They may have saved a few elements from the theatre. The problem I have is that they talked of restoration then I saw the pictures which looks like a complete gutting of the theatre.I love the facade which is the most impressive of the theatres in the district. The Opera House next door should put up a large Vertical and canopy which in its current state looks very drab next to the Paramount. brucec
The restoration of the Uptown is the last piece which will go along way in bringing back the Uptown area. I have stated on the Uptown page a few times that there is a huge demand for midsize concert venues like the Uptown with 4000 seats. Chicago is the third largest city in the country and can support a number of concert venues take a look at LA which recently opened the new Nokia Theatre with 7000 seats in a city that has many concert venues.Parking is an issue in many cities but Chicago is lucky enough to have a great transportation network. The City should due what it can to help the parking situation in the Uptown area. The City of LA built a huge parking structure which is underground in the Hollywood and Highland complex in Hollywood which is a highly congested area.I think the Uptown would have come back sooner if it hadn’t been for all the complicated legal issues regarding this theatre. If the owner of the Detroit Fox was interested in this theatre you know the potential of this theatre. The Fox is one of the highest grossing theatres in the Country sometimes grossing more than Radio City in New York.Chicago has come back as as a City second only to New York with live performance. The run of “Wicked” at the Orinetal in the Loop has run over two years longer than any run outside of New York. The Uptown will be used for concerts and not Broadway is the perfect size venue for many acts who cannot fill up the arenas which is most of the touring acts today. The Uptown is the largest theatre not restored in the Country. It is cheaper to restore the Uptown than building a new theatre of this size. brucec
The highest rated show in the history of the Oscars was 1970 which had the highest concentration of superstars from Bob Hope hosting to John Wayne winning his first Oscar to Elizabeth Taylor giving out the Best Picture Award her first Oscars since 1960. As Bob Hope said during the show anyone who is anyone in Hollywood is here tonight. It was one of the last shows to be dominated by old Hollywood superstars a record 70 Million plus watched that show. I found this years show lacking the old Hollywood magic and the films nominated very arty small films that most of America hasn’t seen.Most of the films were very dark and violent at a time when our country is at war, we are on the verge of a recession and Jon Stewart was right I think Hollywood needs to give America a little hug right now. I also know that there are many Cable stations today and not just the big three networks as in the old days. The Old Hollywood did a better job of giving America a lift during times of trouble and the film product was more balanced. I saw all five nominated films while well crafted and acted didn’t have the wow factor for me. None of the Five films will be in my film collection.brucec
I thought the Fox in Atlanta,Detroit,Brooklyn,St Louis and San Francisco were the Five “Fabulous” Fox Theatres. They all sat over 4000 seats.Is this correct Warren? brucec
I would like to see more movie ads of films that played the Fox over the decades. A few of the movies our family saw at the Fox included “The VIP’s”,“The Unsinkable Molly Brown”,“Von Ryans Express”,“Hombre”,“Valley of the Dolls” and the “Planet of the Apes”.The last film to have an exlusive run was “Rosemarys Baby”. After this the theatre ran Porn,50 cent movies and the Dickens Fair.The Fox started opening and closing from 1965-1969 due to a lack of First Run Exclusive films as the studios had cut back on production and concentrated on the big roadshow films of the day that would play the smaller Roxie and Grand Lake theatres. I hope as stated before that the Grand Opening in October would salute its historic motion picture past as well as its future with live performances.brucec
I will be taking a tour of the Warfield with THS in the summer of 2008. It was still showing movies the last time I was in the Warfield in the late 1970’s and was in great shape. The Warfield was my favorite surviving movie palace in San Francisco. A good friend of the family danced in a chorus line at the Loew’s Warfield during the 1940’s.brucec
I hope they salute the past of the Fox when they reopen in the Fall of 2008. It would be great if they did a salute to 20th Century Fox with a film retrospective since this was the company that built the Fox and ran the theatre during its heyday. It would be great if they ran a film retrospective from Shirley Temple to Star Wars.They could end the retropspective with a brand new Fox film. I think this would be a classy way to salute the restoration of the Fox and its past before it starts its new life as a stage venue for live concerts.brucec
Im amazed at what the Loew’s Jersey has accomplished by its volunteers. Who would have thought that a 3300 seat movie palace on the brink of demolition would come back as a home for classic film and a restored Organ concerts in Jersey City. Just think what they could do with a larger budget. This should be a template what could be achieved by using volunteers on a shoestring budget. This is the type of theatre that classic American movies were meant to be shown. I think Turner Classics should spotlight this theatre and Hollywood with all its money should take a lesson on what a movie palace showing classic films should look like and not like the Egyptian in Hollywood. I think Steven S and Martin S should focus some of there preservation funds to this wonderful venue. I think the preservation of our last historic movie palaces is just as important as the preservation of film.brucec
