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Theaters
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April 7, 2017
Angels Camp, CA - Angels Camp Theatre still celebrates movies
From the Calaveras Enterprise: The Angels Camp Theatre opened its doors Feb. 9, 1924, as the Mother Lode Theater, with a miniature revue accompanied by a five-piece band. Since then, the theater has seen many changes, yet has always been an integral part of the community.
“It’s magical,” said Jeff Olson, the manager since 1999, of playing movies in the city. “I get to watch kids grow up and share in that magic.”
Olson believes movies are not just for entertainment; they make memories.
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East Lansing, MI - Once home to two movie theaters, E.L. has gone decades without one
From The State News: This June will be the 30th anniversary of the closing of East Lansing’s last movie theater, the Campus Theatre, whose lobby once sat at the Grand River Avenue location that is now the textbook section of the Student Book Store.
Student Book Store assistant manager Mike Wylie grew up in the Lansing area, and he fondly remembered seeing movies like “Thunderball” at the Campus Theatre as a child.
“I (grew up) in a neighborhood with a lot of kids,” Wylie said. “You rode your bicycle down here and went to a movie.”
It has been nearly three decades, though, since anyone has ridden their bike to a movie on Grand River Avenue.
Until the 1980s, downtown East Lansing had two movie theaters: the Campus Theatre and The State Theatre, which hosted films and sometimes live performances. When MSU alumnus and Curious Book Shop owner Ray Walsh was at MSU in the 1960s and ‘70s, he said he saw films at both theaters.
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April 4, 2017
Lansing, MI - Movie theaters we miss
From the Lansing State Journal: Known to most as The Michigan Theatre and Arcade, one of the grandest theaters in the state opened as The Strand Theatre in 1921 on South Washington Avenue.
Originally intended for vaudeville and live events, it was designed with a long arcade that included two levels of shops. The cost was a then-outrageous $500,000.
The theater started showing films in the 1920s. Ravaged by fire in the 1930s and partly razed in 1983, it’s now known as The Atrium Office Center. What’s left of the tiered balcony is still visible on the building’s east side.
Other Lansing theaters included The Gladmer Theatre, The Bijou Theater, The Capitol Theatre, Colonial Theater, Empress Theater, Garden Theater, Orpheum Theater, Plaza Theater, Avenue Theater and the Theatorium.
East Lansing’s State Theatre, at 215 Abbott Road, came along in 1927 and had 800 seats. The Campus Theatre, at 407 E. Grand River Ave., East Lansing was built in 1950 and seated 1,500.
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March 28, 2017
Carthage, MO - Historic 66 Drive-In Theatre in Carthage combines American love of cars, movies
From The Joplin Globe: When the 66 Drive-In Theatre — one of the few today with roots on the route — opens Friday, it will be in the care of new owners for the first time in more than three decades.
Tourists who today come from around the world to experience America’s Route 66 history are joined at the theater by locals, many of whom have early memories of the drive-ins that once dotted the region.
As a girl, Amanda Pearish-Rinehart spent weekends going to drive-in theaters with her family, and she said supporting the Carthage theater seems like the right thing to do.
Plus, it’s fun.
“I spend about half of what I spend to take them to a regular theater, and we have a much better time,” she said.
Nathan McDonald didn’t grow up around drive-in theaters, but he said they got into his bloodstream during his 10 years of working at the 66 Drive-In as a security guard.
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Denver, CO - Landmark sells Olde Town Arvada movie theater
From the Denver Business Journal: Los Angeles-based Landmark Theatres is selling its Olde Town Arvada 14 Theatre on April 2.
A spokeswoman from the company wrote in an email: “As of April 2nd the theatre will be closed. As of Thursday, April 6, the Olde Town will be in the hands of new owners. Thank you for your years of patronage.”
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March 20, 2017
Belleview, FL - In Photos: Ocala Drive-In Theatre Still Shows Films After More Than 50 Years
From WUFT.org: The Ocala Drive-In Theatre in Belleview brings the Americana experience of old drive-in theaters to a new generation.
Though the drive-in first opened in 1948, it has closed, reopened and changed hands several times since then. It’s also had many updates since it first opened, including new projectors, projector bulbs, screen paint and sound systems.
“Nostalgia. A lot of nostalgia here,” said Nancy Bigi, a cashier who currently works at the drive-in and who worked there in the ’70s and ’80s. “It brings back old memories, [for me] and the new generation,” Bigi said.
Like a drive-thru restaurant, you pay at the first window and then pull forward. The inside of the theater is a field with two screens on opposing ends with a projector booth and concession building in the center.
Typically, the drive-in shows two movies in one session for $6 per adult. A refurbished concession building offers the Ms. Pac-Man arcade game and snacks for movie-goers. The concession building also has several painted murals on each wall to enhance the retro aesthetic.
The large grassy area and a larger arcade present opportunities for fun for the whole family. When the drive-in isn’t showing movies, it hosts flea markets in its 20-acre field.
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March 9, 2017
Beaumont, TX - Humidity wears on Jefferson Theatre
From the Beaumont Enterprise: The Jefferson was jumpin' this past weekend with movie lovers and concert goers, but that’s not the reason a net stretches across much of the theater ceiling. That net is meant to catch bits of loosened plaster that might fall onto the heads of patrons at the downtown Beaumont venue. The net is there out of an abundance of caution, said Lenny Caballero, director of the City of Beaumont’s event facilities department.
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March 7, 2017
Albany, NY - Sparks Fly as Common Council Votes to Sell Historic Palace Theatre
From the Times Union:After a heated and lengthy discussion, the City of Albany Common Council voted 12-3 on Monday night to sell the Palace Theatre to the Palace Performing Arts Center, a non-profit that operates the theater.
The vote came after more than a year of contract deliberations. The sale price, though not final, sits at $750,000. The money will be paid to the city of Albany at $25,000 a year over a 30 year period.
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Chicago, IL - Treasure Trove of Vintage Candy Wrapper Trash Found in Historic Movie Theater
From Pictorial: In a grimy illustration of the old saying that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, here’s a chance to feast your eyes upon some ancient candy wrappers, rediscovered in a historic Chicago movie palace.
DNA Info shares the latest from Eric J. Nordstrom, founder of a firm called Urban Remains, which sells bits and pieces salvaged from historic buildings. Apparently nobody cleaned out spaces below the balcony seating at the currently closed Congress Theater—confirming every gross suspicion you’ve ever had about cleanliness in those sticky auditoriums—and so Nordstrom found a pile of precious, beautifully revolting antique trash. Baby Ruths, Dots, Milk Duds, Red Hots, they’re all here. Apparently the packaging for a Butterfinger has barely changed in all this time.
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February 28, 2017
Maumee, OH - The story behind the historic Maumee Indoor Theatre
From 13abc.com: The Maumee Indoor Theatre is owned by the city of Maumee and managed by Great Eastern Theatres.
The building opened in 1946, then closed 50 years later in 1996.
In 2000, the city bought the property and spent $3M renovating the space.
By the time it reopened in 2004, the Maumee Indoor Theatre was more than before.
The facility was now an event space, capable of hosting live shows or Q&A sessions.
It also has a basement room for parties.
But at its core, the Maumee Indoor Theatre is a two-screen movie house.
“We’re part of the Ohio Historical Theatre Association,” explains Sam Johnson, Executive Director of the Maumee Indoor Theatre. “We’re part of a National Historic Landmark. So, you know, we are an historic building. They tried to restore it in the same Art Deco style. So, we tried to keep everything as much the same as we could while renovating it and bringing it up and making it nice.”