I found out the Orleans closed today. You know, the movie theater at Cottman and Bustleton, by the Roosevelt Mall. If you haven't been there, you are patently NOT a N'Eastie. Should you not be so blessed, it's the shitty little theater that has two separate buildings for their total of 8 screens. It's an odd kind of staggering from the old single screen theaters to our modern multiplexes. While I haven't been there in years because the neighborhood closed in and it got shitty, I have TONS of fond memories there.

Now, when I was a lad in the Northeast, Roosevelt Mall was THE mall. If you’d need a new Ultimate Warrior t-shirt, the new Soul Asylum tape for your stereo, a whimsical coffee mug, or the latest issue of The Avengers, your only destination need be Roosevelt Mall. After a long day of walking up and down the open air strip between stores, you might feel the need to beat the various elements of a temperate climate by taking in the occasional moving pictures show. The Orleans 8 was your go-to-guy.

I saw my first movie ever there. It was An American Tail (Fievel!). My mom has claimed on multiple occasions that she was amazed over all of her 4 other children that I was so quiet during the film. I payed diligently close attention and I LOVED what I saw. I was barely 2 When Tanya Mousekewitz sang Somewhere Out There, I fell in love It is quite likely that it was that song in that movie that kicked off my fervent love of female vocalists.

I remember seeing what was probably my first big boy movie there. It was Batman, and I was probably not old enough to be watching it, but considering my love of the pictures, I was once again, a little gentleman.

I remember seeing The Lion King, with my mom and my older brother Matt, and it was the greatest thing I had ever seen at the time. Surely nothing could nor would ever compare to the majesty of James Earl Jones' Mufasa, nor JTT's young Simba.

I remember seeing The Wedding Singer with my mom there after a day of shopping at Roosevelt Mall. We were late, and missed the first fifteen minutes. Those 15 minutes were not the ones that contained Billy Idol, so they could not have been terribly vital to the plot.

I went on my FIRST DATE EVAR there. It was with Kate McCarthy (1 student and basketball hero at St. Martin's). We went to see Austin Powers. I was totally awkward (of course) and managed to finagle my arm around her in a very uncomfortable fashion for most of the movie. She was wearing something yellow and silky. I don't think I got up the courage to kiss her, but I'm certain she'dve let me if I had.

I remember my oldest brother Dave getting drunk on 40s of Colt 45 and taking me to see The Phantom Menace there. He kept punching me in the arm on the bus. It was weird and unpleasant, but memorable nonetheless. I remember seeing Unbreakable with my sister, Reenie, there on a Sunday (and smokin' drugs beforehand). I had already seen it, but I was happy to spend time with my cool older sister, and Unbreakable could always make me get a little misty, so I surely didn't mind the repeat.

I remember going with my best high school chum, Aaron to see the special edition re-release of The Exorcist. He was 17 but didn't have ID, and I was 16, so we couldn't get in. A very nice middle-aged black woman bought our tickets for us, and it was excellent. A#1 Would-Go-See-Again.

That might've been the last movie I ever saw there.

My dad took me to learn to drive in the side theatre parking lot, which was empty most of the time. He was so scared of me crashing the car, it sucked.

Two years later, I took my ex-best-gal, Tiffany, to the same place to teach her to drive. She consistently veered toward huge piles of snow and I had to yell at her to either hit the brakes or turn away. Almost as if she weren't aware they were solid blocks of snow and ice. I then saw exactly the terror my dad had when I was in the driver's seat!

Oh boy, I'm not sad to see it go, but I sure did have a lot of times at that place.