UA Riverview Plaza Stadium 17
1400 S. Columbus Boulevard,
Philadelphia,
PA
19147
1400 S. Columbus Boulevard,
Philadelphia,
PA
19147
12 people
favorited this theater
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Please update name to Regal UA Riverview Plaza 17 RPX and IMAX was the last name before theatre closed.
Apple Cinemas scraps plans to reopen movie theater at South Philly’s Riverview Plaza The company says it was ‘forced to cancel’ renovations after property owner Bart Blatstein broke terms in its lease. It’s looking to open a theater elsewhere in the city, but it may not include an IMAX screen.
Apple Cinemas' renovation of the former movie theater at the Riverview Plaza in South Philly will not move forward due to problems with the condition of the property, a co-owner of the independent chain said Thursday.
The reopening of the shuttered Regal United Artists multiplex on Christopher Columbus Boulevard, which closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, had been eagerly awaited by moviegoers in Philly since Apple Cinemas unveiled the project last August. The small chain signed a lease for the property two years ago and had a deal with IMAX to install a screen with a laser system. None of the city’s other theaters have IMAX screens.
Apple Cinemas aimed to open the 17-screen theater some time this year, but months passed without any concrete updates on the project. The company said the delay and demise of the renovation stems from a conflict with developer Bart Blatstein, whose Tower Investments owns the entire Riverview Plaza at 1100-1400 S. Christopher Columbus Blvd “Unfortunately this project, given the uncertainty over a lot of lease terms and the delivery condition, will not be able to move forward,” said Siva Shan, co-founder and co-owner of Apple Cinemas. “There was a water leak, which caused mold. The landlord was supposed to remediate the mold and give the property to us. We’ve been holding onto this for the last two years, and he was supposed to do all those things and give it to us, and he has not communicated anything about delivering the property to us.”
As recently as March 4, the city issued a permit for Apple Cinemas to move forward with alterations at the building, including new finishes and auditorium seating. Another permit issued in November covered a variety of interior and exterior work.
In late March, after months of inquiries, Shan told PhillyVoice that Apple Cinemas was still waiting to enter the property for contractors to start renovations.
Commercial real estate leases often include a landlord delivery letter stipulating work that needs to be done before a property is turned over to the tenant. An agreement may include a timeline to complete repairs of utilities and structural issues, for example, and tenants may have the option to renegotiate or terminate a lease if benchmarks are not met.
Blatstein, who owns and has developed more than 100 properties, mostly in Philly and Atlantic City over the past four decades, declined multiple interview requests.
When a deadline passed to deliver the South Philly property last week, Shan said Blatstein did not give Apple Cinemas a firm timetable to move forward. The company already has invested about $200,000 for permitting and other costs related to the project, Shan said, and Apple Cinemas would rather look elsewhere in Philly than remain in limbo.
“We want to take a property, renovate quickly, and move on to the next project,” Shan said. “We cannot be sitting on a single project for more than two years, so we were forced to cancel it.”
Apple Cinemas still aims to open a Philly theater Tower Investments originally built the 77,000-square-foot movie theater and a separate retail plaza in the late 1980s. The property was then sold to Cedar Realty Trust in 2003. The theater long served as one of the city’s most accessible places to catch a movie, especially in IMAX. A free parking lot beneath Interstate 95 made it a more convenient place to drive compared to Philly’s other theaters in Center City, North Philly, University City and the Northeast.
Before the pandemic, Cedar Realty Trust had planned a $12 million renovation of the movie theater along with the construction of apartments and new retail outlets. The project never materialized, and the Regal closed in November 2020 as cinemas worldwide were crippled by COVID restrictions.
Blatstein bought the property back two years later, saying he paid less for it than the sale price in 2003. The retail complex across Reed Street is anchored by a Staples, Pep Boys and Verilife medical marijuana dispensary. Blatstein also owns the nearby Columbus Crossing shopping center, and he purchased Piers 38 and 40 on the Delaware River waterfront a few months after reacquiring the Riverview Plaz
Apple Cinemas, founded in Massachusetts in 2010, operates 14 independent movie theaters primarily in New England. The company opened its first West Coast theater with an IMAX screen in San Francisco last year. The chain’s growth prompted Apple Inc. to file a trademark infringement lawsuit against Apple Cinemas last August. The tech giant alleges Apple Cinemas' name dilutes the Apple brand, confuses customers and uses the company’s reputation to garner favorable leasing deals.
Shan said he’s unable to comment on the Apple lawsuit. The two sides filed a motion this week to continue the case, signaling they could be headed toward a settlement. The lawsuit has no bearing on the company’s ability to continue operating and expanding, Shan said.
“We have opened two other locations since signing the Philadelphia lease,” Shan said. “We are extremely good at what we are doing and we do very good for a movie theater.”
Apple Cinemas still views Philly as an ideal fit for growth, and the company has already begun scouting alternate locations in several neighborhoods in the city.
“We always want that the city is very vibrant, and it suits our market perfectly,” he said. “I believe the city definitely can use a good movie theater.”
