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Openings
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July 20, 2004
Chicago’s Biograph Theater Sold; Movies to Depart
CHICAGO, IL — The Biograph Theatre, long a Chicago movie-going landmark, will close to moviegoers in September of this year, after being sold to the Tony-award winning Victory Gardens Theatre. (More info details in this report from the Chicago Tribune.)
While its interior will be gutted, the facade will be preserved. The theater company plans two theater spaces, one will be a 299-seat main stage and the other will be a more intimate 130-seat studio theater.
While this may be a good outcome for the Biograph, it represents the loss of yet another neighborhood theater in Chicago Without a car, it becomes evermore difficult to catch a show in the city.
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July 16, 2004
Fine Arts Cinema Officially Dead
BERKELEY, CA — Theatergoers of Berkeley, CA and the East Bay recently suffered the end of an era of repertory cinema when the Fine Arts Cinema was officially declared dead.
Patrick Kennedy, owner and developer of the apartment and commercial complex being completed on the cinema’s former site, said that the last operator, Keith Arnold, had informed him that he had given up on reopening in the building bearing its name because he had been unable to raise the $800,000 to $1.2 million necessary to outfit the unfinished space offered by Kennedy.
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July 14, 2004
De Uitkijk In Amsterdam About To Close
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS — The first and oldest art house theater in The Netherlands, “De Uitkijk”, is about to close. The tiny theater on the Prinsengracht 452 has been running since 1929, but now faces a final shut-down after a couple of years of loss.
Currently there aren’t any cinema chains or owners looking into saving the site, nor does the local government seem to care. The Filmmuseum has shown interest (since it’s roots lie in the theater), but have no money at all. The current owner is still looking for financial aid to keep the theater open.
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Arts Cinema Opening Within Historic Art Deco London Landmark
From press release:
“Picturehouse Cinemas, operators of London’s favourite neighbourhood cinemas (Living London Awards as voted by LBC 97.3FM listeners ), announce the opening of their 19th venue The Olympia Cinema, located within the Olympia Exhibition complex in Kensington.
The cinema opens to the public on Friday July 23rd, and for the opening weekend all tickets to all films will be just £1 and there are also free previews of summer blockbusters, details of how to get tickets are available from the website www.picturehouses.co.uk.
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July 12, 2004
Parkway Theater Closed
Minneapolis, MN — Bill Irvine, the owner of the Parkway Theater, has closed the doors after 29 years in operation, according to an article in the Pulse of the Twin Cities. Citing rising property taxes and the ongoing struggle of independent theaters as the reason for the closing, there is now a ‘For Sale’ sign on the building.
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June 30, 2004
Keith’s Theatre In Boston Gets Ready For Its Close-Up
BOSTON, MA — The renovated and restored Keith’s Theatre will reopen officially on July 16th, but the former movie palace has already presented an “informal concert” earlier this week. The Boston Globe, Boston Herald and Preservation Magazine report on this exciting news in the following articles:
Boston Globe:
- “Another opening, another show”
- “Where the silver screen was truly golden”
- “The magnificent performances sang”
- “Celebrating the reopening of the Opera House”
- “A front-row seat to an art form’s rise and fall”
- “Evening showcases Opera House, and city’s favorites”
Boston Herald:
Preservation Magazine:
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June 25, 2004
New Cinema Will Anchor O'Fallon Center
O'FALLON, MO — A new 14 Screen will be part of a new $40 Million Shopping Center in O'Fallon. It is part of one of the many sites that developers have staked out along Highway 40 in St. Charles County for retail development. The Center will be called Caledonia. (The new theater complex also is part of the recent spree of cinemas being built in the St. Louis area.)
This will be the Indiana-based Great Escape Theatres' first theater in the St. Louis Market. With the explosive growth of the WingHaven area in St. Charles County, this was an ideal opportunity for Great Escape. A new theater will be highly welcomed by the O'Fallon residents since they currently have to drive all the way to Mid-Rivers Mall (to the Wehrenberg theaters) in St. Peter’s.
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June 16, 2004
The Garden Theater (1918-2004)
CHARLESTON, SC — Thank you to the Friends of the Garden Theater for your efforts to save the Garden as a theater. Thanks to Cinema Treasures for providing a place to post notices and news. Thanks to the many fine folks who responded to our posts.
The scheduled meeting for June 17, 2004, has been cancelled due to recent developments. Yesterday, we were told by workmen at the theater that the curtain, seats, and rigging have been donated to an opera company in Pennsylvania and the floor is soon to be leveled from the stage to the rear wall of the auditorium so that the space can be leased to a retail store.
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June 7, 2004
Trolley Corners Cinema to Become Fitness Center
SALT LAKE CITY, UT — Westates Theatres closed the Trolley Corners Cinema after its final showings on June 3, 2004. The triplex theater will be gutted and replaced by a 24-hour fitness health club.
Trolley Corners opened December 23, 1977 and was the last of Salt Lake’s 70mm theaters. Theater #1 featured stadium seating, 770 seats, and an 8-channel SDDS digital sound system. The large, curved screen was covered with curtains. Murals of “Star Wars” and “Sound of Music” adorned the lobby walls. The projection booth held two projectors.
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June 4, 2004
Dorval Cinema Closes For Good
MONTREAL, CANADA — Yesterday, the Famous Players Dorval Cinema closed its doors once again, but this time probably for good.
The theater will soon be transformed into the new regional head office for Famous Players.
Opened in 1962 with 2 cinemas, Salle Doree and Salle Rouge. Salle Rouge twinned in 1977 making the theater a triplex. In 1986, a 4th cinema was built upstairs. The theater closed in 2000 and reopened June 29, 2001.