Most Depressing theatre photos ever

[littlepaperstars]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 7:28pm

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/75-abandoned-theaters-from-around-the-usa

A series of photos of 75 abandoned theaters in the US. So incredibly depressing for a theater fan to see. Some of them are so fantastic, even now that they're abandoned. They could be truly amazing with a little restorative love...

[morosco]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 7:35pm

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 7:48pm

VERY sad to see

#45, the one in Birmingham Alabama, could be GLORIOUS if someone took it upon themselves to take care of it.

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 8:53pm

That breaks my heart. Makes me wish I had lots of money to repair some of those gorgeous sacred spaces.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 9:00pm

I'm highly intrigued by this set up:

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 9:30pm

Once the Roxy went, it was fair game for all theaters to go

How could one demolish "The Cathedral Of The Motion Picture"?

[hsrdmd]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 10:04pm

EponineAmneris... been to the Lyric several times and you are correct.... it COULD be glorious... we are trying!

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 10:15pm

Some of those look gorgeous and salvageable. Others look depressingly beyond repair and some look like they have such little wing space I can understand why they might be undesirable if the goal was to house a major musical.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 11:25pm

I'm also guessing some of these were pretty strictly movie theaters based on their exteriors.

[Jon]

Posted: 4/8/11 at 8:38am

That little opera house in Nevada looks straight out of CRAZY FOR YOU!

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 4/8/11 at 11:08am

What's wrong with this one?

Looks like they could just use new seats.

[devonian.t]

Posted: 4/8/11 at 1:25pm

Morosco wins- that is the most heartbreaking picture!

[princessem721]

Posted: 4/8/11 at 3:09pm

there's something beautifully tragic about these photos. i agree that it would be amazing to see them revitalized. i'd also love to see photos from when they were originally built!

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 4/8/11 at 8:41pm

"Looks like they could just use new seats."

Hard to say from just one photo, but there are numerous reasons that they may not be able to renovate/re-open some of these theaters. There could be structural damage that you can't see, a lack of adequate exits and changes around the building making it hard to impossible to bring it up to fire code, loss of support services (such as bathrooms, backstage space, etc) to surrounding buildings, inability to bring it into compliance with ADA codes, and the list goes on. Though it would indeed be great to be able to claim some of these as success stories such as some cities have been able to do with their old vaudeville and movie palaces (such as Cleveland did with Playhouse Square Center).

[zepka102]

Posted: 4/8/11 at 9:07pm

I drive past #11 everyday when I drive to work. It looks bigger in the picture than in person.

[Yawper]

Posted: 4/8/11 at 10:37pm

The vast majority of these are old movie palaces. Most of them likely closed and aren't viable just due to local economics.

[gravity87]

Posted: 4/9/11 at 1:41am

Does any one know what the Boston theatre is/was and where its located? I'm very intigued by that one.

[nmartin]

Posted: 4/9/11 at 8:04am

Lamar Theatre, Memphis, TN

[chewy5000]

Posted: 4/9/11 at 9:20am

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/9/11 at 9:27am

Low blow Chewie

[Smaxie]

Posted: 4/9/11 at 9:48am

Following up Morosco's post, here's a nice shot of the Helen Hayes, at the time that Strider was playing there, circa 1979/1980, about two years before demolition. It had such a wonderfully intricate terra cotta facade. I always loved looking at it.

[mee.who]

Posted: 4/9/11 at 2:17pm

Aw, I went to SUNY Geneseo and used to walk past the Riviera all the time. I always assumed at the time that it was an abandoned movie theatre, but now that I'm looking into it, it looks like it was a live theatre after all.

[Enjolras77]

Posted: 4/9/11 at 2:29pm

In the same vein as Chewy's...