Future of Riverview Plaza now in question Apple Cinemas has sent legal notice to Blatstein to terminate the lease at Riverview Plaza and is now awaiting a response, Shan said. There are “multiple issues” at the theater that interfered with delivering the property, Shan claimed, but he declined to share further details on the problems at the building.
“They are in the breach of the lease,” Shan said.
City property records show the theater failed to provide required energy and water benchmarking information in February, but later met its obligations on May 11. Last year, the property received a fire code violation for “unapproved conditions” and another violation related to licensing of a vacant structure. (Philadelphia’s Property website still lists Cedar Riverview LP as the owner, but a city official confirmed Riverview Plaza is owned by Blatstein and the record is likely not updated due to administrative delays).
For Philly residents, the breakdown in the project may come as a disappointment. It also raises questions about the future of the property if it does not survive as a theater.
Shan said Apple Cinemas is now informing IMAX about the situation, and it’s too soon to say whether the planned screen would be incorporated at another location. At one point recently, Shan said Apple Cinemas had applied for a permit to include bowling and an arcade along with the theater in South Philly, hoping a revised plan could help move the project along.
Resolving the dispute at Riverview Plaza would be a long shot at this stage, though not impossible.
“If they stick to the original lease terms,” Shan said. “It is not only delivering the property. They were not able to stick to a couple of lease terms that were originally agreed upon. I can’t discuss that in detail.”
Despite the letdown for moviegoers in Philly, Shan said Apple Cinemas is committed to opening in the city.
“At some point, we’ll definitely be there,” he said.
Apple Cinemas plans to renovate the former Regal multiplex on Columbus Boulevard. It will have the only IMAX screen in the city. Opening date in 2026. No firm date given.
At the theater in South Philly, an IMAX spokesperson said the company plans to install a new screen with a laser projector, an IMAX sound system and a seating deck.
The South Philly project will become a “marquee” theater in the IMAX portfolio.
Link to Philly Voice article https://www.phillyvoice.com/imax-theater-south-philly-riverview-plaza-columbus-boulevard-apple/
Is this theater complex still standing?
Hiya! My name’s Jim Perry & I’m the original chief film projectionist for the Riverview multiplex (from it’s opening in Nov. 1991, to about sometime in 1994), and I’m gonna answer a question, as well as mentioning a somewhat “important” point “trivia / history-wise”.
To “ediemer” - you asked about what the theatre had in regards to 70mm. At the time, Theatres 6 (one of the mid-size houses) & 7 (The Large House) had Century 70/35 film projectors, and both had Dolby CP65 processors for the sound. (Both were originally supposed to have an early digital stereo system called Cinema Digital Sound, but the company(s) who created it cancelled “the project” about a week or 2 before the Riverview opened up. That’s a story in itself, but for another time.) Basically, in theory - say we ran something in theatre 7 and it turned out to be a stiff at the box office, we could move it (the print) to theatre 6. (Case in point - you mentioned “Gettysburg”. Turns out that one was the last 70mm feature I ever ran. It was also “a stiff”. Meaning: we played it originally in 7 & ended up moving it in 6.)
For the record - when The Riverview finally opened up in Nov. of 1991, only 9 of its 11 screens/houses were ready - theatres 8 & 9 (A.K.A. “The Dinky Houses”) were still being worked on - we didn’t open those 2 until either December or January.
Not to “kiss ass” here, but somebody mentioned Ron Angeli. I was in “the biz” for several years & in regards to all the jobs/thetres I worked at, Ron was probably the best theatre manager I ever worked for. The guy knew how to run a theatre. He was also a “NO NONSENSE/NO B.S.” kinda guy. Let me put it another way - I wasn’t there on these stories about the theatre going into “decline”, but I can guess that when that happened, Ron wasn’t there either. The last thing I heard (probably sometime in the late 90’s), United Artists Theatres apparently decided to let Ron go. (Pretty much a STOOPID move on their part.)
Please update, theatre closed permanently
https://www.phillyvoice.com/regal-ua-riverview-plaza-closed-south-philly-columbus-boulevard-covid-19/?fbclid=IwAR3yUpaYiefY9mIjzqaBH_zulS1Qz5slbi-Kb6dgJbsim8bSiDCnrIHPfWI
Please update 3928 seats
QUESTION, I was on yelp and it look like a auditorium is not stadium seating. Is is possible that 1 or 2 screens are not stadium seating. I almost went their a few years ago on vacation, but went to the Ritz 5 which I wasn’t impressed, it was like a 1980 retro movie place, not modern.
In Brooklyn, NY United Artists converted Sheepshead Bay to Stadium seating with the exception of 2 screens. Did that happen at Riverview also.
Please update, the additional 6 screens opened on August 28, 1998
Howard, the only real measurement would be size of screen against size/dimensions of auditorium. The Roxy’s initial CinemaScope screen surpassed in square footage that of thw Broadway’s Cinerama in 1953.
