The original architects of the Delphi-Palais dance hall were Ernst Lessing and Max Breme. There were plans put forward in 1925 to convert it into cinema, but these were never carried out and it continued as a dance hall until it was bombed in the war.
Rebuilt, keeping the facade, it opened as the Delphi-Filmpalast am Zoo in 1949 with a seating capacity of 1,169 in orchestra and balcony levels. It has under-gone a couple of more re-modellings in 1956 (architect;Hornung) and in 1981 by architect Wolfgang G. Hummel. It is equipped to screen movies in 16mm, 35mm and 70mm and has a Dolby SRD sound system installed.
Originally a former restaurant, it first opened as a small arts theatre known as the Kleinkunst-Theater. Cinema use as the Astor Filmtheater was from 1934 when it had a seating capacity of 494, located on orchestra and balcony (which had side slips). The reduced seating capacity came in 1993 with the installation of new seats.
A conversion from a shop, it seated 300 in 1916 and the auditorium ran parallel to Seestrasse.
Rebuilt in 1921 to the designs of Max Bischoff and built by the great cinema builders Czutzka & Co. the auditorium was turned around to run parallel to Mullerstasse (the entrance was on Seestrasse but the address given was Mullerstrasse 156). The cinema was described as having a facade that stood out from the main block of the building, being framed with an expressionistic ornamental design. There were long windows on either side of the main entrance steps that originally had Moorish styled candelabra light fittings at their base. Seating in the auditorium was in orchestra and balcony levels and there were sea-shell type ornaments along the walls to the stage and decorative backlit windows ran along the upper walls. The ceiling had a painted frieze around the edge with a large candelabra hanging in the centre. An orchestra pit was provided, as were full stage facilities. Seating was for 950. This building was almost entirely destroyed by bombing during the war and the wrecked shell of the building was used to hang advertising space until 1953.
In 1953, architect’s Hans Bielenberg and Helmut Ollk were commissioned to re-build the Alhambra as a modern cinema, using what remained of the original outer walls. The new frontage was faced in light yellow tiles and was outlined in neon. Inside the auditorium was given a sleek Art Moderne treatment with plain surfaces and concealed lighting. In 1981 seating was reduced to 500 in order to avoid paying high taxes (access to the balcony was closed off). This Alhambra was closed in 2000 and demolished in 2001.
A new 7 screen multiplex Alhambra was built on the site. The seating capacity is 1,424 and auditoriums have Dolby-Digital SDDS Digital, DTS Digital Dolby.
Ian;
Thanks for that latest news and the link to the photographs. Good to hear that at least the exterior of the building remains intact and it remains in entertainment use.
Listed in the Film Daily Yearbook,1943 as being operated by Paramount Pictures Inc. through their subsidiary Julius Gordon. Seating is listed as 926 in the F.D.Y. edition for 1950.
The Paramount Theatre opened on 4th August 1917 screening Mary Pickford in “Less than the Dust”. The architect was James Bennie and there were 885 seats in the orchestra stalls and 626 in the circle.
In 1926 the theatre closed for a complete alteration to the interior by the original architect James Bennie and C.A. Martin. The alterations reduced the seating capaity to 1,394 and it re-opened on 20th May 1927 with Cecil B. De Mille’s “The Volga Boatman starring William Boyd. In 1934 a Wurlitzer organ was installed. It had originally been shipped from the USA in 1927 and installed in the Paramount Theatre, Nelson. NZ in 1928 but was removed from that theatre in July 1928 when it was taken over by another company and re-named the Regent.
The interior was re-designed yet again by architect James Bennie in 1943, but due to war-time restrictions, not all the plans were carried out and this may give the rather plain look that the theatre has today.
Even more drastic alterations were carried out in 1961 when the circle was floored forward to the proscenium to create a 710 cinema, whilst the orchestra level was converted into offices. The facade remains virtually unaltered since its 1927 make-over.
Listed as the Venus Theater in Film Daily Yearbook’s that I have;1930-1950. Seating capacities vary from 500, 564 down to 400. It is not listed in the 1957 edition of F.D.Y.
List in the 1941 edition of Film Daily Yearbook as the State Theatre with 1,200 serats. In the F.D.Y. edition of 1943 it was the Old Vienna Theatre with a capacity of 1,029. In the 1950 edition of F.D.Y. it is still the Old Vienna Theatre but with 1,602 seats listed.
