Reading Matt Singers book “Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel and Ebert Changed Movies Forever” and this theater is named as the inspiration for their famous Balcony set. This was the childhood theater of set designer Michael Lowenstein, and he took the “Spanish design” of the theater and its original single auditorium and balcony layout
FYI this is not the same theater– this building was completely demolished with the old mall, and replaced with the newly built Sundance.
THis is also from 1967– per the page for the old Hilldale theater, it was built in 1966, so opened in 1967… May 24 is also a Wednesday. Would love to get more pics of this building.
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/52862
Rumors have been floating around for a while that this will be closed, and it was recently made official: AMC 6 will close forever December 31, 2022, to make way for a new 2-floor retail project.
Calling this a theater is a bit of stretch– it never really had regular showtimes, but just weekly events playing classic movies.. price was relatively expensive too, for a movie projected on a jumbotron– significantly smaller and further away than a traditional screen.
Would not be surprised if they did this again on occasion in the future.
Theater has been converted into a music venue fully… character from these early pics is still there at least. The area itself has been revitalized, and its probably the trendiest area of Madison at the moment
Sad last comment about the Boyd on this page… about a month or so after that was written, a massive rainstorm tore a huge hole in the roof and damaged the interior… the owners could not repair it, so it continued to be exposed to the elements for years, which killed the theater outright. The owners sold, and for a while it was to be a theater for a local university, but the building was too damaged to be restored, and it was demolished in April 2022. Set to be apartments (which will at least retain the name)
I was born after the Nile was demolished and turned into a parking garage. The area around it is still thriving as the main drag of downtown bethlehem
Unfortunately, the deed is now done, and the Boyd is gone. growing up in Bethlehem in the late 90s/ early 2000s, had some great memories of this place– it was the first area theater to get Dolby, and retained a policy of not selling tickets until an hour or so before showtimes, so it was a great place to sneak into a big premiere.
It seemed lke it always did decent enough business, but a huge 2011 storm shut it down (storm in late august/early september IIRC, knocked out power for a few days), and badly damaged the roof, and management couldn’t address it in time, so the whether damage just got worse and worse until it was unrepairable… the balconies were shut down my entire life too, so I think the upper levels were weaker to begin with.
I remember a historic banner/sign that was always up front, that commemorated some big premiers back in the 30s, some movie stars and Mickey Mouse were on it… any pics of that?
Anyway, at least the master plan for this of apartment buildings is now set to incorporate the old signage and name:
This place did reopen mid/late 2021, and appears to have rebounded pretty strong. Relatively nice theater, with full dine in service, and beer actually brewed on site in vats
Converted to a regal md-2000s. This was a pretty nice theater, I think it was closed by Regal because of their larger finical issues, plus competition w/ a newer theater in a new shopping center nearby (in Center Valley, theater is now an AMC).
The bowling alley was a cool idea, but I went twice and it was a ghost town. It closed in 2019, but no way it wold have made it out of 2020. The place still looks the same, totally vacant, with some of it other neighbors going under too
Still open, but not showing movies. Same story as the Majestic Theater– both are now owned by Frank Productions, and both had their seats removed and re now concert venues
This place is renovated, but not really “showing movies.” This is now a concert venue, with all seats removed except the balcony. they have had special screenings for single nights, but it’s pretty rare (I think all prepandemic, and stuff like Rocky horror)
Reading Matt Singers book “Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel and Ebert Changed Movies Forever” and this theater is named as the inspiration for their famous Balcony set. This was the childhood theater of set designer Michael Lowenstein, and he took the “Spanish design” of the theater and its original single auditorium and balcony layout
FYI this is not the same theater– this building was completely demolished with the old mall, and replaced with the newly built Sundance.
THis is also from 1967– per the page for the old Hilldale theater, it was built in 1966, so opened in 1967… May 24 is also a Wednesday. Would love to get more pics of this building. http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/52862
Rumors have been floating around for a while that this will be closed, and it was recently made official: AMC 6 will close forever December 31, 2022, to make way for a new 2-floor retail project.
https://captimes.com/entertainment/screens/amc-madison-6-movie-theater-at-hilldale-to-close-dec-31/article_3f8b5b10-2a23-5706-b5f6-a5d9f4fc4bc7.html
Screenings here are free for the public– usually a weekly classic movie, occasionally on film
Calling this a theater is a bit of stretch– it never really had regular showtimes, but just weekly events playing classic movies.. price was relatively expensive too, for a movie projected on a jumbotron– significantly smaller and further away than a traditional screen.
Would not be surprised if they did this again on occasion in the future.
Theater has been converted into a music venue fully… character from these early pics is still there at least. The area itself has been revitalized, and its probably the trendiest area of Madison at the moment
Sad last comment about the Boyd on this page… about a month or so after that was written, a massive rainstorm tore a huge hole in the roof and damaged the interior… the owners could not repair it, so it continued to be exposed to the elements for years, which killed the theater outright. The owners sold, and for a while it was to be a theater for a local university, but the building was too damaged to be restored, and it was demolished in April 2022. Set to be apartments (which will at least retain the name)
I was born after the Nile was demolished and turned into a parking garage. The area around it is still thriving as the main drag of downtown bethlehem
Unfortunately, the deed is now done, and the Boyd is gone. growing up in Bethlehem in the late 90s/ early 2000s, had some great memories of this place– it was the first area theater to get Dolby, and retained a policy of not selling tickets until an hour or so before showtimes, so it was a great place to sneak into a big premiere.
It seemed lke it always did decent enough business, but a huge 2011 storm shut it down (storm in late august/early september IIRC, knocked out power for a few days), and badly damaged the roof, and management couldn’t address it in time, so the whether damage just got worse and worse until it was unrepairable… the balconies were shut down my entire life too, so I think the upper levels were weaker to begin with.
I remember a historic banner/sign that was always up front, that commemorated some big premiers back in the 30s, some movie stars and Mickey Mouse were on it… any pics of that?
Anyway, at least the master plan for this of apartment buildings is now set to incorporate the old signage and name:
https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/bethlehem/2022/03/redesigned-bethlehem-boyd-theatre-project-retains-iconic-look-photos.html
Nice overview from a local library https://www.bapl.org/a-farewell-to-the-boyd-theater/
This place did reopen mid/late 2021, and appears to have rebounded pretty strong. Relatively nice theater, with full dine in service, and beer actually brewed on site in vats
Converted to a regal md-2000s. This was a pretty nice theater, I think it was closed by Regal because of their larger finical issues, plus competition w/ a newer theater in a new shopping center nearby (in Center Valley, theater is now an AMC).
The bowling alley was a cool idea, but I went twice and it was a ghost town. It closed in 2019, but no way it wold have made it out of 2020. The place still looks the same, totally vacant, with some of it other neighbors going under too
Two nice theaters, most DCP but tey do have a projector they’ll bring out for certain revivals.
Will typically have two indie movies on rotation for the week, with special screenings a few times a week.
Still going strong. Good variety in the screens, all theaters have recliners, concessions are pretty cheap, plus there’s a full bar. $5 tuesdays
Still open, but not showing movies. Same story as the Majestic Theater– both are now owned by Frank Productions, and both had their seats removed and re now concert venues
This place is renovated, but not really “showing movies.” This is now a concert venue, with all seats removed except the balcony. they have had special screenings for single nights, but it’s pretty rare (I think all prepandemic, and stuff like Rocky horror)