I’m reposting a yelp comment (5-27-18 by A and JS of San Francisco)– This review is mainly a post about the size of the various theaters. While Fandango does list auditorium numbers with showtimes, the size of the screens is rather mysterious until you are there. Auditoriums 1 – 6 are upstairs, and 1 and 2 are biggest, huge even. Downstairs are auditoriums 7 – 15. Avoid the tiny, nearly worthless 14 & 15, which are almost like big screen televisions. I thought, just by sight comparison, that 8 and 13 were maybe a little larger than the others downstairs, but this may be my imagination. Would love to see more posts/more information about this. I love a big screen, but don’t want to see, or pay for, IMAX. Anyone else have an opinion to contribute?
Do all 17 screens have and use masking or matting?
New Showcase Presentations in Philadelphia article includes mention of the 70mm engagements here at the Riverview Plaza (along with other Philadelphia area cinemas).
November 1st, 1991 and August 28th, 1998 grand opening ads in the photo section for this cinema.
It was the 70mm version and was shown in the correct 2.76 to 1 aspect ratio that I saw. The auditorium had a 1.85 to 1 screen which uses top masking to achieve the more typical 2.39 to 1 ‘scope ratio. For the “Hateful 8” in 70mm they opted to not use the top masking and projected the film across the top of the unmasked screen, leaving a large amount of screen below exposed as opposed to a relatively small amount if the top masking had been used. Just for the sake of clarification, 70mm “Ultra Panavision” is basically the 70mm version of Cinemascope in that the 2.2 to 1 70mm frame has a slight anamorphic squeeze that yields the extra wide 2.76 to 1 aspect ratio. “Ultra Panavision” was actually developed as a simpler, less expensive alternative to the three camera/ three projector “Cinerama” which was also projected at 2.76 to 1 ratio on a deeply curved screen. Just a shame that AMC did not opt to do the Roadshow in Aud 24 which has a 2.39 to 1 61 foot wide screen…would have been a real event in that theater.
The ongoing comments on reddit would indicate that wherever a digital copy had to be substituted for the print (“H8 8”) the ratio matched that of the film. There may or may not be a “special edition” BluRay in the works maintaining the 2.76 as well.
I was thinking of “Far and Away” in my reply. I am guessing the digital version of The Hateful Eight is also shown as 2.76 aspect ratio like the 70mm version.
A 70mm scope print, such as the ones for “h8 8”, are to be shown in the a.r. of 2.76 to 1. The 2.2 (or 2.2.1) ratio is the nominal standard for so-called flat 70mm prints. Keep in mind that on a given 70mm film, the actual projected image may be “hard-masked” on the print to attain any ratio that can be fit into the frame.
70mm scope films are shown at 2.2 aspect ratio not 2.35
Cinedelphia, was it not shown in scope? I assumed even digital it was filmed in 2.35 aspect ratio.
So, UA Riverview is showing the “Hateful Eight” 70mm Roadshow in the pre-expansion big auditorium. That had to be a far superior experience than the 25'wide 1.85 to 1 unmasked screen presentation I went to at Neshaminy 24. Should went with my initial instinct and saw it at Riverview. I saw “Far and Away” in that same room in regular 2.21 to 1 70mm and it was a great experience.
When I saw the 50th anniversary digital print of My Fair Lady locally here in NC, the aspect ratio was 2.20. The theater it played in has masking that that closes top and bottom. After the slide they closed the masking to scope ratio 2.35 for some previews, but once the filme started they opened the masking and MFL was shown with the black bars at the top and bottom juts like your picture shows TH8 was.
My expectations were in some ways exceeded. I had not been in the Riverview since its expansion in'the nineties, so I was pleasantly surprised that auditorium #13 (the h8 70mm room) and its adjacent #12 had not been severely stadium-ized with the upper section resembling a height ride at an amusement park. This nearly always leads to fuzzy multi-channel imaging and often, as in the Cinemark XD rooms, a one-size-fits-all screen that diminishes the impact of scope. That said, aud #13 here has a moderate rake with good views of its approximate 40-45 foot scope screen, in the 2.2:1 ratio which means letterboxing for wider aspect ratios as was the case here. It would have been nice that, given the cost of the install (or reinstall since the original Riverview did have at least one set of 35/70mm machines) to have temporarily masked off the top and bottom of the screen. Throughout the print there was a green vertical stripe down the right side of the image, and the image did often show off the soft focus often evident in UP70 photography. I will within the next few hours post on the riverview’s page on cinematreasures.org three photos I took inside the auditorium. Oops. almost forgot: the ticket taker graciously handed out the souvenir program booklets…nice touch!
I’ve posted three photographs. The one with the color information removed clearly shows the contrast between the projected letterboxed image and the actual screen material.
In what style was this theater designed? Where is the marquee?
Have never experienced a problem at this theater with audience behavior (but I do tend to go at off peak hrs). The big rooms on the second level are wide and have very large screens (guessing over 50 ft wide), excellent sound and good site lines.