Gerald;
The ‘President’ shown on the postcard is the former Morosco Theatre, after being President it became the Newsreel then the Globe /theaters/1459/
The only other theatre that I have located on the 700 block of Broadway is the Loew’s State which at # 703 would be on the other side of the street but not in the position of the ‘other’ un-named theatre that can be seen on the postcard (That is if it is a theatre? I know the marquee looks like one, but…??)
Listed as the Universal Theatre in Film Daily Yearbooks that I have 1930 thru 1950. This theatre seemed to grow in size with a seating capacity given in 1930 as 281, in 1941 as 450, in 1943 and 1950 as 546. It is not listed in the 1957 edition of F.D.Y.
Sorry the first two links I posted don’t seem to work, but were ok from the Google search I did for ‘Tuschinski Theatre’.
One point of note is that the Tuschinski still has its Wurlitzer-Strunk theatre organ still in situ, although it is hardly ever played these days. It was installed in 1940, replacing an earlier 6Rank Wurlitzer model 160. The current Wurlitzer-Strunk has 4Manual/10Rank.
As well as being a 1st class movie theatre, the Tuschinski has also presented stage shows. Before W.W.II artists such as Maurice Chevalier, Tom Mix and Jeanette MacDonald appeared here accompanied by the resident 16 piece orchestra. After the war saw Judy Garland, Marlene Deitrich, Edith Piaf, Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Domino and Dionne Warwick all do concerts in the theatre. The resident orchestra was disbanded in 1969 and the organ ceased to be a regular part of the programme in 1974.
Mainly invited guests and film industry people attend. They are black tie and best dress events, so the general public are not encouraged to attend (off the street). The premiers are never advertised, the only way of knowing that one is going to happen, is by enquiring at the box office, or looking for signs in the booking schedule where, usually a whole days performances of the regular film playing will be cancelled. Of course an obvious sign is walking through Leicester Square and seeing the barriers up and the red carpet down, with crowds of fans forming as they usually attract the main stars of the movie being premiered and many other celebrities.
Vincent;
Local citizen’s formed a committee to save the Mayfair and offered to buy the theatre from the Walter Reade organisation. However after lengthy negotiations, all offers were rejected. The asking price was reported to be $300,000. City officials said that the Mayfair owed over $45,000 in back taxes as well as the adjacent St James Theatre, also operated by Walter Reade, which was also included in the demolition plans. It was reported that the St James Theatre was not as old or attractive as the Mayfair and there had been no move by citizens to preserve that theatre.
I am presuming that both theatres were demolished at the same time.
The building was first the Grower’s National Bank, built in 1922 and it remained a bank until the stock market crash in 1929. Ten years later in 1939 it opened as the Campbell Theatre, with the movie “Gone With the Wind”. It closed as a movie theatre in 1963.
Here is a fine photo of the console of the State Cinema’s Compton organ 3Manual/6Rank with Melotone, with it’s illuminated surround. http://www.decopix.com/stateorga.html
The Empire was opened on 1st August 1930. It was taken over by County Cinemas in about 1931. It was re-named Odeon from 18th January 1964 and closed on 17th October 1971.
Now called The Kings Centre, which is a Christian centre.
In October 1940, the Odeon Balham was hit by a bomb which destroyed the entire right side of the front of the building. Luckily the auditorium was undamaged and after a clear up, the cinema opened for business as normal. Looking at a photo of the Odeon taken at the time, I would say that if it were to happen today, the cinema would never be allowed to open in the state it was in.
The destroyed right hand side of the front of the Odeon was re-built to its original design when the war was over and can still be seen today as the facade to residential use that has now been built on the site of the auditorium.
The original architects of the Delphi-Palais dance hall were Ernst Lessing and Max Breme. There were plans put forward in 1925 to convert it into cinema, but these were never carried out and it continued as a dance hall until it was bombed in the war.
Rebuilt, keeping the facade, it opened as the Delphi-Filmpalast am Zoo in 1949 with a seating capacity of 1,169 in orchestra and balcony levels. It has under-gone a couple of more re-modellings in 1956 (architect;Hornung) and in 1981 by architect Wolfgang G. Hummel. It is equipped to screen movies in 16mm, 35mm and 70mm and has a Dolby SRD sound system installed.
