It would be great if the Saenger, State Palace, Orpheum and Joy could all be restored! A criotical mass of that size could attract a lot of performances, witness Playhouse Square in Cleveland with their four restored movie palaces.
Both the Saenger and Orpheum are starting to move forward, the Orpheum hopes to have reopened by the end of 2009. Owners of the State Palace and Joy theatres are still deciding whether to renovate, sell or demolish.
the owners of the Orpheum have started to renovate the theatre and are hoping to have it reopened by the end of the year. (The Saenger is renovation is also moving forward and the owners of the State Palace and Joy are still deciding whether to renovate, sell or demolish.)
the owners of the State Palace theatre are still deciding whether to renovate, sell or demolish the theatre (ditto for the Joy. The Saenger is going ahead with a renovation project, and so is the Orpheum; they expect to have the Orpheum finished by the end of the year.)
According to the article mentioned above, the building had been triplexed by the time of its closing. From the looks of the google photo, the building had a very long narrow lobby going to the auditorium which was well back from the street.
The website now shows the building as no longer available. Hopefully it means it has been sold. The page describes the building as 20,900 square feet, with the auditorium, its balcony and the italianate decor intact. The building includes a bar which is currently operating. a town-owned 200 car parking lot is immediately behind the building.
Here’s a corrected link to the excellent photo galleries mentioned above – done by Nathaniel Bennett Photography Studio, from May and September 2008 retrospectively:
From the google photo it looks to be demolished – no buildings in the area large enough to be a theatre and a vacant lot in the shape of a long lobby with auditorium to the rear.
Here is a whole series of interior photos (267 in the set) of the Loew’s Poli and Majestic Theatres. It appears that most if not all photos were taken in 2008.
According to the website (which has a few exteriot shots), the building is now Skelly’s pub. No indication if any of the interior architecture survives.
The 1945 Theatre Catalog has an article showing the plans for the Riverview Theatre. I would assume it was built sometime between 1946 and 1948. Art style is streamline mocerne, it seats 700 and architect were Lublin, McGaughy and Associates. The building includes storefronts to the right of the main entrance. A lobby leads back to an oval shaped foyer, with the auditorium going off to the right. Unfortunately the article did not have any photos of the interior but the plans indicate it had no balcony.
According to their website, a fair amount of renovation has already been completed. The exterior has been completely repainted, building secured and roof replaced on the front portion. Restrooms gutted, prep work completed for insulation, new HVAC unit installed, with ductwork underway. No date on their description, but it’s good to see this much is already done. They indicated a “june” opening date but didn’t say which year.
According to this article (http://cinematreasures.org/news/20189_0_1_0_M/),
the La Grange is now owned by David Rizner and John Rot, who have just received $1,000,000 from the city (through the tax increment financing system) for infrastructure repairs, including plumbing and electrical, and will use $650,000 of their own money for interior and business upgrades. In addition, the La Grange Business Association has pledged $50,000 to build a replica of the original marquee.
The above links to a Chicago Tribune article which also says the theatre was constructed in 1925 and the architects were Rapp & Rapp.
According to their web page, they will install solar panels soon and are claiming they will be the first cinema in the nation to be completely solar powered.
According to the article, there is still a lot of work to be done – the nlobby, intermission room and the “east” auditorium (the addition) have been refurbished; future stages call for renovating the main auditorium and balcony; total cost would be about 4.5 mil, to be completed by 2012.
Their official website doesn’t mention anything (that I can find) about the status of the theatre building itself. Their box office at the building is open but all of their events for the 2008-09 season are at other temporary venues.
Ironically they had just began a new capital season about a year ago to raise several million dollars to do a range of infrastructure improvements.
The website mentions (in french) something regarding interior renovation in 2003 or 2004. I am not sure if that meant the renovation was done then or if they merely got approval or funding. The photos make it look very good (nice color scheme) – can’t tell if it is renovated in the photos but believe it is not. It still looks very attractive though!
The link posted by Lost Memory on 1/27/08 now shows photos of the demolition.
It would be great if the Saenger, State Palace, Orpheum and Joy could all be restored! A criotical mass of that size could attract a lot of performances, witness Playhouse Square in Cleveland with their four restored movie palaces.
According to this article:
View link
Both the Saenger and Orpheum are starting to move forward, the Orpheum hopes to have reopened by the end of 2009. Owners of the State Palace and Joy theatres are still deciding whether to renovate, sell or demolish.
According to this article:
View link
the owners of the Orpheum have started to renovate the theatre and are hoping to have it reopened by the end of the year. (The Saenger is renovation is also moving forward and the owners of the State Palace and Joy are still deciding whether to renovate, sell or demolish.)
