December 04, 2005

Alpine Theater to Close?


--Business was better in 1946. ( Click on the photo image to make it larger ) Few cars, no tv. See women and ( tugging ) child waiting for the trolley. And Neilsen's Furniture, which lasted into the 1970'S or later. And katty-korner across the intersection, the " Haddon Hall " sign on the candy store ( which of course is still a candy store. ) --

Say it ain't so.

The NY Daily News reports that the Alpine Theater is for sale for $10 million . The seller has no restrictions on the future use of the building, so the Alpine Theater could soon be no more.

This would come less than a year after the death of the Fortway Theater

Like the Fortway, the Alpine was chopped up into a multiplex years ago, and lost its magic as a theater.

Neighborhood theaters all over America suffered a big wound with cable tv/HBO/VCRs/etc and most have probably suffered a fatal blow with DVDs/Netflix/etc. Ask not whom the bell tolls, theaters of America--it tolls for thee.

Mournful dialogue in Cinema Treasures

See a movie at the Alpine when you can. Maybe I'll see " Walk the Line " again there.

2 comments:

JediCraft said...

While it is sad to see two theaters that I went to many times when I was young, and even a first kiss in one, one should mention that both were in such a state of disarray that they were just waiting to be closed. Had the owners or Cineplex Odeon put any money into them recently they probably would have stayed open. I'm sure someone is planning to open a big multiplex closer to the bridge in the next few years.

Anonymous said...

I worked at the Alpine as my first job while in college. While I liked the job, I liked the theater element that the Alpine offered to the neighborhood of Bay Ridge. The neighborhod itself is loosing to change. I will miss the Alpine and the neighborhood that is passing with it. Perhaps the unusually wealthy and powerful new Bay Ridge immigrant interest group will be adding to their Mosk.