Living in Brooklyn, New York City, or the city, was a special and magical place, nearby, yet very far away. I do not have many distinct memories of going there before the age of 10, except for one.
And that memory is of me and my grandmother going to see the movie "Oliver". It was a special outing for just the two of us, which meant I was probably visiting with her. We took the subway and we went to Times Square. I still have the movie program book, which is something they did for big films back then.
By researching old ads I have determined the theatre we would have gone to was the Loews State at 1540 Broadway. This was a first run 70mm theatre known for big premieres. It closed in 1968 for remodeling and conversion to a twin theatre. The first movies shown for the grand re-opening were Oliver and "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". The theatre closed for good in 1987 and in the 90's the theatre and the building above (headquarters for the old Loews Theatre company) were demolished to make way for the Virgin Mega store
I also remember that I was allowed to stay up late and watch the Academy Awards that spring and when Oliver won best picture I was so excited. It was a personal victory that a movie I had seen was declared the best picture of the year. It's still a perennial favorite of mine and I like to watch it around the holidays.
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