Comments from JonT

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JonT
JonT commented about Granada Theatre on Sep 24, 2016 at 3:36 pm

Good to see that 1980 photo of the Granada, long after the last time I was in that theater, 1965. Moved back to Washington DC. It was featuring three films I do not care for and worse, this splendid theater had been converted to three — probably ruined the whole thing !

JonT
JonT commented about Uptown Theatre on Sep 18, 2016 at 6:24 pm

Made my last visit to the Uptown to see “Prometheus” and left before it was half-way through; couldn’t believe that this theater was showing a projected image that did not fit the screen, most distracting — unbelievable!

JonT
JonT commented about Orpheum Theatre on Sep 18, 2016 at 6:13 pm

I stand corrected (only slightly). After looking more closely at the picture, it is the First Baptist Church which is on Main Street across from where the Orpheum stood, and the library is at 36 Salem St. Malden, MA 02148 next door to the church. It is of the same stone construction as the church, hence my confusion !!!

JonT
JonT commented about Granada Theatre on Sep 17, 2016 at 2:12 pm

Interesting to see postcard pic of the Granada with its new two-sided marquee. The original one (or at least the one I remember) was a rather dark, three-sided one, but it did take awhile to get used to the new look. Without a doubt my favorite Malden movie theater; its unique feature was that it had not only the main entrance on Pleasant Street, but another on a street alongside. Don’t remember the name of that street, but if one were to go pas this other entrance, one would encounter a large parking lot, but if you entered this smaller box office, you would encounter the balcony section — quite a sight as you passed a view of the entire audience, balcony and orchestra, lit up by the movie playing on the big CinemaScope screen …

JonT
JonT commented about Orpheum Theatre on Sep 14, 2016 at 8:15 pm

The Orpheum was on Main Street just across the street from the Malden Public Library and just around the corner from the Granada on Pleasant Street. Generally it showed features that had played at the Granada the week before. Going there in the ‘40s as a child and on through the '50s, the prices were lower than the other Malden theaters on Pleasant Street; the lowest I remember is the child’s admission of 12 cents. A unique feature of the Orpheaum was that upon entering at the street level one encountered the balcony! To the right of the candy concession were stairs leading down to the orchestra level. Couldn’t begin to count the times I went to this theater, first with my mother and then on my own. Scrounging for soda and milk bottles that were returnable for two cents, or even five cents, got admission and possibly some penny candy !