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Old 02-17-2013, 10:06 AM
 
Location: Centennial, Colorado
4,711 posts, read 5,686,673 times
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Here is what I picked up from Wikipedia:

A roadshow theatrical release (known also as reserved seat engagement) was a term in the American motion picture industry for a practice in which a film opened in a limited number of theaters in large cities like Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Dallas, and San Francisco for a specific period of time before the nationwide general release. Although variants of roadshow releases occasionally still exist, the practice mostly ended in the early 1970s.

Ben Hur opened at the Empire and ran there for many months.
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Old 02-17-2013, 10:16 AM
 
Location: Centennial, Colorado
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I also remember that the movie Cleopatra was supposed to open in Kansas City as a road show release but Durwood publicly complained that 20th Century Fox wanted too much money for them to show it. The movie received so much advance publicity that everyone was wanting to see it because of the expense of production and the antics of the two main stars who were always going at it in public. At the time, at $40 million it was the most expensive motion picture made.

I cannot recall what actually happened as I missed the opening of that one and was disappointed when I did see it some years later.
It might have been that 20th Century lowered the rental or Durwood swallowed their throat and pressed on.
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Old 02-17-2013, 10:52 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WCHS'59 View Post
The Empire was several blocks away from the Folly at 14th and Main. It was the RKO Theater until Durwood theaters renamed it to the Empire. The successor to Durwood, AMC now owns it. The Empire was hard ticket or reserved seats for the first few years.

When it was converted to show movies, the Lyric became the Durwood Capri around 1960 but was named back to the Lyric after I left town.


I saw Cimarron and My Fair Lady at the Capri, with reserved seats. That was back when the biggest first run movies would run for several weeks in only one movie house. There was a particular descriptive name for that type of movie but I have forgotten it. Maybe it was "Road Show." Next to the Empire Theater on Main Street was a small shop ran by Durwood that did nothing but sell advance reserved seat tickets to all the Durwood Theaters downtown. I can think of Empire, Studio, Academy, Roxy, Capri but there were others, also.

I once sent a letter to Durwood Theaters (might have been AMC by that time) asking them why they could not put a theater on the square. I explained the old long gone theaters, etc. They wrote back sounding like they were interested and said they would need a building with such and such dimensions width wise and lengthwise. I guess they thought I was an entrepreneur or something, chuckle. I did not respond back. But it seems to me AMC was the first to show movies where the Pharaoh IV is now.

The Google Earth image that shows the Truman Memorial Airport from the air is dated 9/2012. But if you go down to ground level over at Jackson Drive the image is date 4/2008. I also encounter a lot of problems with the latest version of Google Earth.

Same dates are used with the Square. The aerial shows the Santa-Cali-Con Festival in Sep 2012 but when you go down to ground level the festival disappears and the image date is 2008.
But it is free, what the heck.
Yep, Google earth does have it's issues, but as I you say, it's free. For some reason I was kinda startled when the old images popped up, instead of what I was expecting. In a way it was like I was transported back in time a few years. Can you imagine what it be like if you could go to Google Earth and type in not only the place you wanted, but also the time?! How cool would that be?!
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Old 02-17-2013, 11:40 AM
 
Location: Centennial, Colorado
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SilverDoc View Post
Yep, Google earth does have it's issues, but as I you say, it's free. For some reason I was kinda startled when the old images popped up, instead of what I was expecting. In a way it was like I was transported back in time a few years. Can you imagine what it be like if you could go to Google Earth and type in not only the place you wanted, but also the time?! How cool would that be?!

That would be cool.

Well, at one time we would jokingly say "The Japanese are working on it." I dont know who would be working on it now, maybe the Indians, maybe Silicone Valley.
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Old 02-17-2013, 11:52 AM
 
Location: Centennial, Colorado
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I recall another Durwood reserved seat movie house called the Saxon.

It was formerly called Lowes or Lowes Midland. I attended one movie there and was stunned at the ornateness of that place.

That theater apparently did not draw many people or was too expensive to operate and eventually became the bowling venue before or maybe after it was a theater. There is conflicting information on the web.

One web site says Lawrence of Arabia opened at the Saxon and that movie was 1962.

At some point in later years it was totally refurbished and named back to Midland.

Last edited by WCHS'59; 02-17-2013 at 01:05 PM..
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Old 02-17-2013, 12:20 PM
 
2,369 posts, read 2,717,205 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SilverDoc View Post
Yep, Google earth does have it's issues, but as I you say, it's free. For some reason I was kinda startled when the old images popped up, instead of what I was expecting. In a way it was like I was transported back in time a few years. Can you imagine what it be like if you could go to Google Earth and type in not only the place you wanted, but also the time?! How cool would that be?!

Yeah that would be really neat and would save us all alot of wondering about who/what/where/when. Google probably has a way of keeping dated copies in its archives so one day that will be possible starting with whenever the first Earthshots were taken. So when the grandkids are having these discussions 40 years from now, they'll have it much easier
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Old 02-17-2013, 12:37 PM
 
Location: Centennial, Colorado
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MRG Dallas View Post
Yeah that would be really neat and would save us all alot of wondering about who/what/where/when. Google probably has a way of keeping dated copies in its archives so one day that will be possible starting with whenever the first Earthshots were taken. So when the grandkids are having these discussions 40 years from now, they'll have it much easier
Those Sanborn fire maps are pretty interesting also. What chuckled me was the Chinese laundry in 1898 or so at the alley north of Liberty and Maple.
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Old 02-17-2013, 12:58 PM
 
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Y'all aren't doing very well with this mystery, so I'll help you a bit.

The first view is looking WNW.




Next is the same area looking ENE from a point several blocks west of the first.



All of the fields are now covered in houses.
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Old 02-17-2013, 01:01 PM
 
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Or maybe Sputnik's vaults have pics of the Good Ol Days? I seem to recall a Kansas City night when it reputedly passed by
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Old 02-17-2013, 02:57 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mad Anthonie View Post
Y'all aren't doing very well with this mystery, so I'll help you a bit.

The first view is looking WNW.




Next is the same area looking ENE from a point several blocks west of the first.



All of the fields are now covered in houses.
Ok it's that large subdivision N/NE of Drumm Farm off Lee's Summit Rd
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