I read the article in the LA Times and I think its a step in the right direction. I wouldn’t close the street to cars it would do more harm than good this is not Santa Momica. I like the idea of a street car going up an down Broadway. I do not agree with the professor from UCLA, the street has declined as a destination for Latinos from the 1970’s thru 2008. There is more competition for Latino shoppers in other areas. The population growth of 20,000 in the last 5 years are urban professionals which will double in the next few years which should spur restoration and development along Broadway. If the city was smart Broadway should start catering to Downtown’s growing population as a diverse destination and not just the shrinking shopping destination for Latinos. Downtown LA is coming back in a major way and Broadway should not be left behind.I think the City should concentrate along with the private sector and improve the curb appeal of the street. I think the City should have a plan that improved proper signage along Broadway and steer away form the swapmeet look of Broadway. Make sure you save all the historic signage along Broadway as well as the historic theatre marquees.brucec
The Chicago should do just fine with concerts which fill Radio City Music Hall for most of the year. The Chicago with 3600 seats is a little large in this market for Broadway shows. The Oriental seats 2200, Palace around 2400 and the Bank La Salle around 2000 which are better suited for Broadway productions. The Chicago already is booking more concerts since MSG has taken over. I hope they are able to figure out how to fit the Radio City Christmas Spectacular into the Chicago which would be a scaled down version of the show at Radio City in New York.brucec
Live Nation held on to the following theatres not included in the sale, Opera House (BF Keith) Boston,Hilton NYC which is currently hosting the long run musical “Young Frankenstein,Warner Washington DC and the Boyd in Philidelphia. The Broadway community is very happy that Live Nation sold these theatres to a private investor who will take more interest in the theatres and also produce there own shows beside hosting Broadway tours. Clear Channel did a much better job with the theatres until they spun it off as LIve Nation.The Nederlanders purchased Live Nations 50% interest in Broadway in Chicago for 60 Million prior to this sale.brucec
Thanks for the photos. Looking forward to seeing more. The ceiling is being painted by Evergreen which has worked on restoration projects around the country. The ceiling is not costing 40 million that is near the price of the entire restoration project.Keep those photos coming. The side walls look a lot different to me than I remember.brucec
Im over 50 and I will take classic Hollywood any day of the week.I still go to the movies once a week but the experience of going has declined over the years. It is left to the indepenents to make quality films on low budgets where the Hollywood studios turn out big budget popcorn movies that would have been the B films in a earlier era. The greatest concentration of quality films was produced in 1939 and 1940 at the height of the studio system before WW11. For me the old Hollywood died in 1970 the year that produced “Patton” and many big budget bombs that brought on the great Hollywood depresstion. Every studio lost millions with the exception of Disney and the average budget would not exceed 1.5 million with few exceptions in the early 1970’s. Columbia moved out of its historic lot and moved into the Warner Bros lot to share expenses and renamed the lot the Burbank Studios. The great Metro-Goldywn-Mayer sold off its backlots and nearly went out of business.The 1970’s produced greatest quantity of quality films in the New Hollywood that has yet to be topped. People in the industry should remember this time when people were layed off,production budgets slashed and star salaries slashed. Many stars that were making 1 million per film were now reduced to 50-200 Thousand per film and percentage of the gross. Big Budget films of the 1960’s cost anywhere from 6-20 million to produce. The “Godfather” one of the biggest budget films of 1972 cost only 6 million and even then Paramount balked at the cost. The success of “Jaws” and “Star Wars” changed the industry into the popcorn blockbuster mentality that we still see today. I have enjoyed many of the popcorn movies produced but miss the quality of Adult themed movies produced in quantity since the 1970’s.I like many of the fine actors today but miss the actor-personality stars of the Golden Era such as Cary Grant,Bette Davis,Spencer Tracy,Katharine Hepburn,James Stewart,Irene Dunne,Henry Fonda,Judy Garland,Fred Astaire and many others. Some of the movies I have liked recently are Atonement, American Gangster,Michael Clayton,Juno and the Waterhorse. Thank God for Turner Classics where you can see great quality American films on a regular basis. The industry should get together and settle the stike that makes ecomomic sense. Many Americans are on the verge of loosing there homes, our country is on the verge of a recession and we are at war. Its hard for the public to sympathize with either side since they are a well paid group of people.brucec
I always as a film patron find out what film is in the big theatre or the historic auditorium before I buy my ticket. I think the AFI should due the same at the Silver. The Silver is considered an upscale theatre which means the audience is well educated and picky and would like to know which film is in the Historic Auditoruim. In Hollywood at the ArcLight its a big deal to know what playing in the Dome and at the Chinese complex its important to know if its in the Historic Auditorium. The AFI on any given day should know what film is playing in what Auditorium, even the local megaplex can tell you that.brucec
