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.
Shown as operating in Film Daily Yearbook’s that I have (years 1941 – 1950), it was operated by Paramount Pictures Inc through their subsidiary Mullins & Pinanski.
The State Theatre is listed as operating as a movie theatre in Film Daily Yearbooks that I have between 1941 and 1950. Dates before and after these need to be researched.
The Trocadero Cinema, like the 4004 seat Gaumont State Theatre, Kilburn, London were projects of the Hyams and Gale circuit which were taken over by Gaumont British Cinemas.
The Trocadero was taken over in October 1935 by Gaumont Super Cinemas. The seating capacity of the Trocadero was 3,500 and it was one of the most lavish ‘movie palaces’ ever built in the UK and was on the same scale as a Thomas Lamb, or Rapp & Rapp theatre in the USA.
The Ritz Theatre opened in 1929. It closed as a movie house in the summer of 1972. It re-opened as the Ritz Music Hall, a performing center for Rock ‘n Roll and western stars in 1974.
The Holly Theatre opened in 1912 and for its first year of operation was known as Jensen’s Theaterium, presumably operated by Henty Jensen who operated several theatres, including the nearby Melrose Theatre on Melrose Ave and the Raymond in Pasadena. It was one of a small group of theatre built for the Globe Amusement Company. The frontage of the theatre had an attractice entrance with a high curved arch, on top of which was a dome.
Re-named Hollyway Theatre (maybe because it was on the way to Hollywood), it is listed under this name in Film Daily Yearbook, 1941 with a seating capacity of 732. In the 1943 edition of F.D.Y. it is named the Holly Theatre, again with 732 seats. The 1950 and ‘52 editions have it still listed as the Holly Theatre but with 780 seats.
After closing it is noted in 1974 that it had become a branch office of Crocker Bank.
The building first opened as the Princess Theatre on 12th May 1917, replacing an earlier theatre that was destroyed by fire in 1916.
In 1924 a 2Manual/5Rank Hinners organ was installed and one of the organists was bob Moore, who in later years worked for Balaban & Katz in Chicago playing organ in the Tivoli, Southtown and other theatres.
Also in 1924 the theatre was re-named Lloyd Theatre. The Lloyd was refurbished in 1974 when a new screen was erected, new carpets fitted, new stage drapes installed and a new marquee fitted to the facade. It continued as a movie theatre until 1993 when it closed. The theatre was remodeled and re-opened by the current management as the Princess Theatre in 1995.
According to the history of the theatre on the church’s website http://www.sonlightoforange.com
the architect of the Orange Theatre was Harry J. Simons of Los Angeles.
Not stated on the website is that work commenced on building in around 1926 but was brought to a halt for some reason and the contract was completed by architect John Paxton Perine.
It opened on 22nd May 1929 with the movie “Molly and Me” starring Belle Bennett and Joe E. Brown plus a vaudville show and Wurlitzer organ music. It had a seating capacity of 1,300 and was operated by Fox West Coast-Langley Theatres.
It closed in the early 1970’s and briefly went over to being a live theatre which closed in 1975. The current church use commenced in 1978.
Architect S. Charles Lee did some modernisations on the building in the 1930’s. Two projects listed in the Appendix in Maggie Valentine’s book “The Show Starts on the Sidewalk” have un-named Los Angeles theatres that could have had work executed by Charles Lee in 1936 for an un-named client and another for client Alex Pavlov in 1937-40.
Looking at the photos on the link I give here, the interior work carried out by Lee appears to be minimal, but the exterior photo above seems to have a more ‘modern’ look, especially the blade sign and marquee.
The Belasco Theatre was known briefly as the Republic Theatre before becoming the Follies Theatre in 1919 when it bagan its long life as a major burlesque house.
Construction on the Burbank Theatre began in 1887 to the plans of notable 19th century theatre architect James M. Wood. It remained incomplete until 1893 when it was finally finished and opened that year to the plans of Los Angeles architect Robert Brown Young.
The interior was done-over in 1937-38 and featured a rather thin overlay of art-deco over the original 1893 decor. It could be at this time that the exterior, seen in the above photo was also carried out. The building was always a street level and one floored facade.
The Regent closed early 1973 and was demolished in November 1973. The No. 40 Wurlitzer Hope-Jones organ was saved from the theatre as it was being torn down and was put into storage by the Rochester Theatre Organ Society.
Film Daily Yearbook,1930 lists this as the Peerless Theatre with 562 seats. The 1941 edition has it as the Haven Theatre with 563 seats, as does the 1943 edition, but by then it is listed as closed.
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.
Listed as operating as a movie theatre in Film Daily Yearbook’s that I have (years 1941-1950)
Shown as operating in Film Daily Yearbook’s that I have (years 1941 – 1950), it was operated by Paramount Pictures Inc through their subsidiary Mullins & Pinanski.
The State Theatre is listed as operating as a movie theatre in Film Daily Yearbooks that I have between 1941 and 1950. Dates before and after these need to be researched.
