Last night we went over to Loew's Landmark Theatre in Jersey City to watch the Hitchcock movie 'To Catch A Thief' on the big screen. As always it was a really great screening and the movie, Grace Kelly's last for Hitchcock, was a lot of fun.
It's so incredibly stunning and beautiful (even though it hasn't been fully restored yet) and I took some photos to share with you :)
It's so incredibly stunning and beautiful (even though it hasn't been fully restored yet) and I took some photos to share with you :)
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| Loew's Jersey City |
Loew's Jersey City opened in 1929, an original 'Movie Palace'.
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| Downstairs Lobby |
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| Upstairs Balcony |
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| View from Upstairs Balcony |
"Acts from Manhattan’s Capitol Theatre regularly toured the Loew’s Jersey. Most of the stars of the early and mid-1930s “trod the boards” at the Loew’s, legendary performers such as Duke Ellington, Bing Crosby, Jean Harlow, Burns and Allen, Bing Crosby, Bill Robinson, Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Cab Calloway, to name just a few."
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| Inside the Auditorium |
"One evening in March 1933, a young and still unknown Frank Sinatra took his date to the Loew’s to see a movie and a live performance by Bing Crosby, who at the time was the nation’s most popular singer. It was there in the Loew’s Jersey’s darkened auditorium watching Crosby on stage -- according to Nancy Sinatra’s biography of her father -- that Frank decided he too could be a singing star."
excerpts are taken from The Landmark Loew's Jersey website
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| Upstairs Balcony Areas |
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| 'Ladies' Restroom |
In 1974 Loew's, Jersey City was turned into a Triplex Cinema with partition walls cutting into the ornate decoration of the auditorium. In 1986, the Movie Palace closed and was due for demolition in 1987. The community came together and in 1993 won the battle to save Loew's. Restoration by volunteers is ongoing,there's still so much to do, and there is a schedule of screenings and events to raise funds for the work.
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| Loew's Jersey City |
We love visiting Loew's and it feels such a privilege to watch classic movies on the big screen and to experience them as intended when they were made.
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What a fabulous theater. Certainly from the golden aged of entertainment. We went to a silent movie theater and saw one of those old Wurlitzer organs in action. It was amazing.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you called it a Wurlitzer - that's what I've always called them back in England but this one's called a Wonder Morton. Fabulous atmosphere and sound whatever it's called! I'd love to see a silent movie at Loew's with all the original music score played on the organ, that would be incredible. My Dad brought me up watching all the Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, etc, classics.
DeleteWow, this is wonderful. What movie is it in Germany....???? Is it playing in Nice?
ReplyDeleteNana
Hi Nana, it's actually a 1955 movie and in Germany it was called 'Über den Dächern von Nizza' (according to IMDb (Internet Movie Database)
DeleteWhat a wonderful building! How could anyone even think of knocking it down?? Ah ... but then when I think of all the lovely cinemas in the UK that have gone ( those in my home town of Brighton are a prime example) .... I suppose it happens everywhere...
ReplyDeleteI'm with you there, it really is a shame - at least this one was saved :)
DeleteI do love seeing the craftsmanship that went into old buildings--so ornate and beautiful. If this opened in 1929, I suppose this was one of the last of its kind--I'd imagine that the Depression, then WWII, then the aesthetic of the 1950s and 1960s pretty much meant that this is from the end of an era. I study the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, which, as the name might imply, was a high period for such architectural details in the U.S., so I guess I am particularly sympathetic to such buildings. Glad you're supporting its renovation!
ReplyDeleteI so agree with you. I too studied these eras within Critical and Contextual Studies in Art and Design so I really appreciate them and wow everyday as I go along the streets of Hoboken, Jersey City and Manhattan - there are so many gems out there still. :)
DeleteIt's beautiful - you are very fortunate to visit.
ReplyDeleteI am Lin, I know historically it really has no age at all but that doesn't diminish it's value, it really is stunning :)
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