Originally a former restaurant, it first opened as a small arts theatre known as the Kleinkunst-Theater. Cinema use as the Astor Filmtheater was from 1934 when it had a seating capacity of 494, located on orchestra and balcony (which had side slips). The reduced seating capacity came in 1993 with the installation of new seats.
The 4 Alhambra Cinemas at this location were:–
A conversion from a shop, it seated 300 in 1916 and the auditorium ran parallel to Seestrasse.
Rebuilt in 1921 to the designs of Max Bischoff and built by the great cinema builders Czutzka & Co. the auditorium was turned around to run parallel to Mullerstasse (the entrance was on Seestrasse but the address given was Mullerstrasse 156). The cinema was described as having a facade that stood out from the main block of the building, being framed with an expressionistic ornamental design. There were long windows on either side of the main entrance steps that originally had Moorish styled candelabra light fittings at their base. Seating in the auditorium was in orchestra and balcony levels and there were sea-shell type ornaments along the walls to the stage and decorative backlit windows ran along the upper walls. The ceiling had a painted frieze around the edge with a large candelabra hanging in the centre. An orchestra pit was provided, as were full stage facilities. Seating was for 950. This building was almost entirely destroyed by bombing during the war and the wrecked shell of the building was used to hang advertising space until 1953.
In 1953, architect’s Hans Bielenberg and Helmut Ollk were commissioned to re-build the Alhambra as a modern cinema, using what remained of the original outer walls. The new frontage was faced in light yellow tiles and was outlined in neon. Inside the auditorium was given a sleek Art Moderne treatment with plain surfaces and concealed lighting. In 1981 seating was reduced to 500 in order to avoid paying high taxes (access to the balcony was closed off). This Alhambra was closed in 2000 and demolished in 2001.
A new 7 screen multiplex Alhambra was built on the site. The seating capacity is 1,424 and auditoriums have Dolby-Digital SDDS Digital, DTS Digital Dolby.
Ian;
Thanks for that latest news and the link to the photographs. Good to hear that at least the exterior of the building remains intact and it remains in entertainment use.
Listed in the Film Daily Yearbook,1943 as being operated by Paramount Pictures Inc. through their subsidiary Julius Gordon. Seating is listed as 926 in the F.D.Y. edition for 1950.
The Paramount Theatre opened on 4th August 1917 screening Mary Pickford in “Less than the Dust”. The architect was James Bennie and there were 885 seats in the orchestra stalls and 626 in the circle.
In 1926 the theatre closed for a complete alteration to the interior by the original architect James Bennie and C.A. Martin. The alterations reduced the seating capaity to 1,394 and it re-opened on 20th May 1927 with Cecil B. De Mille’s “The Volga Boatman starring William Boyd. In 1934 a Wurlitzer organ was installed. It had originally been shipped from the USA in 1927 and installed in the Paramount Theatre, Nelson. NZ in 1928 but was removed from that theatre in July 1928 when it was taken over by another company and re-named the Regent.
The interior was re-designed yet again by architect James Bennie in 1943, but due to war-time restrictions, not all the plans were carried out and this may give the rather plain look that the theatre has today.
Even more drastic alterations were carried out in 1961 when the circle was floored forward to the proscenium to create a 710 cinema, whilst the orchestra level was converted into offices. The facade remains virtually unaltered since its 1927 make-over.
Listed in the Film Daily Yearbook,1943 as being operated by Fox Midwest Amusement Corp.
Listed as the Venus Theater in Film Daily Yearbook’s that I have;1930-1950. Seating capacities vary from 500, 564 down to 400. It is not listed in the 1957 edition of F.D.Y.
Listed in the Film Daily Yearbook,1941 as being operated by Warner Bros. Circuit Management with a seating capacity of 1,424.
Listed in editions of Film Daily Yearbook’s that I have;1941-1950, as the Plymouth Theatre, operated by E.M. Loew’s.
The Lounge Cinema opened in 1916. The Kinematograph Year Book, 1944 gives a seating capacity of 778.
List in the 1941 edition of Film Daily Yearbook as the State Theatre with 1,200 serats. In the F.D.Y. edition of 1943 it was the Old Vienna Theatre with a capacity of 1,029. In the 1950 edition of F.D.Y. it is still the Old Vienna Theatre but with 1,602 seats listed.