Accoring to this article,
View link
the owners of the State Palace theatre are still deciding whether to renovate, sell or demolish the theatre (ditto for the Joy. The Saenger is going ahead with a renovation project, and so is the Orpheum; they expect to have the Orpheum finished by the end of the year.)
Hopefully they will chose to renovate!
According to the article mentioned above, the building had been triplexed by the time of its closing. From the looks of the google photo, the building had a very long narrow lobby going to the auditorium which was well back from the street.
The website now shows the building as no longer available. Hopefully it means it has been sold. The page describes the building as 20,900 square feet, with the auditorium, its balcony and the italianate decor intact. The building includes a bar which is currently operating. a town-owned 200 car parking lot is immediately behind the building.
From the google photograph it looks like this theatre is now an empty lot.
Two photo galleries of the Fox Oakland, done by Nathaniel Bennett Photography Studio, from May and September 2008 retrospectively:
View link
View link
Here’s a corrected link to the excellent photo galleries mentioned above – done by Nathaniel Bennett Photography Studio, from May and September 2008 retrospectively:
View link
View link
From the google photo it looks to be demolished – no buildings in the area large enough to be a theatre and a vacant lot in the shape of a long lobby with auditorium to the rear.
One of the photos in the above series shows that the organ console is still in place – a little worse for the wear but possibly restorable.
Here is a whole series of interior photos (267 in the set) of the Loew’s Poli and Majestic Theatres. It appears that most if not all photos were taken in 2008.
View link
One photo shows the bedraggled organ console still at the Loew’s Poli.
Here is a whole series of interior photos (267 in the set) of the Loew’s Poli and Magestic Theatres. Some are from 2008.
View link
According to the website (which has a few exteriot shots), the building is now Skelly’s pub. No indication if any of the interior architecture survives.
The 1945 Theatre Catalog has an article showing the plans for the Riverview Theatre. I would assume it was built sometime between 1946 and 1948. Art style is streamline mocerne, it seats 700 and architect were Lublin, McGaughy and Associates. The building includes storefronts to the right of the main entrance. A lobby leads back to an oval shaped foyer, with the auditorium going off to the right. Unfortunately the article did not have any photos of the interior but the plans indicate it had no balcony.
According to their website, a fair amount of renovation has already been completed. The exterior has been completely repainted, building secured and roof replaced on the front portion. Restrooms gutted, prep work completed for insulation, new HVAC unit installed, with ductwork underway. No date on their description, but it’s good to see this much is already done. They indicated a “june” opening date but didn’t say which year.
Haven’t seen URL’s posted for these two great photo galleries on flickr:
The first has 51 photos posted in August 2007 and June 2008, about a third exterior, 2/3 interior shots.
View link
The second has six interior shots from 2007:
View link
According to this article (http://cinematreasures.org/news/20189_0_1_0_M/),
the La Grange is now owned by David Rizner and John Rot, who have just received $1,000,000 from the city (through the tax increment financing system) for infrastructure repairs, including plumbing and electrical, and will use $650,000 of their own money for interior and business upgrades. In addition, the La Grange Business Association has pledged $50,000 to build a replica of the original marquee.
The above links to a Chicago Tribune article which also says the theatre was constructed in 1925 and the architects were Rapp & Rapp.
According to their web page, they will install solar panels soon and are claiming they will be the first cinema in the nation to be completely solar powered.
According to the article, there is still a lot of work to be done – the nlobby, intermission room and the “east” auditorium (the addition) have been refurbished; future stages call for renovating the main auditorium and balcony; total cost would be about 4.5 mil, to be completed by 2012.
Correction to links to Warren G. Harris’s from his 5/1/2006 post:
The original interior as the Lyric (1895):
www.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/criterionlyric.jpg
The stage as re-built for the Vitagraph Theatre (1914). This permanent setting had a drop curtain in front of it that was raised just before a performance started:
www.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/criterionstage.jpg
A fuzzy image of the Vitagraph’s box seats adjoining the stage:
www.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/criterionboxes.jpg
The Criterion in 1933, showcasing a German import released by Universal:
www.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/criterionsos.jpg
Basically, you want to remove “i18” from the domain name in the links. Looks like Photobucket reorganized their structure at one point.
Their official website doesn’t mention anything (that I can find) about the status of the theatre building itself. Their box office at the building is open but all of their events for the 2008-09 season are at other temporary venues.
Ironically they had just began a new capital season about a year ago to raise several million dollars to do a range of infrastructure improvements.
The website mentions (in french) something regarding interior renovation in 2003 or 2004. I am not sure if that meant the renovation was done then or if they merely got approval or funding. The photos make it look very good (nice color scheme) – can’t tell if it is renovated in the photos but believe it is not. It still looks very attractive though!
Sorry for my goof — Lost Memory’s link IS correct.
The link from two messages above is incorrect. Here is the correct link:
http://www.lifeatthestate.com/Life_Church.html