Renovations

  • September 14, 2010

    Paramount Theatre plans approved

    HUNTINGTON, NY — The Paramount Theatre, is moving forward at the site of formerIMAC.

    The ZBA on Aug. 27 accepted a proposal submitted by Paramount Theatre LLC to resurrect live entertainment in Huntington village so long as several of their conditions regarding traffic and safety are agreed upon.

    Paramount requested a special use permit to renovate the New York Avenue theater and use municipal parking to account for increased occupancy from 700 to 1,665 seats. Parking plans include the use of valet service to and from the upper Elm Street lot and incentives to park in Town Hall and in a lot at the train station, from which shuttle service will be provided. They also asked for permission to erect a marquee on the front of the building, where a two-story glass wall will overlook the busy road.

    The full article appears in the September 2nd issue of The Long-Islander.

    Although parking remains a issue with some, it appears that a majority of merchants and residents of Huntington village [and neighboring communities] believe that it will benefit the Town.

  • September 10, 2010

    Admiral Twin Drive-In Screens May Be Rebuilt

    TULSA, OK — The owners of the Admiral Twin Drive-In, whose twin screens were recently destroyed by fire, are examining the possibility of rebuilding and reopening the five decades-old theater. The drive-in plans a number of fundraising events and, according to Tulsa World, donations can be submitted through the Select Cinemas site or by sending payment to “Admiral Twin Drive-In” at Security Bank, P.O. BOX 471316, Tulsa, OK 74147. “Any inquiries regarding fundraising ideas and opportunities can be sent to .”

  • September 9, 2010

    Please vote to help the historic Crandell Theatre win $25K. We need a new roof!

    CHATHAM, NY — Please help the Crandell Theatre, an independent nonprofit movie theatre, win $25,000 in a community challenge. The Crandell opened in 1926 and is the largest and oldest movie theatre in Columbia County, NY.

    Just click on this link and vote for the Crandell in the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s “This Place Matters” contest. It doesn’t cost anything and you can opt out of receiving any further emails from them. Please do this now. You must vote before September 15th.

    Link

  • August 27, 2010

    “Paramount Anticipation Builds” in Huntington

    HUNTINGTON, NY — The former IMAC Theater in Huntington Village may be getting a new lease on life, once again as a performance venue, much to the delight of local merchants…

    According to nearby business owners, the potential arrival of Paramount Theatre, a concert venue at the site of the former IMAC theater on New York Avenue, is just the ticket to generate the foot traffic that will revitalize the local economy.

    “I’m very much for it,” said Trudy Kaplan, owner of Porters, Ltd. on New York Avenue, just feet away from the theater. “The town desperately needs an influx of pedestrians.”

    Read the complete article in this week’s issue of The Long-Islander.

  • August 10, 2010

    Princess Theatre blog

    HARRIMAN, TN — I have a running account of the progress on the Princess restoration.

    The old seats were removed last week, and this week the new roof is going on. The work is expected to last 3 weeks. After that the facade work begins then comes the new marquee.

    The inside work is expected to last through the rest of 2010. A 2 to 3 day celebration is planned once the Princess is ready for unveiling!

  • August 5, 2010

    Renovation work begun on former Roxian Theater

    MCKEES ROCKS, PA — Andrew Hieber first had a vision for the reuse of the 1928 Roxian Theater in 2004, hoping to turn it into a concert venue, but the project proved far more complex than he first thought. After several delays and rethinkings of the project, work has now begun to turn the former movie theater into what may be the centerpiece of a revitalized entertainment area on Chartiers Avenue.

    The plan is to open a side wall to create space for ticket booths and a new entrance, refurbish the main floor with a new bar area and removable seats, raise the stage for safety and better sightlines and replace the 285 balcony seats with 225 seats sized for modern rear ends. The building is also getting an elevator, new wiring, plumbing and ventilation systems, new bathrooms and new light and sound systems.

    In all, the cavernous space — five floors on a 27,000-square-foot footprint — will be able to hold 1,500 for a concert, but also will be able to function cafĂ©-style for banquets, receptions and smaller shows.

    There is more in this article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

  • July 26, 2010

    Stanley Theater gets a facelift

    STANLEY, WI — New work is being done to bring the Stanley Theater back to its look during its heyday.

    It is that look, with the Vitrolite glass, that Eslinger is bringing back with the current project. It’s not easy, since production of that kind of glass ceased around 1950, according to Dunn.

    His business is to find the glass as old buildings are torn down around the country, retrieve the glass, and install it in restoration or other projects like the one at Stanley Theater. He is the tops in the field, worldwide, if you want Vitrolite glass.

    Read more in the Chippewa Herald.

  • July 23, 2010

    The Lebowsky Center has a roof again

    OWOSSO, MI — The rebuilding of the fire-gutted Lebowsky Center is on schedule with the planned completion of Phase I, the exterior rebuilding, set for the state-mandated date of September 1. An event is tentatively planned for October 22 to unveil “the interior of the exterior.” Details can be found in the Argus-Press.

    The Owosso Community Players' Facebook page has rebuilding photos here.

  • July 22, 2010

    Astoria’s Museum of Moving Image getting multi-million dollar makeover

    ASTORIA, NY — The Museum of the Moving Image is getting a major renovation. The centerpiece of the $67 million project will be a new 264 seat theater that will give visitors the sensation of being inside a floating spaceship. Closed since 2008, the museum is expected to reopen in January, 2011 with several inaugural events, including the showing of twenty newly restored and rediscovered films, silent films, and several retrospectives of distinguished filmmakers.

    The museum’s inaugural screenings will include a slate of 20 newly restored rediscovered films, an avant-garde series, a showing of 1928’s “L'Argent,” a silent cinema festival and retrospectives of French director Alain Resnais, documentarian D.A. Pennebaker, Italian maestro Vittorio De Sica and American maverick Arthur Penn.

    “A movie can be an artistic experience of the highest order, a life-changing experience, but only in the right format,” said David Schwartz, the museum’s curator. “The Moving Image is about to become one of the finest venues in the world for viewing films.”

    The is more detail inYour Nabe.

  • July 14, 2010

    Gadsden’s Pitman Theater undergoing renovation

    GADSDEN, AL — The 1947 Pitman Theater is being renovated by the city for use as a multi-purpose events center. The last film was shown in 1983 and the city acquired it in 1986, but it was then allowed to deteriorate. The first steps toward reuse were taken in 2008, but fire code violations and lack of working air-conditioning has limited usage. The auditorium has been essentially gutted out, but its distinguished facade and marquee still grace Broad Street.

    In January, the Gadsden City Council approved a resolution for Whitaker & Rawson Inc. of Birmingham to provide design plans for the HVAC replacement.

    A grant of $169,000 was awarded to the city from the Department of Energy to help with costs for the heating and air conditioning replacements at the Pitman and the Ritz Theatre, which also is undergoing renovations.

    A full article about the renovation is in theGadsen Times and citizens share their memories of the Pitman here.