I worked at this theater twice. First from May 1982 thru early 1984 when it was owned my Mid-States Theaters, then for a brief time as an assistant in the latter part of 1990 when it was owned by Loew’s. When the theater first opened in 1976, the projection booths for houses 2, 3, 4, and 5 were not enclosed, but instead were simply raised platforms in the lobby, one on either side of the entrance to the houses. The projectors (platters) were in full view of the customers, and the films were exposed to all sorts of dirt, debris, and greasy steam from the popcorn poppers. The platters were notoriously jerky, probably owing to all the dirt down in the shaft, and the pictures were always unstable on the screen. The tiny houses 1 and 6 each had their own enclosed projection booths, but were often plagued with framing problems. Another issue was a design flaw of the houses themselves. Apparently either the interior designers or the builders had not calculated space for the side speakers, as they were hung IN FRONT of the screen!!! To add insult to injury, the screens were masked on both sides with curtains which hung behind the speakers, thus making a default and unchangeable aspect ration of 1.85 x 1. Any time a film was in a “scope” aspect ratio, the sides of the frame would be projected onto the speakers and curtains. I’m not sure when that particular problem was addressed, but it was finally fixed. The exposed projection platforms were enclosed in ‘82, around the same time that our boss decided that the lobby needed a facelift and chose a garish swimming pool blue over the previous golden yellow palate.
I’ve been trying to find information regarding the original source of the music for months, to no avail. I did a bit of research into Pike Productions and learned that the owners, Jim and Connie, retired some years ago after 55 years in the business. The production house moved from Newport RI, to Chicago and it changed hands to Filmack. I contacted the owner asking about the possibility of surviving documentation regarding the production of the classic bumpers and snipes, but he replied that no original elements existed. The search continues….
I was the last assistant manager at this theatre, splitting my time between the 83rd and the newly built 84th next door. The theatre seemed to know it was in it’s last days, as it seemingly just started to deteriorate on it’s own. A big patch of the ceiling plaster fell during a matinee in house 3 (lower level left), pipes started leaking, a strange smell developed, etc.
The employees had two locker room areas. The men were upstairs off the men’s room and the women were behind the screen in house 4 (lower right lobby). I had never gone back there. One day, during the final week of operation, I decided to explore and, armed with nothing more than my standard-issue Loew’s employee flashlight, I ventured behind the screen, curious as to what was actually back there.
Needless to say, I was floored. Bear in mind that I had started as an usher at this theatre in ‘84, fresh off the bus from KY, and had no idea what it’s past had been. I can indeed vouch that the boxes were gone but their structural imprints were still still visible. The stage, proscenium, and fly system were also intact. Don’t remember the piano, though. I went on to explore the dressing room floors. There was little to no light in this area, I was so scared! LOL They were pretty much empty, barely even being used for storage. (I found an old office desk in one of the rooms on the second floor, which eventually make its way back to my apartment on 85th St.)
The theatre remained open for the first couple of weeks after the 84th opened. We were supposed to close on a Thursday, but for some reason a decision was made to stay open through the weekend. I was told in an off-hand manner, but nobody bothered to tell the operator! I had no idea that he was a no-show until one of the six people who had showed up for a matinee of GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN came out to inquire…20 minutes after the movie should have started.
Anyway, I was there for the last day and I don’t remember a thing about it. The doors were locked and I continued on at the 84th, which had a very bumpy first several weeks due to to all sorts of electrical glitches.
Does anyone know the number of seats before it was twinned? Or the dimensions of the screen?
I worked at this theater twice. First from May 1982 thru early 1984 when it was owned my Mid-States Theaters, then for a brief time as an assistant in the latter part of 1990 when it was owned by Loew’s. When the theater first opened in 1976, the projection booths for houses 2, 3, 4, and 5 were not enclosed, but instead were simply raised platforms in the lobby, one on either side of the entrance to the houses. The projectors (platters) were in full view of the customers, and the films were exposed to all sorts of dirt, debris, and greasy steam from the popcorn poppers. The platters were notoriously jerky, probably owing to all the dirt down in the shaft, and the pictures were always unstable on the screen. The tiny houses 1 and 6 each had their own enclosed projection booths, but were often plagued with framing problems. Another issue was a design flaw of the houses themselves. Apparently either the interior designers or the builders had not calculated space for the side speakers, as they were hung IN FRONT of the screen!!! To add insult to injury, the screens were masked on both sides with curtains which hung behind the speakers, thus making a default and unchangeable aspect ration of 1.85 x 1. Any time a film was in a “scope” aspect ratio, the sides of the frame would be projected onto the speakers and curtains. I’m not sure when that particular problem was addressed, but it was finally fixed. The exposed projection platforms were enclosed in ‘82, around the same time that our boss decided that the lobby needed a facelift and chose a garish swimming pool blue over the previous golden yellow palate.
I’ve been trying to find information regarding the original source of the music for months, to no avail. I did a bit of research into Pike Productions and learned that the owners, Jim and Connie, retired some years ago after 55 years in the business. The production house moved from Newport RI, to Chicago and it changed hands to Filmack. I contacted the owner asking about the possibility of surviving documentation regarding the production of the classic bumpers and snipes, but he replied that no original elements existed. The search continues….
I was the last assistant manager at this theatre, splitting my time between the 83rd and the newly built 84th next door. The theatre seemed to know it was in it’s last days, as it seemingly just started to deteriorate on it’s own. A big patch of the ceiling plaster fell during a matinee in house 3 (lower level left), pipes started leaking, a strange smell developed, etc.
The employees had two locker room areas. The men were upstairs off the men’s room and the women were behind the screen in house 4 (lower right lobby). I had never gone back there. One day, during the final week of operation, I decided to explore and, armed with nothing more than my standard-issue Loew’s employee flashlight, I ventured behind the screen, curious as to what was actually back there.
Needless to say, I was floored. Bear in mind that I had started as an usher at this theatre in ‘84, fresh off the bus from KY, and had no idea what it’s past had been. I can indeed vouch that the boxes were gone but their structural imprints were still still visible. The stage, proscenium, and fly system were also intact. Don’t remember the piano, though. I went on to explore the dressing room floors. There was little to no light in this area, I was so scared! LOL They were pretty much empty, barely even being used for storage. (I found an old office desk in one of the rooms on the second floor, which eventually make its way back to my apartment on 85th St.)
The theatre remained open for the first couple of weeks after the 84th opened. We were supposed to close on a Thursday, but for some reason a decision was made to stay open through the weekend. I was told in an off-hand manner, but nobody bothered to tell the operator! I had no idea that he was a no-show until one of the six people who had showed up for a matinee of GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN came out to inquire…20 minutes after the movie should have started.
Anyway, I was there for the last day and I don’t remember a thing about it. The doors were locked and I continued on at the 84th, which had a very bumpy first several weeks due to to all sorts of electrical glitches.