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  #141  
Old Posted May 10, 2015, 2:57 PM
mmikeyphilly mmikeyphilly is offline
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Who remembers this?

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  #142  
Old Posted May 10, 2015, 3:37 PM
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Wow, cool pics! Yeah, the VCR and HBO. Netflix and Hulu are killing modern theaters...and cable and network TV. Technologies change things for better or worse. I like to reminisce like everyone, but I'm just as much to blame as anyone else. I see a movie in a theater maybe once every year or two and that's about it, and that's only when I want to see something on the big screen like Avengers or Batman.
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  #143  
Old Posted May 10, 2015, 3:52 PM
apetrella802 apetrella802 is offline
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movie theaters

I saw Yul Brynner at the Erlanger in a play called Ulysses (1980s)
The movie Cleopatra at the Stanley(1960 or 1961)

I saw the FOX demolished to make way for the PNC building.
     
     
  #144  
Old Posted May 10, 2015, 4:08 PM
mmikeyphilly mmikeyphilly is offline
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Originally Posted by philatonian View Post
Wow, cool pics! Yeah, the VCR and HBO. Netflix and Hulu are killing modern theaters...and cable and network TV. Technologies change things for better or worse. I like to reminisce like everyone, but I'm just as much to blame as anyone else. I see a movie in a theater maybe once every year or two and that's about it, and that's only when I want to see something on the big screen like Avengers or Batman.
Yeah, me too. We complained about the movies costing 8 bucks. Someone told me recently they paid 13 dollars! I haven't kept up with movie prices. Last movie I saw in a "Movie" was Independence Day...so you know how long that's been. If the Movies weren't so damn expensive, maybe they could have held on for a little while longer.

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Originally Posted by apetrella802 View Post
I saw Yul Brynner at the Erlanger in a play called Ulysses (1980s)
The movie Cleopatra at the Stanley(1960 or 1961)

I saw the FOX demolished to make way for the PNC building.
Yeah, I remember that. I was living at 16th & Green going to Junior College at the time. The last movie I saw(at the Fox) was "From Russia With Love". My Dad took me and my brother (when we were kids). That was in 1963. My Mom used to tell me the Erlanger was the most beautiful theaters ever. I can't imagine the movie prices back then, but my Mom used to give me a quarter, and tell me to tell them I was 11 years old. (I was 12). Kids (under 12) got in for a quarter and adults was 50 cents. That was the Nixon Theater in West Philly where I grew up.....Gosh, the memories.....
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  #145  
Old Posted May 10, 2015, 5:03 PM
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Originally Posted by mmikeyphilly View Post
The last movie I saw(at the Fox) was "From Russia With Love". My Dad took me and my brother (when we were kids). That was in 1963.
My Mom wouldn't let me go see those early Bond films when they first came out, because they were "too violent" for kids! I have a vivid recollection of all my schoolmates talking about "Thunderball" after having just been to the theater to see it, and I was the only one in the group who hadn't seen it.
     
     
  #146  
Old Posted May 11, 2015, 1:08 AM
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Originally Posted by mmikeyphilly View Post
Yeah, me too. We complained about the movies costing 8 bucks. Someone told me recently they paid 13 dollars! I haven't kept up with movie prices. Last movie I saw in a "Movie" was Independence Day...so you know how long that's been. If the Movies weren't so damn expensive, maybe they could have held on for a little while longer.
The Avengers was $11 at the Rave. I mean it's not bad I guess. $13 now is probably less than $8 was ten years ago. I don't think the high ticket charge is really hindering anything, I think it's actually cheaper than it would be if people wanted to go to the movies more often. Concession prices are what is insane, but they always have been.

On a positive note I was actually surprised that The Avengers sold out. I guess as long as Hollywood keeps making blockbusters, theaters will stay relevant.

The unfortunate thing for theaters like the Boyd, those that still exist anyway, is that they don't seem to land the best movies. I don't know a lot about the industry, so I don't know why that is.

