Loews Landmark Theater
One of New York City's best-kept moviegoing secrets is the Loews Landmark Theater -- no doubt, in part, because it isn't even in New York City – it’s across the Hudson in Jersey City, New Jersey.
The story of the Loews is a familiar one: a grand movie palace that opened in 1929, got carved into a multiplex in the Seventies, fell into decline and was scheduled to be demolished in the early Nineties, only to be saved at the last moment by a grassroots effort led by the "Friends of the Loews". Since then, they have been slowly and painstakingly restoring the theater back to its 1929 glory with only a shoestring budget and a dedicated volunteer force. It’s still got a ways to go, but there’s no denying that it's still an absolutely beautiful piece of architecture and a great place to see movies.
While the ongoing restoration means that the Loews isn't consistently open for business, they do have special movie screenings every month (except for during the summer) and have hosted several concerts and civic events. I first attended the Loews for the unbeatable double feature of The Brain from Planet Arous and Doctor Who and the Daleks back in 2002, and was immediately hooked. Since then I've gone back at every opportunity for their eclectic movie selections: Guys and Dolls, Metropolis, Saboteur, In the Heat of the Night, Sons of the Desert, THEM!, Revenge of Frankenstein, The Adventures of Robin Hood and everything in between, often complemented by a classic Warner Brothers cartoon or other appropriate short subject from the vaults. I can’t say that every movie I’ve seen there has been a classic (I'm looking at you, The Vikings!), but I’ve always had tons of fun. The reason: the people running the Loews actually seem to care about the moviegoing experience, something increasingly rare these days.
Yes, I know there are snobs in New York who never venture out of the City, but believe it or not, there are places worth visiting outside of Manhattan, places where you can go polka dancing or attend excellent concerts -- or in this case, experience some movie history. Best of all, admission is only $6.00! Even combined with a round-trip PATH ticket, that's still almost $2.00 less than seeing a movie in Manhattan. (And popcorn is only $1.00 at the Loews to boot.)
The Loews will be having their next movie screenings on Friday, June 3 (a double feature of Crack in the World and Invasion of the Body Snatchers at 7:45pm) and Saturday, June 4 (Tron at 6:00pm and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan at 8:15pm). Directions and more information can be found at their website.
See you at the movies!
The story of the Loews is a familiar one: a grand movie palace that opened in 1929, got carved into a multiplex in the Seventies, fell into decline and was scheduled to be demolished in the early Nineties, only to be saved at the last moment by a grassroots effort led by the "Friends of the Loews". Since then, they have been slowly and painstakingly restoring the theater back to its 1929 glory with only a shoestring budget and a dedicated volunteer force. It’s still got a ways to go, but there’s no denying that it's still an absolutely beautiful piece of architecture and a great place to see movies.
While the ongoing restoration means that the Loews isn't consistently open for business, they do have special movie screenings every month (except for during the summer) and have hosted several concerts and civic events. I first attended the Loews for the unbeatable double feature of The Brain from Planet Arous and Doctor Who and the Daleks back in 2002, and was immediately hooked. Since then I've gone back at every opportunity for their eclectic movie selections: Guys and Dolls, Metropolis, Saboteur, In the Heat of the Night, Sons of the Desert, THEM!, Revenge of Frankenstein, The Adventures of Robin Hood and everything in between, often complemented by a classic Warner Brothers cartoon or other appropriate short subject from the vaults. I can’t say that every movie I’ve seen there has been a classic (I'm looking at you, The Vikings!), but I’ve always had tons of fun. The reason: the people running the Loews actually seem to care about the moviegoing experience, something increasingly rare these days.
Yes, I know there are snobs in New York who never venture out of the City, but believe it or not, there are places worth visiting outside of Manhattan, places where you can go polka dancing or attend excellent concerts -- or in this case, experience some movie history. Best of all, admission is only $6.00! Even combined with a round-trip PATH ticket, that's still almost $2.00 less than seeing a movie in Manhattan. (And popcorn is only $1.00 at the Loews to boot.)
The Loews will be having their next movie screenings on Friday, June 3 (a double feature of Crack in the World and Invasion of the Body Snatchers at 7:45pm) and Saturday, June 4 (Tron at 6:00pm and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan at 8:15pm). Directions and more information can be found at their website.
See you at the movies!
posted by Michael at 1:24 PM
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