Monstrous Marquees

[Mike Scott]

That billboard/display must be 60-80 ft. tall! It's certainly no poster, so it would have to be hand painted.


I wonder if that is a permanent display area? It looks like it's covering up windows.

[Monsters For Sale]

That billboard/display must be 60-80 ft. tall! It's certainly no poster, so it would have to be hand painted.


I wonder if that is a permanent display area? It looks like it's covering up windows.

I've seen other pictures of the RKO Mayfiar using the same space for several different films.

Looks like it could be made up of a couple thousand 3-sheet sized posters - with separate lettering applied on top.

Appears to be on a scaffolding-type structure held away from the windows.  It sure would spoil the view for any tenants.  (Hope they got a break on the rent.)

[Mike Scott]

Looks like it could be made up of a couple thousand 3-sheet sized posters - with separate lettering applied on top.

I can't imagine anybody setting up presses to print one copy of (one part of) a poster. I also can't imagine painting a billboard that big, either. I appears to actually be there, so it's gotta be something!

[Monsters For Sale]

Doctor X -  Rex - Flagler Street, Miami, Florida - 1932

This one was a bear to pin down.  Not much exists about this theater - at least with this name and this marquee.  I didn't even find it referenced in cinematreasures.org .

[Mike Scott]

Cool! Never seen a DOCTOR X 24 sheet.

I just got a DVD of the b/w version of DOCTOR X.

[Monsters For Sale]

That billboard/display must be 60-80 ft. tall! It's certainly no poster, so it would have to be hand painted.


I wonder if that is a permanent display area? It looks like it's covering up windows.

Permanent.  The windows underneath have been bricked up. 


This is a BIG picture.  If you click on it, you can see it full-sized and see just how they constructed the whole thing.

I found various configurations of this corner marquee going back to the 30's, when the theater was the Loew's Mayfair.

Today it looks like something out of "Blade Runner":   https://tinyurl.com/y9brl95y


(Thanks for making me go looking for this - I love the little details I have discovered finding and identifying all these old marquees.)

[Mike Scott]

This photo is much later. Is it even still a theater?

[Monsters For Sale]

This photo is much later. Is it even still a theater?

No.

It was turned into a triplex in 1976 and lingered for a while.  I think it was gutted for renewal some years ago.


It was amazing in its heyday.

[Monsters For Sale]

...

...   Psycho - DeMille - New York City, New York - 1960 - 1



...  Psycho - DeMille - New York City, New York - 1960 - 2
 

Here is another view of this one:


      Psycho - DeMille - New York City, New York - 1960 - 3

So...  The 1950's RKO Mayfair was being called the DeMille by 1960.
_______________________________________________

See more of this particular Psycho Marquee Here:

          https://youtu.be/DjRzj_Ufiew

Looks good lit up, huh?

[Mike Scott]

Looks good lit up, huh?

Yeah, that was cool!  Boy, what a bunch of stiffs those theater managers were! 

[Monsters For Sale]

From another member:

Friday night: Dracula and Creature from the Black Lagoon
Saturday night: Frankenstein and Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein

Lehighton, Pennsylvania, August 3 & 4, 2018

[segeorge]

That really pales in comparison to the older examples. 
Just one correction--the Drive-in is in Lehighton, PA; I'm in Delaware.

[Monsters For Sale]

That really pales in comparison to the older examples. 
Just one correction--the Drive-in is in Lehighton, PA; I'm in Delaware.

Correction noted - Thanks.

[Monsters For Sale]

Frankenstein & Dracula - Uptown - Chicago, Illinois - 1938


Yet another example of the 1938 re-release pairing of these two great horrors.  How nice to see such a huge crowd turn out for two 7-year-old films.  Wonder how much longer the line stretches beyond the left border of the photo?

(Click on the picture to see a larger image.)

[Hepcat]

I love this thread!