The area around Loew’s 175th has improved in the last ten years. Most people seemed surprised when attending this theatre for the first time. Cablevision isn’t the only company out there, AEG is another company presenting concerts in theatres across the U.S. and they are in the expansion mode at the moment. AEG will be running the huge Midland in Kansas City after renovations take place. AEG also runs the new 7000 seat Nokia near Downtown LA next to the Staples Center. The strength of the Uptown is its size but it will take the City of Chicago to get it up and running and interest somebody like AEG. I think people should be pointing out the positive when talking about the Uptown as a concert venue rather than the negative. Most movie palace restorations across the U.S. were very difficult to get off the ground but a clear vision and leadership make it happen. The Uptown is the largest not restored movie palace in North America.brucec
Like the Uptown in Chicago the City needs to spend some money to get the Kings operational with some cosmetic work and then more companies would be interested. The city should offer a huge tax credit to any investor willing to take the Kings. The Kings is the most beautiful theatre I have seen still standing in NYC. If I were the city I would restore the theatre facade and marquee for curb appeal and stabalize the interior and do some cosmetic work to get the theatre back on its feet. Full restoration could be done at a later time and over a period of years. I look at the volunteer work that is done at the Loew’s Jersey as the theatre is being restored in stages over a period of years as an example. Every theatre restoration takes a different path but there are many examples out there. The huge Fox in Oakland sat empty for nearly 40 years and now is being restored with a charter school wrapping around the theatre. It took ex mayor Jerry Brown to get the ball rolling. The theare will reopen next year as a theatre for rock concerts a market that is exploding and looking for theatres seating between 2000 to 6000 seats. Most musical acts today can’t fill arena’s seating 18,000 such as Madison Square Garden. Brooklyn is five times larger than the City of Oakland which will have two huge restored movie palaces seating over 3000 the Paramount and Fox-Oakland. I realize that Brooklyn has Manhattan for competition but Oakland has San Francisco. Im sure the Kings would qualify for State and Federal grants being located in a depressed area of Brooklyn.brucec
I think people should focus on the viability of a mid size concert venue in the 3rd largest city in the U.S. The Nokia a 7000 seat venue in LA was built at a cost of over 100 Million in a City that has many theatres. The Nokia was built near central downtown which was a depressed area a decade ago. A billion dollars has been spent over a period of years to bring back this area. The Nokia which opened recently is booked solid. Remember L.A. is less centralized than Chicago and many have to drive a great distance to get there. Majority of music acts cannot fill arena’s seating 18,000 but midsize concert venues from 2500 to 7000 seats. Radio City Music Hall is booked solid most of the year with mucical acts that wouldn’t fill Madison Square Garden. Radio City with nearly 6000 seats is the largest theatre venue in NYC and the Uptown with nearly 4400 seats is the largest in Chicago. Cablevision seeing the demand for midsize concert venues increase purchased the Beacon in NYC which seats nearly 2600 displacing the booker in the Beacon who is now invlovled with the 3300 seat former Loew’s 175th Street which is selling out on a regular basis. Cablevision was interested in the Uptown becuase it sat 4400 seats but decided on the Chicago Theatre with 3600 seats becuase of the location and the theatre was already in good condition. The North Loop wasn’t in good shape until the restoration of the Palace,Oriental and the new Goodman. The Uptown area is not that far from the Loop and will revive within the next 10 years as the area improves but the Uptown theatre cannot wait that long without some intervention. The City could make the Uptown area an improvement zone which would attract federal dollars and help the entire area. The City could invest in parking in the Uptown area which would attract investment and spend some seed money to get the Uptown Theatre up and running. I think with a clear plan both the Uptown area and the Uptown Theatre would become viable again.It has to become a combination of public and private to make it happen. Keep in mind that there is a demand for a theatre the size of the Uptown or Cablevision wouldn’t have looked at the theatre in the first place. There is a big difference between the cost of making the Uptown operatinal along with cosmetic improvements and full restoration. Many former movie palaces were made operational and ran years of live performances before full restoration occured. We are very lucky the Uptown is still with us becuase it probably would have been demolished had the Uptown area been a hot investment zone. The decline of the Uptown area helped close the Uptown theatre and at the same time help save it.brucec
Scott, I wish we had a National Trust Lottery like in the U.K. where the money goes toward restoring National Landmarks. The Uptown is on many lists of endangered Landmarks in the U.S. The Uptown is the largest unrestored movie palace in North America. It would have been cheaper had the Uptown been stabalized long ago. The Fox-Oakland which is currently under restoration sat empty for almost 40 years. The Fox restoration and the Charter School which is being built around the Fox is the Keystone to revive the Uptown area of Downtown Oakland. The Fox restoration is being funded by the City and Historic Grants from both the State and Federal and private grants from companies such as American Express. Im sure the Uptown would qualify for many Historic Grants once a clear plan is in place. The Uptown needs a clear business plan which I believe is concerts thats why Cablevision was interested.Chicago don’t let the Uptown slip away she is an Historic Treasure looking for some TLC. The 3400 seat Fox one of the largest ever built on the West Coast was saved at an Auction by Mr and Mrs Dulucchi for $300,000 back in the 1970’s to save Fox for future generations. The family held the theatre in trust until the city bought it in the 1990’s with the intention of one day restoring the Fox. The day has come and the Fox will reopen next year following restoration as a home for concerts.I hope the same thing happens to the Uptown.brucec
