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Originally posted by Mike Blakesley
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Mike, What's the name of this cinema? -
Originally posted by Jim Cassedy
I'm hearing rumors locally that the Landmark in Westwood (LA) is about to close, too. The lease is up, audience numbers never recovered from the pandemic, and the place is losing money. Plus, Google is in the process of buying that entire mall, apparently.Comment
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It's the Montana Theatre in Miles City, MT.Mike, What's the name of this cinema?Comment
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"Exciting Renovation Plans Submitted For Historic Century 21 Theater In San Jose "(CA)
Original Story: https://tinyurl.com/ycx5t82c
Cent21_Dome.jpg
An historic, dome-shaped cinema building near Santana Row in San Jose could get a major facelift that
would transform it from a former movie theater into something new. The building at 3161 Olsen Drive
was built in 1964 and used to be the Century 21 movie theater, which closed in 2014. The city made it a
historical landmark shortly after it shut down. The dome sits on a prime piece of property just steps away
from the Winchester Mystery House and a new office complex called Santana West which currently has
one new office building in operation and a few others that will be built. The popular Santana Row dining
and shopping destination sits just across South Winchester Boulevard from the domed building.
At this point, it’s unclear what the old theater will be reused as, but there are several options on the table.
Despite not yet having a specific use, the developer and owner, Federal Realty Investment Trust, plans to
renovate the building in a flexible way so that it can cater to several different types of businesses.
According to a preliminary proposal obtained by the Mercury News, “the design team will include
provisions to accommodate the ability to support office, kitchen, cafeteria, gym, and small data center.”
It could also become a restaurant or a performing arts center.
Right now, the former movie house has 18,000 square feet of usable space on the ground floor along with
a 1,000 square foot room above that used to be the projection room. Federal Realty plans to transform the
building into three floors of usable space. The Mercury News reports that “the interior reconstruction effort
that will produce three floors in the building is slated to total 29,000 to 34,500 square feet, depending on
the ultimate configuration of the inside of the structure.”
One notable addition to the building will be a plethora of skylights that will flood the interior with natural
sunlight. Federal Realty plans to add a new center skylight, another in the lobby near the entrance, and
several others around the edges of the dome. If all goes as planned, the old theater is expected to play
an intricate role as part of the 13-acre mixed-use Santana West campus. The developer notes that the
renovation plans are still in the early preliminary planning phase and there’s no timeline yet for when it
could get city approval. It also remains unclear when Federal Realty will start looking for a new tenant.
<END>
> This is the 2nd Bay Area theater in recent months to receive "Landmark Status" - - and while that puts
certain restrictions on the property - - it doesn't mean the property owners have to use the building for its'
original purpose. Mostly, it gives them a certain tax status - - and a "historic" plaque. (Big Friggin' Deal!)
The fact that the new owners plan to put "a plethora of skylights" pretty much dooms the dome of any
chance of ever being used as a cinema again.
Bonus Pic:
This view of the booth was taken in 1965. There's 70mm reels on the bench and that looks like
the ass-end of an Ashcraft Super Core-Lite. . one of the hottest lamphouses I ever ran. I'm
hoping this booth had good air conditioning ~ ~ That Super Core-Lite & all those open vacuum
tube amps had the potential to make it pretty warm up there without good ventilation. !
Century21_Booth2.jpg
(Photo Source: Cinema Treasures)Last edited by Jim Cassedy; 05-16-2022, 09:59 PM.Comment
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That’s truly sick and sad.
Part of me would rather see it scraped than it turned into yet more office space.Comment
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I can't speak as to whether office space is needed in San Jose, but in NYC, this big push by developers to continue to build office space (and a push by our governor to build 10 new office towers around Penn Station) is completely ridiculous at a time when many office employees are working from home and as their leases expire, companies are dumping space that they no longer need. Even Apple employees are balking at returning to the "spaceship" in spite of all the amenities. Even if workers are required to show up a few days a week, we simply don't need all the office space that's been built. I think office developers are living in denial of reality because they only know how to do one thing.Originally posted by William Kucharski View PostComment
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It's been quite some time since I've done an update. I apologize for the multi-month information dump! I limited the reach back to February, but I will put in links to the full lists below:
Openings - Theater Openings & Improvements Articles
The Regal Placerville in Placerville, California has a new operator as of February 2022. Cinema West stepped in to run the newly-renamed Placerville Cinema.
The AMC Classic Madisonville 8 in Madisonville, Kentucky closed in January, but it reopened in February as the Golden Ticket Cinemas - Capitol 8.
The Picture House - Bronxville in Bronxville, New York opened to the public in February.