Gerald;
The ‘President’ shown on the postcard is the former Morosco Theatre, after being President it became the Newsreel then the Globe /theaters/1459/
The only other theatre that I have located on the 700 block of Broadway is the Loew’s State which at # 703 would be on the other side of the street but not in the position of the ‘other’ un-named theatre that can be seen on the postcard (That is if it is a theatre? I know the marquee looks like one, but…??)
Listed as operating in Film Daily yearbooks that I have; 1941, 1943, 1950.
Scoop,
I took the infomation from the New Beverly Cinema’s own website. http://www.michaelwilliams.com/beverlycinema/ click on ‘info’
Listed as the Universal Theatre in Film Daily Yearbooks that I have 1930 thru 1950. This theatre seemed to grow in size with a seating capacity given in 1930 as 281, in 1941 as 450, in 1943 and 1950 as 546. It is not listed in the 1957 edition of F.D.Y.
Sorry the first two links I posted don’t seem to work, but were ok from the Google search I did for ‘Tuschinski Theatre’.
One point of note is that the Tuschinski still has its Wurlitzer-Strunk theatre organ still in situ, although it is hardly ever played these days. It was installed in 1940, replacing an earlier 6Rank Wurlitzer model 160. The current Wurlitzer-Strunk has 4Manual/10Rank.
As well as being a 1st class movie theatre, the Tuschinski has also presented stage shows. Before W.W.II artists such as Maurice Chevalier, Tom Mix and Jeanette MacDonald appeared here accompanied by the resident 16 piece orchestra. After the war saw Judy Garland, Marlene Deitrich, Edith Piaf, Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Domino and Dionne Warwick all do concerts in the theatre. The resident orchestra was disbanded in 1969 and the organ ceased to be a regular part of the programme in 1974.
A photograph of the proscenium arch is here:-
http://oh-no.net/mt/000038.html
The main light fitting in the centre of the auditorium ceiling
http://oh-no.net/mt/000039.html
Some more pictures here:-
http://www.cinematour.com/tour.php?db=fo&id=1331
Mainly invited guests and film industry people attend. They are black tie and best dress events, so the general public are not encouraged to attend (off the street). The premiers are never advertised, the only way of knowing that one is going to happen, is by enquiring at the box office, or looking for signs in the booking schedule where, usually a whole days performances of the regular film playing will be cancelled. Of course an obvious sign is walking through Leicester Square and seeing the barriers up and the red carpet down, with crowds of fans forming as they usually attract the main stars of the movie being premiered and many other celebrities.
The photograph above of the enormous chandelier is the lobby chandelier.
Vincent;
Local citizen’s formed a committee to save the Mayfair and offered to buy the theatre from the Walter Reade organisation. However after lengthy negotiations, all offers were rejected. The asking price was reported to be $300,000. City officials said that the Mayfair owed over $45,000 in back taxes as well as the adjacent St James Theatre, also operated by Walter Reade, which was also included in the demolition plans. It was reported that the St James Theatre was not as old or attractive as the Mayfair and there had been no move by citizens to preserve that theatre.
I am presuming that both theatres were demolished at the same time.
The building was first the Grower’s National Bank, built in 1922 and it remained a bank until the stock market crash in 1929. Ten years later in 1939 it opened as the Campbell Theatre, with the movie “Gone With the Wind”. It closed as a movie theatre in 1963.
It re-opened as the Gaslighter Theatre in 1967.
Here is a fine photo of the console of the State Cinema’s Compton organ 3Manual/6Rank with Melotone, with it’s illuminated surround.
http://www.decopix.com/stateorga.html
The Empire was opened on 1st August 1930. It was taken over by County Cinemas in about 1931. It was re-named Odeon from 18th January 1964 and closed on 17th October 1971.
Now called The Kings Centre, which is a Christian centre.
In October 1940, the Odeon Balham was hit by a bomb which destroyed the entire right side of the front of the building. Luckily the auditorium was undamaged and after a clear up, the cinema opened for business as normal. Looking at a photo of the Odeon taken at the time, I would say that if it were to happen today, the cinema would never be allowed to open in the state it was in.
The destroyed right hand side of the front of the Odeon was re-built to its original design when the war was over and can still be seen today as the facade to residential use that has now been built on the site of the auditorium.