Howard, the Nederlanders ran the Merriam the former Shubert for a number of years after the Shuberts moved to the Forrest. The Shuberts were forced to divest many theatres becuase of a court Decree of being a monopoly. The only new theatres that the Shuberts built after the decree was the Shubert in LA which was demolished a few years ago. The Shuberts run 17 Broadway theatres in New York and now only have two theatres left outside of New York, the Forrest in Philidelphia and the National in Washington DC. The Nederlanders run 9 Broadway theatres and run many Broadway theatres accross the U.S. The Forrest and the Merriam as stated before are to small to present large scale Broadway musicals such as “Wicked”, they both seat less than 2000 seats. The Boyd with 2400 seats is the perfect size capacity for the road. I think people who are interested in saving the Boyd should stress this point to City leaders. Live Nation saw that the market in Philidelphia needed a theatre the size of the Boyd for Broadway road productions. Live Nation looked at the Boston market and realized that the Wang with 3600 seats was to large for Broadway shows and the Colonial was to small for many of the large scale Broadway musicals and decided to restore the long closed Opera House (BF Keith), which is now the primary theatre in Boston for large scale Broadway Musicals such as “Wicked”.brucec
Most cities provide money and tax credits interested in reviving a depressed area. The City should look to building a major parking garage in the area to help the Uptown area as a whole and not just the Uptown Theatre. Every major Downtown in the United States has used tax dollars to help revive its historic core. The Times Square Improvement District was created to help revive the midtown area of Manhattan which started with funds to restore the Victory Theatre and low interest loan and tax credits to restore the New Amsterdam theatre on 42nd Street. Midtown has been booming ever since after many failed attempts in the 70’s and 80’s. It took a combination of State,City and private funding to get the ball rolling. Chicago spent money helping revive the theatre district in the North Loop with the Chicago,Oriental,Palace and Goodman Theatres. This was a combination of Public and Private funds and this helped improve the entire Loop. Private companies are very nervous about investing in a depressed area without some help. The Uptown is one of the largest remaining historic theatres without a clear future. Most remaining theatres the size of the Uptown have been restored. The only way I see a future for the Uptown is a combination of City,State and Private funding. It would have been easier to restore the Uptown in the 1980’s than it is today. The Uptown is not just any theatre it is the largest historic movie palace ever built in Chicago and is at risk of being lost if money isn’t spent to stabalize and at least get the theatre operational in the near future. I think if the theatre is made operational and parking in the area is improved more companies would be interested in investing and running the Uptown.The fact that Cablevision was interested shows you the potential of the Uptown.brucec
The article that states the 68 Million restoration of the Fox is nearing completion is a little misleading. A huge portion of the funds is being used to build a charter school which wraps around the Fox. I would like to know how much was actually spent on the theatre.Im glad the Fox is getting the restoration it deserves it is my favorite surviving movie palace in the Bay Area. I can’t wait to see the restored auditorium. I saw many movies at the Fox which had its last exclusive run with “Rosemary’s Baby”.The restored marquee of the Fox is beautiful along with the marquee at the Paramount.I hope the Fox gives Downtown a much needed boost along with the Uptown project next door. I wish my parents were still here to see the final result it took nearly 40 years. The Fox and the Paramount represent the heday of Hollywood and helped a genaration cope with the Depression and WW11. The Fox and the Paramount are the two largest surviving movie palaces in California and the among the four largest West of the Mississippi along with the Paramount in Seattle and the Portland in Portland. I hope classic film will be shown at both theatres from time to time.brucec
Live Nation is selling all there theatres across the U.S with the exception of the Hilton in New York City and the Opera House in Boston due to complicated tax credits with both cities. They want to concntrate on there core business which is presenting musical acts across the nation. The Boyd got caught in the companys plan to sell all theatres. The demand for suitable musical theatres in New York is huge. A Broadway bound show such as “Cry Baby” was delayed a season becuase there were no available theatres on Broadway. The number of Broadway theatres has grown in the last decade fron 30 to 40 when the new Henry Miller opens next year. Broadway is even producing more plays with the new profit formula of star driven limited runs from 10 to 20 weeks.brucec
