The last film played at the venerable Empire Theater Granville 7 on November 4, 2012....the interior demolition started at 7:30 am the next day.
Anything that looked, smelled or in anyway resembled movie night out...was torn down, torn off, hammered, unbolted , unscrewed, pulled away and tossed into the garbage bin of constant progress.
It was sad to see the screens get cut apart with knives and the seats getting the sledgehammer treatment. The massive speakers that could have powered a fantastic outdoor concert ( or a window busting house party ), all went to the trash bins.
In the end, no one had the time and storage space to put the goodies until a good home could be found. We will be regretting that move one day when the technology swings back around to "retro" mode...and all the gear is gone.
Makes me think of all those WW ll airplanes that got scrapped at the end of the war. Nobody considered them to be of any value...because "new technology" was coming to save the day.
Empire Theaters Granville 7
Before pics ( from dedicated Flickr users )
BlueandWhiteArmy on Flickr
BlueandWhiteArmy on Flickr
BlueandWhiteArmy on Flickr
Film projector...likely headed to the scrap heap
Cinema 4...last stop before the trash bin
I wonder how many miles of film ran through this projector in it's lifetime
The divots in the floor are where the seats were bolted down
Main floor concession area
Ticket office...facing to Granville
No seats...no soundproofing panels
Main lobby
Main floor concession area
Bottom floor to Cinema 1 and 2
Massive banks of speakers were hung in frames behind the movie screen
Projector room up in the back
High density sound absorbing panels being removed
Tools of destruction
Cinema 7 level
This used to be the Cinema 7 level concession stand
Why have a drinking fountain, when you can buy bottled water?...Why use a payphone when you can spend 80 bucks a month on a cellphone package?..On the other hand...you'll always need a shovel and broom to clean up the mess that progress brings.
Looking across Granville at the Commodore Ballroom
As someone who used to work here and has a lot of great memories of the place, I thank you for putting these pictures up, although it kind of stung to look through them.
As someone who used to work here and has a lot of great memories of the place, I thank you for putting these pictures up, although it kind of stung to look through them.
ReplyDeleteYou might be interested in these:
ReplyDeletehttp://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uPBlAAAAIBAJ&sjid=J4kNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6259%2C1424295
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qpVlAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TooNAAAAIBAJ&pg=4089%2C1808457
http://photos.cinematreasures.org/production/photos/58528/1350251378/large.jpg
Nov 11 1938 -
ReplyDeleteParadise Opens. "New English Seating, New Mirrorphonic Sound" 26 years later: tossed into the garbage bin of constant progress.
Jul 8 1964
Coronet Opens. "Luxurious New Seating, Striking New Decor" 12 years later: tossed into the garbage bin of constant progress.
1976
Coronet Twin 11 years later: tossed into the garbage bin of constant progress.
Jun 19 1987
Granville 7 Opens. "Luxurious Plush Seating, Elegantly Designed Interior, Extraordinary Lucasfilm THX Sound System 25 years later...
Nov 4 2012
And so my friends we'll say goodnight, for time has claimed its prize, and tossed it into the garbage bin of constant progress.
http://youtu.be/RVH8rkaU2kw?t=1m23s