As beautiful as they are and as much as I would have liked to see a movie at the Boyd, once the lights go down, I want a big screen and a comfortable seat. Sad as it is, I think a lot of the commotion surrounding the preservation of sites like this is either hindsight or 11th hour advocacy. More can be said for the Boyd than others, so it's a bad example, but when an active historic theater gets demolished (or any nostalgic landmark for that matter - Li'l Pete's comes to mind), I always ask, "well where were all these people for the past ten years?"
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  #147  
Old Posted May 11, 2015, 12:33 PM
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Originally Posted by philatonian View Post
The unfortunate thing for theaters like the Boyd, those that still exist anyway, is that they don't seem to land the best movies. I don't know a lot about the industry, so I don't know why that is.
When Star Wars came out in 1977, George Lucas was upset with the quality of many theaters around the country. When Empire was close to coming out, He set up a list of stipulations about the video and audio qualities that a movie theater had to pass in order to show Empire Strikes Back. His concern was people having a guaranteed minimum level of excellence. It eventually became THX, and all the big movies began to follow suit.

Coupled with the birth of the blockbuster (which started with Jaws in 1975), there was an explosion in the growth of theaters. Prior to the blockbuster, a limited number of prints would travel the country and small towns would get different movies at different times. Now, nation wide marketing focused on an opening day, until recently it was always between Memorial Day and Labor Day, and things have been that way since (apart from "limited engagements" that open in NY and LA which go the indie finance route).

There was suddenly great demand for many new theaters. New theaters being built could easily accommodate requirements for video and audio, but older theaters found it prohibitively expensive to retrofit, except for a few of these amazing Art Deco theaters.

I made some selective editing to make this condensed history, but that's a decent overview as to how it happened.
     
     
  #148  
Old Posted May 11, 2015, 1:28 PM
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Originally Posted by thisisforreal View Post
When Star Wars came out in 1977, George Lucas was upset with the quality of many theaters around the country. When Empire was close to coming out, He set up a list of stipulations about the video and audio qualities that a movie theater had to pass in order to show Empire Strikes Back. His concern was people having a guaranteed minimum level of excellence. It eventually became THX, and all the big movies began to follow suit.

Coupled with the birth of the blockbuster (which started with Jaws in 1975), there was an explosion in the growth of theaters. Prior to the blockbuster, a limited number of prints would travel the country and small towns would get different movies at different times. Now, nation wide marketing focused on an opening day, until recently it was always between Memorial Day and Labor Day, and things have been that way since (apart from "limited engagements" that open in NY and LA which go the indie finance route).

There was suddenly great demand for many new theaters. New theaters being built could easily accommodate requirements for video and audio, but older theaters found it prohibitively expensive to retrofit, except for a few of these amazing Art Deco theaters.

I made some selective editing to make this condensed history, but that's a decent overview as to how it happened.
I'd add just one thing to that, which was no doubt concomitant with the history you described, and that was the creation and growth of the multiplex (when's the last time anyone saw a movie in a theater with only a single screen?). The multiplex model has allowed exhibitors to participate in the national summer blockbuster uniform release schedule, while still maintaining enough diversity in what they're exhibiting at any given time to satisfy a relatively large, diverse, and stable audience. And of course, multiplexes serve that need much better than large, urban movie palaces with only one--or even two--screen(s).
     
     
  #149  
Old Posted May 20, 2015, 10:12 PM
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Holy god yes



Demo update



Quote:
Now in possession of all the properties from 1900 through 1910 Chestnut, as well as 110 and 112 South 19th Street, Pearl has unveiled their plan for development to the Historical Commission, whose Architectural Committee will vote on final approval. It’s the first item on the agenda.

In Pearl’s plan, the Boyd Theatre’s façade will remain, as will the main lobby, which will feature a new restaurant. But the theater itself, the main auditorium, will be replaced by a 27-story apartment tower. Its design comes from Eimer Design of 109 South 13th Street. It will rise 323 feet to the roof, 341 feet to the top of the mechanical structure. The Sam Eric marquee will be removed and the Boyd’s will be restored. Notably, the ornamental art deco vestibule to Sansom Street, one section that was to have been preserved, will be replaced by a loading dock.