If Emerson wanted to restore the theatre they could have but they wanted a smaller venue. They may have saved a few elements from the theatre. The problem I have is that they talked of restoration then I saw the pictures which looks like a complete gutting of the theatre.I love the facade which is the most impressive of the theatres in the district. The Opera House next door should put up a large Vertical and canopy which in its current state looks very drab next to the Paramount. brucec
The restoration of the Uptown is the last piece which will go along way in bringing back the Uptown area. I have stated on the Uptown page a few times that there is a huge demand for midsize concert venues like the Uptown with 4000 seats. Chicago is the third largest city in the country and can support a number of concert venues take a look at LA which recently opened the new Nokia Theatre with 7000 seats in a city that has many concert venues.Parking is an issue in many cities but Chicago is lucky enough to have a great transportation network. The City should due what it can to help the parking situation in the Uptown area. The City of LA built a huge parking structure which is underground in the Hollywood and Highland complex in Hollywood which is a highly congested area.I think the Uptown would have come back sooner if it hadn’t been for all the complicated legal issues regarding this theatre. If the owner of the Detroit Fox was interested in this theatre you know the potential of this theatre. The Fox is one of the highest grossing theatres in the Country sometimes grossing more than Radio City in New York.Chicago has come back as as a City second only to New York with live performance. The run of “Wicked” at the Orinetal in the Loop has run over two years longer than any run outside of New York. The Uptown will be used for concerts and not Broadway is the perfect size venue for many acts who cannot fill up the arenas which is most of the touring acts today. The Uptown is the largest theatre not restored in the Country. It is cheaper to restore the Uptown than building a new theatre of this size. brucec
The highest rated show in the history of the Oscars was 1970 which had the highest concentration of superstars from Bob Hope hosting to John Wayne winning his first Oscar to Elizabeth Taylor giving out the Best Picture Award her first Oscars since 1960. As Bob Hope said during the show anyone who is anyone in Hollywood is here tonight. It was one of the last shows to be dominated by old Hollywood superstars a record 70 Million plus watched that show. I found this years show lacking the old Hollywood magic and the films nominated very arty small films that most of America hasn’t seen.Most of the films were very dark and violent at a time when our country is at war, we are on the verge of a recession and Jon Stewart was right I think Hollywood needs to give America a little hug right now. I also know that there are many Cable stations today and not just the big three networks as in the old days. The Old Hollywood did a better job of giving America a lift during times of trouble and the film product was more balanced. I saw all five nominated films while well crafted and acted didn’t have the wow factor for me. None of the Five films will be in my film collection.brucec
I thought the Fox in Atlanta,Detroit,Brooklyn,St Louis and San Francisco were the Five “Fabulous” Fox Theatres. They all sat over 4000 seats.Is this correct Warren? brucec
I would like to see more movie ads of films that played the Fox over the decades. A few of the movies our family saw at the Fox included “The VIP’s”,“The Unsinkable Molly Brown”,“Von Ryans Express”,“Hombre”,“Valley of the Dolls” and the “Planet of the Apes”.The last film to have an exlusive run was “Rosemarys Baby”. After this the theatre ran Porn,50 cent movies and the Dickens Fair.The Fox started opening and closing from 1965-1969 due to a lack of First Run Exclusive films as the studios had cut back on production and concentrated on the big roadshow films of the day that would play the smaller Roxie and Grand Lake theatres. I hope as stated before that the Grand Opening in October would salute its historic motion picture past as well as its future with live performances.brucec
I will be taking a tour of the Warfield with THS in the summer of 2008. It was still showing movies the last time I was in the Warfield in the late 1970’s and was in great shape. The Warfield was my favorite surviving movie palace in San Francisco. A good friend of the family danced in a chorus line at the Loew’s Warfield during the 1940’s.brucec
I hope they salute the past of the Fox when they reopen in the Fall of 2008. It would be great if they did a salute to 20th Century Fox with a film retrospective since this was the company that built the Fox and ran the theatre during its heyday. It would be great if they ran a film retrospective from Shirley Temple to Star Wars.They could end the retropspective with a brand new Fox film. I think this would be a classy way to salute the restoration of the Fox and its past before it starts its new life as a stage venue for live concerts.brucec
Any news on the progress of the Paramount?brucec
Im amazed at what the Loew’s Jersey has accomplished by its volunteers. Who would have thought that a 3300 seat movie palace on the brink of demolition would come back as a home for classic film and a restored Organ concerts in Jersey City. Just think what they could do with a larger budget. This should be a template what could be achieved by using volunteers on a shoestring budget. This is the type of theatre that classic American movies were meant to be shown. I think Turner Classics should spotlight this theatre and Hollywood with all its money should take a lesson on what a movie palace showing classic films should look like and not like the Egyptian in Hollywood. I think Steven S and Martin S should focus some of there preservation funds to this wonderful venue. I think the preservation of our last historic movie palaces is just as important as the preservation of film.brucec
