I thought I'd share some classic photos I came across for the 4th Avenue Theater in Anchorage, Alaska. I absolutely LOVE theaters like this from around the US, that have such a rich history of the classic era of film. I think it's so sad that these theaters keep disappearing, and think it's a sign of how we've lost our true enjoyment of really being entertained by the movie EXPERIENCE.
It's not just the quality of the films themselves, although that's certainly part of it. I just don't think that today's cheap theater, gum on the floor, cell phone noise, talk to your neighbor through the whole film, experience today compares at all to the experience of the classic era. I would love to buy a theater and restore it, like the movie "The Majestic", which is one of my favorite movies for that very reason.
Anway, back to this theater. Sadly, it's been closed with MAJOR financial problems for decades, and I don't even know if whoever bought it could dig themselves out of the prior debt before making money. Whenever I drive by, I'll stop and peer through the windows. I've never been inside, but from what I've learned from others, the interior decorations are amazing.
Some information about the theater, other sizes of photos and picture descriptions here:
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=pphhphoto&action=browse&fileName=ak/ak0000/ak0096/photos/browse.db&recNum=0&itemLink=D?hh:63:./temp/~pp_TMaz::@@@mdb=fsaall,app,brum,detr,swann,look,g ottscho,pan,horyd,genthe,var,cai,cd,hh,yan,bbcards ,lomax,ils,prok,brhc,nclc,matpc,iucpub,tgmi,lamb&t itle2=Fourth%20Avenue%20Theatre,%20630%20West%20Fo urth%20Avenue,%20Anchorage,%20Anchorage,%20AK&disp layType=1
Image not available
Image not available
It's not just the quality of the films themselves, although that's certainly part of it. I just don't think that today's cheap theater, gum on the floor, cell phone noise, talk to your neighbor through the whole film, experience today compares at all to the experience of the classic era. I would love to buy a theater and restore it, like the movie "The Majestic", which is one of my favorite movies for that very reason.
Anway, back to this theater. Sadly, it's been closed with MAJOR financial problems for decades, and I don't even know if whoever bought it could dig themselves out of the prior debt before making money. Whenever I drive by, I'll stop and peer through the windows. I've never been inside, but from what I've learned from others, the interior decorations are amazing.
Some information about the theater, other sizes of photos and picture descriptions here:
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=pphhphoto&action=browse&fileName=ak/ak0000/ak0096/photos/browse.db&recNum=0&itemLink=D?hh:63:./temp/~pp_TMaz::@@@mdb=fsaall,app,brum,detr,swann,look,g ottscho,pan,horyd,genthe,var,cai,cd,hh,yan,bbcards ,lomax,ils,prok,brhc,nclc,matpc,iucpub,tgmi,lamb&t itle2=Fourth%20Avenue%20Theatre,%20630%20West%20Fo urth%20Avenue,%20Anchorage,%20Anchorage,%20AK&disp layType=1
Image not available
Image not available
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