Park Apartments Owner Joe Barbat plans 2 more Downtown Apartment Conversions

[Gistok]

Since no photographs are known of the interior of the auditorium of the Oriental/Downtown RKO Theatre [[razed 1953), this is probably the best idea we'll ever get to what the exotic atmospheric interior of it looked like....

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7535/...1d3a4b5a_b.jpg

The reason for its' early demise seems kind of lame sounding today. It was considered too far off the beaten path of the theatre district, and everything conceivable was tried to coax patrons that far west on Adam Ave.

But when you consider that it really wasn't any farther than the United Artists or the Michigan from GCP... it sounds almost not believable. However, it did have trouble getting audiences into the venue... something that the nearby Adams didn't seem to have.

[EastsideAl]

The reason for its' early demise seems kind of lame sounding today. It was considered too far off the beaten path of the theatre district, and everything conceivable was tried to coax patrons that far west on Adams Ave.

My dad says he always liked going to the RKO Downtown because it was cheaper and less crowded than other downtown theaters. And it was a pretty easy stop between buses on his way home from Wayne U.

[56packman]

Originally Posted by Gistok
The reason for its' early demise seems kind of lame sounding today. It was considered too far off the beaten path of the theatre district, and everything conceivable was tried to coax patrons that far west on Adams Ave.

Plain and simple the US was overstocked with movie theaters after the double-whammy of the Paramount Decree/television. The fact that the footprint of a theater is a big parcel of land that can be bought with one transaction made them ripe for the 50s-60s demolition derby. We are fortunate here in Detroit, to still have as many as we do, an amazingly high percentage. Philadelphia just demoed their last palace, the Boyd. NYC got rid of most of them.

[Gistok]

Plain and simple the US was overstocked with movie theaters after the double-whammy of the Paramount Decree/television. The fact that the footprint of a theater is a big parcel of land that can be bought with one transaction made them ripe for the 50s-60s demolition derby. We are fortunate here in Detroit, to still have as many as we do, an amazingly high percentage. Philadelphia just demoed their last palace, the Boyd. NYC got rid of most of them.

You got that right... Cincinnati and Baltimore are also without downtown movie palaces... Minneapolis has only one.

NYC lost the best ones in Manhattan.... the Roxy, the Capitol, the State, the Broadway Paramount... even Radio City was in danger. The only saving grace for NYC is that the 5 outlying "Wonder Theatres" are all still standing, and either restored or being restored... the Kings, Queens [[Valencia), Bronx [[Paradise), the Jersey and in Manhattan Loew's 175th.