Founded in 1999, Cinema Treasures has a Web site that lists 23,000 vintage theaters (hundreds demolished, but many still aglow) in more than 175 countries. Melnick’s organization and others like it are fighting to keep palace theaters up and running, but regular ticket buyers are equally—if not more—important. True, a film may look the same at the chain theater down the street, but there’s something about settling into a velveteen seat, in the same place where a generation first laughed at Chaplin’s madcap antics or shed a tear during Casablanca, that gives palace theaters a starring role.
Best Vintage Movie Theaters
Launch Slideshow
Photo: Courtesy of Tuschinski Theater