I read the article in the LA Times and I think its a step in the right direction. I wouldn’t close the street to cars it would do more harm than good this is not Santa Momica. I like the idea of a street car going up an down Broadway. I do not agree with the professor from UCLA, the street has declined as a destination for Latinos from the 1970’s thru 2008. There is more competition for Latino shoppers in other areas. The population growth of 20,000 in the last 5 years are urban professionals which will double in the next few years which should spur restoration and development along Broadway. If the city was smart Broadway should start catering to Downtown’s growing population as a diverse destination and not just the shrinking shopping destination for Latinos. Downtown LA is coming back in a major way and Broadway should not be left behind.I think the City should concentrate along with the private sector and improve the curb appeal of the street. I think the City should have a plan that improved proper signage along Broadway and steer away form the swapmeet look of Broadway. Make sure you save all the historic signage along Broadway as well as the historic theatre marquees.brucec
The Chicago should do just fine with concerts which fill Radio City Music Hall for most of the year. The Chicago with 3600 seats is a little large in this market for Broadway shows. The Oriental seats 2200, Palace around 2400 and the Bank La Salle around 2000 which are better suited for Broadway productions. The Chicago already is booking more concerts since MSG has taken over. I hope they are able to figure out how to fit the Radio City Christmas Spectacular into the Chicago which would be a scaled down version of the show at Radio City in New York.brucec
Live Nation held on to the following theatres not included in the sale, Opera House (BF Keith) Boston,Hilton NYC which is currently hosting the long run musical “Young Frankenstein,Warner Washington DC and the Boyd in Philidelphia. The Broadway community is very happy that Live Nation sold these theatres to a private investor who will take more interest in the theatres and also produce there own shows beside hosting Broadway tours. Clear Channel did a much better job with the theatres until they spun it off as LIve Nation.The Nederlanders purchased Live Nations 50% interest in Broadway in Chicago for 60 Million prior to this sale.brucec
Thanks for the photos. Looking forward to seeing more. The ceiling is being painted by Evergreen which has worked on restoration projects around the country. The ceiling is not costing 40 million that is near the price of the entire restoration project.Keep those photos coming. The side walls look a lot different to me than I remember.brucec
Im over 50 and I will take classic Hollywood any day of the week.I still go to the movies once a week but the experience of going has declined over the years. It is left to the indepenents to make quality films on low budgets where the Hollywood studios turn out big budget popcorn movies that would have been the B films in a earlier era. The greatest concentration of quality films was produced in 1939 and 1940 at the height of the studio system before WW11. For me the old Hollywood died in 1970 the year that produced “Patton” and many big budget bombs that brought on the great Hollywood depresstion. Every studio lost millions with the exception of Disney and the average budget would not exceed 1.5 million with few exceptions in the early 1970’s. Columbia moved out of its historic lot and moved into the Warner Bros lot to share expenses and renamed the lot the Burbank Studios. The great Metro-Goldywn-Mayer sold off its backlots and nearly went out of business.The 1970’s produced greatest quantity of quality films in the New Hollywood that has yet to be topped. People in the industry should remember this time when people were layed off,production budgets slashed and star salaries slashed. Many stars that were making 1 million per film were now reduced to 50-200 Thousand per film and percentage of the gross. Big Budget films of the 1960’s cost anywhere from 6-20 million to produce. The “Godfather” one of the biggest budget films of 1972 cost only 6 million and even then Paramount balked at the cost. The success of “Jaws” and “Star Wars” changed the industry into the popcorn blockbuster mentality that we still see today. I have enjoyed many of the popcorn movies produced but miss the quality of Adult themed movies produced in quantity since the 1970’s.I like many of the fine actors today but miss the actor-personality stars of the Golden Era such as Cary Grant,Bette Davis,Spencer Tracy,Katharine Hepburn,James Stewart,Irene Dunne,Henry Fonda,Judy Garland,Fred Astaire and many others. Some of the movies I have liked recently are Atonement, American Gangster,Michael Clayton,Juno and the Waterhorse. Thank God for Turner Classics where you can see great quality American films on a regular basis. The industry should get together and settle the stike that makes ecomomic sense. Many Americans are on the verge of loosing there homes, our country is on the verge of a recession and we are at war. Its hard for the public to sympathize with either side since they are a well paid group of people.brucec
I wonder if anyone has any restoration pictures of the restoration work going on in the Fox?brucec
The San Francisco Fox is also one of the greatest movie palaces ever built. The Paramount in Oakland is also an Art Deco masterpiece.brucec
I always as a film patron find out what film is in the big theatre or the historic auditorium before I buy my ticket. I think the AFI should due the same at the Silver. The Silver is considered an upscale theatre which means the audience is well educated and picky and would like to know which film is in the Historic Auditoruim. In Hollywood at the ArcLight its a big deal to know what playing in the Dome and at the Chinese complex its important to know if its in the Historic Auditorium. The AFI on any given day should know what film is playing in what Auditorium, even the local megaplex can tell you that.brucec