The LOOK Dine-In Cinemas - Colleyville in Colleyville, Texas opened its doors March 3, 2022.
The EVO Entertainment - Southlake in Southlake, Texas opened to the public in March.
The Carolina Cinemas - Sandhills 10 in Southern Pines, North Carolina opened in the same location as the former Paragon Sandhills, which closed at the end of March 2022. The first day of operation was April 8, 2022.
The B & B Athens 12 in Athens, Georgia is opened in April 2022. The twelve-screen movie theater was formerly known as the AMC Dine-In Athens 12, which closed in 2020.
The ICON Cinema - San Mateo in Albuquerque, New Mexico opened April 22, 2022.
The LOOK Dine-In Cinemas - Arlington in Arlington, Texas opened to the public May 5, 2022.
The EVO Entertainment - Hampton in Hampton, Virginia opened May 27, 2022.
The AMC Dine-In Topanga 12 in the Westfield Topanga & The Village shopping center in Canoga Park, California is opening Thursday, June 2, 2022.
Closings - Theater Closings Articles
The Bow Tie Herricks Cinemas in New Hyde Park, New York closed in February 2022.
The Silver Cinemas - Market Square Theatre in Madison, Wisconsin showed its last movies February 17, 2022.
The Century Gateway 12 in Tucson, Arizona closed in March 2022.
The AMC Classic Bloomfield 8 in Bloomfield, Connecticut closed March 14, 2022.
The AMC Classic Windsor Square 7 in Knoxville, Tennessee closed in April.
The Paragon Sandhills in Southern Pines, North Carolina closed in April 2022.
The Westwood Cinema 8 in Omaha, Nebraska closed April 17, 2022.
The Bow Tie Reston Town Center 11 & BTX in Reston, Virginia closed at the end of April 2022.
The Keystone Cinemas in Bardstown, Kentucky closed April 28, 2022.
The Landmark in the Westside Pavilion Mall on Pico Boulevard and Westwood Boulevard in Los Angeles, California closed in May 2022. The last time we received showtimes updates was May 20, so it likely closed that weekend.
The Cinemark Sandy Movies 9 in Sandy, Utah closed May 26, 2022.
The AMC Promenade 16 in the Promenade mall in Woodland Hills, California closed June 1, 2022.Comment
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The Pittsford Plaza Cinemas 9 here in Rochester, NY, owned by Zurich Cinemas, played its last shows tonight. It's been sold to newcomer Apple Cinemas who owns a small number of upscale, dine in cinemas here in the Northeast.
It was built as part of Pittsford Plaza on the site of a former supermarket and opened in 1988 as a General Cinemas 6 screen theater. In its original configuration it had 5 common height screens and one massive 600 seat screen that was built to THX certification. It allegedly had 70mm capable projection, but according to known records does not appear to have ever run 70mm prints.
It closed as part of General Cinemas' restructuring at the end of the 90s as its not featured in their 1999 cinema listings on their amusingly old website, and was at one point operated by a company known as Entertainment Film Works before closing again in 2002. Zurich took it over in early 2002 and chopped up the 600 seat screen into a series of smaller screens to bring it up to 9. It closed with that same configuration tonight. Each screen had decent 5.1 surround sound, average Sony 4K Cinema projectors, and common height scope screens with curtain masking. It was a great place to see a consistent movie, and I'm sad to see it go, as I'm sure the new chain is going to fully remodel the interior and wipe away its late 80s charm. Such is life.
Apple Cinemas is promising refreshed projectors, Dolby Atmos, and a full menu. Meh.Comment
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Three words I never thought I'd see together.late 80s charm.
I know the 80s were somebody's Good Ol Days, but man, that makes me feel old.Comment
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The New Main Street Cinemas in the Kew Gardens Hills/Flushing area of Queens, NY is shutting its doors after Labor Day weekend.
The approximately 550 seat theater opened in 1941. It was twinned in 1985, quaded in August of 1998 and sixplexed in November of 1998. It's a first run operation with tickets as low as $6 at certain times. But it looks like a dump from the outside and photos posted on Cinema Treasures make it seem pretty bad inside, although I don't know how old they are. The neighborhood is primarily comprised of Orthodox Jews and most won't attend a movie theater. All the adjoining retail establishments are closed from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown.
That leaves the borough of Queens with 11 theaters and 89 screens to serve 2.4 million people. Those 11 theaters have approximately 9800 seats in total. One would think that would make the remaining theaters crowded. It doesn't.Comment
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saska...atre-1.6562240
Final curtain call approaches for beloved local Regina cinema
Rainbow Cinemas owner says attendance is down; last film to screen Sept. 25
Laura Sciarpelletti · CBC News · Posted: Aug 26, 2022 1:05 PM CT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago
Rainbow Cinemas in Regina will screen its last film on Sept. 25. (CBC News)
The corn will soon stop popping at Rainbow Cinemas in Regina, a retro theatre that has served discount films to the masses since 1998.
