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Renovations
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April 7, 2008
SVA acquires Chelsea West
NEW YORK, NY — A bright future may be in store for the Chelsea West Cinemas. New York’s School of Visual Arts is renovating it to serve as a repertory house.
One of the boldest moves in Gotham exhibition this decade is taking shape along a quiet stretch of West 23rd Street.
The Clearview Chelsea West Cinemas, a somewhat unlikely center of gravity for the film biz in recent years, has been acquired by the School of Visual Arts. The school, which signed a 26-year lease to operate the site, is renaming it the Visual Arts Theater and renovating inside and out under the guidance of noted designer Milton Glaser.
More at Variety.
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March 28, 2008
Vogue becomes Supperclub
LOS ANGELES, CA — The vacant Vogue Theatre is to become another stop in the chain, Supperclub.
Sure, there are plenty of supper clubs in L.A. (see Ritual, Foxtail, etc.), but only one has the audacity to call itself the Supperclub. Supperclub at the Vogue Theater, a forthcoming 17,000-square-foot restaurant/nightclub inside a historic building (the long-vacant Vogue Theater at 6675 Hollywood Blvd.), is actually part of an international chain called Supperclub. The first Supperclub bowed in Amsterdam 15 years ago and gave birth to locations in Rome and San Francisco. Now, the concept is coming to L.A. (a Singapore outpost is also opening soon).
Read more in the L.A. Times.
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March 27, 2008
Lebowsky rebuilding update
OWOSSO, MI — In the latest newsletter from the Owosso Community Players, The OCP gives the latest updates on the rebuilding of the Lebowsky Center.
The Vital Cities Grant has been changed from a cultural center grant to a facade grant. As a result, the grant will pay only for the rebuilding of the theater’s walls facing Main and Park Streets. So the OCP will need to cover the costs of rebuilding the wall adjacent to the West Annex as well as the roof.
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March 19, 2008
NYC once again seeking developer for Brooklyn’s Loew’s Kings Theatre
BROOKLYN, NY — New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) is seeking a developer and operator for the former Loew’s Kings Theatre.
New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), in cooperation with the Brooklyn Borough President, is seeking a developer and operator for the former Loew’s Kings Theatre (the “Theatre”). Responses to this Request for Proposals (RFP) must present plans to lease, rehabilitate and operate the theatre.
More in the Press Release
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Old Berri cinema to become Theatre TELUS
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA — After the Spectrum closed, the cultural landscape of mid-sized concert venues got that much smaller.
But now a new concert hall is born out of a new ten year partnership between cell phone provider Telus and Groupe Laberge, owners of the popular Quebec City showbar Dagobert.
Rumours have been circulating for awhile that they were going to buy up and fix up the old Berri cineplex on St. Denis Street near Ste-Catherine Street.
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March 18, 2008
Re-renovation planned for Detroit’s Fisher Theatre
DETROIT, MI — A $3.5 million update is in the works for Nederlander’s Fisher Theater, as reported in a Detroit News article late last year.
The Fisher opened in 1928 as an ornate movie palace in the unusual Mayan Revival style, but even its 1961 remodeling for theatrical performances was historic: it was the last architectural commission credited to the firm of Rapp and Rapp.
The article points out that the current renovation plan is tentative, and doesn’t offer details about how the auditorium might change other than by gaining 300 seats. The Nederlander site doesn’t offer any information at all.
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March 17, 2008
Northwood theater renovation continues
Progress is coming along in the renovation of the Northwood Theater.
The smell of popcorn and fresh wood shavings combined to welcome residents checking the renovation of a historic building that will some day house a movie theater.
On Wednesday, walking on a plywood floor and between yet-to-be-drywalled frames, citizens got a sense of how the theater will look once the J.B. Thompson building is restored.
For more, go to the Globe Gazette.
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March 14, 2008
Owosso won’t give Lebowsky project a break in building fees
OWOSSO, MI — Saying that it would cause a bad precedent, the Owosso city council voted 6-1 against waiving permit and plan review fees for the $7 million Lebowsky Center rebuilding project.
Over the life of the project, the fees could range from $20,000 to $25,000. As for an update on the rebuilding, architects are still drafting plans for the project. The bidding process will begin after the plans are completed.
Further info from the Argus-Press.
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March 7, 2008
Art Theatre to come back even greater
LONG BEACH, CA — The Art Theatre has been sold to local developers that will shut it down for half a year to restore some of its historic Art Deco feel.
Now playing at the Art Theatre, the marquee for the current movie reads “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days,” but for Howard Linn, it’s all about the two days.
Linn, who has owned and operated the venerable movie theater on Fourth Street for 35 years, has sold the venue.
On Thursday, the Art Theatre will close until July as the 84-year-old facility undergoes more than $1 million in renovations, courtesy of the theater’s new owners.
Read more in the Long Beach Press Telegram.
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February 12, 2008
Fox Oakland hoping for October return
OAKLAND, CA — After many years of work, this might be the year when the Fox Oakland reopens its doors.
Call it what you will, but the curtain is set to rise on the old-time movie palace — once the largest theater on the West Coast — 38 years after the last images flickered across its screen.
Oct. 26 is the target date to rekindle some of the old-time glamour and magic, 80 years nearly to the day after the picture palace opened its doors.
In this reincarnation, the Fox will be filled with live entertainers instead of talking pictures.
Read the full article in the Oakland Tribune.