The area around Loew’s 175th has improved in the last ten years. Most people seemed surprised when attending this theatre for the first time. Cablevision isn’t the only company out there, AEG is another company presenting concerts in theatres across the U.S. and they are in the expansion mode at the moment. AEG will be running the huge Midland in Kansas City after renovations take place. AEG also runs the new 7000 seat Nokia near Downtown LA next to the Staples Center. The strength of the Uptown is its size but it will take the City of Chicago to get it up and running and interest somebody like AEG. I think people should be pointing out the positive when talking about the Uptown as a concert venue rather than the negative. Most movie palace restorations across the U.S. were very difficult to get off the ground but a clear vision and leadership make it happen. The Uptown is the largest not restored movie palace in North America.brucec
Like the Uptown in Chicago the City needs to spend some money to get the Kings operational with some cosmetic work and then more companies would be interested. The city should offer a huge tax credit to any investor willing to take the Kings. The Kings is the most beautiful theatre I have seen still standing in NYC. If I were the city I would restore the theatre facade and marquee for curb appeal and stabalize the interior and do some cosmetic work to get the theatre back on its feet. Full restoration could be done at a later time and over a period of years. I look at the volunteer work that is done at the Loew’s Jersey as the theatre is being restored in stages over a period of years as an example. Every theatre restoration takes a different path but there are many examples out there. The huge Fox in Oakland sat empty for nearly 40 years and now is being restored with a charter school wrapping around the theatre. It took ex mayor Jerry Brown to get the ball rolling. The theare will reopen next year as a theatre for rock concerts a market that is exploding and looking for theatres seating between 2000 to 6000 seats. Most musical acts today can’t fill arena’s seating 18,000 such as Madison Square Garden. Brooklyn is five times larger than the City of Oakland which will have two huge restored movie palaces seating over 3000 the Paramount and Fox-Oakland. I realize that Brooklyn has Manhattan for competition but Oakland has San Francisco. Im sure the Kings would qualify for State and Federal grants being located in a depressed area of Brooklyn.brucec
I think people should focus on the viability of a mid size concert venue in the 3rd largest city in the U.S. The Nokia a 7000 seat venue in LA was built at a cost of over 100 Million in a City that has many theatres. The Nokia was built near central downtown which was a depressed area a decade ago. A billion dollars has been spent over a period of years to bring back this area. The Nokia which opened recently is booked solid. Remember L.A. is less centralized than Chicago and many have to drive a great distance to get there. Majority of music acts cannot fill arena’s seating 18,000 but midsize concert venues from 2500 to 7000 seats. Radio City Music Hall is booked solid most of the year with mucical acts that wouldn’t fill Madison Square Garden. Radio City with nearly 6000 seats is the largest theatre venue in NYC and the Uptown with nearly 4400 seats is the largest in Chicago. Cablevision seeing the demand for midsize concert venues increase purchased the Beacon in NYC which seats nearly 2600 displacing the booker in the Beacon who is now invlovled with the 3300 seat former Loew’s 175th Street which is selling out on a regular basis. Cablevision was interested in the Uptown becuase it sat 4400 seats but decided on the Chicago Theatre with 3600 seats becuase of the location and the theatre was already in good condition. The North Loop wasn’t in good shape until the restoration of the Palace,Oriental and the new Goodman. The Uptown area is not that far from the Loop and will revive within the next 10 years as the area improves but the Uptown theatre cannot wait that long without some intervention. The City could make the Uptown area an improvement zone which would attract federal dollars and help the entire area. The City could invest in parking in the Uptown area which would attract investment and spend some seed money to get the Uptown Theatre up and running. I think with a clear plan both the Uptown area and the Uptown Theatre would become viable again.It has to become a combination of public and private to make it happen. Keep in mind that there is a demand for a theatre the size of the Uptown or Cablevision wouldn’t have looked at the theatre in the first place. There is a big difference between the cost of making the Uptown operatinal along with cosmetic improvements and full restoration. Many former movie palaces were made operational and ran years of live performances before full restoration occured. We are very lucky the Uptown is still with us becuase it probably would have been demolished had the Uptown area been a hot investment zone. The decline of the Uptown area helped close the Uptown theatre and at the same time help save it.brucec
