In light of the recent demolition of the Boyd Theatre in Philadelphia, I thought I’d post an update for some of the theaters I’ve visited over the years.
View from the balcony of the Loew’s Kings Theatre during renovation.
The Loew’s Kings Theatre in Brooklyn has undergone a $94 million restoration, and will reopen as a performing arts center in late 2014/early 2015.
The large mirrors in the Boyd’s lobby are some of the art deco features that will be preserved.
The Boyd Theatre was demolished in the spring of 2014, despite the efforts of the Friends of the Boyd. This demolition means that Philadelphia is one of the only large cities in America without at least one restored downtown movie palace. Fortunately, the Friends of the Boyd were able to come to an agreement with the owners to preserve some of the art deco features of the theater.
The exterior of the Liberty/Paramount Theatre
The facade of the Paramount Theater in Youngstown, Ohio was going to be preserved, but it proved too costly, and the whole building was demolished in the summer of 2013.
View of the Paramount Theatre from the balcony
The Paramount Theatre in Newark, New Jersey is scheduled to be demolished in the spring of 2014 as part of the Four Corners Millennium Project. The site will be turned into a residential and retail building.
Main level of the Avalon/New Regal Theatre in Chicago, IL
The Avalon/New Regal Theatre in Chicago, Illinois has been sold, and renovations are expected to begin shortly.
View from the upper balcony of the Lyric Theatre.
Renovations have begun at the Lyric Fine Arts Theatre in Birmingham, Alabama. Birmingham Landmarks, which owns the theater, were successful in raising the $7,000,000 needed to restore the theater. The Lyric is scheduled to reopen in late 2014.
View of the Loew’s State auditorium from the box seats.
The New Orleans Downtown Development District and MCC Group, agreed to invest $32 million to restore and reopen the Loew’s State Theatre (State Palace Theatre) as a performing arts center.
© Matthew Lambros and After the Final Curtain, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Matthew Lambros and After the Final Curtain with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
After the Final Curtain 
Thanks for sharing this, I find it really cool. There’s an abandoned theater in my hometown I was able to visit, and would love to see it restored one day.
Excellent presentation.
Dana
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it sucks that they are demoing more than restoring
very glad to hear that at least some of these beautiful theaters are going to be restored. and thank you for the updates!
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Wonderful post and I see Chicago’s Regal is on the list! Thank you! Cher xo
You should do a story on the Loews Jersey in journal square and about what they have done to restore and open it for movies and live shows despite obstacles and a hostile Jersey City NJ and the lack of money needed to finish the job all done by volunteers
I tried. They said no.