Magic Lantern Theatres, which owns Rainbow, told the CBC in an email that the theatre's lease in the Golden Mile Shopping Centre has expired. Rainbow is set to screen its last film on Sept. 25.
"While at one time Rainbow Cinemas was a very popular location for cheap entertainment — you could see a movie cheaper than rent a movie at Blockbuster —like Blockbuster, its appeal had faded. COVID, of course, accelerated this decline," said Magic Lantern Theatres president Tom Hutchinson in the email.
"Because of this, I suspect its loss means little for cinema in Regina."
Regina resident Jay Sotkowy said he feels the loss deeply. He describes himself as a local filmgoer, film lover and filmmaker who visits Rainbow at least four times a month.
"Rainbow Cinemas here is a great hub for film lovers who can go and see these smaller films that don't play at the bigger theatres. You know, your Cineplexes, your Landmarks. They skip over those. But Rainbow would pick them up and play them at a great price," Sotkowy said.
Rainbow Cinemas boasted the cheapest prices in town.
"The absolute shining star of the Rainbow Cinema was Studio 7, which would house more of the smaller art house festival circuit films which are absolutely bar none the best films of the year," Sotkowy said.
Rainbow has also been known to hold small screenings of local films, and even special events for Halloween and Christmas.
Magic Lantern Theatres, which owns Rainbow Cinemas, said its lease in the Golden Mile Shopping Centre has expired. (CBC News)
Sotkowy said the Regina film community will have difficulty recovering from the loss.
"This is just another stab, another gunshot wound in the cinematic landscape of Saskatchewan. You know, it's just telling me, 'Get up, move. Go somewhere else. This place is not for you, it's not for cinema lovers.' And that's very disheartening because this place could be so fantastic for film."This is just another stab, another gunshot wound in the cinematic landscape of Saskatchewan.- Jay Sotkowy, Regina.
Sotkowy agreed with Magic Lantern that the community was not flocking to Rainbow, but said it could have done a better job advertising and had a much better social media presence.
The movie-going experience
Sotkowy has a soft place in his heart for Rainbow's concession popcorn, consistent matinees and "retro" coming attractions advertisements.
"They did such a fantastic job. All the movies started on time. The concessions were always fantastic. The popcorn … beautiful. I'm going to extremely miss that popcorn."
At the end of the day, Sotkowy said Rainbow was simply a unique movie-going experience in the city.
"It has its own heartbeat," Sotkowy said.
"With all the bells and whistles that come with the bigger Cineplexes and Landmarks, sometimes it's just nice to sit in an older cinema with hard candy stuck to the floors. The sounds bleeds through the wall sometimes, but you don't mind because it was like four bucks to go and you're still watching a pretty sick movie."
Sotkowy said Rainbow's closure will disrupt what he chooses to do with his time and interests.
"It's just going to leave a big empty spot in my day and my film education and everything like that. I'm going to be so far behind now."
He said lovers of art house, local and documentary films will now rely more heavily on the Regina Public Library Theatre at the city's central location.
Regina Public Library Film Theatre
The RPL film theatre is free to moviegoers, and features art house and independent cinema, among other things.
"Something that we're really proud of is that we work a lot with our locals, either local Regina filmmakers or regional film makers," said Amber Christensen, executive director for the RPL central library.
"We are so focused on trying to work to bring and showcase things that you're not going to necessarily see other places."
The Regina central library screens local and independent films for free. (Alexander Quon/CBC)
However, Christensen said RPL will likely not play the films that Rainbow's Studio 7 was known for, because that is not the business model and RPL does not work with big distributors like Lionsgate. She said Studio 7 will be missed.
"It will be a loss to the city. They worked in a very specific first-run commercial art house distribution model."
Christensen said she believes people are still nervous about going to theatres due to COVID-19, and that's why attendance is generally down at theatres. She also pointed to streaming.
"You know that song Video Killed the Radio Star? Streaming kind of killed the film theatre. It is killing the film theatre experience to some extent."Comment
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https://unofficialnetworks.com/2022/...n-luis-valley/
Overnight Drive-In Theater Opens In Colorado's San Luis Valley
Colorado is, without a doubt, a pretty darn cool state. There’s plenty to do, but nearly all of those activities are, well, active. Now don’t get me wrong, I love being outdoors and experiencing the different forms of nature Colorado has to share, but sometimes you just want to watch a movie or spend the night at a cool location.