On 19th Street, 1900 Chestnut will remain, but the buildings on either side of it will also be demolished: 110 and 112 South 19th Street (most recently Prudential Savings Bank and Thunder hair salon, respectively), and 1902 and 1904 Chestnut (a Dollar store and Industry XIX nightclub). A new three-story building will straddle 1900 Chestnut with frontage along Chestnut Street and a smaller entrance immediately south of the art deco “1900” signage on 19th Street. The new modern building will serve to connect the deco components of 1900 and 1908 (the Boyd) Chestnut.
http://hiddencityphila.org/2015/05/replacing-the-boyd/
     
     
  #150  
Old Posted May 20, 2015, 10:52 PM
allovertown allovertown is offline
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Originally Posted by summersm343 View Post
Damnit. I loved the old design. This one doesn't look nearly as good and I much prefer the tower on 19th street as opposed to its current location tucked back on sansom.

At the same time I'm happy much more of the Boyd will be preserved than initially though a year ago and converting its lobby into a restaurant is a great idea. Also happy 1900 Chestnut will remain and I like the new building next door. Plus I love how the assholes who prevented the first building from being built are now getting stuck with a tower that's 50' feet taller!

Overall this is great news... just can't help but mourn for the demise of the original design.
     
     
  #151  
Old Posted May 20, 2015, 11:43 PM
apetrella802 apetrella802 is offline
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1900 chestnut design change

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Originally Posted by allovertown View Post
Damnit. I loved the old design. This one doesn't look nearly as good and I much prefer the tower on 19th street as opposed to its current location tucked back on sansom.

At the same time I'm happy much more of the Boyd will be preserved than initially though a year ago and converting its lobby into a restaurant is a great idea. Also happy 1900 Chestnut will remain and I like the new building next door. Plus I love how the assholes who prevented the first building from being built are now getting stuck with a tower that's 50' feet taller!

Overall this is great news... just can't help but mourn for the demise of the original design.
Just so I understand, the design that telescoped up with 2 set backs and could be described as somewhat art deco is scraped, and the new design is a rectangular box with a decorative screen over the façade. is that right. if so like others I really liked the retro art deco look, very urbane and sophisticated.
     
     
  #152  
Old Posted May 21, 2015, 12:37 AM
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Timeless art deco design for the corner scrapped and replaced by a set back design that will look dated in 10 years. Boo.
     
     
  #153  
Old Posted May 21, 2015, 1:09 AM
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Not moved by the update at all.
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  #154  
Old Posted May 21, 2015, 1:16 AM
Plokoon11 Plokoon11 is offline
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I mean the building looks sort of interesting, but ehhhhh.
     
     
  #155  
Old Posted May 21, 2015, 2:24 AM
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Definite downgrade. Oh well. Will still be a great project for Chestnut and Samson. More impactful with the redesign even though less attractive and architecturally interesting.
     
     
  #156  
Old Posted May 21, 2015, 2:54 AM
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Would be sick if we could get both towers
     
     
  #157  
Old Posted May 21, 2015, 3:00 AM
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Cro Burnham Cro Burnham is offline
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Maybe Pearlstein is proposing this godawful design to scare CCRA into begging for his excellent first proposal. I mean this is really pretty ugly. I can see Crockett and Tubbs here, rolled up jacket sleeves and eyes coolly asquint, jauntily leaning against a balcony railing surveilling the city. This has Brickell Avenue's fingerprints all over it.
     
     
  #158  
Old Posted May 21, 2015, 3:03 AM
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Mind you, I could easily live with this building there. It's pretty ugly, but in a way that would quickly meld into the background fabric of Center City.
     
     
  #159  
Old Posted May 21, 2015, 11:37 AM
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I don't understand the need to tear down two structures on 19th to get this done. That said, while I prefer the previous design, I like the placement of this tower better. I was concerned that if they went through with the original plan on the corner of 19th and chestnut while also tearing down the boyd, and the market turned, we'd end up with another vacant lot / parking lot in the footprint of the old boyd and there's already so many vacant lots over that way
     
     
  #160  
Old Posted May 21, 2015, 11:47 AM
blorkishdork blorkishdork is offline
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WOW, really saddened by this new design, I wonder why they couldn't keep the old one?

jn00, I thought the old proposal did not have anything to do with the Boyd. I thought Pearl bought the Boyd property in order to get this project through (so they could build taller). Either way this new proposal is UGLY.
     
     
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