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Theaters
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January 19, 2006
Ioka Theatre For Sale (Again)
EXETER, NH — The Ioka Theatre is apparently for sale. Exeter is a thriving town but Regal has five screens in Portsmouth and I don’t know how many screens are nearby at Hamptons. Here’s the realestate link.
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January 12, 2006
Charlotte’s Carolina Theatre Sold to Developer
CHARLOTTE, NC — The Charlotte City Council voted January 9 to sell the long shuttered Carolina Theatre to the Atlanta developer Camden Management Partners. They propose a luxury high rise condominium project of up to 125 units built in front of and above the existing theater. The vacant corner lot in front of the auditorium should see the return of the recently dismantled theater façade incorporated into the new structure.
The theater will be privately owned and operated with renovation money coming from a combination of sources – about $4.5 million in property taxes generated from the new condos, a $1 million developer contribution and at least another $2 million to be raised privately by a local preservation group. Drawings of the new tower have not yet been released and programming of the theater space remains unclear.
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Grant Programs For Historic Theatres
Once again a New Year has arrived, and as we go into the new year, a new opportunity for fresh grant money to restore your historical theater will become available, begining in January of 2006. Grants are available for preservation and/or conservation work on nationally significant intellectual and cultural artifacts and nationally significant historic structures and sites that include historical theaters.
Grants are awarded through a competitive process and require a dollar non-federal match, which can be cash, donated services, or use of equipment. The grant and the non-federal match must be expended during the grant period (generally 2 to 3 years) to execute your theater restoration project. The minimum grant request for historic property projects is $250,000 federal share. The maximum grant request for all projects is $1 million federal share. The Grants Panel may, at its discretion, award less than the minimum grant request.
As a Performing Art Centers Of Indiana client, one of their consultants will set up an appointment with your organization, to discuss the 2006 application grants package process and determine if your organization qualifies under the grants criteria guidelines. Their consulting firm will then assist you with the application grants package and help determine your organizations financial and restoration budget needs, for your project. To get started today, log onto their web site at www.onstagein.com to get your grants package and application process, implemented !
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January 9, 2006
Utah Theater Cancels ‘Brokeback Mountain’
SALT LAKE CITY, UT — A Utah movie theater has decided not to show the film “Brokeback Mountain,” according to an Associated Press report. The film was supposed to open Friday at the Megaplex at Jordan Commons.
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Yeadon Theatre Heavily Damaged In Blaze
YEADON, PA — The 69 year-old Yeadon Theatre sustained heavy damage in a fire in the early hours of Sunday morning, January 8th according to a story in today’s Centre Daily Times. Borough Fire Chief Craig Jeffries said, “The fire was actually shooting out into the middle of the street”. The fire started in the lobby/vestibule area, and was confined to the front of the building. The cause of the blaze is under investigation.
The John Eberson-designed Art Moderne movie theater opened in 1937 and closed in 2001. Its rear wall was demolished in 2003, but at the last moment, the theater’s demolition was halted, thanks to a campaign by preservationists who hoped that the Yeadon could be reopened one day as a performing arts venue.
Council President Vivian Brooker Ford said the theater’s future will be discussed at a council meeting tonight. A decision on the theater’s integrity will be made once the evaluation by an engineer is completed.
For more information, read this report.
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December 16, 2005
NYC’s Ziegfeld offers an exclusive… with a price tag to match
NEW YORK, NY — While it offers a one week exclusive engagement of “The Producers,” Clearview’s Ziegfeld Theatre will be charging $12.50 for admission.
According to Wednesday’s New York Post, as the film begins additional runs next week, the theatre’s ticket price will be returned to the current Manhattan standard of $10.75.
“It’s a business decision,” says Clearview spokesperson Beth Crimmons. “We’ll be regular price after that.”
As a Broadway play, “The Producers” had the dubious honor of being the first to raise theater tickets to $100 – and now it appears the movie is poised to break a film barrier, as well.
The exclusive engagement will begin with today’s shows and run through next Friday.
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December 14, 2005
Mixed-Use Project Gets OK at Flushing’s RKO Keith’s Site
FLUSHING, QUEENS, NY — The Board of Standards and Appeals in New York City has, after three years, approved the construction of a seventeen-story tower on the site of the former RKO Keith’s Theatre, according to the New York Daily News. The project will include 200 apartments, a senior citizen center, retail space, and parking. Construction is expected to take about a year and a half.
The 1927 RKO Keith’s grand lobby and foyer area, declared a city landmark in 1984, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, will be restored and fronted by a “curtain of glass” to allow passersby to view the interior. Former theater owner Thomas Huang was fined for bulldozing part of the lobby’s grand staircase. Huang allowed the theater to fall into disrepair.
Councilman John Liu said, “The formerly majestic RKO Keith’s Theatre, which has long symbolized the gateway to northeast Queens, will no longer be a blight and embarrassment to our community”.
Borough President Helen Marshall, speaking in front of the theater said, “Today, we are here to acknowledge all the hard work and meetings…that shaped a mixed-use development that makes sense and benefits such an important location in Queens”.
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November 3, 2005
Former TIVOLI, Towcester Rd, Northampton
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND — After being on the market for over a year, this former cinema has now re-opened as a tile warehouse. Situated at the junction of St Leonard’s Rd and Towcester Rd, the TIVOLI opened in 1935 and closed in 1960.
After a period as a storage facility for a local haulage firm it became a car accessory store/fitting bay and has now been re-incarnated for the DIY market. The adjacent shop and cafe function as a diner with an American car on the roof!
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October 26, 2005
Fire Temporarily Closes Latchis' Main Screen
BRATTLEBORO, VT — A fire yesterday in the Latchis Theatre’s main auditorium caused minimal damage (the screen, curtains, and part of the roof were burned) and the auditorium is expected to reopen Friday, according to WCAX-TV Channel 3. The other two screens will continue to operate until then.
Electricians working in the large auditorium may have inadvertantly started the fire when a curtain was set too close to a floodlight. The fire was mostly put out before firefighters arrived on the scene. The theater and Latchis Hotel, with which it shares a building, are the only two Art Deco style buildings in Vermont.
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October 20, 2005
70mm Launches at Greenwich Picturehouse
LONDON, ENGLAND — This Sunday sees the first 70MM screening at the newly reopened Greenwich Picturehouse in South-East London.
The screening is LAWRENCE OF ARABIA which will be presented in 70MM SUPER-PANAVISION. The projector used is a Philips DP70 which until recently was at the EMPIRE, Leicester Sq. This is one of three DP70’s that were installed on December 16 1959 for the opening of BEN-HUR. Considered to be the Rolls-Royce of projectors this machine (serial number 1352) has now been moved to a new home at the recently reopened Greenwich Picturehouse.
This DP70 was rescued from the Empire by Tony Jones, Creative Director of City Screen who operate the Picturehouse Arts circuit in the UK, to supplement a wide array of 70MM projection equipement already in regular use at its cinemas throughout the UK.