If you’re ever making the drive down 285 heading towards Great Sand Dunes National Park, it may be worth it to check out The Frontier Drive-Inn, a drive-in movie theater/inn experience. First opened in 1955, the Frontier Drive-Inn initially lasted a solid 30-years, closing in 1986. In 2016, the shuttered theater was taken in by a new owner with the goal of bringing back the joy it once created. After restoring the original 40′ screen and neon sign as well as adding several overnight possibilities, the Frontier Drive-Inn has re-opened.
Currently, there are two room options available for guests. The Steelmasters fit 1-2 guests and have an en-suite bathroom, heated floors, and semi-private deck. The Yurts also fit 1-2 guests, but do not have an en-suite bathroom. Instead, they’re clustered around a bathhouse and gas fire pits. Each Yurt has an in-unit pellet stove, queen bed, and a sitting area. More housing options will be added as time goes on. Guests are meant to bring their own food and cook inside the communal kitchen. There’s also an option to rent out kitchen supplies.
There’s a ton more additions planned for the future of the Drive-Inn, including different art installations and other attractions for guests. All in all, the locations isn’t meant to be a week long camping adventure, it’s meant to be a wicked cool experience for you to stop and enjoy while checking out the other cool locations in and around the San Luis Valley. I certainly hope to make my way down there and stay for a night or two in the very near future.
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Apparently that theatre I posted the equipment for sale about is the Chaba Theatre, not the Chabb Theatre. I just found this news article about it closing last February after almost 100 years in business.
https://www.fitzhugh.ca/ezadmin/chab...to-restaurant/
Jasper’s movie theatre will screen its last feature at the end of this month as it comes under new ownership and is slated to become a restaurant.
The Jasper Brewpub will take possession of the Chaba Theatre on Feb. 25.
“I’m bittersweet about it, is what I’d say,” said Dwain Wacko, who has owned and operated the Chaba Theatre since 1972.
“I’m sorry for the community that it’s losing the theatre, but I don’t see a way forward at this time for a cinema.”
The Chaba Theatre has a history in Jasper spanning nearly a century.
The original theatre opened its doors in 1928, with the Wacko family taking ownership in 1946 and a new twin theatre later replacing the old building in 1989.
However, while the pandemic had made operating a small-town theatre challenging, it had already become difficult to sustain in recent years due to dwindling attendance.
“The industry seems to be relying on the big titles,” Wacko said, noting that smaller titles were now going to alternative platforms such as streaming services.
“In a small situation like Jasper, there just isn’t enough of them to sustain us. There generally would only be three or four big titles that are hugely popular, and it’s not enough. We just don’t have a big enough population base for that to be enough.”
The property itself has a heavy tax burden due to the high demand for land in Jasper and thus the higher assessment values.
With these challenges, Wacko said he understood why the new owners couldn’t continue the theatre model.
He added how the business in the last few years hadn’t been successful enough to provide him with a comfortable retirement, whereas selling the real estate would.
“I’ve put off lots of things that I’ve wanted to do in my life to keep it going, and I just don’t feel like I want to wait any longer,” he said.
“And I don’t know, how long is it going to take to recover? I no longer want to wait for a possible recovery. I don’t know if it will happen.”
Socrates Korogonas, one of the local founders of the Jasper Brewpub, said he and co-founders Brett Ireland and Alexander Derksen all grew up in Jasper and how the Chaba Theatre had been a big part of their early childhood.
“It’s going to be incredibly sad to lose something like that from a community perspective,” he said.
“Unfortunately, the reality of the business model for cinema is kind of dwindling, and I don’t know what the future holds for small-town cinema, not just in Jasper but in a bigger context.”
Korogonas said they had been looking for a space to build a new restaurant for some time and decided to purchase the Chaba Theatre, noting how commercial space was scarce in Jasper.
“We’ve gone through the process of applying for a change of use for the space. We’re looking to add another complimentary restaurant, food-and-beverage establishment in that space. We’re also looking at a little retail space to go in there as well.”
The exact theme of the restaurant has yet to be finalized, nor has a timeline been determined for the renovations that will be required.
The Brewpub did research to see if a theatre could be incorporated into the business somehow but was unable to find a viable path forward for cinema in Jasper.
Korogonas said they are currently exploring options to see if the old equipment can be moved out of the Chaba Theatre and if screenings can be hosted in another location.
He added how they wanted this transition to yield something new and positive for the community.
“We don’t have any experience in the cinema business, but we would like to create something that (would) definitely help tell the Jasper story.”Comment
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Poor guy! I had a high school history teacher, Mr. Nartsey, but that is arguably even worse.Originally posted by Article posted by FrankComment
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