The Trocadero Cinema, like the 4004 seat Gaumont State Theatre, Kilburn, London were projects of the Hyams and Gale circuit which were taken over by Gaumont British Cinemas.
The Trocadero was taken over in October 1935 by Gaumont Super Cinemas. The seating capacity of the Trocadero was 3,500 and it was one of the most lavish ‘movie palaces’ ever built in the UK and was on the same scale as a Thomas Lamb, or Rapp & Rapp theatre in the USA.
The Majestic Theatre was also operated by Paramount Pictures Inc through their subsidiary Hoblitzelle & O'Donnell.
It is listed as operating in the Film Daily Yearbook,1941 with a seating capacity of 1,585.
Listed in the Film Daily Yearbook,1950 with 550 seats.
The Ritz Theatre opened in 1929. It closed as a movie house in the summer of 1972. It re-opened as the Ritz Music Hall, a performing center for Rock ‘n Roll and western stars in 1974.
The Holly Theatre opened in 1912 and for its first year of operation was known as Jensen’s Theaterium, presumably operated by Henty Jensen who operated several theatres, including the nearby Melrose Theatre on Melrose Ave and the Raymond in Pasadena. It was one of a small group of theatre built for the Globe Amusement Company. The frontage of the theatre had an attractice entrance with a high curved arch, on top of which was a dome.
Re-named Hollyway Theatre (maybe because it was on the way to Hollywood), it is listed under this name in Film Daily Yearbook, 1941 with a seating capacity of 732. In the 1943 edition of F.D.Y. it is named the Holly Theatre, again with 732 seats. The 1950 and ‘52 editions have it still listed as the Holly Theatre but with 780 seats.
After closing it is noted in 1974 that it had become a branch office of Crocker Bank.
The building first opened as the Princess Theatre on 12th May 1917, replacing an earlier theatre that was destroyed by fire in 1916.
In 1924 a 2Manual/5Rank Hinners organ was installed and one of the organists was bob Moore, who in later years worked for Balaban & Katz in Chicago playing organ in the Tivoli, Southtown and other theatres.
Also in 1924 the theatre was re-named Lloyd Theatre. The Lloyd was refurbished in 1974 when a new screen was erected, new carpets fitted, new stage drapes installed and a new marquee fitted to the facade. It continued as a movie theatre until 1993 when it closed. The theatre was remodeled and re-opened by the current management as the Princess Theatre in 1995.
The Mayfair Theatre opened in 1926, closed in September 1973 and was demolished in 1974.
According to the history of the theatre on the church’s website http://www.sonlightoforange.com
the architect of the Orange Theatre was Harry J. Simons of Los Angeles.
Not stated on the website is that work commenced on building in around 1926 but was brought to a halt for some reason and the contract was completed by architect John Paxton Perine.
It opened on 22nd May 1929 with the movie “Molly and Me” starring Belle Bennett and Joe E. Brown plus a vaudville show and Wurlitzer organ music. It had a seating capacity of 1,300 and was operated by Fox West Coast-Langley Theatres.
It closed in the early 1970’s and briefly went over to being a live theatre which closed in 1975. The current church use commenced in 1978.
Sorry that link didn’t work for some reason, try this one:-
http://digital.library.ucla.edu/sclee/
Scroll down on the ‘Search by Title’ (alphabetically listed) until you come to Follies Theatre. Highlight and Submit
Photographs of the Follies Theatre View link
Architect S. Charles Lee did some modernisations on the building in the 1930’s. Two projects listed in the Appendix in Maggie Valentine’s book “The Show Starts on the Sidewalk” have un-named Los Angeles theatres that could have had work executed by Charles Lee in 1936 for an un-named client and another for client Alex Pavlov in 1937-40.
Looking at the photos on the link I give here, the interior work carried out by Lee appears to be minimal, but the exterior photo above seems to have a more ‘modern’ look, especially the blade sign and marquee.
The Belasco Theatre was known briefly as the Republic Theatre before becoming the Follies Theatre in 1919 when it bagan its long life as a major burlesque house.
It was demolished in May 1974
Construction on the Burbank Theatre began in 1887 to the plans of notable 19th century theatre architect James M. Wood. It remained incomplete until 1893 when it was finally finished and opened that year to the plans of Los Angeles architect Robert Brown Young.
The interior was done-over in 1937-38 and featured a rather thin overlay of art-deco over the original 1893 decor. It could be at this time that the exterior, seen in the above photo was also carried out. The building was always a street level and one floored facade.
It was demolished in March 1974.
The Regent closed early 1973 and was demolished in November 1973. The No. 40 Wurlitzer Hope-Jones organ was saved from the theatre as it was being torn down and was put into storage by the Rochester Theatre Organ Society.
Film Daily Yearbook,1930 lists this as the Peerless Theatre with 562 seats. The 1941 edition has it as the Haven Theatre with 563 seats, as does the 1943 edition, but by then it is listed as closed.
It is not listed in F.D.Y. editions 1950 or 1957.