Mick Hartley

Further to yesterday's post on old cinemas, here's another look at derelict or converted movie theatres, from photographers Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre:

Loew's Palace Theatre, Bridgeport, CT, 2007. 3642 seats, largest theater in Connecticut, part of a double theater complex designed by architect Thomas Lamb, opened (1922), lately switched to adult films (early 1970s), closed (1975), listed on the National Register of Historic Places (1979), waiting for restoration.

Uptown Theater, Chicago, IL, 2009. 4381 seats, largest theater in Chicago, designed by architects Rapp and Rapp, opened (1925), used as concert venue (late 1970s), closed (1981), listed on the National Register of Historic Places (1986), waiting for restoration.

Proctor's Theater, Newark, NJ, 2006. 900 seats, upper auditorium from a 3200 seats double theater complex, opened (1915), closed (1968), lobby used as clothes store.

Paramount Theater, Newark, NJ, 2011. 1996 seats, opened as H.C. Miner’s Newark Theatre as a vaudeville house (1886), remodeled by architect Thomas Lamb in Adam style (1917), starting showing movies and renamed Paramount theater (1932), closed (1986), lobby used as retail.

Paramount Theater, Brooklyn, NY, 2008. 4124 seats, designed by architects Rapp and Rapp, opened (1928), hosted artists such as Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Liberace or Frank Sinatra, closed (1962), used as gymnasium by Long Island University (from 1962).

Adams Avenue Theater, San Diego, CA, 2017. 626 seats, opened (1935), closed (1961), became a music venue hosting punk and new wave acts like R.E.M., the Stray Cats, Iggy Pop, the Stranglers, and the Circle Jerks (late 1970's), closed (1986), used as a fabric store, closed (2018).

Lom Theater, San Diego, CA, 2017. 1188 seats, opened as a movie house (1945), closed (1987), converted into a bookstore.

Runnymede Theater, Toronto, ON, 2015. 1550 seats, opened as a movie house (1927), divided into 2 screens (1980’s), closed (1998), converted into a bookstore (1999), currently used as a supermarket (from 2015).

Midway Theater, Rockford, IL, 2014. 1800 seats, opened (1918), closed (2006).

RKO Madison Theater, Queens, NY, 2011. 2760 seats, opened (1927), closed (1978), used as department store.

Texas Theater, San Angelo, TX, 2017. 1488 seats, opened (1929), closed (1971), waiting for renovation.

Majestic Theater, East St Louis, IL, 2011. 1767 seats, opened (1928), closed (1960), listed on the National Register of Historic Places (1985).

Westlake Theater, Los Angeles, CA, 2008. 1949 seats, opened (1925), lately switched to second run and Spanish language movies (1960s), converted to swap meet (1991), listed on the National Register of Historic Places (2009), closed (2011), waiting for reconversion.
[Photos: Yves Marchand & Romain Meffre]