Scott, I wish we had a National Trust Lottery like in the U.K. where the money goes toward restoring National Landmarks. The Uptown is on many lists of endangered Landmarks in the U.S. The Uptown is the largest unrestored movie palace in North America. It would have been cheaper had the Uptown been stabalized long ago. The Fox-Oakland which is currently under restoration sat empty for almost 40 years. The Fox restoration and the Charter School which is being built around the Fox is the Keystone to revive the Uptown area of Downtown Oakland. The Fox restoration is being funded by the City and Historic Grants from both the State and Federal and private grants from companies such as American Express. Im sure the Uptown would qualify for many Historic Grants once a clear plan is in place. The Uptown needs a clear business plan which I believe is concerts thats why Cablevision was interested.Chicago don’t let the Uptown slip away she is an Historic Treasure looking for some TLC. The 3400 seat Fox one of the largest ever built on the West Coast was saved at an Auction by Mr and Mrs Dulucchi for $300,000 back in the 1970’s to save Fox for future generations. The family held the theatre in trust until the city bought it in the 1990’s with the intention of one day restoring the Fox. The day has come and the Fox will reopen next year following restoration as a home for concerts.I hope the same thing happens to the Uptown.brucec
Howard, the Nederlanders ran the Merriam the former Shubert for a number of years after the Shuberts moved to the Forrest. The Shuberts were forced to divest many theatres becuase of a court Decree of being a monopoly. The only new theatres that the Shuberts built after the decree was the Shubert in LA which was demolished a few years ago. The Shuberts run 17 Broadway theatres in New York and now only have two theatres left outside of New York, the Forrest in Philidelphia and the National in Washington DC. The Nederlanders run 9 Broadway theatres and run many Broadway theatres accross the U.S. The Forrest and the Merriam as stated before are to small to present large scale Broadway musicals such as “Wicked”, they both seat less than 2000 seats. The Boyd with 2400 seats is the perfect size capacity for the road. I think people who are interested in saving the Boyd should stress this point to City leaders. Live Nation saw that the market in Philidelphia needed a theatre the size of the Boyd for Broadway road productions. Live Nation looked at the Boston market and realized that the Wang with 3600 seats was to large for Broadway shows and the Colonial was to small for many of the large scale Broadway musicals and decided to restore the long closed Opera House (BF Keith), which is now the primary theatre in Boston for large scale Broadway Musicals such as “Wicked”.brucec
Most cities provide money and tax credits interested in reviving a depressed area. The City should look to building a major parking garage in the area to help the Uptown area as a whole and not just the Uptown Theatre. Every major Downtown in the United States has used tax dollars to help revive its historic core. The Times Square Improvement District was created to help revive the midtown area of Manhattan which started with funds to restore the Victory Theatre and low interest loan and tax credits to restore the New Amsterdam theatre on 42nd Street. Midtown has been booming ever since after many failed attempts in the 70’s and 80’s. It took a combination of State,City and private funding to get the ball rolling. Chicago spent money helping revive the theatre district in the North Loop with the Chicago,Oriental,Palace and Goodman Theatres. This was a combination of Public and Private funds and this helped improve the entire Loop. Private companies are very nervous about investing in a depressed area without some help. The Uptown is one of the largest remaining historic theatres without a clear future. Most remaining theatres the size of the Uptown have been restored. The only way I see a future for the Uptown is a combination of City,State and Private funding. It would have been easier to restore the Uptown in the 1980’s than it is today. The Uptown is not just any theatre it is the largest historic movie palace ever built in Chicago and is at risk of being lost if money isn’t spent to stabalize and at least get the theatre operational in the near future. I think if the theatre is made operational and parking in the area is improved more companies would be interested in investing and running the Uptown.The fact that Cablevision was interested shows you the potential of the Uptown.brucec
The article that states the 68 Million restoration of the Fox is nearing completion is a little misleading. A huge portion of the funds is being used to build a charter school which wraps around the Fox. I would like to know how much was actually spent on the theatre.Im glad the Fox is getting the restoration it deserves it is my favorite surviving movie palace in the Bay Area. I can’t wait to see the restored auditorium. I saw many movies at the Fox which had its last exclusive run with “Rosemary’s Baby”.The restored marquee of the Fox is beautiful along with the marquee at the Paramount.I hope the Fox gives Downtown a much needed boost along with the Uptown project next door. I wish my parents were still here to see the final result it took nearly 40 years. The Fox and the Paramount represent the heday of Hollywood and helped a genaration cope with the Depression and WW11. The Fox and the Paramount are the two largest surviving movie palaces in California and the among the four largest West of the Mississippi along with the Paramount in Seattle and the Portland in Portland. I hope classic film will be shown at both theatres from time to time.brucec
Live Nation is selling all there theatres across the U.S with the exception of the Hilton in New York City and the Opera House in Boston due to complicated tax credits with both cities. They want to concntrate on there core business which is presenting musical acts across the nation. The Boyd got caught in the companys plan to sell all theatres. The demand for suitable musical theatres in New York is huge. A Broadway bound show such as “Cry Baby” was delayed a season becuase there were no available theatres on Broadway. The number of Broadway theatres has grown in the last decade fron 30 to 40 when the new Henry Miller opens next year. Broadway is even producing more plays with the new profit formula of star driven limited runs from 10 to 20 weeks.brucec